As I’ve mentioned before in many of these articles, free Google search consistently delivers the best return on investment in B2B marketing.

But getting your website to consistently rank on Google for key search terms is not always easy.  As the online competition grows, the challenge increases.

When I ask business owners what they understand about the term SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), they usually mention keywords and some kind of magic manipulation that SEO experts do with their website to make it rank.

Actually, there’s no magic.

And just so you’re clear, keyword manipulation after the initial website set-up is mostly a waste of time.

Successful SEO of B2B websites comes down to consistent, skilled effort over time, paying close attention to the following 3 areas:

1. Being in the right race – the niche you have chosen to tackle
2. Setting up your machine – how your website is set up and structured
3. The fuel in your engine – the content on your website.

In this article, we consider each of these key areas and explain how your investment should be allocated to bring the best returns.

Your chosen niche

If you try to dominate a niche on Google that’s too big and too competitive for a business of your size, you will fail.

A quick Google of the broadest terms in your field – think ‘steel’, ‘commercial lending’ or ‘manufacturing’ and you’ll find big players, government sites, directory sites and very few small and medium businesses.

However, where you can beat the big boys is in a specialist niche.

So that might be ‘steel pipes’ or ‘commercial lending for veterinary practices’ or ‘manufacturing of medical components’.

The right B2B marketing company will guide you through the process of choosing this niche based on your business, the competition, and the demand data.

Over time, this niche might change as competition grows or as your business evolves.

Constant and ongoing analysis of the landscape and your performance data will ensure you continue to show up in the Google searches you are targeting.

Structuring your B2B website

Your website must be set up correctly to rank on Google and structured correctly around your chosen niche.

In terms of setup, this means Google-friendly code and a user-friendly design.

Common pitfalls to avoid are:

• off-the-shelf templates and themes (in the competitive B2B marketing space, you need a unique theme designed for your business)
• drag and drop website builders (like Elementor) that clog your site with spammy code and result in a Dog’s Breakfast design mess
• inadequate planning, which leads to poor user experience, and finally
• failing to weave carefully planned SEO into the website at every stage of the build.

If these dot points have gone over your head and you would like to understand more or if you would like your website assessed – drop us a line and we’ll do a free audit to check your site for you.

The content on your website

Once you’re in the right race (you’ve chosen a good niche) and you’ve set your machine (website) up correctly, the next thing you must do is power it with high-performance fuel (content).

The content on your website is what powers it to rank better and better for more keywords over time.

Google and your market want to see high-quality, original content on your website – and it’s important that you add to that content to appear regularly and consistently in the form of articles, blogs, news and case studies.

Your content must be well-thought-out and based on market demand, business changes and your website performance data.

Consistent effort over time following a considered content marketing strategy is the only way to achieve the results and return you are looking for.

And in terms of investment, what does that look like?

You’ll likely need to make an upfront investment in your website to ensure the niche, setup, and structure will bring you results.

From there, ongoing investment in strategic SEO expertise and professional content creation is the key to improving the Google ranking (SEO) of your B2B website.

Meet the author

I’m Deb Croucher, a former veterinary surgeon with a passion for B2B marketing.

In 2008, I permanently traded my stethoscope for SEO after successfully leveraging Google to power my vet business.

Diagnosis and treatment is still part of my day though!

In Brilliant Digital I identify issues, uncover opportunities and formulate strategies that lead to success and longevity.

You can read more B2B marketing articles here. I love to chat so feel free to, drop me a line!