Hiring a B2B SEO agency is a critical step in any business today. Unless you’ve got the resources to dedicate to a full staff of onsite marketing specialists (which you probably don’t), you’re going to want to outsource this solution. In fact, it’s probably better to outsource anyway, because then you’ll be able to rely on industry professionals who understand the best practices of B2B search engine optimization and can assist you with all of your marketing efforts.

This blog will help you better understand everything that you need to know about B2B SEO, including how to hire the right agency, why you need an agency in the first place, and what this entire practice means to your business and online brand efforts. You will be able to take notes as you go along and by the time you’re done, you’ll have all of the insight that you need to get started on your own new SEO campaigns for your B2B marketing. For now and more importantly, for the future of your business, you have to make B2B optimization a priority. 

Why Hire a B2B SEO Agency?

When you are ready to embark on your B2B SEO campaigns, you need to enlist the assistance of a professional agency that specializes in this practice. There are several reasons and benefits to consider, but the fact of the matter is that it just makes sense to let the professionals do the work and spend less time and money on your marketing in the long run. Yes, you’ll be paying someone to manage your blog and SEO campaigns, but you won’t be paying a full-time staff to do in-house marketing. An agency will:

• Save you time and money on your marketing campaigns
• Provide you with better tools and resources for marketing
• Take care of things you wouldn’t think about regarding your SEO and marketing
• Keep up with best practices and ensure that campaigns always adhere to guidelines set forth by search engines
• Let you keep your focus and your staff’s focus on other areas of the business that need your attention

What’s Included in B2B SEO Services?

Although every agency has slightly different services and business practices, there are some things that you will generally expect to find with just about any agency that you work with. The first thing that an agency will do is to perform an audit of your existing strategies and marketing campaigns to see where you stand. This will help them figure out the best plan of action and where to start. 

B2B SEO agencies will also provide many other services, including monitoring and analysis of your competitors and analysis of the customer search experience. They can often analyze your website, blog, and social media accounts to optimize them for B2B keywords, and so much more. Other services offered by these agencies include things like:

• Keyword optimization, including for meta tags, images, and local search
• New content development
• Updates to existing content
• Duplicate content audits
• Earned media assets
• ROI, goal reporting, monthly traffic, and other analytics
• And more

No matter what business you’re in or what type of assistance you need with your B2B SEO, hiring an agency will ensure that everything is taken care of properly, efficiently, and while you’re able to focus your efforts on the areas of your business that need them. When you work with a professional agency, they will help create custom-tailored marketing solutions for B2B SEO and any other marketing that you need. 

How Can a B2B SEO Agency Help My Business?

By providing clients with B2B SEO services, agencies offer many benefits and can assist with various goals and strategies. Hiring an agency will give your company support and assistance with several challenges, including those discussed below. Ultimately, it’s about making things easier for your business while still taking care of your B2B marketing and SEO needs for the future of your organization. 

Increased Leads and Lead Quality

When your website, social media, and other marketing resources are optimized with the appropriate keywords, you will generate much better B2B leads and find the buyers who want your product or service. Blanket marketing hasn’t been effective for a number of years, but now more than ever, you have to target your leads carefully. Having a professional agency handling your SEO will ensure you accomplish that goal and many others. 

Improved Sales and Revenue

If you’re generating better quality leads and more of them, you’re going to see an increase in your revenue and sales at some point. When you leverage the years of experience that an SEO agency offers, you will be able to build a custom strategy that suits your business goals, aligning your B2B marketing and SEO so that you can grow your bottom line and build your business. 

Increased Organic and Local Traffic

Keywords are essential to organic and local search. You aren’t going to get found if you don’t employ the right keywords. Especially if your B2B clients are local, they’re going to need to know that you are, too. With professional B2B SEO strategies, you’ll know that your local and organic traffic are at their peak. Plus, we’ll do all the work to find the right keywords and build up all of your marketing strategies. 

Increased Rankings in Search Results

When your keywords are optimized, you’re going to rank higher in the search results. Even in the B2B market, 75% of searchers choose their result from the first page. Therefore if you’re not somewhere on that first SERP (search engine results page), you’re only getting a 25% chance at business. With a professional agency that understands exactly how to optimize for SERP rankings, you’ll be making your way up the list in no time. 

No Hassles of In-House SEO Management

Partnering with a professional agency also gives you the chance to avoid the hassles associated with in-house SEO and marketing. Whether you lack the time or resources, or even if you just don’t have the appropriate background to manage the marketing campaigns effectively, an agency can make all the difference. You won’t have to pay a marketing staff or worry about keeping tabs on your marketing because the agency will handle everything for you.

Why SEO Matters for B2B Clients

More than 70% of B2B buyers will begin their product research and buying journey online. If you want them to find your brand, you need to prioritize SEO in your B2B marketing strategy. Otherwise, they’ll find your competitors who have taken the time to integrate SEO and you’ll lose out on valuable business potential. 

B2B clients need SEO because B2B buyers are using Google to find the products or services that they seek. Without appropriate SEO strategies in place, you’re missing out on valuable business and limiting yourself to the efforts of paid advertising and other marketing methods that are far more costly and far less efficient. Not to mention that without SEO, B2B companies stand almost no chance of being “discovered” on the Internet by those who don’t already know that their brand exists. 

If people aren’t able to discover your brand, you won’t be able to generate new audiences, customers, and streams of revenue. While repeat business is great, it only takes you so far. Word of mouth and other traditional marketing methods might still benefit you in some capacity, but without SEO, your business really won’t have much of a future to look forward to because it won’t be able to keep up with the competition and the changing world of B2B marketing. 

What You Need to Know About B2B SEO

B2B search engine optimization isn’t that different from SEO that is targeted at consumer markets. The practices and concepts are the same: you research and utilize appropriate keywords that will generate interest from people who need your products or services. You’re just doing it for a different audience in your B2B marketing than you are with B2C campaigns. 

Because you’re approaching a different audience, some elements may vary here and there in the way campaigns are designed and executed. After all, B2B clients are often savvier than the average consumer and may require a little extra attention. Keep reading to learn more about how you can use SEO in your B2B campaigns and incorporate all of the best elements to ensure that you set your company up for the future. 

How Search Engine Optimization Leads to Conversions

More attention means more traffic. More traffic means more leads. More leads, theoretically, will mean more conversions. When you use SEO correctly or allow an agency to do so for you, you’ll be able to guarantee that you are meeting customers at the right point in their journey with the right information and resources that they need to make a buying decision. 

Your website and SEO improvements will bring in much more targeted traffic. It will ensure that the people that visit your site are interested in what you offer. Plus, it will give you the chance to build your reputation as a brand authority by providing them with value-added information and insights like blog posts, social media posts, and general website content that utilizes SEO effectively. It’s a win-win for everyone. 

Elements of B2B SEO That are Often Overlooked

The biggest struggle of B2B SEO campaigns is that some of the most basic and often most useful elements are overlooked. People do what they think will be best without taking the time to consider the reality of what B2B audiences want. Firstly, they don’t want another chummy, overt email talking about “how much we have in common!”– they’ve got enough of those. If you want to make the most of your B2B campaigns, you need to focus on elements like:

• Industry Forums: A lot of B2B industry pros are going to head to industry forums to get valuable insight on their needs before they start shopping. If you can get involved here, you’ll generate a lot more success out of your B2B campaigns. 
• Social Media: Again, it’s human nature to want to be social and seek out assistance from others. Of course, you’re not just using your social media pages to reach people– you need to interact by liking, commenting, and posting on social media accounts that are relevant and so forth. 
• Vendors: If you’re in an industry where there are vendors that you can collaborate with, you will be able to generate relevant backlinks and reach out to a B2B audience you might not find on your own. 

Don’t forget to create an accessible and multilingual website that will allow you to reach out to potential B2B customers around the world. You don’t want to disclude potential customers by having a website that they simply cannot access or understand. Also, make absolutely sure that your website is mobile-friendly. 

Many SEO campaigns and website development plans adopt a “mobile first” building and marketing strategy. Considering that more than half of the people (including B2B buyers) that are searching Google are doing so from a mobile device, this makes a lot of sense. Even if you don’t go mobile first, though, you need to make sure that your mobile SEO is in order, as well. 

Setting Your SEO Up for the Future 

The future of SEO is focused, flexible, and fully customized. Where consumers want that personal touch in marketing, B2B clients demand it. The best possible thing that you can do for your SEO campaign, both in regard to your B2B marketing and your B2C campaigns, is to employ the assistance of a professional SEO agency that will keep up with changing industry trends and best practices. 

That way, you’ll always know that while you’re handling the other aspects of your business that require your attention, your SEO campaigns will be executed seamlessly to produce the best possible results. Your marketing should never be done for the “now”– it needs to be done for the future. Staying ahead of the competition includes keeping your marketing strategy prepared for tomorrow. Here are a few final tips to keep in mind:

• Stop stressing about Google’s algorithm changes by making sure you build high-quality links, offer value-added content, and provide a top-rated user experience on your website. If you have these things in place, you’ll always look good in the eyes of the search engines. 
• Capitalize on both short-tail and long-tail keywords so that you can optimize for all kinds of customers and audience segments both now and in the future. 
• Make sure that you have on-page and off-page SEO tactics in place. You don’t have to understand the ins and outs of how these two strategies work, but you have to ensure that they are included in any marketing plan presented to you by an SEO agency. 

How to Hire the Right B2B SEO Agency

Now that you have a better understanding of what SEO is for B2B and how it works, you’ve got to find the agency that is going to help your organization thrive. Although no one can tell you that one agency or another is “better” for your needs, there are some things you’ll want to consider. Below, find out what you should be asking and how you can determine which agency will suit your B2B SEO needs and provide the solutions that you deserve. 

Questions to Ask about Their SEO Services

You should always have questions ready before you contact a professional SEO agency. You can’t just email them and ask “how does this work?” because you’re likely to get just as generic of a response. Do your homework, including using the insight you’ve gained here, and ask things like:

• How does your agency approach SEO to deliver results?
• What metrics do you use to define “success”?
• How do you approach mobile development, or do you have a “mobile-first” mindset?
• How will you adapt your strategies to our industry/niche?
• How should SEO be incorporated with our overall B2B marketing strategies?
• How long will it take to see results?
• Do you offer content marketing, analytics, and other solutions?
• Does your agency offer custom SEO solutions?
• Do you follow all webmaster and marketing guidelines set forth by Google and other relevant organizations?

How Much Does B2B SEO Cost?

If anyone can tell you exactly how much their B2B search engine optimization solutions cost without actually discussing what you need, they’re probably not the best agency for your needs. There’s nothing wrong with pre-packaged marketing solutions and budget-friendly plans, but when it comes to SEO, there is just too much personalization required to get away with generic packages and bulk marketing solutions. 

Some companies may have base pricing in place that will help you get an idea of what you can expect to spend, but the best SEO solutions will be built from scratch. Your best bet is to inquire with the agency to learn about their services and get a quote based on your specific B2B SEO needs. 

The important takeaway here is that hiring a B2B SEO agency will always be the more affordable option when compared to handling things in-house or trying to tackle them on your own without a dedicated marketing team. Not only that, but the cost is an investment, not an expense, and it’s one that your business needs if it is going to survive, let alone thrive, in the future of B2B marketing. 

Check Their Previous SEO Solutions

One of the fastest ways to find out whether or not an agency can deliver the SEO solutions that your brand deserves is to ask others who have come before you. Any agency worth their salt will be more than willing to provide you with customer reviews, testimonials, and even contact information or references so that you can verify their success rates and validate that they are capable of getting the job done. 

Another great way to see what they’re capable of is to ask to see examples of their past work. If they’re allowed to disclose clients that they have worked with or at least show you some of the work that they have done, you’ll get a firsthand glance at what you can expect from your own SEO campaigns. Nothing is better at showing you results than their previous work, after all. 

Whether you read reviews, ask for portfolio examples or website links, or get references so that you can speak to past clients who will offer their insight on the good, the bad, and the things that they wish were done differently. Companies that want your business will be more than willing to give you as many reviews or references as it takes to give you the peace of mind that you’re choosing the right agency for the job, so take advantage of that. 

The Bottom Line on B2B SEO: It’s Now or Never

Now that you’ve taken the time to educate yourself on the value of SEO for B2B organizations, it’s important that you come up with a plan to find the right service and get your team on board. Search engine optimization isn’t just for the consumer market. You have to remember that businesses are their own kind of consumer, looking to connect with other businesses like yours out there in the world. Of course, they’re going to rely on things like keywords and SEO to find what they need. That’s how the Internet works, after all. 

If you’re still not fully invested in your SEO campaigns or you think that you’re doing “good enough to get by”, you need to rethink everything. It’s no longer about how you should get on board with SEO, but that if you don’t, you’re not going to stand a chance against the competition in the future. You don’t even have to have a lot of time to commit to this process because you can rely on professional B2B SEO agencies, as we’ve discussed here, to help you get everything that you need from your search engine optimization and other B2B marketing needs.