We’ve heard plenty about the power of SEO, but it seems like the rules of the game just keep changing, even more so from industry to industry.
To better grasp how to get it right in the B2B sector, DesignRush reached out to an expert on the matter — Sam Dunning from Breaking B2B.
In our discussion, Sam unveils ways to stand out in the B2B industry and talks about emerging SEO trends and the biggest traps companies face when growing their digital presence.
Who Is Sam Dunning?
Sam is a marketing and B2B SEO expert, who is a sales director and co-owner of Breaking B2B. He specializes in business growth through SEO, web development, SaaS development, and digital marketing. Sam is also a founder and host of the B2B marketing podcast "Business Growth Show."
As a co-owner of Web Choice, Sam shares how he has managed to set himself apart in the B2B industry highlighting that he learned the hard way over the last 13 years he’s been doing SEO.
“I thought we could sell anything to anyone. However, trying to be everything to everyone means being nothing to anyone. It's better to have a niche and be transparent about who you're for. This approach attracts the right business prospects and repels those who don't need your services," Sam explains.
He says that today, Web Choice UK primarily works with B2B companies with sales teams, specializing in service-based or tech/software companies.
“We generate inquiries through SEO and conversion-focused websites. We prefer these industries because we understand them well,” he adds.
Additionally, Sam runs a podcast focused on business growth which gives him insights into the tech marketing and the B2B market. Having interviewed over 300 tech and marketing leaders, he mentions that he has a good grip on how tech marketing and the B2B market work.
“Rather than just going for vanity metrics like traffic and rankings, we understand that the result is a qualified lead. That's the output that these companies want,” he reveals.
Going for Quick Wins Is a Huge Trap
Sam points out that businesses, especially small or bootstrapped ones with limited cash that like to start with quick wins, should focus on the easiest and most effective channels first.
“You have to think, 'Where are my target buyers, my target prospects, and the clients that are ideal for me? Where are they most likely going to go when they need my service right now? What are the quickest routes to market for my company?'” he explains.
A good SEO content strategy is to target specific keywords the audience uses. For instance, if people are searching for the "best proposal software tool," create ads that appear for those keywords.
"This can be one of the fastest ways to reach your market," he concludes.
Watch our short video below for some tips on how to convert SEO leads into customers:
Sam also believes that SEO takes time and doesn't necessarily apply to everyone. He advises businesses to consider what prospects will search for when they need your service to maximize positive results.
For tech or software companies, investing in aggregator sites like DesignRush that rank well on Google and have lower cost-per-click (CPC) compared to AdWords can quickly generate leads.
Everything Comes Down to Good Content
According to Sam, content that sells is all about giving your target prospects what they care to see.
He emphasizes that from a search standpoint, a business has to do a few things when creating content:
- Match the user's intent: If someone is searching for a specific type of offer, or if they're searching to compare you to another company, they probably want to know a few things. They want to know that you can fix their problem and a bit more about how you're going to do it.
- Understand prospect concerns: Good content understands what prospects care about in that relevant scenario, and most of that intel comes from expertise. One of the best places to get content ideas is sales calls. From sales conversations or customer success calls, you can pull out the common questions that you get on a day-to-day basis.
“The strategy is to make content to directly attack that, whether that's an article, a video, or a podcast. The beauty is that the content is evergreen. That means that loads of people are searching for it every day. Evergreen content is really powerful," Sam adds.
According to renowned SEO expert Lily Ray, with the volatile nature of Google's algorithm updates, it's best to use a white-hat SEO approach, prioritizing quality content while sticking to search engine guidelines to maintain a website's integrity.
QGP Founder and SEO Lead Kosta Hristov agrees good content is a key component in a successful SEO strategy.
However, he points out that backlinking is crucial in helping websites rank high on Google, adding that without powerful backlinks, even the highest quality content may not get noticed.
“Content needs to be unique, useful, and trustworthy. But quality content is nothing without powerful backlinks pointing to it. Build links to get your content noticed, until it starts driving traffic by itself,” he explains.
Listen to the full podcast with Sam on Spotify:
Tailoring SEO Strategies for Different Niches
When tailoring SEO strategies for different client niches, the focus should be on what prospects are specifically searching for, starting at the bottom of the sales funnel, Sam says, adding that businesses often generate content without considering user intent, leading to traffic but not necessarily leads.
He believes that effective SEO involves understanding the exact needs of prospects who are ready to engage with sales, such as searching for specific tools if you’re a SaaS provider.
“These prospects probably want to get their question answered. Maybe they'll sign up for your newsletter, follow your podcast, or follow you on YouTube, which is fine for the top of the funnel.
Those prospects can be nurtured over time and can eventually become customers. But you want to research several ways, such as using keywords, research tools like Ahrefs, and SEMrush, as well as sales schools.
This is something that not a lot of SEO agencies do because companies make the mistake of thinking they must go with high-traffic search terms, but you want to know what the prospect is searching for when they need your offer right now.
If you're getting asked for something a lot and the software tool is showing it as low search volume, but you know that you're getting asked for it, build content to match a search query that addresses it, and you could get a steady stream of inquiries from it,” he advises.
Talking about future SEO trends, Sam points out that “AI is probably one of the main things that's up and coming in terms of an SEO standpoint.”
He thinks that AI is going to be a huge trend, and he's excited to see how it will impact search results and certain websites that have been too blog-focused.
“It will also be interesting to see how Google changes its ads because a big money spinner for Google is that, right now, ads show at the top and bottom of every search result. We will see how they keep that flowing when the AI instant search results come,” he adds.
