Let’s get this straight… there is no such thing as a B2B Google algorithm. However, things run quite differently when you are targeting businesses and not consumers with your SEO efforts.
B2B keyword research works best with precise targeting, low search volumes, and a healthy dose of creativity.
In this article, you will learn how to perform B2B keyword research by using B2B modifiers, uncovering potential in Search Console and internal search, and most importantly, leveraging insights from sales and customer success.
Keyword research for B2B can be tricky. A few common challenges include:
You need to know the decision-makers in the company vs. the people actually using your product or service.
The executives might have different needs and questions than the marketing manager using the software after it is purchased.
You need to be clear on the different target audiences and their search behaviors since each has unique needs.
The more senior your target audience, the more important your expertise in their area.
Here are a few questions to inspire your research:
Here is an example: the B2C keyword “to-do list app” has 5,400 monthly searches according to Ahrefs.
The very targeted B2B keyword “enterprise project management software” has 250 monthly searches. And some B2B keywords will have as little as 10 to 50 searches per month.
For B2B SEO, we have to rethink our goals related to search volume and traffic potential. Specific keywords usually bring more qualified leads and revenue – but look scary in the keyword research document.
Have you ever typed targeted, long-tail keywords into your SEO tool and received zero results? Well, this will happen in B2B if you really understand your target audience and their needs.ADVERTISEMENThttps://a9ca58a430fca6363546d0f7515c334e.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlCONTINUE READING BELOW
Most SEO tools do not have the right keyword database for these niche topics and will simply present no results even though people are searching for them.
In B2B, you will almost always want to combine the results from several SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Search Console, and Google Keyword Planner to get a better understanding of the keyword universe.
The trick to finding good and targeted keywords for B2B is to use modifiers that are not typically used in a B2C context. You can experiment with the following modifiers:
To use the modifiers, enter your seed keyword into an SEO tool and then use the filter function to narrow down the results:Screenshot by Author, November 2021
Then add the keyword opportunities to your list or keyword research document:Screenshot by Author, November 2021
To get even more keyword ideas, be sure to review Google Search Console.
Benchmark Your Google Search and Shopping Results
Compare your CPCs, CTRs & more with your industry. See how your CVR, AOV, bounce rate, and other KPIs stack up. Compare performance for each channel.
Here is an example: Ahrefs says that the keyword “trends in operations management” has 50 searches in the U.S. per month. However, one of our clients receives thousands of clicks for this keyword every single month.
In Google Search Console:
Screenshot by Author, November 2021
Now, review the “queries report.”Screenshot by Author, November 2021
Your competition might have some great keyword ideas. Make sure to review their keywords and backlinks in an SEO tool to learn what content is working for them.
You could try the following reports in Ahrefs:
The latter not only gives you keyword ideas but also highlights ideas for creating backlinks.
Watch out for these:
Screenshot by Author, November 2021
Make sure to add your top-converting keywords from Google Ads into your SEO research, as well. You already know that these topics and queries work for you, so make sure to include them in your organic strategy.
If your website has an internal search function, make sure to review the most common questions for interesting queries.
Now, here is where it gets juicy. I have found some of the best keywords from reviewing sales pitches, protocols, and commonly asked questions.
Sales and customer success are at the frontline of engaging with your ideal customer. They understand their needs more deeply than any Quora or Reddit ever will.
To leverage their insights for SEO, make sure to:
Again, some of these keywords might be very niche but when you do get these visitors to your site, your chance of making a good impression on the right people is the highest.
Keep in mind that keyword research is your market research and analysis. In the beginning, you will want to add all ideas to your target list, no matter the difficulty.
Once you have a good universe of potential target keywords (a few hundred to thousands), add the following data to make a final decision:
Now, there are two ways you can go about reviewing keyword difficulty and the right target keywords.
If you have never done SEO before and don’t have a benchmark about what kind of keywords you can target, start with low-difficulty keywords. In the SEO tool Ahrefs, this typically means a KD score of less than 10.
Make sure to review Page 1 before making a final decision. You will want to see other websites with similar domain ratings and backlink profiles in the top position to have a realistic chance of ranking.
Calculate the average keyword difficulty of your top-performing keywords to understand what difficulty is appropriate for your website.
This is how you do it:
Screenshot by Author, November 2021
This benchmark tells you that if you pick a keyword with a similar keyword difficulty score, your chances of ranking are really good because it has worked for you in the past.
If you found a keyword that does not have search volume or difficulty data in the SEO tools, you must review Page 1.ADVERTISEMENTCONTINUE READING BELOW
Again, you want to make sure to see the website with similar authority to yours in the top positions to gauge if you rank as well.
Now, that you have your list of target keywords, you will want to map these against pages and articles.
The number one rule of SEO is one keyword cluster per page; one page per keyword cluster.
Make sure that your website structure is clean and easy for Google to understand by giving each set of target keywords one designated home.
Since we are in B2B, you will want to ask yourself what type of content is appropriate for the query, tactical or strategic?
For each of your target keywords, you will decide if they are targeting decision-makers or implementors. Then choose the right content type (tactical/strategic) accordingly.