Posted by: Sam Eidson, Partner

Keyword strategy is the foundational element of a successful B2B search engine optimization (SEO) program, and it’s not easy. There are SEO tools like keyword popularity analytics to help cover the tactical bases. They can help you narrow down a keyword list, an important step to make sure you don’t spread your efforts too thin. But these techniques won’t help if the keyword strategy isn’t linked to your business growth strategy. To achieve this, use a process specific to B2B.

Start by identifying which audiences you are targeting. Identify the individuals who have a role in the purchase decision of your target organizations – not just the decision makers, but also the users, influencers and ratifiers. Think through the information that’s important to each audience, and develop informational offers (white papers, webinars, ROI calculators, etc.) that will get them to a landing page and encourage them to consider your products or solutions. Sound like a lot of effort? It is. To streamline, prioritize the audiences and set your budget and level of effort accordingly. The prioritization can also help if you are adding pay-per-click advertising (PPC) to the mix. You can develop a bid strategy and PPC budget that emphasizes keywords targeted to specific buying decision segments.

To take the program further, refine your keyword strategy around the buying cycle. We use a methodology called RED: Research, Evaluation, Decision. This enables us to target the key audiences with the best conversion-based creative, whether they are just researching the problem, evaluating solutions, or at the decision point. This adds complexity, but it’s an effective way to continually boost the ROI of a successful program.