10 Ways Search Marketing for B2B is Different …and How to Maximize Results

B2B Camp AtlantaJanuary 19, 2013

www.prominentplacement.com blog: www.searchadvisory.net @ProminentPlcmnt

Prominent Placement, Inc: Who We Are

About PPI• 12 years old• Atlanta-based; handle clients

nationwide• Primarily B2B clients• Focus on lead generation• Superior account service• Winner of AMY Awards &

“Best Places to Work”

About Stacy Williams• CEO & Founder of PPI• Doing SEO since 1998• Recently named “Search

Engine Marketer of the Year ” by the Technology Association of Georgia

• Currently President of SEMPO Atlanta (Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization)

A full-service search engine marketing agency Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Paid Search Advertising (Pay-Per-Click) Usability Analytics

#1: Leads Not Sales

Long sales cycle; many steps in funnel Focus on lead generation & data capture Set long cookies in analytics Do math on value of a conversion

Value of a conversion = % of conversions that become customers X

average lifetime value of a customer Note that conversions may not equal leads

– look at quality of conversions Use “invisible fields” to track leads to

sales

Example of “Invisible Fields”

This data can be automatically imported into your CRM, allowing you to tie search

marketing efforts directly to customers and revenue.

#2: Phone Call Conversions

Complex sales mean phone calls, not just form fills Phone call tracking dynamically changes

the phone number on the website depending on how the visitor got there

Type in URL directly & see this:

Click on a Google organic listing & see this:

Click on a Google paid listing & see this:

Why Including Calls Is Critical

Case study: B2B client in niche construction market• After SEM efforts: handful of online forms• Call tracking showed this:

29%

71%

Online formsPhone calls

• Increased paid search CPCs ~25%• Doubled leads

#3: Multiple “Touches”Many website visits before conversion Multi-Channel Funnels in Google Analytics

(under “Conversions”)

#4: Partners & Resellers

SEO: • If you’re the mothership, you’ll likely outrank

partners. Be glad they’re taking up room in the SERPs too (rather than competitors)

• If you’re the reseller, optimize the heck out of your website; focus on your niche & added value

Paid Search: avoid competition & bidding wars• If you’re the mothership, lay down rules• If you’re the reseller, focus on your niche & added

value

#4: Partners & Resellers

Paid Search:• Test messaging & share learnings with channel

partners

#5: Limited Universe of Prospects

No mass market here! Hard to find them? Then make sure they

can find you online Easy to find them? Then use SEM in

conjunction with direct outreach Remarketing can keep your message in

front of prospects

Example of Remarketing

4.4% conversion rate

#6: Keywords Too Broad or Niche

How are prospects searching?

• Exact description may have low search volume: • open source digital asset management• open source collaboration software• open source enterprise content management

• Descriptions with higher search volume may be too broad: • document sharing• document management• record storage• project collaboration

#6: Keywords Too Broad or Niche

Paid Search Solutions:• Consider including both (& try to find the “in-

betweeners”)• Watch low search volume keywords & pause them if

quality scores slip• Use “modified broad match” on more general keywords

with lots of negative keywords. Watch what converts• Also use descriptive ad copy & landing pages to turn

away consumers

• Consider including pricing in ads (fewer clicks, but more qualified)

• Watch seasonality (“disaster recovery” during hurricane season)

• Test on paid search before doing SEO

#6: Keywords Too Broad or Niche

SEO Solutions:• Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)• Use similar words in close

proximity to support key themes and cast a wider net

• Condense complicated explanations into easily digested ones

• Focus less on keywords and more on relevance – put yourself in your target audience’s shoes

• If few people are searching for your solution, target keywords related to the problem too:• PCI compliance solutions• credit card machine hacked

#7: Keywords EvolveMany B2B spaces change rapidly• Keyword research is never done• Add emerging keywords to paid search

campaigns to test• Creating a new category or new

terminology?• No one will be searching for it at first• Use PR & other marketing to establish new terms• Don’t give up on old terms – paid search,

optimize less important pages• Own the new terms once they gain traction:• ipad document management• mobile ecm

#8: Few Offers or Promotions

Encourage conversions• Traditional B2B “offers”:

White papers, webinars, demos, free trials, newsletter signups, ebooks, case studies, request for quote• Be creative, be brief, test• Tools, “How To” Guides, One-

Sheets specific to industry, Videos, Gartner Magic Quadrant

• Easy, enticing, short forms

#9: Social Media is Low Priority

Works hand-in-hand with search• SEO: • Optimize profiles & posts – take up more room in

SERPs• Build in links pointing back to main site• Encourage votes, shares, likes, +1s

• Paid Search:• Highly targeted to interests, industries, job titles

#10: Many Stakeholders Focused on Quarterly Results

Provide the data that each stakeholder needs• Detailed reports with M-O-M & Y-O-Y for the

number-crunchers• High level overview with analysis for the

executive team

Correlate sales with appropriate quarter• Know the length of the sales cycle• Account for the lag

Questions?

More info about us: prominentplacement.com Blog & newsletters: searchadvisory.net facebook.com/prominentplacement linkedin.com/company/prominent-

placement-inc. youtube.com/user/ProminentPlacement @ProminentPlcmnt

Keep in touch with me:• linkedin.com/in/stacyswilliams• @StacyWms