In the last few months, there has been one news story that’s dominated headlines more than any other: COVID-19.
This international health crisis has affected every aspect of life as we know it. From how we travel to how we socialize, from how we live to how we work.
B2B operations have changed dramatically. Remote work, telecommuting, updates to hundreds of processes within offices and manufacturing facilities, and so on. New questions are arising each day on how to best keep B2B businesses alive in a world locked down, and sales and marketing has needed to adapt to a world without face-to-face meetings or trade shows.
Why is now the perfect time to focus on my B2B site’s SEO?
Conductor, a marketing software company, recently released a survey where they interviewed a few hundred respondents to hear their experiences with COVID-19 and marketing. Findings from this survey include expectations for decreased annual marketing budgets and increased difficulty reaching marketing goals. This survey also found that more than half the individuals surveyed consider SEO as especially important during this time. Why? Well…
- There is a marked increase in the amount of time individuals are spending online. With lockdowns and phased reopenings, there’s a decrease in the variety of things people can do day in and day out. They’re not going out, so they’re using their computers and mobile phones to connect with the outside world and to research solutions to their problems. An increase in user traffic online means an increase in potential customers seeing your website.
- Organic search rankings aren’t going anywhere. Just because the world is partially locked down now doesn’t mean it always will be. If you sacrifice your current rankings under the assumption that no one is buying, it will become all the harder to gain them back when things open up. Organic search engine optimization is a long play, and investments you make now will be boosting your rankings now and into the future.
- Just because you aren’t selling as much right now doesn’t mean you can’t bolster your reputation. Even if there isn’t as much active deal-making going on right now doesn’t mean it will always be that way. It also doesn’t mean that buyers aren’t researching solutions so that they’re ready when budgets open back up. This is your chance to stand out as a thought leader in your field and be remembered when buying cycles open up again.
What are some easy changes we can make to boost rankings?
The way you boost your company’s website rankings is simple: create better, more relevant content than your competitors. Exactly how that’s done is slightly more complicated, but there are a couple important rules to follow:
- Constantly create relevant new content. You’ve read it before and you’re about to read it again: content is king. Not just any content. Time and industry relevant content is king. Content that’s regularly updated, shared on social media channels, and crafted using choice short and long tail keywords.
- Don’t forget about metadata. Title tags, meta descriptions, and alt text are integral parts of every web page. Make sure all of your site’s pages have uniquely written text for each of these meta sections.
- Make interlinking a habit. Web pages that include links to important, relevant data are crucial to successful search ranking. Avoid using the catch-all “click here” and instead use keyword phrases to link to other pages on your site that contain useful information.
- Shore up your technical SEO. Make sure that Google can efficiently index your site without errors, to make sure that the work you’re doing in the items above gets maximum benefit. Ensure that your entire site is HTTPS, has an xml sitemap, a properly configured robots.txt file, loads quickly, doesn’t contain broken links or duplicate content, and is fully mobile-friendly.
Overall, don’t delay writing new content until other technical items are fixed, as content is your greatest asset for SEO in B2B—useful and informative content that’s relevant to what your best customers need, and what your company offers.
There is no better time than now to focus on your B2B site’s SEO. It doesn’t matter when now is: if you’re reading this, it’s a good time. If you’re not sure what steps to take next, get in touch with the team at Windmill Strategy. Like our name suggests, we’re experts in crafting the strategies that help your business expand, no matter what is happening in the world at large.