High-quality content is essential for search engine optimisation – after all, Google wants to deliver the most relevant results as far as possible for each search enquiry. Many B2B companies find it difficult to publish suitable content on their website and other channels. We tell you why this is the case.
How the Google search functions
Google does not want to be a search but an answer engine, and provide users with the best possible results for their search. For this reason, the Google program (bot) permanently combs through the Internet to create an index.
Google organises all the websites it finds according to its own algorithm. This algorithm is one of the best kept company secrets in the world. However, what we do know is that a website receives a better listing in the search results the more relevant the content is for certain search enquiries.
Why B2B companies have difficulty with content
The communication of B2B content is a complex undertaking. Often the task centres round explaining technically sophisticated products and services in an easy-to-understand way. Companies frequently do not create content from the perspective of the customer, and communicate it as they believe best. As a result, the content may be limited to dry descriptions of the services or the most important product specifications. However, this is not what the customer wants to read or what is considered relevant for Google.
Another reason why B2B companies neglect content marketing: many have years-long relations with customers and partners and do not feel any pressure to win over new customers.
Everything begins with the content strategy
The starting point and most important step on the path to high-quality content, which is then also ranked better by Google, is the development of a content strategy and a content plan. The first thing to consider: who precisely is the target group and which content interests them? In what form should the content be published – as a whitepaper, guide, blog article or video?
What is important in this context is offering the target group the right content – in every phase of a potential purchasing decision. Which topics are suitable for addressing potential customers at the start of their journey? Which content is best for the target group in the middle of their customer journey? And which content would convince the visitor of a website to purchase a product or service?
Keyword research, website structure and navigation
What’s essential, but also difficult, in B2B content marketing: the research of the right keywords. What needs to be kept in mind here is knowing how the target group being addressed searches on the Internet. Which words do they use and when do they search on Google? Do the company-own product descriptions even use terms that are standard on the market?
A clean page structure also influences the website’s ranking on Google and other search engines. Many B2B companies make the error of summarising several product areas on a single sub-page. Google, however, prefers one theme per page. So, instead of bundling wastewater pumps and chemical pumps under “Wastewater and chemical pumps”, for instance, it is better to separate these and give them their own individual pages.
Another frequent error is not having clear menu titles in the navigation. Google would like to show relevant content, and if a manufacturer’s menu uses the title “Pumps” instead of “Underwater motor pumps”, Google punishes the website with a poorer ranking.
Ensuring content caters to the target group’s needs
B2B products and service are frequently complex. But this does not mean the descriptive text has to be complex too! Important when writing B2B text is mainly addressing the needs of the target group. This includes naming the concrete areas of use and giving application examples to help the reader (and potential customers) to understand sophisticated products and their use better.
Besides, creating qualitative content can be a helpful way to get backlinks, which will improve the website's rankings.
In addition to using an easy-to-understand language, Google pays attention to user signals. These are, for instance, the bounce rate, the dwell time and the click-through rate. They give Google information on how often and how long the user interacts with the search results.
FAQs are a good opportunity to increase the visitor’s dwell time. At the same time, the FAQs are excellent for placing longer keywords with several terms (long tail keywords) on the website.
Professional photos and videos make a difference
Photos and videos are traditional content – and yet, they are often handled without much thought. But for B2B content marketing, the saying also goes: a picture is worth a thousand words. Companies should therefore publish high-quality photo and video footage of their products and services on their website. Ideally, professional films showcase the product in use.
Google cannot capture PDF content
Many B2B companies offer PDFs on their website for downloading. This so-called gated content can be used to generate addresses and communicate company information in a sensible way. However, Google cannot clearly read the content in PDFs and thus identify it in an optimal way for the website. So, it’s better to also offer the content in the content area on the website.
Conclusion
Many B2B companies have not yet understood the potential they have in content marketing or its significance for search engine optimisation. It goes without saying that content marketing is a challenge. But the results of it done well leads to better search engine rankings and higher success.
