How to Skyrocket Your B2B Site’s SEO in 2024: A Beginner’s Action Plan

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving a website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). For business-to-business (B2B) companies, SEO is crucial for driving qualified website traffic, leads, and sales. 

With over 3.5 billion searches per day, Google receives a significant portion of total web traffic. Ranking higher in Google search results can increase visibility and growth for B2B companies substantially.

Unlike business-to-consumer (B2C) SEO, B2B SEO requires a nuanced strategy tailored to how B2B buyers research purchases. B2B customers are more likely to use long-tail, informational keywords during earlier stages of the buyer’s journey. Ranking for these keywords provides visibility for B2B brands during the awareness and consideration stages.

As B2B purchases often involve multiple decision-makers, prospects use search engines to research solutions, evaluate options, and validate vendors. Appearing on the first page of Google for relevant queries is key for B2B companies to influence these buyer journeys early on.

With the level of difficulty and investment required for SEO success, having an effective B2B SEO strategy is crucial for 2024 and beyond. This beginner’s guide covers the foundations of technical SEO, content optimization, link building, and more to help B2B companies improve organic visibility and traffic.

Keyword Research 

Keyword research is a crucial first step in any SEO strategy. For B2B companies, selecting the right keywords can help you reach your ideal customers and increase qualified traffic to your site.  

When doing keyword research, you want to identify high-value keywords that have good search volume and low competition. Here are some tips for researching and selecting the best keywords:

Identify your target audience and major buyer personas. Look at what keywords and phrases they may use when searching for your products or services. Put yourself in their shoes.

Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to generate keyword ideas and analyze search volume data. Look for keywords with at least 1,000 monthly searches.

Group keywords into topics and themes. Prioritize keywords related to high-value products/services, location-based keywords, and keywords in earlier stages of the buyer’s journey.

Review keyword difficulty and competition for each keyword. Focus on “low-hanging fruit” keywords that will be easier to rank for as a beginner. Save ultra-competitive keywords for later.

Do an analysis of top-ranking pages for your target keywords. Review what content they have, backlinks, etc. 

Categorize keywords into tiers or groups. Identify 3-5 primary “pillar” keywords, 5-10 secondary keywords, and 15-20 long-tail versions of keywords to target.  

Set up tracking in Google Analytics for your selected keywords. Monitor search volume trends over time.

Don’t forget locally-optimized keywords for geographic-specific ranking.

Thorough keyword research takes time but is essential for honing in on search terms that will drive qualified organic traffic to your site as part of your SEO strategy. Focus on quality over quantity when selecting keywords to target.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to optimizing a website’s code and infrastructure to help search engines better understand and index its pages. Here are some key technical on-page optimizations for B2B SEO:

Meta Tags

Meta tags provide structured data to search engines about your pages. Important ones include:

Title tag – Appears in search results, ideally under 60 chars with the primary keyword

Meta description– Summarizes page content in search results, under 156 chars  

Alt text– Describes images to search engines and for accessibility

-h1, h2 – Main headlines and subheads that indicate topic structure 

Optimize these tags with focus keywords where relevant.

URL Structure 

URLs themselves can optimize pages for keywords and usability. Best practices include:

Use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) to separate words

Avoid excessive dynamic parameters like /pageid1234.html

Include keywords but don’t “keyword stuff” URLs  

Keep URLs succinct but descriptive

Create a silo structure with topics/subtopics

For example:

“`

/b2b-seo-guide/keyword-research/

“`

Site Architecture

Logical site architecture and internal linking facilitate discovery and indexation. Consider:

– Clear IA and silo structure 

– Intuitive page hierarchy  

– Contextual internal links

– Consolidating duplicate content

– XML sitemaps

Leverage technical SEO to make pages easily understandable and navigable for search engines.

Content Optimization

Content is king in SEO. If your content isn’t optimized for your target keywords and topics, it will be difficult to rank well in search engines. Here are some tips for optimizing your B2B content:

Conduct keyword research to identify topics and keywords your audience is searching for. Look at search volume and competition to focus on terms you can realistically rank for.

Optimize content around target keywords, aiming to use them in headings, subheadings, image names/alt text, URLs, etc. But don’t over-optimize or “keyword stuff.” Write for humans first.  

Create pillar pages that comprehensively cover your most important topics and keywords. These in-depth resources should be over 2,000 words.

Produce topic clusters  – create multiple pages around subtopics related to your pillars. Link internally between them. 

Add schema markup like FAQ schema, video schema, etc. to enrich your content for search engines.

Update old content by adding fresh details, new examples, updated stats/facts, and more links. This helps with overall optimization.

Create useful, engaging visuals like charts, graphs, photos, or videos. These tend to rank well and get shared. 

Promote your content on social media, email, paid ads, etc. to generate more links, shares, and engagement.

Writing targeted, valuable content optimized for key terms will help boost your B2B SEO and attract more organic search traffic over time. Measure results and continuously improve.

Link Building

Link building is one of the most important elements of an effective SEO strategy. The goal is to obtain backlinks from high-authority websites to boost your site’s search engine rankings. 

There are a variety of ethical tactics you can leverage to earn high-quality back links:

Guest posting: Identify reputable websites that accept contributor posts relevant to your industry. Include a natural link back to your site within the content. Avoid over-optimization.

Influencer outreach: Build relationships with industry influencers and see if they would be open to featuring your content or linking to your site. Focus on relevant influencers with an engaged audience.

Content promotion: Promote your high-quality content on social media channels, forums, and aggregator sites. The goal is to generate interest leading to natural links.

Broken link building: Find broken links on high-authority pages pointing to missing or outdated content. Then create and promote your own updated, relevant content to replace it.

Site audit for link opportunities: Audit your site as well as competitors’ sites to find areas to create and promote content, such as improving outdated resources.

Link reclamation: Use tools to identify expired domains or deleted pages that previously linked to your site. Then reach out to revive or replace those lost links.

The key is to stay patient and focus on tactics that provide long-term, lasting results rather than quick wins. Prioritize relevance and quality over quantity when it comes to link building.

Local SEO

Local SEO is an important element of any comprehensive SEO strategy for B2B companies. Even if you don’t sell directly to consumers, optimizing your online presence for local searches can help prospects and customers find your brick-and-mortar locations. 

Here are some best practices for local SEO:

Optimize Google My Business listing: Claim and fill out your Google My Business listing for each location. Include your business name, correct address, phone number, website, business hours, and photos.  

Get reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews on your GMB listing and other sites like Yelp. Positive reviews boost local rankings.

Include city and state:  Make sure your target cities and states appear in titles, URLs, metadata, and content where relevant. This signals relevance for local searches.

List brick-and-mortar addresses:  List your full business address, city, state, zip code, and phone number clearly on your website. This helps confirm you have a local presence.

Add schema markup:  Use schema markup like LocalBusiness to highlight business info like address and hours. This can boost visibility in local pack results.

Optimize citations:  Consistency is key. Make sure your NAP (name, address, phone number) is listed accurately and consistently across key sites.

Produce local content:  Blog about your service area, highlight community involvement and share local news related to your industry.

Encourage foot traffic:  Provide directions, interactive maps, and information about parking to drive foot traffic to physical locations.

With the right optimization, local SEO can connect your business to prospects in your geographic area searching for products and services. It’s an important complement to broader SEO initiatives.

Mobile Optimization

With mobile being responsible for over 50% of all website traffic, having a mobile-friendly site is critical for SEO in 2024. Google has made it clear that sites that are not optimized for mobile will suffer in rankings. 

There are a few key things to focus on for mobile SEO:

Responsive design – The site should resize and adapt seamlessly for mobile screens. Using a responsive design framework like Bootstrap is recommended.

Page speed – Page load times can make or break conversion rates on mobile. Optimize images, minify CSS/JS, and leverage browser caching to improve speed.

Touch elements – Make sure buttons and links have enough padding to be easily tapable on mobile. Use larger font sizes as well.

 Avoid interstitials – Interstitial popups or splash screens on mobile cause frustration. Allow users to easily access content.

Minimize scrolling – Design the site to limit horizontal scrolling which is problematic on mobile. Use accordions and nested content to reduce long pages.

AMP – For news/media sites, consider leveraging Google’s AMP framework for near-instant load times on mobile.

App vs Website – Evaluate whether an app or mobile site makes more sense based on the use case and resources available.

By focusing on these core elements of mobile UX and speed, any business can create an exceptional mobile experience that users will appreciate. Optimizing for mobile needs to be a priority in any modern SEO strategy.

Analytics & Tracking 

Measuring and tracking your website’s performance is crucial for any SEO strategy. Google Analytics and other analytics tools allow you to gain insights into how users find and interact with your site. 

For B2B companies, it’s important to track metrics like

the number of site visits 

– Bounce rate (percentage leaving from the landing page)

– Pages per visit 

– Time on site

– Traffic sources 

Analyzing this data can reveal opportunities to improve user experience and SEO. For example, high bounce rates may indicate content not resonating with users or technical issues. 

Keyword tracking in Google Analytics helps see which terms drive traffic to your site. This informs keyword targeting and content optimization efforts. 

Conversion tracking is also key. Install tracking code on forms, downloads, purchases, etc to measure conversions from organic traffic. Track micro-conversions as well.

Use analytics to segment traffic – by source, location, device, etc. See how organic search converts compared to other channels. 

Run experiments like title tag changes and measure effects on traffic and rankings. Use analytics to guide your SEO in a data-driven way.

Continually optimize pages and content based on analytics insights. This ensures your SEO and content evolve with your users’ needs. Measure and refine approaches over time.

Common B2B SEO Mistakes

Starting an SEO strategy for the first time can be daunting. While a strong foundation in SEO best practices is key, it’s also important to be aware of common pitfalls to avoid. Here are some of the most common B2B SEO mistakes to steer clear of

Overlooking keyword research: Many businesses don’t invest enough time into keyword research upfront. Without a solid grasp of your target keywords, you can’t optimize your content properly or know what terms to focus on. Take the time to research buyer keywords, industry terminology, keyword difficulty, search volume, and more.

Thin content:  B2B topics often require in-depth, robust content to satisfy searchers’ needs. Avoid thin pages with little value. Strive for pillars and guides with ample word counts optimized around specific keywords. 

Inconsistent on-page optimization: – Every page should be optimized for its target keyword with strategic placement in titles, headers, meta descriptions, content, etc. Don’t just optimize your home page. Make SEO an ongoing page-by-page effort.

Ignoring technical SEO: Technical elements like site speed, mobile responsiveness, structured data, and XML sitemaps have a big impact on performance. Don’t only focus on content; make sure your site has a strong technical foundation.  

Forgetting about links:  The number and quality of external links pointing to your site influence rankings. Build an outreach strategy to earn high-quality backlinks from industry resources. Don’t solely rely on internal linking.

Lacking expertise and authoritativeness: – Search engines favor sites that showcase expertise. Make sure content is created or reviewed by subject matter experts. Don’t just chase keywords; focus on building trust and authority.

Looking Ahead 

2023 was a transformational year for SEO as Google’s helpful content update took off. Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, the importance of high-quality, useful content will only increase. Here are some key SEO trends to expect:

Continued focus on topics, not just keywords. Optimizing for searcher intent and providing comprehensive value on themes will be critical.

More advanced natural language processing from Google:- Search will feel more conversational and intuitive. Keyword-stuffed content won’t rank well. 

Growth of video SEO. Videos may start playing directly in SERPs. Optimize videos with transcripts, titles, and descriptions. 

Voice search optimization. Queries will increasingly happen via voice assistants. Use natural language and long-tail keywords.

Mobile-first indexing becoming standard: Mobile optimization isn’t optional anymore. Prioritize mobile site speed and UX.

Less reliance on backlinks: High authority sites will still help, but content quality and user engagement signals will matter more.

introduction of new entities like BERT and MUM. Expect faster innovation in how Google interprets searches.

Rise of AI for optimizing and creating content. But unique human-written content will still dominate. 

To stay ahead, focus on great user experiences that answer searcher needs. Always keep improving content quality and relevance. With smart SEO foundations, your strategy will be poised for ongoing success.