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It’s almost the end of the month and you need more leads in your pipeline… what do you do? Cold calling and working referrals can only get you so far. With a solid inbound marketing strategy in place, you will have organic, SEO driven leads filling your inbox every month. Organic leads are the most qualified pool for your salesforce to draw from. Unlike with paid media, organic/SEO takes 6-8 months to develop, but the results are more stable– especially when it comes to customer acquisition. Here are six ways to increase B2B leads using SEO:

1. SEO Audit

Believe it, or not, but things like broken links and outdated stats can actually hurt your position on a search engine results page (SERP), so it’s important to do an SEO audit of your website and content every couple of years. Use the list below as a guide to what you should check on a regular basis:

• Titles, Headings, Keywords, and Meta Descriptions: timely and optimized towards your content (think longtail keywords here)
• All pictures have ALT text and include keyword(s)
• No broken links and no 404 pages (links are redirected appropriately)
• Update outdated content (stats, pictures, policies, etc.)
• Correct links to social media accounts

2. Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization is making sure that when people access your website on their mobile device, they experience the best website possible. In other words, no wonky text, no weird spaces, no oversized images, etc. Most importantly, no matter how phenomenal your website is on desktop, if it’s not optimized for mobile, you won’t be able to get SEO “juice” (or rankings) from your mobile site.
Long gone are the days of sitting at a computer to work all day. B2B buyers, sellers, and thought-leaders are on-the-go with their mobile devices making decisions. In fact, “mobile [use] drives, or influences, an average of more than 40% of revenue in leading B2B organizations”.
Use the checklist below to make sure your website is mobile optimized:

• Minify code to increase page speed
• Don’t block CSS, JavaScript, or images (These three things are actually “critical in helping Google understand if you have a responsible site”.)
• Don’t use Flash
• Design for a large hand (Navigating on a touch screen can be difficult, and can sometimes result in accidental clicks when the buttons are too big or too small.)

3. Longtail Keywords

Think of longtail keywords as keyword phrases of three or more words that are relevant to a specific audience. Unlike the usual keywords, that are more focused towards attracting the masses, longtail keywords target a niche market with B2B, industry-specific jargon.

• Keyword: Manufacturing
• Longtail keyword: Automotive Manufacturing in New England

Finding keywords is hard enough, and finding longtail keywords can be even more daunting. It takes time to understand the industry you’re in and what will “speak” to your audience. So here’s a hint: use tools like SpyFu to see what keywords your competitors are already ranking for. Using those words can ultimately help you know what keywords you have a chance of ranking for.

4. Content Creation

Content is your most powerful SEO tool to help you increase B2B leads. Whenever you create content, you should try to get the most ‘bang for your buck’. Utilize the resources you have to repurpose your content into new formats. Any one piece of content can be reprocessed into various other content offers. For example, from one 1,000-word blog you could produce ancillary videos, podcasts, infographics, and even more blogs!
Here are some other ways to help your content bring in qualified B2B leads:

• Reference trusted sources and industry thought leaders
• Partner with industry influencers
• Feature guest posts

5. Social Media

You may think that B2B buyers don’t use social media, but they actually do! In fact, 54% of B2B buyers rely on social media to research their vendors and/or solutions. If you’re wondering how B2B buyers use social media, check this out:

• 47% of B2B buyers browse existing discussions
• 38% of B2B buyers ask for suggestions and recommendations
• More than 50% of B2B buyers connect directly with thought leaders & vendors

6. Video Content

Over the last decade, video has become the king of content, so it’s super important to make sure you’re SEO-optimizing your video content. The first step to optimizing your B2B video content is to insert a video transcript. Video transcripts make your content more widely available and scrapable by bots (because now there’s extra content on the page).
Another tip is to make sure your thumbnail images are exciting and prompt someone to want to check out what the video is about. Along those same lines, make sure the title and video description are highly optimized so that you show up easily in search engines.
Lastly, if you’re focusing on video content, do just that: FOCUS on the video. Make the video the focal point of the page. If the video is hidden, tiny, or embedded, it just becomes annoying and the chances of you ranking for the video content drops drastically.

Building Content to Increase B2B Leads Using SEO is a Long-Term Strategy

'SEO is a long-term strategy that gains momentum over time.' - Sara West, Snyder Group Click To Tweet
SEO is a long-term strategy that gains momentum over time. You will not see the number of leads skyrocket overnight, but the more content you develop, and the more you optimize your existing content, the more likely you are to build your SEO ranking and ultimately increase your B2B leads.

About the author

Sara West

Senior Marketing Specialist at Snyder Group

Sara is an experienced digital marketing manager with a successful track record promoting a range of B2B and B2C organizations. An energetic, creative, problem-solver, Sara is skilled in digital, social, and content marketing and is currently an Adjunct Professor teaching marketing at Pace University where she graduated as Valedictorian and received her Master of Arts. In her free time, Sara enjoys her family and volunteers as an advocate for the Special Olympics.