Do B2B SEO campaigns work?

While it’s true that an SEO campaign won’t necessarily help every kind of business, can it help companies with a business-to-business focus? Yes, it can.

Some executives think that their buyers or customers aren’t looking for them in the search engines. Perhaps they conclude this based upon their own personal experience—thinking that the web is for “the kids,” but from their experience, new business comes from relationships, trade shows, or a great sales staff. While those channels can be productive ways to grow a business, a recent study in The Economist, in association with Peppercomm, shows a different story.

When asked, “Which of the following sources have been the most helpful in finding content from companies that is credible/trustworthy?”, 33% of executives surveyed said “Online search tools.” The second-most credible source of information was “Company websites” – according to 24% of respondents. “Recommendations from friends and/or business colleagues” was third, at 17%.

Since search and websites generate a significant amount of trust among executives, B2B search engine optimization campaigns can be an important part of a company’s marketing channels.

Maybe SEO works for some B2B companies, but not mine

According to another Brightedge survey, SEO drives most of B2B traffic.

B2B SEO campaigns drive the majority of traffic not only to technology or the internet (49% of their traffic) and media and entertainment (51% of their traffic) companies but also to business services (73%). Clearly, people looking for B2B services are turning to search engines to find the services or solutions they need.