How is B2B SEO Different from B2C SEO

by firstlaunch_admin on Wednesday Feb 07

B2B & B2C SEO

They say if you’re not online, then you don’t exist. And while it’s true, I think that phrase has evolved into something like if you’re not on the first page of Google, then you don’t exist.

Of course, that’s a bit of a dramatic way to put it. But out of all the digital marketing strategies that have come and gone, SEO is still one of the most effective ways to make your brand known and reach your target market.

Whether you’re doing SEO in-house or outsourcing it to an SEO services provider, there are still some key factors to consider in making successful SEO campaigns in B2B and B2C brands.

But first, let’s talk about what B2B and B2C mean.

What are B2B and B2C?

We can look at B2B and B2C as two primary transaction methods. B2B is business-to-business, which means selling products or services to other businesses. Meanwhile, B2C stands for business-to-consumer, which means you sell your products or services directly to end-consumers.

Take note that a business can have both B2B and B2C offerings at the same time. Many brands do this to cater to a broader market and diversify their business.

One example of this is Amazon. They’re known as the global leader in e-commerce with Amazon.com (B2C), but they also cater to businesses with their cloud computing services (B2B).

Now that we got that out of the way let’s look at the key differences between B2B & B2C SEO.

Difference between B2B & B2C SEO

Audience and Buying Process

As you may have already noticed, the first distinction between B2B & B2C SEO lies in their audience and market size. Because of this difference, these two also have different sales cycles. In B2C, the buying process usually takes less than an hour from end to end, while B2B could take months.

Why? Unlike its counterpart, the buying process for B2B usually involves a lot of people. You may be pitching to a manager, but that manager will need to get his manager’s approval. Then it will move higher up the chain of command until your product has been thoroughly screened and deemed valuable for their business.

All this back and forth could take 3-24 months to complete, which brings us to our next point.

Conversion Goals

Because they have different audiences with different sales cycles, it doesn’t make sense for B2B and B2C to aim for the same goals. In B2C, the goal is to reach a high volume of leads or get customers to place an order as fast as possible, usually within a single visit to the site.

In B2B, on the other hand, playing the long game is key, as your target market will take as much time as they need to decide if they really need your product. This means getting quality leads or leads that see a need for your product (instead of just being spammed), being the trait that matters more in B2B.

The target audience for B2B includes business managers and decision-makers, so it doesn’t make sense for them to have the same target as B2C SEO, which often has a high volume of leads.

As mentioned, the B2B sales cycle could take weeks, if not months, to complete, so B2B SEO’s common goal is to obtain qualified leads that will stay for the long term.

Keyword Optimization

Keyword optimization is a tedious aspect of both B2B and B2C SEO.

Since the sales cycle usually takes a long time in B2B because of the number of people involved in the decision-making phase, B2B companies typically focus on more technical and informative keywords that appeal to audiences from all levels of the buyer’s journey.

The main problem with this is that in B2B, there’s often no single standard for what a particular concept or idea is called.

Let’s use this article as an example. If you stumbled upon this article from Google, you might have used any of the following keyword variations:

•    B2B search engine optimization
•    business-to-business SEO
•    B2B vs B2C
•    keyword optimization B2B

You get the idea.

On the other hand, the trouble in B2C keyword research is the usually high search volume of keywords in the niche. Therefore, the challenge for B2C companies is finding keywords that are not too saturated but still have a decent flow of traffic that could be converted to leads on your site.

Link Building

Because the market for B2B and B2C brands hang out in different spots online, each type also uses different strategies for promotion and link building.

Often, the target audience for B2C SEO usually hangs out in popular social media networks like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, so it makes sense to optimize a link-building strategy that will build on those platforms.

On the other hand, B2B link-building is a lot more challenging because it targets a more specific group of audience and has a longer sales cycle.

Due to B2B’s longer sales cycles, link building has to incorporate keywords from all levels of the buyer’s journey—from the product and awareness to decision making to ensure that whatever stage their potential customer may discover them, they can make a great first impression for their brand and make the buyer’s journey as quick as possible.

The nature of link-building efforts for each type also differs. B2C requires a more flashy, clickbaity approach, while B2B ideally aims to educate potential customers wherever they may be in the buying stage.

As for both business types, randomly asking for backlinks won’t work either. You have to pick relevant sites that are relevant to your niche or risk getting penalized by Google.

B2B & B2C SEO: Differentiation Conclusion

While B2B may require a little more elbow grease because of its longer buying process, SEO is a strategy that needs constant adjustment for both B2B & B2C SEO. Google is ever improving its algorithms to “punish” those who use bad practices like “keyword stuffing,” so as long as you regularly evaluate your SEO strategy, you’re good to go.

Are you outsourcing your SEO services to a third party or doing it in-house? What aspects of B2B/B2C SEO do you prioritize the most? Share it with us in the comment section below!
You can also check out our work and milestones to scale brands with our marketing strategies. 

Reach out to us at hello@firstlaunch.com if you’re looking to hire an SEO company in Bangalore