SEO, SEA, SEM – The Best Strategy for Your B2B Marketing

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO focuses on optimizing the website and its content so that they appear higher in the organic search results on platforms like Google and others. This allows you to attract more potential customers without directly paying for it. Important SEO measures include:

• Keyword analysis and optimization
• High-quality, relevant, and unique content
• OnPage optimization (optimizing titles, meta descriptions, header tags, etc.)
• Structured data and Schema.org
• Link building and backlinks
• Optimization for mobile devices and loading speed

SEO is designed to increase the relevance and visibility of your website in search results by optimizing it for search engines like Google. By creating high-quality and relevant content, you can meet the needs of your target audience and better address their search intentions. This is a long-term process that generates sustainable, organic traffic.

SEA (Search Engine Advertising)

SEA is a form of online advertising where companies pay for the placement of their ads in the sponsored search results on search engines like Google. The advantages of SEA lie in rapid visibility and the ability to target specific audiences. Important SEA measures include:

• Campaign planning and structuring
• Keyword research and segmentation
• Creation of ad texts and landing pages
• Bidding strategies and budget management
• A/B testing and ad optimization
• Target group segmentation and retargeting

SEA allows you to quickly and specifically position your website where potential customers are looking for your products or services. Through paid ads on search engine results pages, you reach a larger audience and can address your target group more effectively. SEA offers immediate visibility and allows you to achieve short-term goals.

Which Strategy Best Suits Your Goals?

The best choice for your company depends on your goals, resources, and the competitive environment. A combination of SEO and SEA is usually sensible to achieve both long-term and short-term results. For a long-term, sustainable presence and organic reach, SEO is crucial. If you are aiming for quick results and a targeted approach to potential customers, SEA is the right approach. Analyze your specific requirements and test various approaches to find out which strategy best suits your goals.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is an important part of the digital strategy for B2B companies to attract more potential customers and strengthen their online presence. It includes two important approaches: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Advertising (SEA), which together contribute to making your website more visible in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

SEM (Search Engine Marketing):

The umbrella term for all measures aimed at gaining website visitors via the SERPs.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

Strategies and techniques for optimizing your website and content to appear higher in organic search results without paying for clicks.

SEA (Search Engine Advertising):

Paid advertising where you pay for the placement of your ads in the sponsored search results on search engines like Google to generate immediate traffic and targeted user engagement.

A successful B2B digital strategy relies on a combination of SEO and SEA to achieve both long-term and short-term goals. By utilizing the strengths of both approaches, you increase your online visibility and promote your company's growth.

As a company website operator, you should be well-acquainted with both SEM areas, SEO and SEA, to optimize your online presence and acquire potential customers. Both approaches are important for a successful B2B digital strategy.

Pull Marketing:

Both approaches, SEO and SEA, follow the principle of pull marketing. They help potential customers find the desired information, products, or services instead of imposing content on them unsolicited. This can make your B2B marketing measures more targeted and effective.

A smart combination of SEO and SEA is the key to a successful online strategy for B2B companies, as it covers both long-term and short-term goals and optimally meets the needs of the target audience.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important aspect of online marketing for B2B companies, as it leads to higher visibility in organic search results in the long term. To place your website higher in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), there are various measures that you can divide into OnPage and OffPage SEO.

OnPage-SEO

OnPage SEO includes all measures that are implemented directly on your website to make it optimized for search engines and visitors. Important OnPage SEO factors are:

Keywords

Through targeted placement of relevant keywords, you improve the relevance of your website for the search engine and visitors.

Content

Create high-quality, informative, and unique content that is relevant to your target audience.

Meta Tags

Optimize title tags and meta descriptions for each page to describe the content and increase click-through rates.

Header Tags

Use headings (H1, H2, H3) to structure the content and highlight important keywords.

URL Structure

Keep the URLs short, readable, and include relevant keywords.

Internal Linking

Link your own pages to each other to create a clear structure and easy navigation.

Website Performance

Ensure fast loading times and good user-friendliness, as search engines rank websites with better performance higher.

OffPage-SEO

OffPage SEO refers to external factors that lie outside your website and influence your ranking. Important OffPage SEO factors are:

Backlinks

Acquire high-quality, relevant links from other websites to your website.

Social Media

Be active on social networks and promote interaction with your content.

Brand Reputation

Build a strong online reputation and publish positive reviews.

Local SEO

Optimize your presence in local search results, especially for companies with a physical location. A balanced combination of OnPage and OffPage SEO measures will positively impact your rankings and online visibility. Create a clear SEO strategy and systematically work on optimizing your website and online presence.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important strategy for companies to improve their online presence and attract potential customers. However, SEO also has its advantages and disadvantages that should be considered when planning your online marketing strategy.

The best choice for your company depends on your goals, resources, and the competitive environment. A combination of SEO and SEA is usually sensible to achieve both long-term and short-term results. For a long-term, sustainable presence and organic reach, SEO is crucial. If you are aiming for quick results and a targeted approach to potential customers, SEA is the right approach. Analyze your specific requirements and test various approaches to find out which strategy best suits your goals.

Advantages of SEO

Sustainable, Organic Traffic

SEO generates organic traffic for your website in the long term when done correctly.

Cost-Efficient

Compared to other forms of online advertising, SEO can be more cost-efficient, as the main effort lies in the initial optimization.

Target Group-Oriented

SEO allows you to specifically address your target audience by optimizing content and keywords that are relevant to them.

Trustworthiness

Websites that are ranked high in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) are considered more reliable and of higher quality.

Competitive

Investments in SEO can help you stand out from your competitors and achieve a better market position.

Disadvantages of SEO

Time Commitment

SEO requires time and patience, as the results are not immediately visible. It can take months for your measures to bear fruit.

Complexity

SEO is a complex field that is constantly evolving. It requires specific knowledge and expertise.

Algorithm Updates

Search engines like Google regularly change their algorithms, which can lead to unpredictable changes in rankings.

Dependence on External Factors

OffPage SEO factors like backlinks depend on external sources and are not always easy to control.

Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of SEO against each other and decide how much effort you want to invest in this area. A combination of SEO and other marketing channels can help you maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages.

SEA - Search Engine Advertising

Search Engine Advertising (SEA) is an important component in online marketing to quickly gain visibility and generate targeted traffic to your website. By placing paid ads on the search results pages, you can be found for relevant keywords for which rankings have not yet been built up through SEO or for which it is difficult to rank in the organic search results.

Goals of Search Engine Advertising

The main goal of SEA is to quickly gain visibility for relevant keywords to direct targeted traffic to your website. SEA is particularly suitable for the (re-)launch of a website, the introduction of new products or services, or for short-term projects such as campaigns.

Choice of Platform

Various platforms are available for SEA, with Google Ads being the market leader. Besides Google, Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads) is also interesting because it offers a special advantage for B2B companies: professional targeting. By using LinkedIn data, you can address your target audience based on their professional background, which is advantageous for marketing non-commodity B2B products or in saturated markets. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of SEA and adapt your strategy to increase your website's visibility and achieve your marketing goals. Combine SEA with other marketing channels and SEO to build a comprehensive online presence and endure in the long term.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of SEA

In summary, the advantages of SEA can be presented as follows:

Advantages:

• Quick boost for website visibility.
• Possibility to (almost) guarantee ranking for important keywords.
• Targeted ad alignment with the target audience using LinkedIn targeting.
• However, there are also disadvantages that should be considered:

Disadvantages:

• Organic search results receive more trust and clicks.
• The visibility gained through ads is not sustainable.
• However, by analyzing the results of your SEA campaigns, you can gain valuable insights for your SEO strategy and optimally combine the two approaches.
• Consider both sides of SEA and decide how you can integrate this approach into your marketing strategy. Adjust the balance between SEO and SEA to achieve both short-term visibility and long-term, sustainable success.

Differences Between B2B and B2C SEM

Although the basic principles of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are similar for B2B and B2C companies, there are important differences in strategic orientation and implementation. These differences result from the purchasing process, user behavior, and the specific requirements of B2B decision-makers.

Purchasing Process

Compared to B2C purchases, B2B decision-making processes are longer and more complex. Therefore, it is important that B2B websites are findable multiple times and provide comprehensive information. SEO is indispensable for product and service pages, and integrated landing pages are often better suited than isolated landing pages or microsites. A well-maintained company blog with the right keywords also contributes to persuasion.

User Behavior

B2B decision-makers specifically search for products and services for their companies, while B2C customers tend to browse and make spontaneous purchase decisions. Therefore, B2B websites must be clearly structured and goal-oriented to meet the needs of professional searchers.

Industry Expertise

B2B decision-makers look for solutions tailored to their specific industry and company requirements. It is therefore important to clearly demonstrate one's own expertise in the respective trade and communicate why one's company is the best choice for the targeted customers. Consider these differences between B2B and B2C SEM when developing your online marketing strategy. Analyze user behavior, adapt your website structure, and position yourself as an expert in your industry to build a sustainable presence and achieve your marketing goals.

Keywords and Search Volume

The choice of keywords and consideration of search volume differ between B2B and B2C SEM. In the B2C sector, keywords are often filtered out based on a minimum search volume, while in the B2B sector, even keywords with a lower search volume can lead to significant revenues, as capital goods are often involved. Therefore, consider the peculiarities of your industry and the price segment of your products and services when selecting keywords. We are happy to advise you on the selection and optimization of your SEM strategy.

Content Strategy

In the B2B sector, the alignment of informational and transactional content is particularly important. Creating a company blog offers the opportunity to inform visitors about subject areas while also making subtle references to one's own offerings. This contributes to building expertise and supports the purchasing decision of potential customers. We will help you develop your content strategy and align transactional and informational content so that they are optimally tailored to your target audience and contribute to achieving your marketing goals. In the next section, we will highlight the advantages of SEO for B2B companies.

B2B SEM at Relaunch and Beyond – Optimally Combining SEO and SEA

Below we present three strategies for successful B2B SEM where both SEO and SEA play a role:

The Dual Visibility Strategy

The goal of this strategy is to occupy high positions in both paid and organic search results. To do this, you use the insights from paid ads to optimize the SEO landing pages and enter a continuous improvement process. This strategy makes sense if your SEA ads are already delivering good results and you can draw useful conclusions for SEO optimization from them.

The Up and Down Strategy

This also involves high rankings in both search result areas. However, the budget for SEA ads is reduced as soon as top rankings are achieved in the organic results, in order to save costs and still ensure high visibility. This is particularly advantageous for expensive keywords.

The Killer SEO Strategy

Here, the focus is exclusively on optimizing SEO landing pages and dispensing with paid advertising. This strategy can prove to be effective with a low budget and less competitive keywords. Due to the long-term nature of SEO, however, you should also expect a certain delay until the desired results are achieved. The decisive factor for the right strategy is your individual starting position, the degree of competition in your market, and the available budget. We are happy to advise you on the selection of the appropriate SEM strategy. In the next section, we will summarize why you, as a B2B company, should definitely invest in Search Engine Marketing.

The Pull Back Strategy

With the Pull Back Strategy, keywords are initially heavily advertised via SEA ads until the rankings in the organic search results have improved. Subsequently, the paid ads for the corresponding keywords are paused, and the budget thus freed up is invested in the optimization of further landing pages. This strategy is ideal if your marketing budget is limited. Work with a professional content marketing agency to determine which of the presented B2B SEM strategies best suits your requirements or whether an individual combination can lead to more success.

B2B Companies Benefit from Search Engine Marketing

As a B2B company, invest in Search Engine Marketing to be successful in the long term. It offers numerous advantages such as higher visibility, more traffic and leads, cost control, better target audience reach, and longer-term positioning. Work with an experienced SEO agency to find the right SEM strategies for your company and achieve your goals.

B2B Marketing on a Path to Success: Optimize Your Digital Potential with the Right SEO, SEA, and SEM Strategy – Concluding Thoughts

We hope this article has given you a helpful insight into the world of Search Engine Marketing for B2B companies and has inspired you with the benefits of this marketing channel. With the right approach and the support of an experienced agency, you can fully exploit your company's potential in the digital competition. In conclusion, we can state that a clever combination of SEO, SEA, and SEM is crucial for the success of your B2B marketing. Through the right mix of organic and paid measures, you can increase your visibility, specifically target your audience, and significantly expand your market share. Don't forget to regularly review and adjust your strategy to meet the constantly growing competition in the digital world. We wish you great success in implementing your digital marketing strategy!