While small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy, they are also more vulnerable than larger companies. Startups, in particular, tend to have limited resources. This can make growing and dealing with unforeseen circumstances, like the Covid pandemic, more challenging.
However, small businesses are innovative, and their ability to adapt rapidly can make them surprisingly resilient. Tactics like SEO (search engine optimisation) can help B2B startups grow organically.
The total number of small businesses in the UK has fallen from 5.9 million in 2020 to 5.5 million in 2022. But despite this drop, SMEs still account for 99.9% of the UK's business population, and this fact is unlikely to change any time soon.
The total number of small businesses in the UK has fallen from 5.9 million in 2020 to 5.5 million in 2022. But despite this drop, SMEs still account for 99.9% of the UK's business population, and this fact is unlikely to change any time soon.
Marketing is one of the constant issues SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) face. In order to find new customers, businesses must first find ways to increase visibility and brand recognition by boosting traffic and sales.
The task of marketing can be particularly tough for B2B (business-to-business) startups. Limited resources and a more niche target audience make finding and maintaining more customers a challenge.
These difficulties are also part of why SEO for B2B startups is such a good choice. SEO helps attract pre-qualified users, and SEO traffic is technically free. As a result, it's one of the most cost-effective digital marketing tactics and can help businesses find the right clients, namely those already looking for related products or services.
Today, people increasingly rely on the internet for everything from information to communication and entertainment.
Over two-thirds of the global population are now internet users. In Western European countries like the UK, internet penetration is estimated to be as high as 93.5% of the population. And not only are more people accessing the internet, but these people are spending more and more time online.
And search engines are at the core of internet use. A recent survey by Forrester found that an estimated 74% of consumers use search engines to research, compare, and purchase products.
Businesses must use digital marketing tools like search engine optimisation (SEO) to their advantage to grow and develop in this modern market.
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Search engine optimisation (SEO for short) is an inbound marketing technique. During SEO, websites and content are optimised in order to rank more highly on SERPs (search engine results pages).
When SEO first came about, keywords were the focus. Businesses were simply finding which keywords were most searched around their business and inserting these into their websites.
Unfortunately, some still believe that SEO is all about finding and adding the right words and phrases. However, both search engines and how people use the web have come a long way since then. Today, SEO is an umbrella term which covers various branch strategies, including making technical website adjustments, link building, and, most importantly, writing high-quality content.
SEO for B2B startups involves many of the same best practices as regular B2C (business-to-consumer) search engine optimisation. However, there are some notable differences that B2Bs should watch out for.
One of the biggest differences between optimising a site for individual consumers versus other businesses is purchase time. Simply put, companies tend to take more time to decide if they will purchase a product or service because more people are involved in making decisions.
SEO for B2Bs must account for this, for instance, by offering more middle-funnel content and contact or consultation options for those interested in your business and the problems you help solve.
Another significant difference specific to SEO is how businesses choose keywords. In most B2Cs, the most relevant keywords have high search volumes. However, keywords tend to have much lower search volumes in B2Bs, where your audience is smaller and more niche.
Of course, keywords with lower search volumes can still be worth pursuing. In particular, you should look for keywords with a lower search volume and higher CPC (cost-per-click) since these tend to be the terms with the highest conversion rates.
There are a few more differences, including how you should write content and if (and where) you should post on social media, that we'll discuss in more detail in our SEO strategies section.
Before diving into SEO, it's worth considering the purpose of your website. For many businesses, their website is a critical part of the buyer journey, from gaining awareness to facilitating transactions.
But this is not always the case. For some B2B companies, their website is rarely used for sales. Instead, its purpose is to support and promote the brand's image, helping potential customers get to know the company and providing helpful information.
Since search engine optimisation boosts website visibility and traffic, it will support your website with its purpose. Thus, while SEO can benefit businesses no matter their website's purpose, it is more valuable when websites play a more prominent role in selling products.
As a B2B startup, you must consider your investments carefully, including whether or not SEO is worthwhile at your current stage of development and what you want to achieve if you choose to use it.
The cost of a strategy is always essential to consider. This is perhaps never more true than in startup businesses, where funds tend to be tight, and you may not have much of a dedicated marketing budget or team to work with.
One of the reasons why search engine optimisation is so attractive to emerging businesses is that it is incredibly cost-effective. SEO doesn't require a considerable monetary investment to offer notable rewards.
Moreover, the fact that SEO aims to attract customers organically by meeting them where they're searching allows even smaller and less well-known businesses to stand toe-to-toe with larger competitors.
SEO is a holistic digital marketing approach. It's not just one strategy that you must complete to improve your ranking on SERPs, but rather a collection of connected tactics that work side by side to help search engines and consumers find, stay on, and
A good SEO strategy should help your startup:
Below, we've listed some of the most critical elements to include in your B2B startup SEO campaign.
A decade ago, search engine optimisation began gaining traction in the mainstream marketing world. At this stage, SEO was focused mainly on stuffing websites with keywords.
Today, search engines and internet users have come a long way, and the methods of finding and using SEO keywords have become more nuanced.
With so many keywords around, deciding which ones you should be targeting can be tricky. We suggest splitting the terms you find into funnel stages, namely informational and buyer searches. You can also group similar keywords by including them in one piece of content or related topic pieces.
Typically the best buyer stage B2B keywords have a lower search volume and higher CPC (cost per click).
Search intent must be at the forefront of your mind when choosing which keywords to target and planning how and where to use them.
As search engines have evolved, they have become better at detecting which websites provide the best answers for users. Understanding what information and solutions people seek when searching specific terms will ensure that your content matches your target audience.
You must be strategic when using keywords. Ideally, you should use them once in the first 50 words of your text and then strategically throughout.
Importantly, you should not overuse keywords. When the practice of SEO first emerged, keyword stuffing was commonplace. However, search engines today have come a long way and can now detect when keywords are used too often. In such instances, search engines may view the content as spam and penalise it, meaning it will not be highly ranked.
In addition, search engines are now far more focused on providing the best user experience. Therefore, websites must also take a user-first approach. This means avoiding overusing keywords or directly inserting grammatically incorrect search terms, which make texts less readable and drive audiences away, thus lowering your SERP ranking.
Content is one of the most powerful and effective tools in an SEO campaign.
Unfortunately, many people beginning their B2B SEO journey overlook the importance of content and, if they do use it, don't know how to implement a content strategy to get the best results.
Topic clusters are a great way to plan and arrange content.
Topic clusters essentially mean you write several pieces of content, each connected to a broader topic or sub-topic.
This approach can help even small businesses to improve their perceived authority, especially since when one piece in the cluster does well, it positively impacts the rankings of the other content. Topic clusters are particularly beneficial because search engines like Google rank websites based on E-A-T (expertise, authority, trustworthiness) quality guidelines.
Clusters are usually centred around top-funnel topics since there's more interest in informational content than in pieces directly related to purchasing. So it makes sense to produce more general informational content to capture attention and build perceptions of your expertise.
Ideally, you should develop an action plan for your content marketing strategy. This will include what topics you will cover and what format they will be in.
Understanding the search intent behind various keywords can help inform which topics you should write about and which problems your content should solve.
Researching what top-ranking competitors are producing can be especially useful in understanding what content formats people click on. It can also offer insights into if there are any keywords or terms you're not currently including that you should.
When producing SEO content, some believe the best approach is to stick to a relatively formal and rigid tone of voice. While this may seem professional, it is not very reader-friendly. People don't like to read dull content, so you should ensure your content is well-written, professional, and approachable.
Small B2B businesses often assume their audience knows the industry and topics as well as they do. But this is not always the case. So use technical terminology sparingly and include simple explanations to clarify things for non-experts. This way, you can use specialised keywords while keeping potential clients engaged.
Backlinks are links on other websites which connect back to your business. These links are more challenging to build but can majorly impact your Google E-A-T (expertise, authority, and trustworthiness) rating.
Even small businesses can gain backlinks with the right approach, for instance, by linking to your partners and asking if they could do the same for you on their website. In addition, web Choice experts enhance backlinks by posting engaging content on third-party websites and social media platforms like LinkedIn.
Often, when discussing the importance of links, the entire focus is on backlinks. However, internal links are undeniably important too.
User experience is increasingly considered to be the heart of excellent businesses and marketing strategies. You want to do everything in your power to ensure that those visiting your website have an easy time finding everything they're looking for. You also want to encourage those who land on your site to stay. Internal links support both of these.
Wherever relevant, you should connect users to other valuable pages on your site. These pages don't have to be directly related to sales (though they can be). For instance, you can link to relevant blogs on mentioned topics since this allows your reader to discover more without making the initial page too long or complicated.
Attracting your target audience can take time and effort. Unlike B2C companies, B2B startups have a smaller and more specific ideal client. As a B2B startup, you will likely be marketing your products or services to those in particular jobs and industries.
Creating buyer personas can provide a clearer picture of precisely who you are marketing to and how you can best appeal to them.
Part of the difficulty of B2B digital marketing methods, like SEO, is balancing the requirements of your audience. On the one hand, you want to appeal to businesses and must persuade them that your product or service can offer value to their company.
On the other hand, businesses are ultimately run by people. Therefore, you must also consider how to appeal rationally and emotionally to the people within the companies you are targeting.
Analysing your website can help you better understand where your SEO campaign is strongest and where improvements are still needed.
SEO is ever-changing. Between Google updates and new trends in your industry, search terms, and search intent, what works at one time may be less effective in the future. You can boost growth by updating your content and strategy and adjusting your SEO plan if you remain aware of the latest trends.
Startups are often very hands-on. You're used to getting involved in various areas of your business, and you may be considering whether you should also handle optimising your site in-house.
Following our advice above will improve your chances of reaching more new customers, even if you're working alone. But, of course, this is a challenging path to take, and success is not guaranteed.
If you're serious about boosting your business and website, working with specialists is often the best way forward. Those familiar with SEO will ensure you follow the best practices, meaning you are more likely to climb the SERP rankings for the correct search terms, resulting in more qualified leads landing on your website.
While hiring help is more expensive, it provides better results. Plus, companies like Web Choice can provide highly cost-effective SEO services for B2B startups, so the costs may not be as high as you imagine.
Ultimately, search engine optimisation is one of the cheapest and longest-term digital marketing strategies available. And Web Choice provides expert-led search engine optimisation services tailored to better match your needs and goals - serving clients globally with our Bristol SEO agency
Web Choice SEO for B2B startups and other small businesses starts from as little as £1.5K ($1.8K) monthly.
For this cost, our team will provide professional guidance and assistance from start to finish, ensuring you can improve your website visibility and traffic.
You should expect to start seeing results from your B2B SEO campaign in around 6 months. However, significant changes in business visibility, website traffic, and sales may take longer if you are in a particularly competitive market.
At Web Choice, we understand that 6 months is a long time to wait with no ROI (return on investment), especially for B2B startups. Therefore, our SEO strategies include a mix of short, medium, and long-term tactics. Our approach enables us to provide faster results that grow steadily over time.
