Investments in B2B websites have traditionally been much smaller than B2C counterparts. Often the approach has been somewhat minimalistic, incorporating only what is necessary to have a credible presence. The creation and addition of what some deem “supplemental” content often gets pushed aside as other marketing initiatives take priority.
While this may seem prudent in terms of the marketing budget, it is actually hurting your site from a search marketing perspective.
Search engines like content. Assuming your site’s content is properly optimized, not only does having more content on your site increase the chances of being found for a diverse range of search terms, it also helps the search engines assess which sites represent authoritative sources on a given topic, which is important in search engine result rankings. If your site is a rich repository on a narrow topic, it’s more likely that search engines will see your site as authoritative on that particular subject.
I recently spoke as part of the B2B search marketing panel at SMX West on the issue of how keyword strategy impacts site architecture in the B2B realm. To be found for a specific search term, there needs to be an optimized landing page on the website that revolves around that search term. And because of the lack of shared lexicons in most B2B verticals (i.e., there are several different words regular used to describe the same thing), this creates the need for content-rich B2B sites with expanded site architecture. That means more pages, organized in an intuitive, easily navigable architecture.
Recently, there was a good article by Thomas Schmitz at Portent Interactive entitled B2B Marketing | Expanding Your Web Site Content. The article detailed some of the reasons why you should be looking to expand your site’s content. Expanding your site’s content, however, can be a daunting task. In February 2007, I wrote an article regarding tips and sources for quickly creating optimized content for B2B search marketing. Most likely, you already have existing source material in other media. You just need to repurpose that information and get it posted on your site.
It may be a daunting task, but the rewards are well worth it. When done correctly, you’ll see increases both in the traffic to your site and in the quality of your visitors.
I’m looking to expand my copywriting services to include writing for B2B SEO. This article and those you’ve linked to have provided a great source of information to help make sure I can do this competently and professionally, and not just as some hack who jumped into it because it’s the Next Big Thing. Thanks!