How To Perform Better B2B Keyword Research (2024)

B2B keyword research and SEO optimization are tools that can aid in the growth of any organization. However, knowing how to use them correctly is critical.
SIA Team
January 3, 2024

In today’s fast-paced business world, having the upper hand for reaching clients and other businesses is essential. Knowing how to use business-to-business (B2B) keywords can be the difference between success or failure in a company.

As more and more companies become familiar with utilizing keyword research, it becomes more critical for businesses to be proficient in the skill. Knowing how to use keyword research is the first step.

B2B Keyword research and SEO optimization are tools that can help build any business into a successful one. But knowing how to use them properly is essential.

business to customer

Why B2B Research is Different

Knowing your subject is the foundation for building your company, but what do you do with that information? 

This is where the internet becomes your most valuable resource. An abundance of tools examine and analyze keywords from websites, giving you the building blocks for your optimization.

B2B research is what gives you the upper hand against competitors when clients and customers search for your product. It isn’t enough to have a website; that website must also have visibility in the search results.

B2B keyword research takes information about your company and others into account. It allows you to analyze what search terms work for your business and competitors to better tailor your marketing.

As you begin your research, there are two main areas: qualitative and quantitative data.

qualitative vs quantitative data

Qualitative Data

Qualitative data is what shows your company or product’s value in the real world. Interviews, reviews, and focus groups are some of the ways to obtain qualitative data and see how the public views your service or product. 

This looks at your customers’ experiences and impressions, which can be challenging to measure in any numerical way but gives insights into how the quantitative data translates to real people. Understanding how to interact with this data leads to a greater understanding of your customers.

quantitative data translates to real people

Quantitative Data

Quantitative data is what numbers-folks love. It gives tangible information about how a keyword helps your web traffic and how your business translates into growth and sales. This type of data is more objective and easier to track both long and short term.

There are benefits to both types of data, and both should be considered as you research your B2B keywords and marketing strategies.

B2B Keyword Research Tips

B2B Keyword Research Tips

Learning how to optimize your keywords will save time and money, adding to productivity and positive business results.

Find Your Niche

1. Find Your Niche

Your business has a specific product or service it provides and knowing how to market that is step one. If your product focuses on health and wellness, it makes sense for your advertising and keywords to fall within that category. 

Knowing your niche helps you find your target audience – the people who need your product. Asking for information and qualitative data from current customers is an excellent way to determine what it is that keeps them coming back for your product.

Research into who needs your product or service but hasn’t yet found your company comes next. The qualitative data can also help guide you toward other resources to build your customer base.

Online forums are beneficial for finding keywords and needs within your niche. Reddit and other places where people discuss products and companies provide valuable insight.

Choose Your Keywords

2. Choose Your Keywords

When people begin a web search for an item, they usually start with a generic search term. This will provide them with an overwhelming number of results, and you want your website to be in the top 1-5 results.

Choosing your base keywords uses broad terms to define your services. For example, if you offer house painting services, your keywords should be house painting, painting, and painting your house.

From there, you can add more specific terms, but if you leave out the most basic, you’ll miss those first searches from customers who haven’t yet figured out the details of what they’re looking for.

Determine Competitor Keywords

3. Determine Competitor Keywords

Every business uses keywords and SEO to promote their websites and products, so as you are building your own content, knowing what works for competitors is essential. Web tools such as SEMRush provide SEO tools for analyzing web content.

Analyzing which keywords are most successful for competitors gives your business a starting point to build. These SEO tools can show you the top search results for any keyword, telling you if your website will appear in the correct customer or business searches.

Look for secondary search terms

4. Secondary Search Terms

When you’re confident that your primary keywords are set, you can start looking at secondary search terms. When you type in a Google search, the predictive text shows what other people have been searching. For example, a Google search for house painting suggests:

  • House painting cost
  • House painting near me
  • House painting ideas
  • House painting apps
  • House painting cost exterior
  • House painting companies
  • House painting supplies

And that’s just the beginning. Those longer search terms are the most popular keywords related to your business, so utilizing them in your SEO content means your business will be more readily visible to new clients and businesses.

Another excellent tool is the Google Ads Keyword Planner, which will show you what keywords you’ll want to optimize in your Google Ads. While the planner is specific to Google Ads, it is helpful across the search engine and can be used whether or not you subscribe to Google Ads.

Unique Selling Points

5. Unique Selling Points

When building your keyword database, consider what it is you provide that nobody else in your field does. Do you provide house painting by hiring strong workers, or do you hire retired circus monkeys? Utilize that unique perspective to help find clients in ways your competitors can’t.

Even your company’s location can be used as a keyword, as clients from New York probably don’t want to hire house painters from Oregon. Be specific, be clear, and be bold in your search terms.

Stay Up-to-Date

6. Stay Up-to-Date

Keywords don’t need to stagnate. Once you’ve set up your keywords, don’t just walk away and let them work without evaluation. Use your tools to see what keywords drive traffic to your site and how your site ranks with others based on those keywords.

Like every part of your business, keywords will adapt based on your business needs. If your keywords aren’t working for you, change them. If they are, boost them. Either way, it’s essential to stay on top of the data to make informed decisions.

Keyword Research Makes the Difference

Keyword Research Makes the Difference

When your sweet Aunt built her website to sell sweaters and other knitted goods, she probably relied on word-of-mouth to share with friends and reach clients. While that’s an excellent choice for smaller entrepreneurs, it isn’t a solid business model.

To support your business in growing, you’ll need to reach a more extensive client base than a simple word-of-mouth campaign will provide. Keyword research gives you the knowledge to reach a broader clientele, more businesses, and to see continuing growth.

Adapting with your business is essential in all aspects, but especially with marketing. Utilizing the internet to reach new heights by building your keywords and knowing B2B research will ensure long-term business success.