It may sound ironic, but not all businesses have customers, some businesses simply deal with other businesses. Then again, technically speaking, when it comes to business to business companies, the businesses themselves become the customers. Confused? Semantics aside, there is a significant difference between the business strategies followed by B2B and B2C companies. To take into account this difference, it is important to organize your SEO strategy to suit your specific company profile, whether it is B2B or B2C. This blog highlights the key differences between B2B SEO and B2C SEO:

Marketing Goals: Leads vs. Sales

The aim of the business to business marketing is to generate leads and engage new clients. B2B SEO focuses on promoting your services and building long term relationships with other businesses. If you are a B2B company, you need to create awareness about your brand and services by giving clients as much information as possible. On the other hand, B2C marketing has a short term goal that focuses on making sales or increasing website traffic. To put it plainly, B2B SEO seeks to create a business relationship with a new client, while B2C SEO seeks to boost sales.

Keyword Selection: Industry-specific vs. Generic

Keywords are the backbone and the most important factor of any SEO campaign. The keyword selection process for a B2B SEO campaign is slightly different because the buying cycle in the business to business sector is more complex. B2B SEO tends to use more technical keywords intended to target a specific audience. Just to give you an idea, when it comes to B2B marketing, the keywords with the highest buyer intent tends to be 'best' plus the keyword of your particular service. For example, 'Best Interior Designers.'

Content: Simple vs. Technical

If the keyword selection is different for B2B SEO and B2C SEO, then it follows the content you create for your campaign will also be different. Since business to business services often require detailed explanations, your content should include all the required information so as to give your audience a clear idea about your company. While B2C SEO tends to shy away from technical jargon, on account of the complexity of the services and products, B2B SEO embraces it. When your target audience is the customer you will try to make your content creative and catchy; however, if you want to engage business, you need to make sure you detailed descriptions, videos, and access to technical support.

Building Relationships: Long Term vs. Short Term

B2B businesses focus on building long term relationships based on shared business values and company goals. B2B marketing and SEO allows you to get in touch with other companies and share your work ethic in an effort to build a more personal relationship. On the other hand, the main aim behind B2C SEO is not so much to build a relationship but to encourage customers to make a purchase. In the context of business to consumer SEO, the relationship is transactional and short term, with an ultimate focus on selling the product or service.