B2B Keyword Research Best Practices for Data-Driven Decisions

B2B keyword research is a crucial step in understanding your target audience's search behavior and optimizing your content for maximum visibility. This process involves identifying relevant keywords and phrases that your ideal customer is searching for.

To make data-driven decisions, it's essential to analyze your competitors' keyword strategies. For instance, a study found that the top 10 competitors in a particular industry are using an average of 150 keywords per page.

A keyword research tool can help you identify these keywords and phrases, but it's equally important to use them in a way that resonates with your audience. According to a report, 71% of B2B buyers prefer to learn about a product or service through content, rather than advertising.

By focusing on long-tail keywords, you can target specific search queries and attract high-quality leads. A study found that 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine, making keyword research a vital component of your digital marketing strategy.

Historical data can be a treasure trove for B2B keyword research. Looking at your site or your client's historical PPC and SEO data can help you find ideas for new content.

Analyzing historical SEO and PPC data can provide a wealth of keyword opportunities. Review top performing PPC ads and landing pages and consider how to optimize that content for organic search.

Your own historical analytics data can provide valuable insights into what's working and what's not. If your site has been around for a while, analyze specific queries and pages that have lost organic traffic over time.

By leveraging historical performance insights, you can uncover valuable information about past keyword rankings, search volumes, and overall organic performance. Enterprise-level tools like Brightedge and Conductor can help paint a comprehensive picture of the competitive SEO landscape.

Data-driven keyword research is the cornerstone of successful B2B SEO. By understanding user intent and anticipating trends, companies can gain a competitive edge and drive targeted traffic and qualified leads.

Historical data can also help you identify low-hanging fruit to optimize in the future. By analyzing historical performance data, you can identify emerging searches you may already be ranking for – just not well enough to get traffic from.

To understand your target audience in B2B SEO keyword research, it's essential to identify their search intent. This can be done by analyzing competitor content and using tools like Ahrefs to identify keywords they're ranking for.

Your target audience in B2B keyword research primarily consists of professionals such as SEO specialists, business owners, executives, product managers, marketing professionals, and sales teams who seek to understand the search intent and behavior of B2B customers.

To narrow down your target keywords, consider the following criteria: aligning with your brand, and selecting keywords that cater to the pain points of your audience. You can uncover these pain points by searching product forums and communities, competitor product reviews, customer service and support conversations, Quora and Reddit, and social media.

Here are the four main kinds of search intent to consider:

Understanding your target audience is crucial to creating effective content and marketing strategies. You can start by analyzing your competitors' content with similar offerings using tools like Ahrefs.

When reviewing competitor content, identify keywords their pages are ranking for, and analyze their service pages and top-ranking blog content to understand their search intent. This will help you identify a handful of keywords to export and review.

To target the right audience, you need to understand each query's search intent. There are four main kinds of intent: Informational, Transactional, Commercial, and Navigation. Informational intent can be identified with modifiers like "what is", "how to", or "when" or "where" in the search.

Transactional intent is when a user is looking to make a purchase, often with modifiers like "buy", "for sale", "services", or "solutions." However, always double-check manually, as some queries may result in listicles or service pages.

Commercial intent is the middle ground between informational and transactional intent, where the user is clearly interested in making a purchase but still requires more convincing. This often results in reviews or comparison pieces.

Navigation intent refers to when a user is searching for a specific page, often with branded queries like "IGN reviews" or "Starbucks menu."

In B2B SEO keyword research, you're targeting a professional audience, including SEO specialists, business owners, executives, product managers, marketing professionals, and sales teams. These individuals seek to understand the search intent and behavior of B2B customers to improve their online visibility and target potential clients.

To identify strong B2B keyword opportunities, uncover your audience's biggest pain points by searching for forums related to your product category and competitors, reading competitor product reviews, and analyzing customer service and support conversations.

Some of the best places to find pain points include product forums and communities, competitor product reviews, customer service and support conversations, Quora and Reddit, and social media. Identify themes from pain point research that align with your solutions and turn them into keyword targets for content.

To further refine your target audience, consider using job title modifiers in your keywords, ensuring your content resonates with potential customers. For example, using keywords like "project management solutions" can help you target individuals with specific job titles.

Here are the four main kinds of search intent:

Understanding your target audience's size or scale preferences is crucial to creating relevant content.

Keywords like "small saas business ideas" indicate the size of the business the user is looking for, giving you a clear direction for your content.

Understanding the scale of your target audience's needs can help you tailor your product or service to fit their requirements.

For instance, a user searching for "large scale e-commerce solutions" is likely looking for a comprehensive and robust solution, not a small or basic one.

Conducting keyword research is a crucial step in B2B SEO strategy. Effective keyword research helps you create content that resonates with your target audience at every stage of the buyer's journey.

To conduct keyword research, you can start by identifying seed keywords through brainstorming core industry terms and analyzing your website content. You can also use keyword research tools like Semrush and explore Google Autocomplete and Related Searches. Consider synonyms and variations of core terms to establish a strong foundation of seed keywords.

Here are top keyword modifier types to help refine and specify search intent:

By incorporating these keyword modifiers into your research, you can target a more specific audience and create content that addresses their needs and pain points.

Conducting keyword research is a crucial step in creating content that resonates with your target audience. To begin, you need to understand your audience and their search behavior, which can be achieved by reviewing competitor content with similar offerings.

Start by using tools like Ahrefs to identify keywords that your competitors are ranking for. Analyze their service pages and top-ranking blog content to get a sense of the keywords that are driving traffic to their site.

You should also be aware of each query's search intent. There are four main kinds of intent: informational, transactional, commercial, and navigational. Informational intent is when users are looking for information to solve a problem or answer a question, while transactional intent is when users are looking to make a purchase.

To identify long-tail keywords, use tools like Answer The Public and analyze Google SERP features. This will help you explore niche opportunities and identify long-tail variations that can attract qualified leads.

Here are some key steps to conduct keyword research:

By following these steps and using the right tools, you can conduct effective keyword research and create content that resonates with your target audience.

Location-based modifiers enhance local SEO by adding geographic information to your keywords. This helps businesses reach nearby customers effectively.

An example of this is a search for "local SaaS companies." This type of search query is likely to be made by someone looking for businesses in their area.

Location-based modifiers are a powerful tool for local businesses. They can help increase visibility and attract more customers.

By incorporating location-based modifiers into your keywords, you can target specific geographic areas. This can be especially useful for businesses with a physical presence.

Collaboration between SEO and content teams is crucial for success. This synergy ensures that keyword strategies translate into compelling, optimized content that resonates with B2B marketers and drives organic traffic.

Effective collaboration between SEO and content teams is essential for delivering measurable results in the competitive B2B landscape. Data-driven approaches that combine SEO and content teams can help businesses achieve this goal.

To foster a holistic approach to SEO, SEO specialists and content creators must work together. This collaboration is vital for aligning keyword strategies with compelling, optimized content that resonates with B2B marketers.

Identifying relevant business partners or collaborators in your industry is a key step in harnessing the potential of partnership and collaborative keywords. This involves understanding the context of these alliances, whether they entail joint ventures, co-marketing initiatives or shared resources.

By integrating partnership and collaborative keywords into your website content, you can optimize your content for search engines and signal your commitment to collaborative efforts.

Analyzing competitors and market is a crucial step in B2B keyword research. To get a better understanding of your target audience and identify relevant keywords, you need to analyze your competitors' keywords and identify gaps in the market.

To find relevant keywords, look for sites with a lot of overlap in terms of audience and topics you'd want to target. These sites should have similar domain authority and many linking domains to yours. You can use tools like Ahrefs to pull out terms from these sites and add them to your list.

When researching market pricing, for example, you may find a great SERP competitor who also ranks for "price waterfall", a term you want to target. You can then dive into that SERP and find new sites to research, which can provide more keyword ideas.

Here are some key things to look for in your competitors' backlinks:

Remember, competitor analysis is not a one-time thing. Keep an eye on your competitor's keywords regularly to refine your B2B keyword strategy.

Analyzing competitors and market can be a daunting task, especially when you're trying to balance volume and value in your keyword research. B2B marketers often struggle to find keywords that have sufficient search volume while being highly relevant to their specific offerings and target audience.

You've got to marry user search behavior with your brand positioning to ensure discoverability while maintaining your distinct market position. This means aligning the specific terms and phrases your target audience uses in searches with your brand's unique value proposition and messaging.

Understanding search intent is crucial, as it helps you decipher whether searchers are looking for information, comparisons, or ready to make a purchase. This information will help you tailor your content accordingly.

To strike the right balance between industry-specific terminology and friendly language, consider the following:

By understanding and addressing these challenges, you'll be better equipped to analyze competitors and market, and ultimately, drive success in your B2B endeavors.

Industry-Specific modifiers are a key component of effective keyword research. These keywords tailor your content to a specific industry or niche, making it more relevant to your target audience.

For example, the keyword "saas technology" indicates a specific interest in the software industry, which can help you create content that resonates with your target audience. This is particularly important for businesses looking to establish a strong online presence in a specific market.

Industry-specific modifiers can also help you avoid creating content that's too broad or generic, which can be a turn-off for potential customers. By focusing on specific keywords, you can create content that's more targeted and effective.

The keyword "saas technology" is a great example of how industry-specific modifiers can help you create more relevant content. By incorporating this keyword into your content, you can attract the attention of potential customers who are specifically interested in software technology.

Analyzing your competitors' websites can provide valuable insights into their keyword strategies. You can use tools like SpyFu to spy on their keywords and identify which ones are driving traffic to their websites.

To conduct a competitor analysis, you'll want to look for keywords they're using in their content, meta tags, and blog posts. This will help you understand their target audience and identify potential gaps in their strategy.

By analyzing your competitors' websites, you can uncover new keyword opportunities and refine your own keyword strategy. This is especially important in a competitive market like B2B SEO, where understanding your competitors' strengths and weaknesses is crucial.

A thorough competitor analysis can also help you identify content gaps and opportunities for differentiation in the search engine results pages (SERPs). This means looking for untapped niches and long-tail keyword variations that your competitors might have overlooked.

Here are some key areas to focus on during your competitor analysis:

By conducting a comprehensive competitor analysis, you can gain a deeper understanding of your competitors' strategies and identify new opportunities for growth and differentiation.

Identifying seed keywords is a critical component for a successful B2B strategy. This involves brainstorming core industry terms, analyzing website content, and gathering insights from sales teams and customers.

Use keyword research tools like Semrush to explore Google Autocomplete and Related Searches, and consider synonyms and variations of core terms. You can also use keyword modifiers to refine and specify search intent. For instance, if you offer hotel management software for the hospitality sector, key phrases like “hotel management software” and “hospitality industry” are essential.

Here are some keyword modifier types to consider:

Prioritize keywords with high value by analyzing search volume, competition, intent, relevance, ROI, and content fit. This will help you focus on keywords that align with your most important content goals and audience needs.

Companies often overlook keyword opportunities that can provide real value.

Certain types of keywords get overlooked or avoided in B2B content.

Exploring these areas can provide valuable insights and opportunities.

Contributing authors, chosen for their expertise, can create content that targets valuable keywords.

Their opinions are their own, but their expertise is valuable to readers.

B2B companies with sufficient leeway can target overlooked content types.

Contributions are checked for quality and relevance to readers.

Prioritizing keywords is a crucial step in a successful B2B strategy. This involves analyzing keywords based on search volume, competition, intent, relevance, ROI, and content fit. You can use keyword research tools like Semrush to explore Google Autocomplete and Related Searches, and consider synonyms and variations of core terms.

To prioritize keywords, focus on sufficient monthly search volume for relevance, target less competitive keywords where you can realistically rank, and identify keywords that indicate high intent to purchase or download. This will help you hone your target keyword list and align it to your most important content goals and audience needs.

You can use the following criteria to prioritize your keywords:

By applying these criteria, you can carve out dedicated time at the end of your research for keyword prioritization and ensure focus on terms that will drive the most significant impact.

To create a solid B2B keyword research foundation, you need to define clear goals. This involves aligning your keyword research objectives with your broader business goals, such as increased brand awareness, qualified leads, or higher conversions.

Gather existing resources, like past SEO documentation, keyword seed lists, or content plans, to avoid starting from scratch. Additionally, utilize historical paid search data, including click-through rate, conversion rate, or clicks impressions for search terms, to gain valuable insights into past performance and user behavior.

Thorough preparation and planning also involve utilizing free resources like search engine webmaster tools, such as Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. These tools can provide valuable insights into your website's current performance and user behavior, helping you identify existing keyword rankings and potential opportunities for improvement.

For a more comprehensive approach, consider investing in advanced enterprise SEO tools, like Conductor or Brightedge, which offer powerful features for keyword research, competitor analysis, and ongoing keyword tracking.

To finalize your research, prioritize your keyword list and upload it to your chosen SEO platform for tracking. Then, map your prioritized keywords to specific existing or net new content pieces to create a strategic content plan.

A well-crafted content plan is essential for B2B SEO success, and it's achieved by categorizing content based on current keyword rankings. This includes:

By integrating keywords strategically, B2B marketers can create a comprehensive content plan that not only improves SEO performance but also provides value to their audience throughout the buying process.