Boost Your Success: 10 SEO Steps for Increasing Online Visibility

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of improving your website and online content to increase its visibility when potential clients search for your products, services, or expertise. SEO combines technical website optimisation, quality content creation, and authority building to help your business appear prominently in search results when decision-makers are actively looking for solutions you provide, making it easier for qualified prospects to find and engage with your company.

Is SEO Essential for a B2B Business?

If your a B2B business seeking to improve your digital presence, SEO represents an ongoing strategic opportunity to capture qualified leads and establish market leadership. While the technical aspects may seem complex, a systematic, long-term approach, focused on your customer and industry’s specific needs, that incorporates developments in the way search is conducted, will drive sustainable results.  

In this article, we offer 10 practical SEO steps that follow SEO best practise, to help you improve your online visibility. But first, here are a few stats that help set the scene:

B2B Search Trends

Technical Decision-Makers Start with Search

According to Gartner’s B2B Buying Journey Report (2023), 83% of B2B buyers prefer ordering or paying through digital commerce. The Google/Millward Brown Digital B2B Path to Purchase Study shows that 71% of B2B researchers start their research with a generic search. This emphasises how critical search visibility is during the early stages of the B2B buying process.

SEO Builds Sustainable Technical Authority

Research from the 2023 Content Marketing Institute B2B Report indicates that 71% of B2B marketers say content marketing has become more important to their organisation in the last year, with organic search being a top channel for content distribution. This highlights how SEO and content work together to build lasting market authority.

Search Visibility Drives Qualified Opportunities

According to Forrester’s 2023 State of B2B Marketing Report, organic search drives 44% of B2B website visits, making it the leading traffic source for B2B companies. DemandGen’s 2023 B2B Buyer Behaviour Study reveals that 62% of B2B buyers rely more on online content to research and make purchasing decisions than they did the previous year.

10 Actionable Steps to Improve Your Brand’s Online Visibility

1. Understanding B2B SEO Fundamentals

B2B SEO differs fundamentally from consumer-focused optimisation. Your prospects are typically technical or business professionals conducting in-depth research across multiple sessions before making purchasing decisions. Key considerations include:

• Longer sales cycles requiring multiple touchpoints
• More complex, technical search queries
• Higher focus on expertise and credibility signals
• Multiple decision-makers in the buying process

Success in B2B SEO means optimising for both technical accuracy and search visibility while maintaining professional credibility throughout your digital presence.

2. Knowledge of SEO terms enables informed decision-making about your digital strategy

Digital marketing terminology can be overwhelming, and this is no less the case in the complex area of Search Engine Optimisation.  Understanding the key terms and practises used within SEO will enable you to accurately track and measure your SEO performance.

• SERP (Search Engine Results Page): Where your business appears in search results
• Domain Authority: Measures your website’s credibility and ranking potential
• Organic Traffic: Visitors reaching your site through non-paid search results
• Conversion Rate: Percentage of visitors taking desired actions
• Technical SEO: Backend optimisation affecting search performance
• On-Page SEO: Content and structure optimisation
• Backlinks: Quality links from other reputable websites
• Meta Descriptions: Search result previews of your pages

3. Understand B2B Search Behaviour Patterns

B2B buying journeys are complex, research-intensive processes heavily reliant on search engines and characterised by:

• Multiple research sessions across various channels
• Use of technical and industry-specific terminology
• In-depth information gathering before engagement
• Longer, more detailed search queries compared to B2C

According to Google/Gartner’s B2B Digital Experience Report (2023):

• 67% of B2B buyers start their purchase journey with broad search engine queries
• The average B2B buyer performs at least 27 information-gathering activities before making a purchasing decision

From the 2024 Content Marketing Institute B2B Report:

• 76% of B2B researchers use three or more channels during their buying journey
• Search remains the primary channel for B2B research, with an average session length 2-3x longer than B2C searches

Forrester’s 2023 State of B2B Marketing:

• 73% of B2B buyers now use more sources to research and evaluate purchases
• 58% of searches use industry-specific terminology and technical specifications

Understanding these patterns helps you create and position your content where it matters most in the B2B buyer journey.

4. Consistent B2B Keyword Strategy

The process of effective B2B keyword selection differs significantly from consumer SEO, with the following some of the key considerations:

• Identify industry-specific search terms
• Target buyer persona decision-maker language
• Optimise for long-tail professional queries
• Balance technical specificity with search volume
• Competitor keyword analysis

While AI has assisted greatly in the keyword research process, it remains essential that this element of your SEO is given careful attention in order to ensure you are prioritising the keywords that will deliver the best results for your business.

5. Optimising B2B Website Content

Content optimisation in B2B to improve searchability requires balancing technical accuracy with search visibility.  Some key considerations when creating content include:

• Technical Documentation:
  • Clear hierarchy of information
  • Proper heading structure
  • Technical specifications in searchable format
  • Downloadable resources properly tagged
• Product/Service Pages:
  • Detailed specifications
  • Industry applications
  • Technical benefits
  • Integration information
• Case Studies:
  • Industry-specific results
  • Technical implementation details
  • Measurable outcomes
  • SEO-friendly formatting

6. Building Domain Authority

Domain authority is a scoring system (0-100) that predicts how likely your website is to rank in search results, based on factors like the quality of your technical content, the credibility of websites linking to you, and your overall digital presence. Think of it as a trust score that search engines use to gauge your company’s expertise and reliability in your industry.

In B2B markets, where purchase decisions involve significant investment and risk, domain authority becomes particularly crucial. Here’s why:

• Technical Credibility
  • High domain authority signals to both search engines and potential clients that your company is a trusted voice in your industry. This is especially important when dealing with complex technical solutions or professional services where expertise matters.
• Competitive Advantage
  • In B2B sectors where multiple companies offer similar solutions, stronger domain authority helps your content appear above competitors in search results. This visibility advantage is crucial during the early research phase when technical decision-makers are building their vendor shortlists.
• Lead Quality
  • Higher domain authority typically results in better search rankings for industry-specific terms, attracting more qualified leads who are actively seeking your solutions. This means you’re more likely to capture prospects who understand and value your expertise.

You can establish your credibility through:

• Quality Backlinks:
  • Industry publication features
  • Professional association memberships
  • Partner website mentions
  • Technical resource listings
• Content Authority:
  • Technical whitepapers
  • Industry research publications
  • Expert commentary
  • Professional certifications

7. Technical SEO for B2B Websites

B2B buyers have high expectations for website performance. Slow loading times, poor mobile responsiveness, or difficult navigation can immediately damage credibility. Technical SEO ensures your site meets these professional standards, keeping qualified prospects engaged with your content.

B2B websites typically contain sophisticated content hierarchies:

• Technical documentation
• Product specifications
• Industry resources
• Case studies
• Research papers

Proper technical SEO ensures search engines can effectively crawl, index, and understand these complex content relationships, making your expertise discoverable to the right audience.

Essential technical optimisations include:

• Site Architecture:
  • Logical product categorisation
  • Clear navigation paths
  • Proper internal linking
  • Technical resource sections
• Performance Optimisation:
  • Mobile responsiveness
  • Page load speed
  • Secure hosting (HTTPS)
  • Proper indexing structure

8. Essential SEO Tools for B2B Companies

SEO is a long-term strategy requiring consistent effort to build domain authority, establish content relevance, and earn trust signals from search engines – factors that typically take 6-12 months to show significant results. Unlike paid advertising, SEO creates compounding value through the accumulation of technical authority and content depth, generating sustainable organic traffic that continues delivering qualified leads long after the initial optimisation work.

To effectively monitor your SEO efforts, the following Tools are recommended:

• Dedicated SEO tools (SEMRush, AHRefs or similar) or agency support to analyse SEO technical/on-page performance
• Google Search Console for performance tracking
• Google Analytics for visitor behaviour

9. Adapting to B2B SEO Trends

Consider how B2B buying has transformed in recent times: B2B buyers now conduct extensive online research before engaging with vendors, often using mobile devices, voice search, and expecting immediate access to detailed technical information. When your SEO strategy evolves with these changes, you ensure your expertise remains visible and accessible to qualified prospects at every stage of their decision-making process.

The cost of falling behind these trends isn’t just reduced traffic—it’s missed business opportunities. When potential clients can’t find your solutions during their research phase, you’re often eliminated from consideration before the sales conversation even begins.

10. Implementation Guide for B2B Companies

Consistently following the structured SEO approach below will help you increase your online visibility:

Month 1:

• Technical SEO audit
• Competitor analysis
• Keyword research
• Content inventory

Month 2:

• Technical optimisation
• Content strategy development
• Meta data optimisation
• Analytics setup

Month 3:

• Content creation/optimisation
• Authority building
• Performance monitoring
• Strategy refinement

Recommended Measurement Metrics:

• Organic traffic growth
• Focus keyword rankings
• Lead generation metrics
• Conversion rates