4 ways to improve your value as a strategic SEO partner
Sometimes retaining clients is about more than doing great SEO work. Columnist Derek Edmond explains how to increase your value through improved client relationships.
Derek Edmond is a Managing Partner for KoMarketing, a B2B online marketing agency specializing in search, social media, and content marketing. With over 10 years experience, Derek has worked with a range of organizations from the Fortune 500 to venture-backed startups and small businesses.
How to maintain content marketing focus in long-running SEO programs
Columnist Derek Edmond describes his company's method for keeping SEO and content marketing teams performing at a high level for the duration of an ambitious campaign.
How to map keyword strategy to B2B buyer intent
To ensure that you're providing content that aligns with business objectives, columnist Derek Edmond recommends basing your keyword strategy on stages of the buyer journey.
How To Uncover SEO Content Marketing Ideas With Google Search Analytics
Columnist Derek Edmond explains how to use data from Google Search Console to inform ongoing content marketing initiatives for greater search engine visibility.
How To Tie SEO With 3 Popular B2B Demand Generation Initiatives
Although organic search can be very effective at supporting demand generation efforts within B2B organizations, columnist Derek Edmond notes that SEO professionals are often left out of these conversations. Here's why they shouldn't be.
What To Do When Content Marketing Fails To Improve SEO Performance
You had big dreams for your content marketing initiatives — but unfortunately they've fallen flat. Columnist Derek Edmond shows how to assess why your content marketing isn't positively impacting your SEO.
How Search Result Analysis Leads To A Better SEO Program
Columnist Derek Edmond reminds us that sometimes we get so busy with the execution of ongoing SEO tactics that we forget to step back and review the actual content experience competitors have to offer.
How Competitive Analysis Leads To A Better B2B SEO Program
A key element in shaping your SEO program is understanding your competition. To illustrate this, columnist Derek Edmond takes us through a recent competitive analysis performed for a client.
The B2B SEO Opportunity In Organizational Mergers & Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions present unique opportunities and challenges for B2B search marketers. Columnist Derek Edmond explains how to plan and prepare for the process.
20 Ways B2B SEOs Can Leverage Schema.org Markup
Structured data markup can improve search visibility, yet few websites use it. Columnist Derek Edmond provides tips for B2B marketers on how to get started.
The Underlying B2B Marketing Value Of 4 (Previously Successful) SEO Tactics
Though SEO tactics may come and go, the underlying principles behind them often remain true.
How To Use LinkedIn As A B2B Link Prospect Development Tool
It’s no secret that LinkedIn is widely considered one of the top social media platforms for B2B marketers. As illustrated in the fourth annual B2B Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report, put out by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 91% of B2B content marketers are using LinkedIn to distribute their content. And in Holger Schulze’s 2013 B2B Content […]
18 Lessons Learned In Leveraging Event Marketing For B2B SEO
Here’s a painful truth: for B2B marketing success in fast-growth environments, inbound marketing only plays a small role in the process. Outbound marketing efforts, like event marketing, often play a much more significant role. In fact, according to a study released last year covered by InsideSales.com, event marketing was the second most effective B2B marketing […]
How Much Content Do You Need For B2B SEO Success?
While B2B SEOs understand the value in content marketing initiatives, we sometimes fail to understand the level of content commitment required to demonstrate success. In the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council’s recent study, “The Content Connection to Vendor Selection,” researchers uncovered six distinct personas that all consume different types of content and share that content […]
How 3 B2B Companies Integrate SEO In Their Online Marketing Strategies
Even though B2B marketing goals and objectives remain relatively consistent year to year, what’s changing are buyer expectations of marketing programs and communication. In late 2012, Simon McEvoy of Tangent Snowball wrote about the influence consumerism was having on the B2B buyer. After all, B2B buyers are people, too. The exposure of dynamic communication and marketing campaigns […]
5 Increasingly Commodified SEO Solutions That Confuse B2B Marketers
While discussing the changes in the search industry with a B2B marketing colleague earlier this month, he mentioned that many marketing professionals may be confused about SEO, particularly when it comes to advising clients on search initiatives. Jargon, conflicting “expert” opinion, and technological changes (like search algorithm updates) all add to the confusion. B2B marketers […]
20 Ways To Get Your Content In Front Of Early-Stage B2B Buyers
A recent article in BtoB Magazine highlights how marketing to the electronics engineering vertical is changing due to technological innovation and the demands of a more specialized (and time-constrained) workforce. The focus of the article centers around content marketing designed to attract buyers at every stage of the buying cycle, particularly early-stage awareness. B2B marketers […]
4 LinkedIn Recommendations For The B2B SEO Professional
LinkedIn’s recent announcement about the redesign of LinkedIn Group pages has had me thinking much more about why B2B search marketers need to leverage this social media platform in support of SEO initiatives. According to the announcement, “there are more than 200 conversations happening each minute across LinkedIn Groups and more than 8,000 Groups created […]
What B2B SEO Professionals Need To Know About Marketing Automation
A few weeks ago, Marketing Land covered the release of an update to the Digital Marketing Depot 2013 B2B Marketing Automation Tools Buyer’s Guide. The 61-page report covers “key trends impacting the marketing automation software market, as well as detailed information about the leading pure play marketing automation platforms that primarily target the B2B market.” […]
Five Reports For Measuring B2B Marketing Effectiveness
Like many online marketing professionals, B2B marketers are obsessed with data. Technological innovation creates phenomenal opportunities for marketers to “slice and dice” information in an effort to create more meaningful lead acquisition strategies. But, innovation might also act as a deterrent and be considerably overwhelming. A recent article on MarketingSherpa discussed their latest survey report […]
4 SEO Recommendations For Dealing With B2B Lengthening Sales Cycles
Many of our clients face sales cycles in a six- to twelve-month duration. In a recent client interview, one of the sales directors revealed that they were on the verge of closing a multi-million dollar deal that took nearly three years of nurturing alone to finally get to the proposal process. With multiple decision makers […]
A Case Study In B2B SEO Keyword Analysis
A few weeks back, Dr. Peter J. Meyers (“Dr Pete“) wrote a post on SEOmoz about the average position in the browser screen a number-one ranking in Google appears. It is an interesting piece of research, and I recommend reviewing it. My two key takeaways were: More Google-specific features, such as advertising and local results, […]
What B2B SEOs Need To Know About Buyer Personas
While buyer personas (user personas) are an established concept in broader B2B marketing discussions, it has taken on new life in recent years. The shift organizations are making to a digital marketing strategy coupled with innovation in technology (should) allow Internet marketers the ability to deliver effective content marketing campaigns across segmented audiences or targeted […]
25 Questions To Ask When Executing B2B Content Marketing Campaigns
With the new year upon us, search engine marketers are focused on putting the foundation together for campaign execution throughout 2013. Central among the strategies meant to deliver B2B SEO results will be content marketing. Just in time for preparation in the new year, MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute launched their 2013 B2B Content […]
How To Build A Better B2B SEO Strategy In 2013
It’s the last week of 2012. If you’re reading this column, you are forsaking at least a bit of much needed rest for some serious B2B SEO planning in 2013. For me, the few days ahead are about research, preparation, and getting milestones in place for client initiatives (and probably finishing one or two or […]
3 “Big” Web Enhancements B2B SEO’s Should Budget For In 2013
With the Thanksgiving holiday behind us, B2B marketers must now focus on wrapping up 2012 and preparing projections and budgets for the upcoming year. A common theme we have seen with our clients is to define a few “big” Web enhancements that will be associated to B2B search engine marketing in the coming year. Website […]
6 Underrated Content Marketing Assets For B2B SEO
One of the biggest obstacles to B2B search engine optimization is developing new content marketing assets for targeting important keywords and acquiring link assets. While our organization has seen this in client relationships throughout the years, this degree of difficulty was further supported by industry peers in the 2012 MarketingSherpa Search Engine Marketing Report. Even […]
How B2B Marketers Can Develop A Better Social Media Plan This Fall
As B2B marketers assess the strengths and weaknesses of their SEO programs so far this year, the relationship with social media marketing must come into focus. As I wrote in a column last year, 66% of organizations with a formal SEO process were integrating social media into their overall SEO strategy. But social media plays […]
Concepts Every B2B SEO Needs To Know In Today’s Internet Marketing Environment
In a recent Forbes article, the popular SEO is Dead / Death of SEO topic took center stage. The article highlighted how questionable SEO tactics (particularly for link building) will no longer be valid. Marketers need to focus on creating truly great content, which in turn earns the right to be shared and searched for. The […]
3 Lead Generation Challenges B2B Search Marketers Must Overcome
B2B search engine marketing performance is based as much on lead generation as it is on traffic, keyword visibility, and production. As B2B organizations become more competent in digital marketing strategy, lead quality becomes just as important as lead quantity. It should not be a surprise that fewer form field requirements generate a greater volume […]
6 Key Considerations For Preparing A B2B Mobile Strategy
For B2B marketers, a common challenge is targeting the key platforms and mediums where users are most likely to consume information. In today’s digital landscape, this now includes mobile marketing. According to a recent eMarketer article, nearly one-quarter of B2B ecommerce professionals said that mobile Web was one of the most influential touch points for their […]
4 Key Recommendations For Social Media Execution In The Industrial Sector
Published earlier this year, GlobalSpec conducted its third annual Social Media Usage Survey of engineering, technical, manufacturing, and industrial professionals. While social media adoption is on the rise, more traditional social networks might be blocked or limited at the workplace, even if a percentage of usage is work related. The research also showed that industrial […]
4 Examples Of B2B Content Marketing Executed With SEO Best Practices In Mind
According to the 2012 MarketingSherpa Search Engine Marketing Report, of all SEO tactics available, “content creation works the best, but takes the most work,” says Kaci Bower, Research Analyst, MECLABS. B2B Internet marketers need new content to enforce and build upon keyword strategies, acquire links, and attract attention in social media. In my experience, effective […]
5 Critical B2B SEO Initiatives, In Addition To Developing A Google+ Page For Business
Google+ Pages have sparked a lot of discussion in B2B marketing circles. The ability to add multiple management functionality, site verification, and easy to integrate Google+ badges have leadership teams asking whether this truly is the next social media platform B2B marketers must focus upon. However, all of the recent hype and scrambling to start […]
4+ Recommendations To Enhance B2B SEO Initiatives
The start of the new year is the ideal time for B2B search engine marketers to reassess website strategy and determine where enhancements could be made to benefit SEO visibility. With budgets still in review and benchmarks being set, focusing on site enhancements first could help maximize the benefits of all ongoing SEO initiatives, that […]
5 B2B Search Engine Marketing Resolutions For 2012
With the holiday season winding down and 2012 just around the corner, it’s time to take a deep breath and get ready to plunge into the new year. When marketing teams get back from the New Year’s weekend, you can be sure that new found vigor and excitement will be in the air. For B2B […]
4 Recommendations For Benchmarking B2B Social Media Performance This Year
Tis the season…to wrap up budgeting and forecasting for 2012. As the year begins to draw towards a close, the hope is that your search engine marketing initiatives have an upward trend attached to them. According to MarketingSherpa’s 2011 B2B Marketing Advanced Practices Handbook, SEO ranked as the fourth most effective B2B marketing tactic. For […]
Redefining B2B Search Engine Marketing KPIs In Wake Of Google Encrypted Search
The news that Internet marketers will no longer be able to receive certain keyword-specific search referral data from logged-in Google.com users should be a concern to B2B marketers. With such an emphasis on lead evaluation and the importance of ROI in their marketing programs, every bit of data helps. Take a look at the top […]
5 Tactics For Improving Visibility Of B2B Content Marketing Initiatives
It should come as no surprise that for B2B marketers surveyed in Marketingsherpa’s 2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report, five of the top six B2B marketing priorities and challenges were related to lead generation process. More importantly, while brand awareness (the only priority outside of the lead generation process) was an important priority, its fourth place […]
Before Or After The Form? Balancing Lead Generation & SEO Strategy
Recently, our company started working with a client launching a new B2B website, which incorporated a membership-based conversion action (IE, member registration). As we went through the checklist of SEO best practices for launch, a question arose on the visibility of content marketing assets being created. Where would the value-added material our client was developing, […]