SES Chicago: “B2B Tactics”
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Written By Kate Zimmermann | December 5, 2006 | Share This
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For B2B companies, search is about targeting different points of the conversion funnel. Where B2C sites use shopping carts, B2B sites convert with whitepapers, referral forms, and webinars. Traffic volumes are significantly smaller, optimization is more difficult, and keywords are easily succeptible to “waste” clicks from people outside of a small target audience. This seminar focused on distinguishing paid search tactics exclusively for business-to-business transactions. It was moderated by Chris Sherman, and presented by Karen Breen Vogel, CEO of ClearGuage, Patricia Hursh, President of Smart Search Marketing, and Paul Slack, CEO of Webdex.
A large portion of time was spent explaining the general differences between B2B and B2C. It was a bit like a Sales 101 class, but was a good reversal of perspective on search. Each speaker emphasized the need to target “influencers” and “decision makers” in the middle of the sales process, to measure different types of conversions, and the difficulty, but importance, of testing. Unlike B2C search, many B2B campaigns require bidding across multiple vertically-specific engines. Because B2B targets a highly specific audience, “waste” clicks are a larger problem than fraudulent clicks. Thus, the panelists emphasized, B2B search requires constant revision of keywords and pre-qualifying ad creative.
Suggestions for B2B campaign improvement included:
- Offer Multiple Actions: Choice increases conversion
- Simplify Registration Forms
- Track Keywords Through Each Part of User Experience: Tag all activities to help refine keyword lists
- Simplify Testing: Look at only a few variables at a time
- Identify Conversions for Different Stages in Sales Funnel
For a more detailed explanation of B2B search tactics, download THIS PDF.
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