Post on 22-Nov-2014
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The Grueling & Gratifying Worldof B2B Search Marketing
Presented at SouthWiREDOctober 6, 2014
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Why should you listen to me?
Stacy Williams
>25 years’ experience in marketing>15 years’ experience in search marketingFounded Big Drum in 2001Named “Search Engine Marketer of the Year” by TAG in 2012Founding member & past President of SEMPO AtlantaBusiness/Marketing & Communications degrees from UC Berkeley & U of Southern CaliforniaPlease tweet: @StacyWms
Big Drum
fka Prominent Placement, Inc. (PPI)Started as a search engine marketing agencyNow the B2B conversion agencyConsistent award-winnerServices: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Paid Search (Pay-Per-Click/PPC) Conversion Rate Optimization
(CRO) / Usability (UX) Analytics (AX)
Please tweet: @BigDrumAgency
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So…what’s Grueling about B2B Marketing & Sales?
• Long sales cycle• Multiple decision-makers• Often a limited universe of
prospects• Difficult to track prospects
from top of funnel through close
• Terminology changes rapidly
• Can be considered “boring”
• Complexity in general!
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But…what’s considered Gratifying?
Whale photo
• Narrow, defined target audience
• One sale can bring in a lot of revenue
• Margins are higher• Longer-term customer
relationships• Complexity can be a fun
challenge
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How do we use Search Engine Marketing to alleviate the Grueling part of B2B marketing and sales…so that we can enjoy the Gratifying part?
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Get them to the website (or landing page)Encourage them to convert to a leadTrack results, analyze, test, tweak, repeat
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Get Them To The Website (or Landing Page)
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Get them to the website (or landing page)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)Paid Search / Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Search Networks
Google AdWords, Bing Ads (includes Yahoo)
Display Networks Google AdWords
– Remarketing (also Similar Audiences, Remarketing Lists for Search Ads)– Many other targeting options
Targeted Display Advertising– Bizo, AdRoll, etc.
Social Networks LinkedIn Facebook Twitter
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Content increasingly critical Fresh, unique, valuable, educational content Use to pique prospects’ interest, build credibility, capture leads Social shares & links to the content really help rankings
Or catch Aaron’s session at 3 pm today!
Keywords are still important Less literal, more semantic
Ensure site is search engine-friendly from a technical standpoint Set up a Google Webmaster Tools account Implement Structured Data (more at schema.org)
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Keywords: editorial vs. commercial
Editorial
Commercial
Editorial
Editorial
Editorial
Editorial
Editorial
Editorial
Commercial
Commercial
Commercial
Commercial
Commercial
Editorial
Editorial
Editorial
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Keywords: stages of the buying cycle
I have a problem
I’m researching the solution
Who are the companies I
should talk to?
Which company should I choose?
Purchase
“how can I prevent having multiple versions of a document across my team?”
“accessing documents on my phone”“sharing documents securely”
“managing documents online”“web-based content platform”
“managing records in the cloud”
“document management solutions”“collaboration software providers”
“digital asset management companies”
brand keywordsreviews & ratings
Gartner, Forrester, analyst reports
TIP: Ensure your landing page content ties in with the keyword
& stage of the buying cycle!
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Keywords: stages of the buying cycle
I have a problem
I’m researching the solution
Who are the companies I
should talk to?
Which company should I choose?
Purchase
At this stage, the Executive Team may search by brand keyword to check out the company. Ensure
you “own” the first page of results for your name and that
everything is positive, professional and compelling
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Keywords: evolving markets & niche categories
High Search Volume (but too broad)
document managementproject collaborationdocument sharingrecord storage
Perfectly Descriptive (but low search volume)
open source digital asset managementopen source collaboration softwareopen source enterprise content management
SOLUTIONS: Target “perfectly descriptive” so you can own them as you educate the market and search volume grows. Typically, avoid “too broad.”
Think of pain/problem-related keywords (top of funnel).Find what you can in
Use the Display network to generate awareness among your target
Piggyback on
Use paid social advertising to target individuals, not keywords.
the middle.related keywords with relevant content: “Why our X solution is better than traditionalY solutions”. audience.
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Keywords: avoid consumer clicks (paid search)
Use words in ads like “enterprise,” “wholesale,” “in bulk,” “business,” “professional,” “commercial,” etc.Include negative keywords like “free,” “discount,” “cheap,” etc.Consider including pricing in adsTest only running ads during business hours
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Using the Display Network at different stages
I have a problem
I’m researching the solution
Who are the companies I
should talk to?
Which company should I choose?
Purchase
Remarketing/retargetingRLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads)
Contextual TargetingPlacement TargetingInterest Categories
Topic TargetingKeyword Targeting
Demographic TargetingGeo & Language Targeting
Similar Audiences
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Emerging uses of the Display Network
Content Marketing
Display is the new content marketing amplification & distribution systemDrive visitors to your valuable content; then retarget to them later
Retargeting
Retargeting is the new lead nurturingGive away content & retarget to those who consume itHave salespeople direct prospects to a specific page on the site where they’re cookied for retargeting
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Bizo has granular targeting – even specific companies!
85% of US business
population
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LinkedIn Ads: Regular (remnant space!)
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LinkedIn Ads: Premium
InMail
Display/Spotlight Ads
Sponsored Updates
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Social networks: LinkedIn Member Targeting
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Social networks: LinkedIn Group Targeting
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Social networks: Facebook
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Social networks: Facebook
Loads of conversion type options!
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Social networks: Facebook
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Social networks: Facebook
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Social networks: Facebook
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Social networks: Facebook
>2% CTR38% conversion rate (provide email address)Of that, 14% closing rate (new customers)
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Know your audience Target properly Understand their
challengesOffer something of value – don’t sellLanding pageCapture data & nurture
Social networks: Facebook
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Social networks: Twitter
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Social networks: Twitter
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Social networks: Twitter
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Social networks: Twitter
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Encourage Them To Convert
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Increasing your conversion rate should be a priority
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B2B offers: align with the buying cycle
Source: Mac McIntosh, Acquire B2B, Integrated Marketing Summit 2014
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Software (SaaS) Company Offers
I have a problem
I’m researching the solution
Who are the companies I
should talk to?
Which company should I choose?
Purchase
Demo
Free Trial
2.1%
1.2%
Our clients’ average conversion rates YTD:
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We love choice!
Consider TWO thank you pages!
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Regular Thank You page with requested asset(s)
• Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn links for viral marketing
Role-based Landing Page (“pop under”)
• For additional conversions, self nurturing, sharing
Source: Michelle Killebrew, IBM, Integrated Marketing Summit 2014
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Capture data on prospects that you can then nurtureBest option if your goal is lead generation (mid-funnel)
The amount of data you require should be commensurate with the value your
content provides
To gate or not to gate…that is the question!
YES – Gate It! NO – Don’t Gate It!
It’s up to 50x more likely to be downloaded if ungated (Source: The Content Factor)
Can use retargeting to “nurture”Best option if your goal is wide distribution for brand awareness and thought leadership (top of funnel)
Search engines can index ungated content, so that can create even wider
distribution
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Short forms…better yet, progressive profiling
Source: Business 2 Community
Source: Shannon Barnes, Kuno Creative blog
Prepopulate forms when
you can!
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10 Conversion Rate Optimization Tactics (& Tools!)
1. Visitor Behavior Analysis
Identify top navigation paths and areas where visitors are exiting your site. This will help guide and prioritize CRO efforts.
September 24, 2014
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Tool: Google Analytics
2. Heatmap Analysis
Where are visitors paying attention on your site and
what are they ignoring?
September 24, 2014
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Tool: Inspectlet
3. Form Analytics
Rich details are available on conversion funnels in relation to form fields and much more. Video replays of site interaction are also available.
September 24, 2014
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Tools: Inspectlet, Formissimo
4. Usability Audits
A heuristic usability review should evaluate these key aspects of your site: Design, Navigation, Persuasion and Conversion.
September 24, 2014
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Award Winning Results
Tool: a big brain
5. A/B Testing (Website and/or Landing Pages)
September 24, 2014
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Tools: Unbounce, O
ptimizely, G
oogle Content Experiments
6. User Testing
Present a test panel with an important task and see if they can accomplish it. This will uncover obstacles that are being encountered
by your site visitors that may be suppressing conversions.
September 24, 2014
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Watch and listen as your target audience navigates through your site –
it’s all on video.
Tool: UserTesting.com
7. User Surveys - Nudge
Improving the conversion performance of your website starts with understanding what your visitors want. User surveys help you understand the intent of their visit and
anything that may be preventing them from achieving their goals.
September 24, 2014
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Tool: Qualaroo
8. User Surveys – Emotional Ratings
Want to know what your visitors feel when they are browsing your website? Encourage them to share their feelings with emotional rating surveys.
September 24, 2014
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Tool: Usabilla
9. User Surveys – Intercept (True Intent)
Intercept visitors and invite them to participate in the survey. Visitors
are instructed to continue what they came to do, then answer
questions, such as: Did you accomplish your goal?
September 24, 2014
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Tool: Loop11
10. Card Sort Study
Get user input on your information architecture (IA) via a card sorting study. List all items in your current
menu and study participants simply drag and drop to categorize.
September 24, 2014
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Tool: Optimal Workshop
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Don’t forget aboutphone calls!
Gather ALL the data you need to calculate ROI & make decisions.
Take credit for ALL the leads you’re generating!
Vendors: Marchex, CallRail, Mongoose, more
OnlineConversions
29%
PhoneConversions
71%
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Track Results, Analyze, Tweak, Repeat
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Web analytics are awesome…but it’s hard to tie visits to sales & revenue for lead generation sites
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What’s the value of a conversion?
% of conversions that close (become a sale/customer)X
average lifetime value of a customer
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But wouldn’t it be great to be able to know WHO’s converting? And track true ROI back to its source?
Source: CRM Evangelist
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Now we can.
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B2B sales cycles can be long…
…so set Long Cookies in Google Analytics!
80% of prospects deemed “bad leads” by sales teams go on to buy within 24 months. SiriusDecisions
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Track “assists” with Multi-Channel Funnels
Google Analytics >Conversions > Multi-Channel Funnels > Overview
Google Analytics >Conversions >
Multi-Channel Funnels > Top Conversion Paths
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More Good Stuff!• This presentation: slideshare.net/stacywms• Structured data: bigdrum.io/structured-data-primer • eBook “Sure they’re clicking. But are they converting? Four B2B digital
marketing conversion essentials”: bigdrum.io/cro-ebook