The Grueling & Gratifying World of B2B Search Marketing

©2014. Big Drum. All Rights Reserved.

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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



should talk to?


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



should talk to?


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

©2014. Big Drum Agency. All Rights Reserved.

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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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Loads of conversion type options!


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>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



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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



should talk to?


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


Tool: Google Analytics

2. Heatmap Analysis

Where are visitors paying attention on your site and

what are they ignoring?

September 24, 2014


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


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


Award Winning Results

Tool: a big brain

5. A/B Testing (Website and/or Landing Pages)

September 24, 2014


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


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


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


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


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


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

The Grueling & Gratifying World of B2B Search Marketing

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Transcript of The Grueling & Gratifying World of B2B Search Marketing