SEO, and in particular B2B SEO, is constantly evolving. There are two interconnected reasons for this.

The first is that Google, and other search engines, are always tweaking their search algorithms in order to provide the best possible content to their end users – the consumers. Google algorithm doesn’t just reward sites it likes, it also penalizes sites it doesn’t like. We’ll go into the various reasons why Google penalizes sites later on in this article.

The second interconnected reason why B2B SEO is constantly evolving – changing and improving its best practices, is that the end-user’s search patterns are also constantly evolving. For example, ten years ago most people conducted searches from their desktop computer and viewed everything on a big screen. Today, most people conduct searches from tablets or smart phones while they are on the go. Tomorrow, most people will very likely be conducting search using voice only, or not even looking at a computer screen at all.

As a result, each year the elite B2B SEO agencies update their best practices and their strategies for the new year. Below is a list of the top 3 B2B SEO strategies for 2019.

1. Monitor Search Engine Webmaster Guidelines

Google publishes webmaster guidelines and so does Bing and Yahoo.  They do this so that website creators know what they reward and what they penalize. They don’t tell all their secrets, of course, but any webmaster and SEO content creator needs to follow these guidelines as part of their B2B SEO best practices. Google is the most popular search engine on the planet, so most SEO agencies optimize according to their guidelines.

They optimize both to rank high in Google’s SERPs, but also to avoid being penalized. For example, Google penalizes websites that do not use a secure web delivery system – https rather than http. The “s” in https means “secure,” which means all the data between a browser and that particular website is encrypted.

Google also penalizes for such things as a slow upload speed, if various html tags are missing from the site, and if the site is not “mobile friendly.”

A website’s content may be compelling, and it may have thousands of inbound links, but it will very rarely be ranked high in SERPs if the structure of the site itself does not comply with Google’s guidelines.

2. Engage End Users

Today more than ever, users like to share information with everyone else on the internet. They like to talk about their experiences with customer service, review restaurants, or just tell people where they’re dining and where they are going for their evening’s entertainment.

According to Avanade, over 60% of all buyers consult third party sources – review sites such as Yelp or Trip Advisor, social channels such as Facebook, and conversations with their family and friends – before they contact a company to discuss its products or services.

For this reason, it behooves companies to offer a platform for reviews on their website and on their social media, as well as to keep track of reviews on third-party websites and fix any issues if they are constantly addressed by customers.

3. Research Keywords Constantly

It’s important to research keywords in your business niche constantly, and modify site content and SEO accordingly. One of the best B2B SEO tips is to use what are called “long-tailed keywords.” Long-tailed keywords typically get last traffic than your average keywords, but users of long-tailed keywords know exactly what they are looking for and they convert at a much higher level than an average visitor.

For example, “packing supplies” is a keyword that will return a list of businesses all across the country from which one is searching. But a company will typically need a specific type of packing supply – “cheapest shipping boxes in Dallas” or “best bubble wrap in the US.”

In fact, optimizing for keywords and placing the word “best” or “cheapest” in front of that keyword is an excellent strategy as well, as people often do search for the “best” or “cheapest” items they can find, depending on their own business.

There are many more B2B SEO tips we’ll share with you in the future, so stay tuned. Or better still, contact us for a free consultation on your best B2B SEO strategy for 2019.