by Jen Doyle, Senior Research Analyst

B2B organizations focusing on highly-effective SEO tactics


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The size of the spheres in this chart indicates level of usage for each SEO tactic. As the spheres move to the right hand side of the chart -- indicating level of effort required -- most of the spheres tend to become smaller.

Exceptions to this case include new content development and on page content optimization. These two exceptions however are higher along the Y axis of this chart, indicating a high level of effectiveness. This indicates that B2B marketers are only willing to contribute a high level of effort towards SEO tactics that are highly effective.

Keyword research is an essential component to any successful SEO campaign and as a result, this tactic has the greatest percentage of B2B organizations currently practicing it. Without sound keyword research, an organization could target keywords that drive little traffic, drive traffic that doesn’t convert, or drive no traffic at all as a result of an inability to get ranked in a competitive environment.

It’s surprising that respondents did not indicate that keyword research required a high level of effort. In order to conduct effective keyword research that will drive results of SEO campaigns, a considerable amount of effort in research is required. This may be an indication of organizations executing incomplete keyword research.

For additional research data and insights about B2B marketing, download and read the free Executive Summary from MarketingSherpa’s 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report.