In B2B SEO, low volumes are not a problem; they are the rule. A term such as “HDPE gas pipe” or “plate heat exchanger” is searched for by few people, but those people are design engineers, maintenance engineers and buyers with a project on their desk.
The starting point looks much the same from one firm to the next: a brochure site with an “About us” page, a products page with photos and a shelf of PDFs. The information exists, but it is locked away in documents that nobody finds when looking for the answer to a specific problem.
Few searches, made by the people who decide
Keyword tools often show zero volume for technical terms that are searched for all the same. That is why the research starts inside the firm: what customers ask on the phone, what they call the product in their quote requests, which standards and codes appear in tender specifications.
The same need is searched for differently depending on how far the person has got with the project. We group terms by intent and give each group the right page.
- By problem: “corrosion in process water pipes”, when the solution has not yet been chosen.
- By application: “pipes for drip irrigation”.
- By specification: material, diameter, pressure class, standard.
- By code: your product code or a competitor’s, when someone is looking for an equivalent.
Application pages and product pages, with the data sheet on the page
We build two families of pages that link to each other. Application pages start from the buyer’s problem (water supply, sewerage, packaging lines) and show which products are used and within what limits. Product pages start from the product and lead to its applications.
We turn the data sheet into a web page: a table of dimensions, materials, field of use, standards, installation instructions. Google can read PDFs too, but a PDF has no menu and no quote request button, is hard to read on a phone and stays in circulation with out-of-date figures. We keep it as a downloadable version, linked from the page.
For ranges with hundreds of items, the data comes from a single source (stock management software, an ERP or a file that is kept up to date), so that the website does not contradict the quote.
What the engineer asks and what the buyer asks
A technical purchase is usually decided by several people. The engineer wants to know whether the product will stand up to the job: chemical compatibility, operating temperature, jointing method, certifications. The buyer wants to know whether it can be bought without headaches: minimum quantity, delivery, packaging, compliance documents.
We write the answers with your technical people, because anyone in the trade spots vague copy at once. Where the answer depends on the project, the page says what it depends on and what information to send in order to get a recommendation. Statements about standards and certifications are confirmed by the technical manager before publication.
B2B SEO in practice: from the conversation with sales to the first pages
We usually work in WordPress, with custom content types for products and applications, so that every data sheet has the same fields. We add structured data, which is code in the page that describes the product and the firm in a standard format search engines can understand.
The most valuable hour in the project is the conversation with the sales team and the technical team: that is where the real terms come from, along with the objections and the questions that keep coming up. From there, the stages are:
- Interviews: sales, technical, service.
- Page map: applications, product families, products, and the links between them.
- Data sheet template: fixed fields, tables, attached documents, an enquiry form.
- Phased publication: the ranges with the highest commercial value first, with each page checked by someone at the firm.
We measure quote requests, not traffic
A rising chart of visits tells you nothing if the visitors are students writing their dissertations. We set up measurement around the actions that matter: a quote form submitted, a click on the phone number or the email address, a data sheet downloaded.
Where there is a CRM (the software in which customers and quotes are recorded), we tie each enquiry to the page it came from, so you can see which pages bring in quotes that are won. One limitation has to be stated: in B2B the decision takes time and passes through phone calls and meetings, so the route from search to contract cannot always be traced. The question “how did you hear about us?” is still useful.
Frequently asked questions
Is SEO worth it if very few people search for my product?
Yes, if those people are the ones who specify or buy. What counts is the value of an order and how well the page answers their question, not the search volume.
If I publish the technical data, will not competitors take it?
The data in the sheets you send out on request anyway is no secret. Anything to do with the formulation, negotiated prices or projects in progress stays off the website.
How long before the first enquiries arrive?
It depends on the competition for your terms, on the state of the website and on how quickly the technical team can check the copy. Very specific pages, built around codes and specifications, are usually found sooner than general ones.
This is a typical project description: it shows how we usually approach this kind of work and does not present a project carried out for a particular client. Every real project starts from your company’s situation, and the stages, timescales and price are agreed after the initial discussion.