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All B2B marketers know the importance of keywords to their online marketing initiatives. But, many make a common mistake when it comes to keyword usage. Following is what it is and how to fix it.

Are You Using Keywords That Are Important to You or Your Customers

There’s an idiomatic expression in marketing that goes, “What’s in it for me?” Marketers are supposed to answer this with their customer in mind. In other words, they should be using keywords that reflect what’s important to their customer, NOT what’s important to them – which is exactly what many do.

While many offline marketers have embraced this line of thinking, many online marketers haven’t. One reason may be that for many B2B marketers, they use applications, processes and marketing procedures that their customers don’t know anything about.

All a customer may know is that they land on a site, it has what they want – at the right price – so they purchase.

But what if your customer is not landing on your site, but your competitor’s site? Are you using the right keyword phrases – keyword phrases that likely prospects would use to find your site?

In B2B search marketing, one of the most difficult things to do is divorce yourself from high-tech processes and procedures and think like your customer. When your customer sits down to conduct a web search, what will they type in? It may be very different than the terminology reflected in your marketing that you “think” they’ll type in.

While B2B marketing reflects a 21st world, the foundation of what works is as old as marketing itself, ie, “What’s in it for me?” And, in this case “me” is your customer.

Did you know – The b2b Search Strategy Summit will bring 150 B2B senior level marketers together to hone their seach marketing skills and increase their campaign results on June 23, 2010 in San Francisco. Will you be there? Check it out at http://www.b2bSearchStrategy.com

We want to be the first to tell you about the brand new b2b Search Strategy Summit coming to San Francisco on June 23, 2010 where 150 senior level B2B Marketers will gather to network, share best practices and sharpen their search marketing skills.

Presented by PPC Summit, Business.com and Enquiro, the Summit brings together the best minds in B2B search engine marketing during 1 full day of leading-edge knowledge and experience sharing on how to increase B2B Search Marketing ROI. Registration is by invitation only, visit http://www.B2BSearchStrategy.com to get your discounted invitation.

The Summit is designed to help senior B2B marketers increase sales and shorten the B2B sales cycle using effective search marketing, social media and online pr processes. Attendees will have an exclusive opportunity to speak directly with B2B Search Marketing leaders during an interactive format that allows ample time to network, discuss, debate and collaborate to improve search marketing efforts. 

Topics and Sessions Include (view complete agenda):
> Boosting ROI through lead generation
> Making Social Media work to increase branding and generate leads
> Blending Online PR, Social Media and Search to drive more B2B profits
> Effective Landing Page optimization specifically for B2B sites
> The top 10 Paid Search strategies to improve ROI
> Best Practice B2B case studies and proven solutions

Interested in boosting your B2B Search Marketing ROI? You are invited to join this full day of intensive strategy sessions on June 23, 2010 at the InterContinental San Francisco, CA. Get your discounted invitiation at http://www.b2bsearchstrategy.com/?blog1.

If you’re an internet marketer, you’ve heard the phrase “content is king” – probably ad nauseam. While true, many don’t get the full benefit of it because they’re using it all wrong. Why/how?

In B2B search engine marketing, many will commission a piece of search engine optimization (SEO) content, publish it on their blog or website, and then move on to the next piece. And while there’s nothing wrong with this it’s, for lack of a better word . . . wasteful.

B2B Search Marketing Tip: One Way to Get More Mileage Out of Every Piece of Content

So much more mileage can be gotten out of one piece of SEO content than just posting it to your blog or website. For example, one of the most effective things you can do is repurpose an existing article or blog post and distribute it to free article directories.

B2B search marketing is very competitive. With an estimate 30,000 to 100,000 websites going live every day, it’s getting harder and harder to get found online. Distributing content via free article directories helps you to get the word out to hundreds, and quite possibly a few thousand, new readers.

Because on- and offline publishers sign up to receive this content, when they publish it on their blog, website, newsletter, etc., your company gets exposed to their readers.

Talk about getting a leg up on the competition!

The next time you invest in a piece of SEO content, remember the name of the game is not only getting it written, but getting it distributed as well. If you make content distribution part of your B2B search engine marketing efforts, you can start seeing increased website traffic and sales in no time.

What is your biggest SEO content challenge? Submit your questions, thoughts and/or  ideas and the b2b Search Strategy Summit experts will also provide their insight here.

When you advertise, you don’t do so in a vacuum. Smart B2B search engine marketing reflects what’s going on in the economy at large. If it doesn’t, the retailer runs the risk of being out of step with their customer. This can be a death knell for any business owner.

With this in mind, following are three ways to ensure that your B2B search marketing efforts not only survive a recession – but thrive during it.

I. Use Keywords That Reflect Savings

During an economic downturn, consumers focus on saving money. Are your online campaigns doing the same? If not, they should. Many internet marketers use a “set it and forget it” mentality when they run pay per click campaigns, for example.

When was the last time you reviewed yours? In a recession, your customers are likely using slightly different keywords to shop online. They may be pairing main keyword phrases with words like “discount,” “free,” and “coupons.”

So go back and change the headlines in your PPC ads and tweak the landing pages to make sure this lingo is reflected.

II. Update Product Offerings

Piggybacking on the last point, can you package several products/services together and offer savings? Can you offer a “two for one” deal? A “frequency savings” card where you get a free latte on your third visit?

III. Reach Out More Often

When the economy is in the dumps, it’s a problem. And like any problem, it requires more communication – not less. So reach out to your customers more. You can do this by starting a blog, distributing a newsletter, doing “savings tip of the day” emails, etc.

Smart B2B search marketing is mercurial. It changes with the wants, needs and desires of the customer. And that’s how you not only survive a recession; it’s how you thrive during it.

Tell us how you are surviving the tough times. What search marketing methods are working for you?

B2B search marketing is mercurial. The rules are constantly changing and you have to adapt to keep getting the results you want for your pay per click marketing efforts. So you’re diligent; keeping abreast of the latest changes and implementing them as soon as possible.

But, in your zeal to keep up with the latest and shiniest, are you overlooking this one search engine optimization (SEO) guideline?

Not Treating Each Page as an “Individual Website”

Each page on your website should be treated as its own, individual website. For example, many B2B search marketers make the mistake of using the same meta tags for every page. This does little but, at the very least confuse search engines; and at worst, leaves a lot of traffic (and sales) on the table.

Meta tags should reflect what a web surfer can expect to find – on that particular page; NOT what they can find on your website as a whole.

So for example, if you operated an online women’s clothing store and sold shoes, handbags, lingerie, sportswear and professional wear, you wouldn’t have the same title, description and keyword tags for every page would you?

On your shoe page you would have meta tags that reflected this line of products, g, womens shoes, womens footwear, ladies shoes, etc.

On your handbags page, you would have meta tags that reflected this merchandise, eg, womens handbags, beaded handbags, evening handbags, etc.

And on and on.

See how not optimizing every page individually can cost you traffic and sales?

While meta tags may not be as sexy as say, keyword research and site analytics when it comes to search engine optimization, in B2B search marketing you need every competitive advantage you can get. Filling in your meta tags is the one thing you can do to get a competitive edge – precisely because so many neglect this area of search engine optimization.

Want to learn more hot tips to improve your B2B marketing efforts? Attend the  brand new B2B Search Strategy Summit where 150 senior marketing professionals will gather to network, share best practices and hone their B2B lead generation and search engine marketing skills coming in June to San Francisco. Get your discounted invitation by sending an email to invitation@B2BSearchStrategy.com  and use the code blog.