How to Do B2B Keyword Research and Case Study

Keyword research is an integral part of any successful B2B marketing strategy. It helps businesses identify the phrases and terms their target audience is searching for, making creating content that resonates with them easier.

However, many B2B businesses struggle with keyword research, as they are unsure where to start and how to identify the right keywords for their audience.

 This comprehensive B2B keyword research guide will provide a step-by-step guide for conducting B2B keyword research and a case study to illustrate the process.

Define Your Target Audience

Creating buyer personas or defining your target audience is crucial to understanding your ideal customers. By analyzing their demographics, psychographics, challenges, goals, and motivations, you can build a detailed profile of your target audience.

This information will help you identify the problems that your target audience is trying to solve, the solutions they are searching for, and the language they use when conducting online searches.

Help Easily Identify Keywords

With this knowledge, you can more easily identify the keywords that match their search intent and write content about them.

According to a study by Cintell, 71% of companies that exceed revenue and lead goals have documented personas. This shows the importance of clearly defining who you are targeting and what they are looking for.

Brainstorm Potential Keywords

Once you clearly understand your target audience, start to brainstorm potential keywords. This involves creating a list of phrases and terms your audience will likely search for.

How to Brainstorm B2b Keywords

Some effective ways to brainstorm B2B keywords include using Google Autocomplete, looking at competitor websites, and talking to your sales team.

Google Autocomplete

This feature of Google suggests possible search queries based on what you type in the search box. It can help you discover popular and relevant keywords that your audience is searching for. This includes long-tail keywords, as shown below for inventory management software keywords.

Competitor Websites

 This method analyzes your competitors' websites and finds the keywords they use in their titles, headings, content, and meta tags.

 It can help you identify the keywords that are working well for them and that you can also target.

Sales Team

 This is a method of talking to your sales team and finding the keywords they use to communicate with your prospects and customers.

These are some ways to brainstorm B2B keywords, but they are not the only ones. You can also use other sources and methods, such as customer surveys, social media, industry publications, and keyword research tools.

According to a recent study conducted by Ascend2, more than half (57%) of B2B marketers consider identifying effective B2B keywords as the biggest challenge regarding SEO. This suggests that allocating sufficient time and resources is crucial to identifying your business's most relevant and high-performing keywords.

Use a Keyword Research Tool to Do B2B Keyword Research

After you have a list of potential keywords, you need to use a keyword research tool to refine your list and find the best keywords for your b2b website. A keyword research tool can help you analyze various aspects of each keyword, such as:

Search volume

 This is the average number of monthly searches for a keyword in a given country or region. It indicates the popularity and demand of a keyword. The search volume for the keyword "inventory management software" is 11k, as shown in the Ahrefs keyword research tool.

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Competition

 This is the difficulty of ranking for a keyword based on the number and quality of the websites already ranking. It can be measured by keyword difficulty, domain authority, and page authority.

Relevance

Keyword relevance is how a particular keyword aligns with your website's topic, niche, and target audience. It showcases how effectively a keyword fits the purpose and objectives of your website.

For instance, if your business is a B2B company that provides cloud-based software for inventory management, you may have a list of potential keywords that are relevant to your business, such as:

 • Inventory management  

 • Warehouse inventory management software

 • Inventory management system

 • Inventory management systems

 • Inventory management software for small businesses

To refine this list, use a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find each keyword's search volume, competition, and relevance. You can also use the tool to find more keyword ideas based on your seed keywords.

You might find that the keyword inventory management software has high search volume, relevance, and competition.

On the other hand, the keyword inventory management software for small business has lower search volume and relevance but also lower competition and keyword difficulty. You might choose one or the other depending on your website's authority and goals.

Analyze Search Intent

Search intent is crucial for ranking well on Google, as the search engine aims to provide the most relevant and useful results for each query.

Once you have a list of refined keywords, it's important to analyze the search intent behind each one. This means understanding the reason behind why someone is searching for that keyword.

For instance, if someone is searching for SaaS keywords, they might be interested in finding a list of popular SaaS terms. On the other hand, if someone is searching for long-tail keywords, they may be seeking tips on how to identify such phrases. 

By understanding the intent behind each keyword search, you can create content that effectively meets the needs of your audience.

Case Study: How a Tech SaaS Company Boosted Traffic and Leads with B2B Keyword Research

The Challenge: Finding the Right Keywords for their Target Market

The previous company we worked for provides a cloud-based software solution tailored for small businesses that require assistance with inventory management, order tracking, and invoicing. 

Their services are aimed at small business owners in the technology industry, including e-commerce sellers, software developers, and IT consultants.

The company wanted to increase organic traffic and attract qualified leads to its website. However, they faced challenges in finding the right keywords for their niche audience. Some of the challenges were:

• The tech industry is highly competitive and saturated with keywords dominated by big brands and authoritative websites.

• The company had limited resources and time to conduct extensive keyword research and create content for every possible keyword.

The Solution: A Systematic Approach to B2B Keyword Research

To overcome these challenges, the company made a systematic approach to B2B keyword research that involved four steps:

1. Define the Target Audience and Buyer Personas

The company started by defining its target audience and creating buyer personas representing its ideal customers.

They identified the demographics, psychographics, challenges, goals, and motivations of their buyer personas and the keywords they would use to search for solutions online.

2. Brainstorm potential keywords using Google Autocomplete and competitor websites

The company then used Google Autocomplete, a keyword tool and competitor websites to generate a list of potential keywords that matched their buyer personas' search intent.

These are some of the potential long-tail keywords that matched their buyer personas' search intent;

 •  Inventory management software

 • Order management software

 • Invoice management software

 • Cloud-based software for small businesses.

They typed in their main SaaS keywords and variations in Google and noted down the suggestions that appeared. They also visited their competitors' websites and analyzed the keywords they used in their titles, headings, and content.

3. Refined the list of keywords using Ahrefs

The company used Ahrefs to filter out the keywords with low search volume, high keyword difficulty, low clicks, or low return rate.

They ended up with a list of keywords with the intent that had high search volume and low competition, such as best inventory management software for small businesses, how to choose order management software, and best inventory management software for small business.

4. Selected the most relevant keywords and create content around them

The company finally selected the most relevant keywords for their target audience and created content around them.

They ensured that their content matched the keywords with intent, provided value and solutions to their buyer personas, and followed the best practices of SEO.

This includes using keywords in titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body text, adding internal and external links, and optimizing images and videos.

The Results: Increased Traffic and Leads

By following this systematic approach to B2B keyword research, the company achieved the following results:

• They increased their website traffic by 35% in six months, as they ranked higher for their target keywords and attracted more organic visitors.

• They increased their lead generation by 25% in six months, as they converted more visitors into leads with compelling content and clear calls to action.

• They improved their brand awareness and authority in the tech industry, as they established themselves as a trusted and reliable source of information and solutions for their niche audience.

The company was very satisfied with the outcome of its B2B keyword research and content creation project. They continued using this approach to find new keywords, create new content for their website, and monitor and measure their performance and results.

How to do B2B Keyword Research Conclusion

B2B keyword research is essential for any business looking to drive traffic and generate leads.

By defining your target audience, brainstorming potential keywords, using a keyword research tool, analyzing search intent, and choosing the right keywords, you can create content that resonates with your audience and drives conversions.

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We encourage you to try this process and see the results for your business.