B2B or business-to-business refers to the activity of buying and selling that occurs between businesses as opposed to businesses selling to consumers (see ‘B2C’).
The language used by industrial, commercial, and government enterprises is typically very different from that used by consumers who are generally not familiar with insider-speak or technical language and are motivated by more personal desires. B2B commerce transactions are driven by very specific and often uncompromising needs and wants.
Search engine optimization and marketing initiatives designed for B2B begin by uncovering the very specific language used by the sourcing professionals targeted in the campaign. Even given a single product or service, this language can vary dramatically between sectors or individual types of businesses. Using specific keywords and phrases, carefully crafted copy supported by web creative is designed to reach and speak to the needs and wants of these groups. The idea is to attract those who are most likely to convert (ultimately take the action you desire them to take) as they are actively searching for what you offer.
Supporting off-page (also referred to as off-site) seo initiatives are often run concurrently to ensure access to the greatest number of target respondents. These initiatives may include the publication of articles at article distribution sites, affiliate marketing campaigns, product/service-specific ecommerce micro-sites, search engine marketing campaigns such as AdWords, email marketing, inclusion in industry specific directories and search engines, online webinars or events, banner advertising, or other forms of online advertising, to name just a few.
