B2B Web Strategy Blog – eMagine

Done right, SEO can make your B2B’s product pages visible

January 5th, 2010 Posted by: Bill Gadless

Let’s face it… the most critical pages we B2Bs develop for our websites – those that describe our products or services – are not very glamorous.  In fact, they can often be pretty dry, dusty stuff.  Compared to the latest tabloid story about Lindsey Lohan smoking while texting while driving under the influence, it’s never going to make it onto the first page of Digg.

But that doesn’t mean that search engine optimization (SEO) can’t help prospects find your product pages.  Done right, it certainly can;  and Tom Pick recently posted four tricks of the trade…

Use the terms your prospects use.  We run into way too many B2Bs who say, “Our widget represents a totally new category, so we’ve invented new terms for it.”  That’s all fine, if you have the time and resources to teach the market your terminology;  but until you do, your product pages may well never be seen.  If you don’t know what terms your prospects use when looking for products similar to yours, use a keyword research tool.

Tell a story.  Use the keywords that you just identified in a compelling story that helps your prospective customers see how their life will be better once they buy your widget.  You don’t have to cover everything within the story;  use links to direct readers to more detailed pages or relevant case studies.

Develop detailed product descriptions, also incorporating those keywords.  The more detailed and vivid the description, the more appealing it will be… both to human prospects and search-engine bots.

Use pictures if at all possible, and optimize the alt tags associated with the images, again using your now-familiar keywords.  Photos and diagrams add interest and will help your prospects understand, while the alt tags communicate their value to search engines.  You can also use keywords in the file names of those images.

Follow these steps, and – while they aren’t going to outrank those stories about Lindsey anytime soon – your product pages should be readily discoverable by your prospects.

Entry Filed under: B2B Web Strategy,Search Engine Marketing