Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
61% of B2B marketers state that SEO and organic traffic are their top inbound marketing priority
Organic search drives 53% of all website traffic compared to 15% for paid search
46% of all Google searches have local intent which is critical for local B2B service providers
B2B companies spend an average of 8-12 weeks in the research phase before contacting a sales rep
71% of B2B researchers start their research with a generic search using non-branded terms
B2B buyers conduct an average of 12 searches before engaging with a specific brand's site
The average top-ranking page on Google also ranks in the top 10 for nearly 1,000 other relevant keywords
The #1 result in Google’s organic search results has an average CTR of 27.6%
90.63% of pages get no organic search traffic from Google
SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate compared to 1.7% for outbound leads like print advertising
57% of B2B marketers say that SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative
Companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those that do not
91% of B2B marketers use content marketing to reach customers
Long-form content (3,000+ words) gets 77% more backlinks than short articles
70% of B2B buyers cite video as the most useful content format when making a purchasing decision
Buyer Behavior & Intent
- 1B2B companies spend an average of 8-12 weeks in the research phase before contacting a sales rep
- 271% of B2B researchers start their research with a generic search using non-branded terms
- 3B2B buyers conduct an average of 12 searches before engaging with a specific brand's site
- 489% of B2B researchers use the internet during the B2B research process
- 544% of B2B buyers seek pricing information on a vendor’s website before making contact
- 680% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles versus an advertisement
- 777% of B2B buyers state that their latest purchase was very complex or difficult, increasing the need for helpful SEO content
- 8Millennials now make up 73% of all B2B and purchase decisions
- 984% of B2B executives use social media as a source for making purchase decisions
- 1050% of B2B search queries today are made on smartphones
- 11B2B buyers spend only 17% of the total purchase journey meeting with potential suppliers
- 1262% of B2B buyers say a web search was one of the first three resources they used to learn about a solution
- 1333% of B2B buyers use search engines to research the technical details of a solution
- 1460% of B2B buyers say mobile played a significant role in a recent purchase
- 1534% of B2B buyers have increased the amount of time they spend researching purchases online
- 16Vendors who turn searchers into buyers confuse them the least, not necessarily inform them the most
- 1790% of B2B buyers do not cold call a company anymore; they research online first
- 1880% of B2B buyers expect the same buying experience as B2C customers
- 1965% of B2B buyers say that the vendor’s content had a significant impact on their buying decision
- 2086% of B2B buyers prefer interactive content on demand rather than static formats
- 2158% of B2B buyers check review sites during their purchase journey
Interpretation
Today's B2B buyer, led by millennials and increasingly mobile first, spends eight to twelve weeks researching and conducts roughly a dozen generic searches across search engines, social media and review sites, prefers B2C level experiences, clear pricing and interactive on demand articles rather than ads, avoids cold calls, and ultimately rewards vendors who simplify complex purchases with cold, hard data instead of salesy noise.
Content Marketing Tactics
- 191% of B2B marketers use content marketing to reach customers
- 2Long-form content (3,000+ words) gets 77% more backlinks than short articles
- 370% of B2B buyers cite video as the most useful content format when making a purchasing decision
- 4B2B companies that blog 11+ times per month get almost 3X more traffic than those blogging 0-1 times
- 573% of B2B marketers say blog posts are their most effective content type for checking top-of-funnel awareness
- 6Update and republishing old blog posts with new content and images can increase organic traffic by as much as 106%
- 7Case studies are used by 73% of B2B marketers as a key content strategy
- 8Using "Guide" in a title tag correlates with higher rankings for B2B informational queries
- 9Content with at least one image gets twice as many shares as content with no images
- 10Interactive content generates 2x more conversions than passive content
- 1147% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep
- 1243% of B2B marketers utilize guest posting as a primary link-building strategy
- 13Articles with "What is" in the title generate significantly more backlinks in B2B niches
- 14Listicles generate 2x more social shares than other content formats for B2B
- 15Titles with 6-13 words attract the highest and most consistent amount of traffic
- 16Headlines ending with a question mark get 23.3% more social shares
- 17Updating existing content can boost organic traffic by up to 40%
- 18White papers are the most preferred content type for B2B buyers during the consideration stage (used by 71%)
- 1951% of B2B marketers prioritize creating visual assets as part of their content strategy
- 20Podcasts are used by 24% of B2B marketers as a content channel
Interpretation
Think of content as your B2B matchmaker: prioritize long-form Guides and "What is" explainers, publish frequent image-rich blog posts and videos alongside case studies, listicles and question headlines of six to thirteen words, refresh and republish old posts, add interactive elements and guest posts, and offer white papers, because buyers sample multiple pieces before contacting sales and these moves reliably boost backlinks, shares, conversions and organic traffic—often by twofold or more.
Lead Generation & Conversion
- 1SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate compared to 1.7% for outbound leads like print advertising
- 257% of B2B marketers say that SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative
- 3Companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those that do not
- 4Form conversions drop significantly when a B2B lead form has more than 3 fields
- 5Conversion rates for B2B organic search traffic are approximately 2.6% on average
- 6Including a video on a landing page can increase conversion rates by 80%
- 7The average landing page conversion rate across all B2B industries is 2.23%
- 8Leads from search engines cost 61% less than leads from outbound marketing like cold calling
- 9Personalized CTAs perform 202% better than basic CTAs
- 1052% of B2B buyers say they are 'definitely' more likely to buy from a vendor after reading their content
- 1185% of B2B marketers say lead generation is their most important content marketing goal
- 1296% of B2B visitors who come to a website are not ready to buy yet
- 13Nurtured leads produce a 20% increase in sales opportunities versus non-nurtured leads
- 14The average conversion rate for B2B technology companies is only 1.7%
- 15Companies with 40+ landing pages get 12 times more leads than those with 5 or less
- 1668% of B2B businesses use strategic landing pages to acquire leads
- 1774% of companies state that converting leads into customers is their top priority
- 18Companies that automate lead management see a 10% or greater increase in revenue in 6-9 months
- 1959% of B2B marketers say SEO is their biggest challenge in lead generation
Interpretation
Stop shouting into the void with print ads and cold calls: invest in SEO and content like blogs and video, pair short forms and personalized CTAs with lots of targeted landing pages, and automate and nurture those leads to get far cheaper, higher-converting B2B customers, which is why lead generation tops marketers' priorities even though SEO remains their biggest challenge.
Strategy, Budget & ROI
- 161% of B2B marketers state that SEO and organic traffic are their top inbound marketing priority
- 2Organic search drives 53% of all website traffic compared to 15% for paid search
- 346% of all Google searches have local intent which is critical for local B2B service providers
- 4Roughly 64% of marketers actively invest time in search engine optimization
- 549% of businesses optimize their content for mobile as a primary strategy
- 6Businesses with over 500 employees are more likely (57%) to outsource SEO than smaller businesses
- 745% of enterprises are investing more than $20,000 a month in SEO services
- 875% of marketers feel their SEO tactics are 'extremely' or 'very' effective at helping them achieve marketing goals
- 970% of marketers see SEO as more effective than PPC for generating sales
- 10B2B companies allocate, on average, 10% of their marketing budget specifically to SEO
- 1120% of searches on the Google App are now done by voice, impacting B2B long-tail strategy
- 12B2B marketers who have a documented strategy are 313% more likely to report success
- 13Only 30% of B2B marketers say their organizations are effective at measuring content marketing ROI
- 14The top three ranking factors for Google are content, links, and RankBrain
- 1560% of B2B marketers report that their content marketing strategy is extremely or moderately successful
- 16Digital advertising spend in B2B is projected to reach $18.5 billion by 2024, emphasizing the need for organic offsets
- 1769% of successful B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy
- 1882% of marketers who blog see positive ROI from their inbound marketing
- 1964% of time online is spent on mobile devices, requiring mobile-first indexing strategies for B2B
Interpretation
Think of SEO as compound interest: B2B firms that treat it as a documented, mobile and local first strategy focused on content, links and RankBrain friendly long-tail and voice optimization, and that invest or outsource wisely, will convert far more organic traffic into sales than competitors burning budget on ads without measurable ROI.
Technical SEO & Rankings
- 1The average top-ranking page on Google also ranks in the top 10 for nearly 1,000 other relevant keywords
- 2The #1 result in Google’s organic search results has an average CTR of 27.6%
- 390.63% of pages get no organic search traffic from Google
- 4Mobile page speed improvement of 0.1 seconds can increase conversion rates by 8.4% for retail and B2B sites
- 5Only 5.7% of pages will rank in the top 10 search results within a year of publication
- 6The average page loading speed for a first-page Google result is 1.65 seconds
- 7Moving from position #3 to position #2 in Google results usually boosts CTR by 25%
- 8Websites with a superior mobile experience generate 5% more revenue on average
- 966.31% of pages have no backlinks, which is a primary reason for lack of organic traffic
- 10HTTPS is a confirmed Google ranking signal and correlates with higher rankings
- 11Longer keywords (10-15 words) get 1.76x more clicks in organic search results than single-word terms
- 12Anchor text variation is a key factor, with exact match anchors appearing less frequently in top ranking sites post-Penguin
- 13Having a keyword in the domain name has a 0.03 correlation with ranking (negligible impact compared to past years)
- 1439% of purchasers claimed that a vendor’s site loaded too slow, causing them to abandon the research
- 1550% of page-1 Google results are now HTTPS
- 16Schema markup is used by over 36% of search results appearing in Google
- 17Bounce rates for B2B websites average between 25% and 55%
- 18URLs that contain a keyword have a 45% higher click-through rate
- 19A site that loads in 1 second has a conversion rate 3x higher than a site that loads in 5 seconds
- 20Domain authority is the strongest correlation to high rankings in Google
- 21301 redirects lose approximately 15% of link juice, affecting site migration rankings
Interpretation
If you want B2B buyers to find and actually buy from you, stop publishing slow, linkless, insecure pages and instead focus on fast mobile-first HTTPS sites with schema and solid backlinks to build domain authority, target long-tail intent-rich keywords with varied anchor text to win higher positions and the outsized click-through and conversion gains most of the 90 percent of ignored pages will never see, because small speed improvements, moving up even one spot, and preserving link equity during migrations can multiply traffic and revenue while exact-match domain tricks no longer move the needle.
