Why B2B Brands Have a Link Building Problem

There are a limited amount of B2B brands that are still doing a good job of corporate storytelling in 2013. The ones who are excelling include Cisco, Boeing, and GE, but there still are many B2B brands that have a long way to travel. You may be wondering: how does corporate storytelling play a role in SEO strategy and link building? We would have to follow up by asking: Remember how I mentioned the year we’re in, you know, 2013? 

Link building is an important part of SEO, but B2B brands are much better off telling their story to acquire links and traffic. The best online B2B marketing pushes corporate messaging even further, and it turns into stories about customers, people, advocates, and influencers which plead to be shared. 

The Lay of SEO Land in 2013

Search engines are cracking down on sites that are getting links and traffic from bad neighborhoods, and they’re also making a point to prove that they’re after quality, original content that helps your customer. In the top highlights of Search Metrics’ 2013 Ranking Factors, they conclude that “good content is always important: it comes to quality.”

Social signals also have more correlation with higher rankings, ultimately making online conversations surrounding your brand a pivotal part in both SEO and storytelling. Search Metrics goes on to say that a lot of brand pages lack on site optimization, but they have a lot of good links and social signals that rank them in top positions.

Bottom line, webmasters need to take out the dirty laundry and clean up their link profiles. We’re still seeing signs of B2B brands buying links or pursuing every low-hanging directory. It’s time to turn the industry’s attention to website content creation and social media marketing that fuels rankings.

Storytelling with Marketing in Mind

Storytelling isn’t just for established B2B brands that have the resources to execute like Boeing and GE, but they’re good for learning a thing or two. GE has a rich history filled with stories surrounding manufacturing for aviation. They put a lot of this content of GE Reports, a resource for stories and web-based articles and videos. These stories aren’t just interesting, they leverage thought leadership and show GE as a top innovator.

Building up brand awareness is also something to consider, and it’s something you can do while creating high-quality content. For instance, when you create an Ebook, how-to guide, or white paper, try and develop a strong PR and social campaign to connect relevant audiences to your content. If your story is good, you’ll have influencers and media interested in your story. All of this hard work is what Noggin considers link building - NOT soliciting links from spammy sources.

Like GE, storytelling can be done through on-site content. too. You may want to consider shifting your focus to building a quality website that is friendly to users. It’s seldom we come across regional, or even national B2B brands that have top competitors with optimized sites. By making website usability a top focus in building links, you can see:

• Higher conversion rates
• Customers spending more time on your site
• Brand recognition that makes customers come back.
• Thought leadership

There are still a lot of technical SEO correlations with higher rankings. Search Metrics’ study showed that URL length, position of keyword in your meta title, and existence of meta description to be the most important technical aspects.

Short Term Link Building (if you must)

There are always a plethora of short-term link building strategies that can prove successful:

Existing Brand Mentions 

We just talked about brand awareness and storytelling, so why not look for sources that are already mentioning your name, but not providing a link. This strategy can build links on relevant sites that already talk about your brand, and they can drive qualified traffic from audiences that will make a purchase.

Look at Competitor Links

The SEO landscape of B2B brands is not very well developed, hence why we’re writing this article. You should look at the links your competitor possesses, check to see if they’re from legitimate sources, and look for outreach opportunities there. 

Build Relationships with Bloggers

Wouldn’t it be cool if a small/mid-sized B2B brand reached out to Noggin about linking to them through a follow-up article? Truth is, small-time blogs still do look for link exchanges and relationship opportunities. Start a conversation with these bloggers and see if there would be any opportunity to be featured in an upcoming article. 

Looking Ahead

Long-term SEO and link building opportunities will always garnish the most valued links. They often have the power of building a strong online presence and will establish you as a thought leader in your industry. Heck, a mid-sized IT firm might have some proprietary way of showing how much energy your building consumes. Why not leverage that and develop case studies of how it makes a difference for building operators?