Overview of B2B search marketing. Presentation created for MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer October, 2008.

1. How to Think About B2B
Search Marketing
Ben Hanna
VP, Marketing
Business.com
bhanna@business.com
MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer
October 23, 2008

2. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Research Background
• About Business.com
– Leading B2B directory and PPC ad network
– 6,000+ clients across PPC, directory inclusion and banner ad products
• About the research
– Surveyed search marketing agencies currently managing B2B clients
• Key differences between B2B and B2C search marketing
• Advice for improving B2B paid search and SEO ROI
– Summarized insights from 144 participating agencies, including:

3. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Big Picture – What Makes Business Buying Different?
Business Buying
• More complex and costly
products / services
• “Rationalized” decision
process
• Multiple decision makers /
influencers
• Evaluating both solution
and vendor
• Time / role pressure
Business Buying
• More complex and costly
products / services
• “Rationalized” decision
process
• Multiple decision makers /
influencers
• Evaluating both solution
and vendor
• Time / role pressure
Implications
• Longer sales cycle
• Phased purchasing
process
• Multiple “search” sessions,
by different DMs &
influencers, over time
• Task oriented
– Want to quickly find what
you need, and get on to
the next project
Implications
• Longer sales cycle
• Phased purchasing
process
• Multiple “search” sessions,
by different DMs &
influencers, over time
• Task oriented
– Want to quickly find what
you need, and get on to
the next project

4. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
*Source: B2B Purchaser Study, Enquiro Search Solutions, May, 2007
Business Buyers Use Multiple Types of Sites When Purchasing
• Over 85% of business buyers use “search” during the purchasing process
– 49.3 million US internet users in August researched a business product or service online in
the last 6 months (comScore Plan Metrix, August, 2008)
• Use multiple types of sites, and starting point varies by phase*
– General search engines – where start when first identify a need
– Industry information site – supplemental research for niche products
– B2B search sites – find clean list of vendors and cut down to a short list

5. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Business Search is Iterative
• Marketers often think of the search process as…
• But in reality it looks a lot more like this…
Source: ”Into the Mind of the Searcher,” Enquiro Search Solutions, 2003
Times…
• # of DMs
• # of search
sessions

6. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
• Needle in a haystack comes to mind….
• Must consider the following:
– Who are you targeting? Industry, purchasing role, etc.
– What sites will they visit as part of the purchasing process?
– When will they visit those sites?
*comScore –
MediaMetrix
January, 2008;
PlanMetrix, Summer
2007 release
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
InternetUsers(MM)
Count (MM) 184 70 54 7.5 0.9
US Total
Employed
Full-Time
Use Internet
at Work
Work in
Manufacturing
Mfg Online
Decision
Maker
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
InternetUsers(MM)
Count (MM) 184 70 54 7.5 0.9
US Total
Employed
Full-Time
Use Internet
at Work
Work in
Manufacturing
Mfg Online
Decision
Maker
100%
38%
32%
4%
0.5%
Reaching Your Target Business Buyers is a Challenge

7. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Does B2B Search Marketing Differ from B2C?
Yes
• Longer sales cycle
– Product/service complexity & cost
– Multiple decision makers
– “Rational” decision process
– Evaluate both solution and vendor
• Unique audience
– Limited number of buyers
– More experience
– Different tolerance for search
• Search marketing challenges
– Multiple keyword meanings
– Audience targeting capabilities
– Multiple touch points across many
sites over time
Yes
• Longer sales cycle
– Product/service complexity & cost
– Multiple decision makers
– “Rational” decision process
– Evaluate both solution and vendor
• Unique audience
– Limited number of buyers
– More experience
– Different tolerance for search
• Search marketing challenges
– Multiple keyword meanings
– Audience targeting capabilities
– Multiple touch points across many
sites over time
No
• Its still all about…
– Right audience
– Right message
– Right offer
– Positive ROI
• Tactical approach is the same
– Selecting keywords
– Developing ads and offers
– Creating landing pages
– Optimizing pages for search
engines
– Etc.
• General search engines play a
key role (but not the only role)
No
• Its still all about…
– Right audience
– Right message
– Right offer
– Positive ROI
• Tactical approach is the same
– Selecting keywords
– Developing ads and offers
– Creating landing pages
– Optimizing pages for search
engines
– Etc.
• General search engines play a
key role (but not the only role)

8. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
5 Key Rules for B2B Search Marketing
1. Cover the entire buying cycle
2. Focus on traffic quality
3. Drive visitors to action so you can play to your
marketing strong points
4. Measure what you can & acknowledge limits
5. Start targeted, then expand

9. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
“B2B search
marketers need to
move past advertising
exclusively on the Big
Three and advertise
on niche and vertical
sites that are relevant
to their business
model. That is where
they are going to be
able to stand out.”
– Danielle Leitch
“B2B search
marketers need to
move past advertising
exclusively on the Big
Three and advertise
on niche and vertical
sites that are relevant
to their business
model. That is where
they are going to be
able to stand out.”
– Danielle Leitch
Rule #1: Cover the Entire Buying Cycle
• “Everyone uses Google” is reasonably true
– 67% of US internet users use Google Search*
– Google is a key part of virtually any paid search
program
• “Everyone uses only Google” is not true
– General search engines are starting points that
connect business buyers to other types of sites
– Of Google search users:*
• 41% use Yahoo! search
• 35% use Ask.com search
• 29% use MSN-Windows Live search
– Business buyers visit a huge range of sites
• Business buyers make up more than a quarter of
total site visitors for 17% of sites tracked by
comScore PlanMetrix (732 of 4,256 domains)
• Different decision makers require different
types of information
– User vs. CFO vs. IT
*Source: comScore Media Metrix, August, 2008

10. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Rule #1: Cover the Entire Buying Cycle
• Establish campaigns on the following types of sites
– 1st tier general search engines – where people start early in process
– B2B general search – strong presence on 1st tier engines and support research/negotiation
– B2B niche search – attract a very specific type of user who knows what they want
– 2nd tier general search engines – optional
Vs.Awareness Negotiation

11. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
“[B2B] PPC costs are
often escalated by
advertisers pursuing B2C
clients. For example, a B2B
advertiser might bid on the
term “pumps” with the intent
of targeting engineers
searching for an industrial
pump. Similarly, a B2C
advertiser might bid on the
same term targeting women
shopping for high heel
shoes. Because the B2C
market for women’s shoes
is much more competitive
(in terms of the number of
potential suppliers) than the
B2B market, B2C
advertisers will tend to pay
more for top placement.”
– Amy Pastorella
“[B2B] PPC costs are
often escalated by
advertisers pursuing B2C
clients. For example, a B2B
advertiser might bid on the
term “pumps” with the intent
of targeting engineers
searching for an industrial
pump. Similarly, a B2C
advertiser might bid on the
same term targeting women
shopping for high heel
shoes. Because the B2C
market for women’s shoes
is much more competitive
(in terms of the number of
potential suppliers) than the
B2B market, B2C
advertisers will tend to pay
more for top placement.”
– Amy Pastorella
Rule #2: Focus on Traffic Quality

12. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Rule #2: Focus on Traffic Quality
• Poor quality traffic costs you money
• Use targeting tactics to improve traffic quality
and overall ROI
– Add B2B sites to your program
• Deliver more targeted customer “out of the box”
but at lower volume
– Tune your campaigns on general search
engines
• Avoid keywords that overlap significantly with
consumer terms
• Avoid worthless clicks – make sure ads speak to
your target audience
• Build out keyword list with long-tail terms
• Utilize site and demographic targeting
“B2B businesses need to
be very concise in
messaging and
advertising to ensure
targeted traffic and
corresponding leads. The
volume of accidental or
non-targeted traffic can be
very large and eat away
budgets and ROI for B2B.
Qualifying with
keywords, ad text or site
demographics will help
eliminate wasteful
spending.”
– Kevin Heun
“B2B businesses need to
be very concise in
messaging and
advertising to ensure
targeted traffic and
corresponding leads. The
volume of accidental or
non-targeted traffic can be
very large and eat away
budgets and ROI for B2B.
Qualifying with
keywords, ad text or site
demographics will help
eliminate wasteful
spending.”
– Kevin Heun

13. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Rule #3: Drive Visitors to Action
• Target key audience(s) and list specific offers in your ads (see rule #1)
• Design simple landing pages to focus visitors on the offer
– Exchanging basic contact info for valuable content is a fair trade for interested business
buyers
• Utilize same qualification rules for search visitors & leads from other channels
– Search visitors may be earlier in the buying process
– Giving these leads directly to Sales could result in complaints about poor lead quality
• Establish and/or improve your lead nurture programs
– Develop your own
– Consider automated solutions from Eloqua, Market2Lead, Manticore, Marketo, Pardot or
other vendors
“B2B needs an email nurturing program for opt-ins so that you don't find
yourself creating interest and contact information without following-up – ROI is
really hurt by this as well as poor integration with sales.”
– Karen Breen Vogel
“B2B needs an email nurturing program for opt-ins so that you don't find
yourself creating interest and contact information without following-up – ROI is
really hurt by this as well as poor integration with sales.”
– Karen Breen Vogel

14. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Rule #4: Measure What You Can & Acknowledge Limits
• Time available for search marketing impacts B2B search metrics*
– Tend to focus on what’s easily observable
• Develop your program in simple, prioritized steps
– Give yourself a break – you don’t have to be a metrics pro overnight
• Accept the value of different metrics
• Avoid substituting guesses for real insights
*Source: Business.com Search Marketer Study January, 2008.
Percentages are for B2B direct search marketer respondents (non-
agency, 50%+ of revenue from sales to other businesses)
Activity
Average % of Time
Spent per Week
Online Marketing Overall 67%
Paid Search 19%
SEO 18%
Email Marketing 13%
Social Media Programs 7%
Managing Affiliate Programs 5%
Banner Advertising 3%
Managing eCommerce Listings 2%
Submitting to Shopping Engines 2%
Top 5 metrics tracked:
1. Cost per click (69%)
2. Online conversions (62%)
3. Click through rate (53%)
4. Traffic volume (53%)
5. Total clicks (43%)
Top 5 metrics tracked:
1. Cost per click (69%)
2. Online conversions (62%)
3. Click through rate (53%)
4. Traffic volume (53%)
5. Total clicks (43%)

15. © 2008, Business.com, Inc.
Rule #5: Start Targeted, Then Expand
• An interesting contrast….
• Typical way to launch a new marketing
channel:
– Identify opportunities
– Develop messaging and audience test plan
– Launch small scale campaigns
– Identify the winning approach
– Scale up the campaign
• Typical way to launch search marketing:
– Start with one or more of the “Big 3”
– Drive a ton of traffic
– Work hard to improve targeting through better
keywords, ad copy, site exclusions, etc.
– Scale down the campaign
Time
Targeted Broad
Time
TargetedBroad