#073 Content Marketing VIP Newsletter

B2B keyword research is more about finding keywords with high business value rather than high search volume.

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🎯 Actionable Insights

💡 1. B2B SEO Tip: Chase high business value, not high search volume

B2B keyword research is more about finding keywords with high business value rather than high search volume.

Keywords with high business value = Keywords where you can promote the business offerings.

Example:

For a corporate gift manufacturing company, the following keyword types have high business value:

• why corporate gifting is important

• How much to spend on gifts

• When to give gifts to employees

• Corporate gift ideas for clients, etc.

A common mistake in B2B SEO: ignoring low search volume keywords (say 10, 20) despite having high business value.

This is a mistake that we should avoid. In the B2B segment, buying intent of a keyword is much more important than the actual search volume shown in SEO tools.

In general, B2B industries tend to have lower search volume comparatively.

This is why it is okay to target keywords with a search volume as low as 10 if it has high business value and less competition in the SERP.

Here’s the keyword categorizing chart for B2B SEO:

Action items:

• Give top priority to keywords with high business value (Zone I and Zone II in the chart) even if the search volume is as low as 20.

• Chasing keywords with high search volume and low business value (Zone III and Zone IV) as a standalone metric doesn't make sense unless the business model is to drive revenue via display ads.

👉 Check out the content marketing VIP club to get access to SEO case studies, in-depth guides, and frameworks.

💡 2. A B2B SaaS writer’s guide to outranking competitors while creating value (by Bani Kaur)

A little background: Bani Kaur has shared the process of writing an article that now outranks competitors like HubSpot and Techcrunch for the keyword 'Twitter e-commerce.

Let’s dive into the step-by-step process.

Step 1. Study existing results for your keyword

Analyzing SERP is the best way to understand the search intent of a keyword. It includes studying content format, heading structure, topics covered, etc.

In this example, all top-ranking results were paragraph-styled snippets for the keyword 'Twitter eCommerce.'

Considering this, Bani has structured all the definitions in the article similarly.

Step 2. Cover everything the top results cover but ALSO add more

Consider these elements to create additional value:

• context

• examples

• takeaways

• images

Here’s how:

For this target keyword:

- TechCrunch shared why twitter released eCommerce.

- Hubspot listed 1 brand example + 2 features + 3 ways to use Twitter eCommerce.

Now, the goal is to improve the content regarding information gain.

For this, the article has covered the following:

• Importance of Twitter e-commerce (context) for DTC

• All 4 features of Twitter e-commerce with images (context+images)

• 3 super detailed examples of brands using them (examples)

• 4 strategies for brands to get started (takeaways)

This helps to improve the content depth as compared to top-ranking pages.

Step 3. Context: Explain why something is important NOW

“Explain features in detail and outline any warnings, disclaimers, and pro features your audience should be aware of.”

Here's how:

Step 4. When sharing examples, explain everything

Adding relevant examples within the content improves overall readability and makes it easy to digest.

Tip from Bani: “Break down how things work for your audience. Don't leave them guessing.”

Don't just say 'example of Twitter e-commerce.'

Say, 'This example of Twitter e-commerce works because Brand does ABC, and that leads to XYZ.

Step 5. When you've finished sharing an example, add *actionable* takeaways

To write this, answer:

• how readers can use this for their audience

• how they can experiment with it

• what they can copy

And tie it back to the example.

Step 6. Whenever anything can be explained easier with an image, add one

Don’t add images just for the sake of it.

That means every image in the article should add value to the readers by showing credibility, proof, illustration of complex things, etc.

Additional benefit: it makes your content easy to skim and engage.

The image could be in the form of:

• Custom illustration

• Product usage screenshots

• Social media post screenshots

• Charts, etc.

👉 Follow Bani Kaur for more amazing writing insights (Freelance B2B SaaS writer)

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💬 Bite-sized Insights

💡 1. Use shorter sentences to improve the readability of your website's content

If your website doesn't fall under a technical industry (say automotive, scientific research, etc.), guide your writers to an average of <10 words per sentence.

No need to write every sentence with this criteria but overall, the average of fewer than 10 words is a good range for improved readability.

In short: Don’t write longer sentences unnecessarily.

Bad example: We can automate the task so that by using it, users save time.

Good example: We can automate the task to save users’ time.

Here’s a great example from one of Backlinko’s articles:

👉 Check the readability score of your content

💡 2. How to use TOC to grow organic traffic (by Francesco Baldini)

Here's the 3-step process to find TOC sections to grow organic traffic:

Step 1. Identify pages that include a Table of contents (TOC) in GSC

Open the Google search console's p[erformance report and filter pages with the # symbol in their URL.

This will show you all the TOC sections that are getting clicks and impressions in Google.

Step 2. Identify the queries the TOC 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿

Have a look at the queries that the TOC section is ranking for and identify them:

A. Queries with high Impressions and low Clicks

B. Queries about topics not covered well

C. Extremely focused keywords

This way, you can find opportunities to update the page/content/etc. And improve the organic rankings.

Step 3. Use your findings to update the section

Once you find the opportunity, it is time to update the page to match the user intent for TOC queries.

• Check whether the topic is well covered in the section: if not, update the content.

Pro Tip: create a page when it makes sense

If the queries are very specific, they don't fully cover the topic.

Consider creating a new page & add an internal link from the relevant section.”

👉 Insights from Francesco Baldini (Follo him for more SEO insights like this)

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