Many companies B2B websites solely for brand introduction. In particular, traditional B2B firms often operate their websites like "digital brochures." Consequently, they typically organize their pages by listing information such as the company's history, service descriptions, and product features. However, customers are rarely visited by websites built in this manner, and even if they do, they leave immediately.
A B2B website present solutions that resolve our business's problems. Therefore, it should serve as a space where potential customers naturally find and explore. Even just building a well-structured website can allow you to utilize it as an effective marketing channel that attracts customers and generates leads.
In this session, I would like to discuss website strategies that encourage customers to seek out and stay, using various case studies of effectively built B2B websites.
How to Make a B2B Website Stand Out to Customers?
If you were a customer, which of the following two stores would you like to visit more?
A shop with a rough path and no signage VS a shop with a neatly organized surroundings and merchandise
Building a website is like opening a shop in an online marketplace. Your website strategy is your signboard, while keywords and content are the signposts guiding customers. No matter how good your products are, if the path to get there is difficult, no one will visit. Even if the information customers are looking for is on our page, if search engines do not recognize it, customers will not be able to discover us.
Therefore, B2B websites must satisfy both types of customers: search engines and actual customers.
1️⃣ Search Engines: Making Google Recognize First
The factors that search engines consider when evaluating websites are as follows.
- Keyword Strategy: Does your website sufficiently include the keywords that customers actually search for?
- Page Structure: Were H tags, meta tags, and internal links effectively utilized so that search engines can understand them?
- Content Relevance: Are multiple pages covering the same topic organically connected?
If you fail to meet this requirement, search engines will not consider your website a reliable source of information. As a result, your search ranking will drop, making it difficult for customers to find your website.
So, let's look at a real-world example. Even for the same "smartphone support" page, the assessment of expertise between the two brands can differ completely depending on how search engines read it.
Examining websites through the eyes of a search engine
From Google's perspective, which of the following two pages is perceived as a specialized brand in the smartphone field?
1. Samsung Electronics Support Center
Search engines determine a page based solely on h-tag elements, as shown in the left screen. The Samsung Electronics Support Center page contains almost no h-tag or meta tag information. From a search engine's perspective, it is difficult to determine what information is being provided.
2. iPhone Support Center
On the other hand, Apple's iPhone Support Center is rich in keywords that search engines can recognize. It is filled with topics that users are likely to be interested in, such as 'iPhone support,' 'transferring data to an iOS 17 iPhone,' and 'using eSIM.' Since Google evaluates such pages as containing 'a lot of information useful to actual customers,' they are highly likely to appear at the top of search results.
Simply making a website design look pretty does not help with traffic. Conversely, no matter how much information you include, if it is not optimized for search engines to recognize, customers will not be able to find your website.
Search engines have specific page structures they prefer. If you understand this, optimizing your webpage structure for keywords won't be that difficult. This simple task will significantly increase the chances of your website being discovered!
2️⃣ Real Customers: Making them stay, explore, and trust
If you have been discovered by search engines, it is now actual customers. B2B customers spend a long time deliberating and go through several steps before making a purchase decision. Therefore, websites must earn trust by providing valuable information to customers with diverse needs and interests.
Characteristics of a website trusted by customers
- Intuitive Information Presentation: Customers must be able to quickly find the information they want. If the menu is complex or it is difficult to find the necessary information, customers may leave within seconds.
- Building trust through storytelling: It is more effective to show actual customer cases or industry use cases rather than simply explaining features.
- provide actual customer reviews and case studies, and place content that can give the confidence that “we can also succeed if we work with this company.”
⭐ Case Study on Building Customer Trust: Zapier
When customers browse a website, a key criterion they consider is 'expertise.' They are verifying whether the brand is indeed an expert in its field. In this regard, a blogcan help build solid trust with customers. Zapier utilized a blog to expand touchpoints with customers and designed its pages to ensure that visitors arriving via search would trust the brand.
On the left are the H-tags for Zapier's blog content. It mentions competitor brands such as 'Notion' and 'OneNote' as key keywords. By utilizing a blog as a subpage like this, you can leverage various directly or indirectly related keywords, significantly expanding exposure and the traffic funnel. Users searching for Notion will likely see this post, right?
⭐Useful SEO Basics
The process of exposing a website to customers
Search engines and actual customers are organically connected. Marketing effectiveness is maximized when both actual readers and search engine readers are satisfied. The process by which customers (search engines + actual customers) evaluate web pages and explore information is similar to the process of us discovering a good book in a bookstore
- Visit bookstore → Bestseller section → New releases section → Browse book covers → Check table of contents → Purchase
- Keyword search on search engine → Top 10 impressions (SERP) → CPC ad discovery → Title & Meta → H tag structure → (After content exploration) Conversion
Website Strategy for Successful B2B Companies
Well-designed B2B websites commonly an efficient menu (GNB) structure. The standard menu structure for B2B SaaS websites is generally as follows:
- Home: Delivering Brand Value and Core Messages
- Product: Description of product features and benefits
- Solutions: Customized value propositions by industry, role, and problem
- Pricing: Pricing Policy and Plan Comparison
- Resources: Blogs, white papers, webinars, case studies, etc.
We must design each page to sequentially provide necessary information according to the customer's purchasing journey and to guide appropriate actions at each stage. Shall we look at international examples to see specifically how best to structure these pages?
1️⃣ Home
As a page that conveys the brand's core values, it can be considered a condensed version of the corporate positioning strategy. Customers should be able to determine what kind of company we are and whether the services are necessary for them solely through the homepage.
The no-code automation platform 'Zapier' used the slogan "Automate Without Limits" to align with its positioning strategy of being "efficient" and "fast." It is also building credibility by showcasing case studies of highly recognized corporate clients.
2️⃣ Product (Product Introduction)
This page proposes the functional value of our service to customers. An effective product page is not merely a list of features, but is organized around the specific benefits and value that each feature brings to the customer.
The data-driven sales platform 'Outreach' has subdivided its platform categories by product features. The structure is designed to allow users to easily find the features they need, regardless of their specific needs. Each category how the corresponding feature solves real-world problems for sales teams . For instance, 'Pipeline Management' page provides detailed explanations on how sales representatives can optimize their sales pipelines and enhances credibility by including actual customer reviews.
3️⃣ Solution
This page proposes specific service value by segmenting customers based on industry, company size, and job function. It is important to create persuasive storytelling using keywords that customers are likely to be interested in.
The CRM and sales automation platform 'pipedrive' operates over 24 solution pages, segmented by industry and job function. It enhances persuasiveness by incorporating keywords and stories relevant to specific roles, explaining why each group actually needs the service. For instance, pages targeting lead managers and sales managers highlight features such as visualized sales processes, lead evaluation, and lead nurturing, emphasizing that the platform can solve the real-world problems faced by those roles.
4️⃣ Resources (Resources/Archives)
This page is essential for maximizing touchpoints with potential customers. You can archive content on topics that customers are likely to be interested in, such as blogs, reports, customer case studies, and user guides.
The SEO analysis tool 'Ahrefs'operates its blog as an independent domain rather than treating it as a page on a website. This allows the blog to function as a content platform in itself, evaluated by search engines as a distinct and valuable site. Within the blog, SEO marketing data, product guides, and beginner's guides. Thanks to this structure, visitors can easily find the information they need and are naturally encouraged to utilize the Ahrefs tool.
the website menu structure above according to the stages of the marketing funnel. Viewing it this way will likely make it easier to understand how to utilize each page.
The Resources pageis a space where you can handle various keywords that customers might be interested in. Since it allows you to include keywords that are not directly related to the product, it expands your reach to potential customers. the Main Page, you can place messages to persuade customers who are wondering, "Do I need this product?" Subsequently, customer problems segmented by job function, industry, and situation the Solutions Page. For instance, a company where security is critical would need a page that resolves questions such as, "Is the API functionality safe?" In this way, you can continuously persuade customers step-by-step to find a clear reason to adopt your product. Finally, customers the Pricing Pageand click the CTA (Call to Action) button, ultimately leading to a lead.
The key here internal link building. Many websites stop at providing information on individual pages. Unfortunately, relying on single pieces of content significantly increases the likelihood of bounce-off. Therefore, you must design a robust website structure that allows customers to naturally navigate to related content.
Is our company website properly designed right now?
Shall we go back to the story about the store? Upon seeing a restaurant struggling to manage, CEO Baek Jong-won gave this advice on a TV show.
If business is slow, check your signboard first
Just as street shops need eye-catching signs to attract customers, the same applies to websites. If traffic is low, you must start by checking the website, which acts as your signboard. However, putting up a signboard isn't a one-time thing. Depending on when customer perceptions change, you might need to put it up a second time.
the first signageshould be designed to prominently display the keywords customers are looking for. For example, instead of displaying the brand name "Chunhyang," you should write "a place that makes good Jajangmyeon," which is what people search for, in larger letters. The same applies to the website. The keywords customers actually search for should be visible before our brand name.
Now that customers have recognized, "This is a place that makes good Jajangmyeon," that is when a second signboard. In other words, the goal is to ensure that even if you hang up a sign that reads "Chunhyang Elifunt," people will understand, "Ah, this is a place that excels at B2B marketing!"
Is now the time to put up the first signboard for our website , or is it the right time to change to the second? Monitor website traffic and customer responses to review the messaging strategy that suits you best right now. Through this process, the path to reaching your potential customers will become clearer, and you will be able to achieve marketing results more quickly!
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