Maria is an experienced marketing professional in both B2C and B2B spaces. She’s earned certifications in inbound marketing, content marketing, Google Analytics, and PR. Her favorite topics include digital marketing, social media, and AI. When she’s not immersed in digital marketing and writing, she’s running, swimming, biking, or playing with her dogs.
It’s no secret that businesses of all sizes and industries benefit from having a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Whether it’s a large business-to-business (B2B) company or a solo business-to-consumer (B2C) venture, optimizing your website can attract your target audience to your business.
However, some industries need it more than others. Have you found yourself asking, “Do I need SEO?” Find the answer in this blog post, and get insights from our SEO experts:
Businesses in competitive B2B and B2C industries need SEO the most for two primary reasons.
These companies need to outrank their competitors in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Second, with SEO, consumers looking for their products or services can discover their business when they search online.
Your audience’s demographics also influence the impact of SEO on your business. If your customers belong to a demographic group that heavily uses search before making purchase decisions, SEO is a critical part of your strategy.
“SEO is crucial for B2B markets like heavy equipment because people — whether shopping as consumers or business buyers — use Google to find what they need,” Sarah Berry, WebFX’s Lead SEO Consultant, explains.
Many people are unaware of heavy equipment companies’ existence unless they work in the industry or in a related one. When a heavy equipment company implements SEO, its website is discovered by interested people searching for its business.
Expert insights from
Sarah BerryWebFX’s Lead SEO Consultant
“With SEO, you can meet users at the right moment with helpful content that converts these users into qualified leads.”
2. Manufacturing
Like heavy equipment businesses, manufacturing companies need SEO to improve their discoverability among B2B buyers. Investing in SEO can increase their website traffic and get more qualified leads.
As a result, manufacturing businesses can potentially get more customers and enjoy improved return on investment (ROI).
3. Industrial
Industrial companies invest in resources like equipment, thus having higher expenditures. For these businesses, it’s important to get a good ROI.
Enter SEO. It’s an excellent strategy to keep a steady flow of new leads coming in.
This digital marketing strategy can also nurture their relationships with current customers because SEO involves creating helpful content that their prospects and customers need. A website optimized for search also loads faster and is designed well, fostering trust among first-time site visitors.
4. Home and facility services
Home and facility services businesses typically experience seasonal dips in website visitors and leads. To stay top-of-mind among their audience, these businesses need SEO to remain visible when their prospects seek services.
Expert insights from
Lace LlanoraDigital Marketer
“SEO is essential for home and facility services because it makes it easy for homeowners, residents, and facility managers to find you when they need immediate help.”
Whether you’re an HVAC company, power utility business, or contractor, optimizing your website for search engines and users will result in more site visitors searching for your services.
“By enhancing your online presence, you show local customers that they can rely on your business,” Lace adds. “You get to attract regular clients and foster trust, helping you stand out from other providers and boosting your revenue.”
5. Professional services
The professional services sector is highly competitive. For these businesses, online visibility is key to attracting more prospects and gaining their trust.
“SEO is essential for professional services because it helps their prospects easily discover their expertise when they need specialized solutions,” Lace shares.
To improve their rankings in SERPs, professional service providers like architects and wholesalers must create useful content and optimize their website design.
“Boosting your online presence showcases your ability to meet unique client needs and build trust,” Lace points out. “This not only strengthens client relationships but drives more contracts and increases revenue for your business.”
6. Healthcare
More than half of U.S. adults use the Internet to look for medical information, giving healthcare and medical professionals plenty of chances to get their target audience’s attention. With a solid SEO strategy, medical practitioners can reach prospective patients — whether they’re seeking medical information or special medical services.
“SEO is crucial for healthcare providers because it helps patients find you easily, especially for specialized services,” Lace shares.
Expert insights from
Lace LlanoraDigital Marketer
Pro tip: Improve your online presence with SEO to attract more local patients. SEO can lead to increased appointments and revenue. It also builds trust among them, giving them peace of mind that you can address their needs.
When tech companies optimize their site, they create content pieces that aim to reach their audience at different stages of their buyers’ journey. As a result, B2B consumers looking for their services will discover them when they search for relevant topics.
SEO also improves the overall site experience for users, thus engaging prospects and fostering trust. This makes SEO an excellent way to generate quality leads and increase revenue for tech firms.
They must optimize their websites to outrank competitors in search results for topics related to their offerings. To do so, they must know their customers well enough to identify their pain points and create relevant content to draw them to their website.
Lawyers need SEO services to improve their offices’ reach and attract prospects to sign up as leads. SEO enhances a legal office’s reputation, with fresh and relevant content boosting their thought leadership.
9. Hospitality
With the tourism and hospitality industry’s revenue forecast for 2029 valued at $1.1 billion, it’s not surprising that it’s one of the most competitive sectors today. For a hospitality business to thrive online, it needs SEO to stand out.
SEO improves a hospitality business’s visibility online, which is critical in its industry as 83% of travelers research on mobile devices before finalizing their plans. With an optimized website, tourism companies can lead prospects to their websites, where they can find helpful travel information and use handy interactive tools.
While SEO doesn’t drive immediate results, it is a critical strategy for hospitality businesses to generate leads, bookings, and revenue continuously.
Consumers don’t look for real estate properties to buy or apartments for rent every day. When they do, realtors must rank in relevant SERPs to get discovered.
As another competitive industry, real estate will benefit from an SEO strategy to reach local buyers and sellers. An optimized realtor website makes browsing listings a breeze, thus increasing their leads and improving their ROI.
Creating unique and insightful content can boost a real estate firm’s credibility. Other reputable websites may quote you and link to your page, thus driving potential leads to your site.
Why is SEO important for my business?
SEO is a crucial digital marketing strategy for both B2B and B2C businesses because it can improve their discoverability regardless of their size.
Whether you’re a small B2C company targeting a local audience or a B2B business aiming to reach an international audience, SEO is a valuable strategy to drive high-quality leads to your site. As a result, you get to improve your ROI, too.
Unique, optimized content from your SEO efforts can also improve your brand’s overall authority in your industry, earning backlinks and referrals from other reputable websites.
How can I get started with SEO?
After “Do I need SEO?” the next question is, “How do I get started?”
Before diving into SEO’s technical aspects, Lace recommends creating a strategy that focuses on your customers. “Craft an SEO strategy that centers on your ideal customers,” she points out. “Understanding them is key to helping them find you quickly and easily.”
Here are other SEO tips to power up your strategy:
Perform keyword research. With keyword research, you can identify the relevant keywords you must target. It also helps you discover the search terms that your audience uses.
Create unique, helpful content related to your keywords. Sarah recommends publishing SEO content with first-hand knowledge or experience. Case studies and content with insights from team members are valuable content. “These kinds of content also help your omnichannel efforts because you can repurpose it for social media and email marketing,” Sarah explains.
Use an SEO checklist to have everything covered. SEO is no small task. An SEO checklist ensures you have everything covered — from your on-page and off-page SEO to technical SEO.
Track your SEO campaigns’ ROI. “Form submissions are the tip of the iceberg for lead-based businesses,” Sarah says. “Measure qualified lead generation from your SEO efforts to understand their impact on your bottom line, collaborating with your sales and marketing teams.” You can also use marketing automation tools like MarketingCloudFX, which unifies your marketing and sales data.
Our digital marketing campaigns impact the metrics that improve your bottom line.
WebFX has driven the following results for clients:
$10 billion
in client revenue
24 million
leads for our clients
7.14 million
client phone calls
If you need SEO services, team up with the experts
Some industries need SEO more than others because of the intense competition. If you fall under these sectors, consider teaming up with the SEO experts at WebFX.
We’re a full-service digital marketing agency with experience in 200+ industries and have earned 58 SEO awards. Our proprietary tool, MarketingCloudFX, can help you measure your SEO campaigns’ ROI and improve your strategies. In fact, it has helped our clients increase their local leads by 12%.
Boost your site’s search performance with our free SEO Checker. Analyze your website for optimization tips on titles, headers, content, speed, and more.
Boost your site’s search performance with our free SEO Checker. Analyze your website for optimization tips on titles, headers, content, speed, and more.
Maria is an experienced marketing professional in both B2C and B2B spaces. She’s earned certifications in inbound marketing, content marketing, Google Analytics, and PR. Her favorite topics include digital marketing, social media, and AI. When she’s not immersed in digital marketing and writing, she’s running, swimming, biking, or playing with her dogs.
