B2B targets in manufacturing, professional and wholesale sectors also need far more information at the evaluation and comparison steps of the purchase cycle. Hence, the need to define conversions in B2B terms:
- Downloads of detailed product specs, catalogs
- Accessing deep-linked web pages that offer comparisons and product reviews (captured with page view metrics)
- Downloads of insider trend data, research, training modules or independent test data
- Product spec comparison charts (like side-by-sides served on comparison shopping sites)
- Test kits, sample CDs or video product demos
- Industry conference proceedings, trade show roundups or behind-the-scenes blogs
- Requests for RSS feeds (news and content culled by a B2B site's resident experts, auto-fed to a prospect or lead on opt-in)
- Detailed product data sheets, catalogs and CAD design drawings, such as those accessible at ThomasNet (industrial buyers/sellers). ThomasNet's ad opportunities include paid inclusion in 67,000 product catalogs, but no pay-per-click ads.
- Registrants for product locating services, such as match-ups to manufacturing, construction and life sciences through FindGuru, which also offers user-generated content in its advertiser product reviews and announcements. (But beware of the user-generated pay-for-placement trap! Dozens of sites dropped into Google PageRank purgatory last year when Google's relevancy monitors judged the pay-for-placement "ad" opportunities to actually be link farms gaming the Google spider. A no-no.)
B2B conversions are requests/downloads/access to decision-making resources, or acquiring additional leads by opt-in. In contrast, conversion charts from consumer search advertising are condensed and measurable from a limited number of page view stats.
5. Go off the reservation
I noted search failure rates and low-relevancy search returns that befall specialized business users of general search engines. The number of products and the knowledge density of sites serving B2B clients in manufacturing, engineering, scientific and wholesaling make B2B search a poor fit for broad, consumer-focused search engines.
Vertical search sites focus on a single business, industry or interest sector. Vertical search engines are special-focus sites that offer ad distribution networks, search arbitraged ad inventory, paid ad and organic placement and paid inclusion opportunities with more refined targeting and all the measurability and analytics.
The benefits for B2B search marketers are twofold: Higher relevance and higher returns. High relevance search results are the natural outcome of a specialist-moderated, industry-knowledgeable vertical search engine. Recall the refinement of "parametric search," versus broad-based, general consumer search.
Return on ad spend at vertical search sites is documented at higher rates than general search site campaigns, because users are targeted, often self-selected, and they tend to be closer to a conversion action than the general consumer click-through.
Greg Sterling, Kelsey Group analyst, stated the case for verticals at Forbes.com: "Advertisers on vertical sites are able to reach potential customers who are much closer to making a purchase decision than the average user on Google or Yahoo." Further, Zia Wigder, JupiterMedia research director, predicted, “Vertical search providers will play an important role in paid search in the next five years.”
I second the predictions of both those industry watchers. Marketing agencies and SEM pros approaching the B2B market need to develop high relevance, human-moderated, customized search marketing tactics.
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Jason Prescott is CEO, JP Communications.
