How to Improve Search Engine Visibility

On this episode of B2B Enablement, Chris Dickey (CEO and Founder of Visably) joins to discuss how B2B marketers can apply new techniques to increase search engine visibility. Chris shares insights on ways that search engine visibility differs from traditional search engine optimization (SEO) and how marketers can use this concept to help them more effectively rank their brand, not just their website.

Introduction: Chris Dickey, Founder and CEO at Visably (Time stamped: 0:45)

Chris has been a marketer for 17 years and has been involved in publishing and agencies for 11 to 12 years. His new company, Visably, helps companies measure their brand footprint and search. Chris also owns his own PR agency.

What's the difference between SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEV (Search Engine Visibility)? (Time stamped: 2:05)

SEO is about trying to get your company's content at the top of the search results. If you're successful, that's fantastic, but it's tough to do because there is an incredibly competitive landscape. SEV is about trying to get your company's brand to rank. It's about your customers discovering you in any kind of search.

How does SEV relate to ranking your brand versus ranking your website? (Time stamped: 3:45)

The main point is to get people talking about you. eCommerce partners and wholesale partners have a huge presence online, have a more powerful domain, and do well in non-branded search terms. The idea is that you're trying to get other people's websites working for you.

What is the difference in how you rank a page with SEV versus traditional SEO or SEM and how is the buyer intent different? (Time stamped: 6:50)

Most modern marketing organizations have several different functional groups (SEO, content, PR, eCommerce, etc) and they can all be brought together through SEV to improve overall SERP performance. Google tries to determine intent based on three things: do you want to click to buy, click to learn, or click to go. Marketers need to match the content and strategy with the intent of the keyword. Visably will go through and aggregate the content on the first page of the search to figure out intent for you.

How does one handle the difficulty of keywords in niche market and is it worth it? How can SEV help B2B marketers? (Time stamped: 11:10)

When you do a search, look at the page. If it's full of click to learn sites, that is your contact list. You can ask one or more of the writers to consider updating a blog post to include some new information you provide them. Try to make better relationships with the people getting the top Google spots. If you can get in front of them, the next time they write a review, your company might be in it. It's important to build visibility that's not just your own content. This is an integral part of improving overall SEV.

How does media and other site listings affect SEV? (Time stamped: 18:40)

Reverse engineer how someone finds you by getting a handle on your keywords. Ask yourself: What are the search phrases people are using to look for what I offer? Then you can figure out the relative search volume for each of your keywords. Use the search results to build lists and targets, then allocate those targets to your respective teams to work on optimization.

Examples of when SEV has shown good results for B2B. (Time stamped: 22:15)

Using Visably as an example: Seeding and answering questions on question-and-answer websites like Quora helps improve online visibility. Similar approaches can work well for B2B in general.

Take-aways (Time stamped: 24:05)

Shift your search engine results strategy from just ranking your website to ranking your brand

Don't think about the current SERP results as opportunities you've missed, but future opportunities you can gain. Use the results as a list building tool.

Don't write off competitive keywords - Create strategies to get into search results with a more holistic approach, including SEV.

Resources and links from this episode:

Chris Dickey's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-dickey-6619b712/

Dave Karr's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davekarr/

Visably Website: http://www.visably.com/

Klyck.io Website: https://www.klyck.io/