Every new budget cycle gives B2B marketers an opportunity to evaluate what’s working and where to focus – or cut – marketing spend. The most common challenge is determining which channels deliver the strongest ROI.
In this article, we look at the channels that provide the best return on investment and offer the most value to B2B firms.
Here is a quick overview of what we’ll cover:
- A modern B2B website
- On-site SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO)
- Paid search ads
- Thought leadership content
- Email marketing
- Retargeting ads
Let’s get into each and see why they have the best ROI when it comes to business impact.
A professionally designed, modern B2B website design
Hands-down, no other marketing channel delivers better ROI than your website. A newly designed B2B website is often a large investment, but also has the biggest payoff. Need proof? 94% of people cite web design as a reason they rejected or mistrusted a website.
To ensure maximum return on your investment, your website should be updated every 3-4 years with a full redesign and rebuild.
To get the most return from your B2B website, ensure it has clear, accurate messaging and visible calls-to-action (CTAs). The most successful websites have an easy-to-use backend for regular updates (like WordPress) and feature a blog and resources center for ongoing updates.
Get tips on how to select the right B2B web design agency for your project.
On-site SEO and GEO
Another high-value channel for marketing investment is search engine optimization (SEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO). The two go hand-in-hand now and should be considered part of one strategy.
According to Backlinko, 66% of B2B buyers discover products from search. SEO and GEO cannot be underestimated when it comes to driving awareness and visibility.
Start by focusing on keywords with buying intent that are directly related to your solutions or product offerings. Perform keyword research to ensure the terms have search volume and align with the desired traffic. During this process, companies often find out that the terms they use internally aren’t widely used by prospects or clients, so it’s important to do research every time you update your SEO/GEO strategy.
Get the most value out of your SEO/GEO strategy by optimizing high-stakes pages – like the main pages in your navigation and your top-selling solutions or product pages.
As stated earlier, consider both GEO and SEO when optimizing your website. This ensures that search engines can rank your B2B website and that AI-powered search engines can easily crawl and assess the content on your B2B website.
Google and Microsoft search ads
While Google Ads still dominate search ad marketing, Microsoft Ads (also called Bing Ads) are gaining traction by improving ROI even with minimal spend. When launching a search ad campaign, focus on the high-intent or buying terms that are performing well organically. This strategy should complement your on-site SEO strategy, not replace it.
To get the most value from this strategy, create optimized landing pages or use web pages that are optimized for conversions. Doing so improves the likelihood that paid visits to your B2B website convert into new prospects or leads. Maximize your spend by watching your campaigns closely and listing negative keywords that you don’t want to pay for (words like “jobs” “positions” “careers”). If you don’t have the resources or expertise to handle search ads internally, consider hiring an experienced search ads partner.
Learn more: Are Microsoft Ads the next frontier?
Thought leadership creation
Despite what some AI-proponents may think, AI-generated content cannot replace true thought leadership content. Why? Because AI-generated content is rehashing what currently exists across the web. For this reason, don’t lean too much on AI and be original when generating content.
Maximize your investment in thought leadership creation by tapping your internal subject matter experts (SMEs). You’ll get the most value if you partner with a professional copywriter to interview your SMEs to draft the content. Always research topics and follow your SEO/GEO strategy to get the most value. Thought leadership won’t generate any value if isn’t showing up in search results.
A recent report by HubSpot found the top marketing channels driving ROI for B2B brands were their website, blog, and SEO. Need we say more?
See how other B2B firms are leveraging content marketing.
Email marketing
Email marketing continues to be a strong lead nurturing activity for B2B marketers. In fact, 75% of B2B businesses say email returns “good to excellent” ROI.
Use your thought leadership content to nurture your existing audience (including prospects). Doing so presents excellent upsell and cross-sell opportunities – especially for long-term clients who may not know what other services or products your company offers.
To achieve a strong return on your email marketing efforts, you must be consistent. This does not mean you have to send an email newsletter every week – but committing to a monthly or bi-monthly schedule generates the best results. Your email newsletter audience expects consistency and is more likely to engage if it’s sent on a regular cadence. Continue to maximize your results by reviewing email metrics to guide you on determining what content to create and include in the future.
Get more: B2B email marketing tips, trends, and best practices.
Retargeting ads
As a B2B marketing agency, we are continually asked about display ads and what value they offer. Our answer is always this: instead of display ads, invest in retargeting ads. Retargeting ads are shown to B2B website visitors who allow cookies. They are the best way to stay in front of prospects who’ve already visited your website.
Get the most out of your investment (it doesn’t need to break the bank) by creating professional ads that mirror the messaging on your website and have enticing CTAs to bring visitors back to your B2B website. We’ve found that featuring top content pieces – like guides – drives the best results, encouraging return visits and conversions by offering visitors something genuinely valuable.
Investing wisely for max results
Even if your company has a healthy marketing spend, showing strong results is critical to continually securing the proper budget. While it’s easy to be tempted by flashy marketing tactics, the above channels continue to demonstrate a high return on investment for B2B firms. The most successful companies use a blend of the tactics above for a comprehensive approach that generates high-value leads.
