PPC Keyword research and the B2B buyer

This webinar dealt with B2B buyers, the way they buy and how companies can adapt their PPC keyword strategy, and how to use the best keywords for B2B buyers.

There are three different categories of purchase for B2B buyers. First, repeat purchase, which is a purchase that is repeated and when the buyer is referring to the same company, an example of repeat purchase can be copy paper. Then, repeat modified purchases, which is when the buyer changes a product he needs by another product that falls into the same category (e.g. computers). And finally, Blank state purchase is when the buyer never bought the product he is buying. This type of purchases led to a lot of online research. These three different types of purchase influence the keyword strategy as well as other significant factors.

Online research is extremely significant in buying decisions, for simple purchases buying is more often online. On the other hand for complex and more expensive purchases, buying is less done online but the researches about the product are done online. Search plays an integral navigational role and the structure of query can help understanding intents and consumer behavior.

Besides, in every decision buyers are making a balance between risk and reward and the level of risk in B2B purchasing is high. High risk means more online researches to gather more feedbacks and information about the product. The risk is present for both users and buyers. From the point of view of the user the risk is the product, that is why the user wants a product that will be more efficient and make him more productive. For the buyer, the risk is in the purchase. In other words, how risky the transaction can be for the company and how credible the vendor is. Risk varies also according to the type of purchase.

Applied to the keyword strategy, vendors should determine the degree of risk and uncertainly for the customer to buy their product as well as defining the prospect’s vocabulary and intent. Quantitative and qualitative research should be conducted for the keyword list. The qualitative research should include one to one interviews, vocabulary exercises, over the shoulder observations and online surveys. The higher the degree of risk is, the more qualitative the research must be.

As a conclusion, B2B buyers will conduct more researches than B2C buyers and the main reason is the high level of risk and the facility and rapidity of online purchases for repeated purchases. This means that suppliers should considerately develop their PPC keyword strategy for B2B buyers.

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