How B2B SEO Supports Every Stage of the Customer Journey

As B2B marketing experts, we talk a hell a lot about the customer journey, or as we refer to it – the buying cycle. It’s not just the standard model you find in Google Image search. It’s our very own developed version that can accelerate your sales pipeline. But I want to delve a bit more into a tactic behind this proven formula, and that’s B2B SEO. Although it may not be obviously visible in the diagram, throughout this process a B2B SEO agency, like us, is in the background working to support your customers along this cycle through search results.

When we work on SEO for B2B companies, we aim to grow their online visibility for targeted keywords. It’s the top-level driver for increasing website traffic and generating leads. But in the context of the customer journey, ranking well for keywords associated with your products and services isn’t enough. You need to consider what your audience is searching throughout each stage of this process.

Keywords are fundamental in any B2B SEO strategy. Knowing these and understanding their intent is the first step in any successful SEO campaign. Let’s say your business is in construction, specialising in infrastructure framework delivery. Initially, your audience, who let’s assume are project sponsors, might search “How do public sector frameworks work for infrastructure”. These are likely to be sitting between the ‘Contemplation’ and ‘Research & Planning’ stage of the customer journey and are what we call ‘long-tail keywords’.

You’ll likely find that there’s little search volume for long-tail keywords, especially in markets like construction and manufacturing. These markets are niche, but ranking well in niche search terms makes you the industry expert, develops credibility and builds trust with your audience.

Throughout their journey, from unaware to advocacy, search terms and keywords will change as their interests evolve into more positive decision-making.

It’s our role as SEO experts, with a deep understanding of the customer journey to nurture your audience through this process, and it’s an always on strategy.

Search engine optimisation is always ticking along in the background. Whilst you are dealing with daily business operations, admin work, picking up the kids, on a date night or even whilst you are asleep; your audience are searching for queries associated with your business. SEO for B2B companies doesn’t stop, and it’s constantly evolving.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to generate leads at 5am every day, but a refined B2B SEO strategy will assist in pushing your prospects through each stage of the customer journey. Starting from ‘unaware’, through to ‘signed and sealed’, and even recirculating your customers into the journey again and again. Let me show you how.

At the first stage of the journey, your audience are unaware of you and their need for your business. It’s the total market your business serves. Without being aware of you or their need of you, there is very little chance of them becoming a customer any time soon.

Using the construction business example again, you’d likely need to reach senior decision-makers before they realise they need a infrastructure framework partner. A well-rounded B2B marketing strategy will utilise strong branding, trade advertising, and digital marketing and outreach to convert audiences from unaware to aware, but SEO can be a pivotal opportunity.

At this stage where your audience are unaware, they aren’t doing “buy now” searches. They’re high-level, problem-aware, or trend-driven, i.e., “how net zero is changing public infrastructure” or “how to reduce risk in large capital investments”. These are opportunities for you to introduce your brand by demonstrating thought-leadership and build brand exposure.

At the contemplation stage, your audience have begun recognising a problem but may not yet be actively seeking a solution. They are gathering information and evaluating whether addressing the issue is a priority.

As I previously mentioned, this is where you begin to target more long tail keywords that answer questions and provides value to your prospects. For example, “what is early contractor involvement in frameworks” or “how to improve delivery certainty in infrastructure projects”.

Providing value in your content marketing is key to ranking well in search engines, especially Google. In search engine optimisation, value-driven content serves two purposes: it aligns with what search algorithms prioritise and helps establish trust with your audience.

But not all content needs to be given freely. White papers or online webinars that truly strikes the heart of your audiences’ pain-points and challenges are opportunities to obtain your prospects contact details. This is called gated content, where users download or sign-up in exchange for access to highly valuable information.

At this stage, your prospects are actively researching potential solutions and is where B2B SEO becomes a critical part of your customer journey strategy. They are comparing vendors, evaluating technical specifications, and weighing up the ROI. Their focus is on understanding how solutions work, and which provider best meets their needs. This is also where it becomes a bit more competitive, as search terms for queries at the research and planning stage are leaning towards the “buy now” side and tend to have higher volumes.

You can expect your audience to be searching queries like “top public sector framework providers for civil projects” or “infrastructure project delivered under budget UK”. Ensure your case studies, website, and ROI calculators are SEO optimised for maximum search visibility.

At the action stage of the customer journey, your prospects are ready to make a decision but require reassurance that they are making the right choice. They may have final objections or need confirmation of ROI before signing off. They may also have last-minute concerns about implementation, support, or unforeseen costs.

Now is the time to leverage value comparisons and other supporting content that reinforces your product or service pages. These assets not only help nurture prospects closer to conversion, but also strengthen your site’s internal linking structure and boost E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trustworthiness), giving your high-conversion ‘money pages’ greater visibility in search results.

At this point, prospects are also looking for reassurance and that’s where customer reviews come in. Reviews not only help build trust with prospects, but they also improve your visibility in search results. Google factors third-party review signals and fresh-user generated content into its ranking algorithm, meaning that a consistent stream of positive reviews can enhance your presence across both branded and non-branded searches.

It’s also worth producing content that answers their last-minute questions or helps overcome the final hurdles in buying your products or services. Typically, this type of content is emailed directly to subscribers following a positive purchasing signal – like making an enquiry or having previously downloaded a piece of gated content – using marketing automation to deliver it at the right moment. But make sure this content is SEO optimised too, as not all journeys are linear. Some prospects will return to search with highly specific queries before converting, so having well-structured, reassurance-focused content available in search results could make the difference between winning and losing the deal.

Now that your prospects are converted customers, it’s time to educate them around on-boarding and the prospect of partnering with your business. It’s about providing a seamless experience, keeping your customers in the loop, and continuously inspiring them.

Your on-boarding and training content should naturally link back to the relevant product or service pages, reinforcing domain strength and spreading link equity. This builds authority and helps boost rankings for your key commercial pages.

Make this information accessible too. This is where a clear and concise website structure and internal linking supports a winning customer journey.

On another note, this stage is a good time to monitor post-sale search trends. Use tools like Google Search Console to monitor any branded search terms that crop up post-purchase i.e., “[product] training video” or “[framework] performance report”. Optimise or build content around these for added visibility and reduced friction.

At the advocacy stage, your customers have been using your solution successfully and are now assessing long-term value. If their experience has been positive, they may consider expanding their engagement or referring others.

Capture and optimise early-stage reviews. Encourage satisfied new customers to leave reviews within their first 30-90 days – especially highlighting implementation experience and early wins. Fresh reviews not only support brand trust but can improve your visibility in local and organic SERPs. For best SEO practice, use Google Reviews or industry-specific directories.

Additionally, this is an opportunity to create SEO-optimised success stories. Turn early wins into keyword filled case studies. Think “Fast-Track Infrastructure Delivery: Early ROI from [Framework].” This content can target both new users and prospects still in stage 3 and 4, making it work across the cycle.

But even satisfied customers can become disengaged if there’s no continued value. A lack of love may cause them to reconsider their options, especially if they’re targeted by competitor outreach. That’s why it’s important to send them continuous insights that provide value to their business and your product. Again, ensuring this is optimised for search engines allows dual purpose: for outreach at the final stage of the customer journey and prospects in between.

If you want to accelerate your customer journey, B2B SEO needs to be baked into your strategy from day one. It’s the thread that ties your digital presence to your buyers’ decision-making, guiding them from first search to signed contract, and beyond.

Without SEO that’s mapped to your customer journey, you risk showing up at the wrong time (or not at all). That means lost visibility, missed leads, fewer conversions, and weaker customer retention. But when it’s done right, SEO acts as the backbone of your digital pipeline – surfacing the right content at the right search and making sure your brand is in the conversation when it matters most.

Nurture cold audiences. Support sales-ready prospects. Re-engage customers post-sale. From ‘Unaware’ to ‘Advocacy’, it works quietly in the background, building momentum and compounding value over time.