B2B SEO is search engine optimisation for services that companies commission from other companies. It follows the same Google basics as any other website. What differs above all are the search terms and the goal: the end point should be an enquiry, for a conversation or a quote, for example. In the view of the Compagne, a few well-matched visitors count for more than wide reach. What matters most is a separate page for each service, written in the customers’ language and answering the questions that come before an enquiry. Results are measured through Search Console and the number of enquiries.

Nobody can guarantee rankings. What can be influenced is a website’s content and technology.

What is different about B2B SEO compared with B2C?

Google has no separate rules for B2B. The differences lie in the search terms used to look for a service and in the goal of the page: an enquiry.

Technical terms and commissioning language

Specialists tend to search with technical terms, newcomers with everyday language. Google describes this difference itself in its SEO Starter Guide; at the same time, Google recognises connections even without exactly matching terms¹.

How the difference can show up is illustrated by a small test by the Compagne using Google search suggestions (autocomplete) on 8 October 2026. The test was run in the German market, so the search terms are German:

Search term	Suggestions	What the suggestions are mainly about
“managed services”	21	4 explanatory searches (definition, meaning, examples), 10 comparisons such as “vs outsourcing” (mostly in English). No suggestion with company size or location
“it betreuung” (IT support)	14	Costs (3), target group such as “für kleine unternehmen” (for small businesses) or “arztpraxis” (doctor’s practice) (5), location such as “in der nähe” (near me) (5)
“individualsoftware” (custom software)	16	Explanatory searches (5), tax and contract (3), comparison with off-the-shelf software (2), commissioning intent (3)
“software entwickeln lassen” (have software developed)	6	all 6 with commissioning intent, 2 of them about costs

In these pairs, the technical terms often led to explanatory and comparison searches, clearly so for “managed services”. Phrasings that describe a commission tended to lead to suggestions about costs and commissioning. Target group and location appeared, apart from one company name, only for “it betreuung”.

The limits of the test: search suggestions show what people type, but not search volumes. It covered three pairs on one day, with 14 queried variants per term, and the suggestions were sorted into groups by hand.

Is SEO worthwhile if hardly anyone searches for the service?

It can be, if a single contract is worth a lot. The number of searchers alone says little about whether suitable enquiries come in.

In the test by the Compagne (German market), “lohnabrechnung” (payroll) returned 125 search suggestions, mostly from an employee’s perspective, for example about retention periods or tax class. “lohnbuchhaltung auslagern” (outsource payroll accounting) returned only 2, both with commissioning intent: “lohnbuchhaltung auslagern” and “lohnbuchhaltung auslagern kosten” (… costs).

The calculation can be made with a company’s own figures: if a contract is worth X euros on average and every Y-th enquiry becomes a contract, even one additional enquiry per month is a measurable contribution. The values for X and Y are only available within the company itself.

Keyword tools (programs that estimate search volume) sometimes show “0” for very rare terms. Presumably the volume is then too small for a reliable estimate.

If nobody searches for either the problem or the service, referrals, trade fairs or LinkedIn can bring more. SEO can complement these channels, in the view of the Compagne.

How can customers’ search terms be found?

A good starting point is customers’ problems and questions. The terms are then checked with Google search suggestions and, once the page is live, with Search Console.

Explain, compare, commission

The Google search suggestions from the test by the Compagne on 8 October 2026 (German market) fall roughly into three kinds of search:

• Explain: “was ist it betreuung” (what is IT support), “was sind managed services” (what are managed services)
• Compare: “managed services vs outsourcing”, “individualsoftware vs standardsoftware” (custom vs off-the-shelf software)
• Commission: “it betreuung für kleine unternehmen kosten” (IT support for small businesses costs), “software entwickeln lassen kosten” (cost of having software developed), “it betreuung in der nähe” (IT support near me)

Behind each kind lies its own search intent, meaning the purpose behind a search. One page per search intent makes clear which page answers which question. In the view of the Compagne, service pages fit above all the searches made with the aim of commissioning something.

Sources that cost nothing

• Conversations with sales and customer service: how do customers describe their problem before they know the technical term?
• Questions from enquiries, quotes and emails
• Google autocomplete while typing and the “People also ask” box
• Search Console, once the page has been live for a few weeks

If a keyword tool shows “0” for a term, a second look at the search suggestions is worthwhile. According to Google, the suggestions reflect real searches; factors taken into account include language, location and trends². They do not show how often a term is searched.

Which pages do the work in B2B SEO?

In the view of the Compagne, above all a separate page for each service, plus project examples and visible contact people. In a sample of its own, project examples were not linked on most homepages.

In this sample by the Compagne of 25 websites of B2B service providers in the Ingolstadt region, Germany (8 October 2026), 6 of 25 homepages linked to references or projects. 8 of 25 linked to a knowledge section such as a blog, guides or news. 10 of 25 homepages had fewer than 300 words; the median was 370 words, including menu and footer.

The limits: the sample is small and not representative, and the list of companies comes from OpenStreetMap. Only the homepage was checked, so projects or a knowledge section may exist without being linked there. Google names no preferred word count³. In the view of the Compagne, a very short homepage offers little room to describe a service that needs explaining.

Service pages

A good service page answers the questions that come before an enquiry:

• Who is the service for, and what problem does it solve?
• How does the collaboration work?
• What does the price depend on, or roughly what does it cost?
• Who is the contact person, and what is the first step?

In a test by the Compagne on 7 October 2026, ChatGPT asked follow-up questions for all three recommendation queries about service providers in Ingolstadt, Germany, for example about headcount, industry or budget. It was one run per question. In the view of the Compagne, these follow-up questions match this framework: details on target group and scope belong on the service page.

Project examples and contact people

Google recommends making visible who creates content, how it was created and why. Of all the quality signals Google groups under E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness), Google names trustworthiness as the most important; according to Google, E-E-A-T itself is not a ranking factor³. In the view of the Compagne, on a B2B website this is best put into practice with real project examples and a team with names and roles. Project examples appear only with the client’s approval. How a project page can be structured is shown by the work of the Compagne, for example One Day and Pluto Year: brief, idea, execution and services on one page.

Expert articles can serve explanatory and comparison searches, such as “was ist individualsoftware” (what is custom software) or “individualsoftware vs standardsoftware”.

Which technical basics are enough to start with?

In the view of the Compagne, a few points are enough to start with: the pages are in Google’s index, and each page has a unique title (the page title in the search result) and a fitting description. An XML sitemap (a list of all pages for search engines) can help, but according to Google it is not strictly required¹.

Whether pages are indexed is shown by a Google search for site: plus the domain, and more precisely by Search Console, Google’s free tool for website owners¹.

In the sample by the Compagne, 20 of 25 websites had an XML sitemap, and 22 of 25 redirected from http to https. 15 of 25 homepages had a meta description, a descriptive text for the search result. Google mostly generates the snippet, the short text below the title in the search result, from the page content and only occasionally from the meta description¹. Google nevertheless recommends a short description that is unique to each page¹.

The assessment of the Compagne after this sample: sitemap and https redirect were rarely missing. Larger gaps appeared in the content, for example in linked project examples (6 of 25) or very short homepages (10 of 25 under 300 words).

Two further figures need context. 9 of 25 homepages had a title of 30 to 60 characters, and 10 of 25 had exactly one H1 (main heading). Both are criteria from the Compagne’s audit framework, not Google requirements. Google sets no fixed length for titles; titles that are too long are shortened in the search result where necessary⁴. According to Google, a title should be unique for each page and accurately describe the page’s content¹. According to Google, the order of headings plays no role in search¹.

A few common assumptions are wrong according to Google¹:

• There is no minimum word count.
• The meta keywords tag is not used.
• Repeating terms excessively violates the spam policies.

What changes with AI answers?

According to Google, there are no additional requirements for AI Overviews and AI Mode in Google Search. The same SEO basics apply; special AI text files or markup are not needed. Clicks from these features appear in Search Console under the “Web” search type⁵.

In a test by the Compagne on 7 October 2026, ChatGPT named three companies when asked for an IT service provider in Ingolstadt, Germany, for a small business. As sources, ChatGPT cited the map and the company websites. The reasons given came from the services described on the websites; for one company there was hardly any reason given. It was one run in one industry on one day. Whether well-described services influenced the selection cannot be derived from it.

For ChatGPT search there is one additional technical requirement: the search crawler OAI-SearchBot must not be blocked in robots.txt. More on what GEO achieves and what it does not: GEO optimisation, fact-checked.

Who does B2B SEO: in-house, freelancer or agency?

In the view of the Compagne, this depends less on the form of organisation than on three questions: who knows the service and the customers’ language? Who has access to sales and enquiries? Who writes and maintains the pages over time?

• In-house, the expertise usually already exists. Time and routine with technology and structure are often lacking.
• A freelancer or a small practice brings technology and structure and needs access to sales and in-house specialists.
• A larger agency can cover many channels at once. What matters then is who actually works on the project.

Whatever the form, four questions help with any proposal: which pages will actually be created? Who supplies the content? How is progress reported, including what did not work? Are rankings guaranteed? Then caution is advised, because nobody can guarantee rankings. How the Compagne supports companies is described under Companies & brands; agencies looking for reinforcement for their own clients will find the process under For agencies.

How can it be seen whether SEO brings enquiries?

In the view of the Compagne, above all from the number of enquiries, supplemented by Search Console. Search Console shows which service pages are found and clicked. The number of enquiries per month shows whether this turns into business.

Three figures in Search Console

• Impressions: how often a page was shown in the search results
• Clicks: how often someone clicked on it
• Click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions

In addition there is the average position in the search result⁶. For a B2B website, the Performance report by page is, in the view of the Compagne, often more revealing than the one by query.

Why search terms are missing

For privacy reasons, Google does not show individual queries that were made by no more than a few dozen users over two to three months. They are missing from the table but included in the chart total, as long as no query filter is applied⁷ (Google’s information as of October 2022). Rare B2B terms can fall into this group. In that case, the report by page shows which service pages receive clicks.

Counting enquiries

Without a tracking tool, enquiries via form and phone can be counted per month. the Compagne recommends briefly asking with each enquiry how the contact came about. Not every contract can be clearly attributed to one channel. An honest report says so.

How long it takes

There is no fixed timeframe. According to Google, some changes take effect within hours, others after months; Google advises waiting a few weeks before judging the effect¹.

What does the start look like in practice?

In the view of the Compagne, B2B SEO begins with a review of the current state and the two or three services that are worth the most.

1. Set up Search Console and check which pages are indexed.
2. Write a separate page for each of the most important services, using the questions from sales, quotes and emails.
3. Add project examples with clients’ approval.
4. Count enquiries every month.

Businesses serving customers locally also maintain their Google Business Profile.

If a rebuild is due anyway, SEO belongs in the planning from the start; the website migration checklist shows the steps.

Where a website stands today is shown by the visibility audit: the Compagne checks technology, service pages, Google profile and AI visibility and delivers a list of measures. The first step is an initial conversation.

Updated on 21 October 2026: added a section on the question of in-house, freelancer or agency, a note on ChatGPT’s search crawler and examples of project pages.

Sources

1. Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide (accessed 2026-10-08)
2. Google Search Help: How Google autocomplete works in Search: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/7368877?hl=en (accessed 2026-10-08)
3. Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content (accessed 2026-10-08)
4. Google Search Central: Influencing your title links in search results: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link (accessed 2026-10-08)
5. Google Search Central: AI features and your website: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features (accessed 2026-10-08)
6. Search Console Help: Performance report (Search results): https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553?hl=en (accessed 2026-10-08)
7. Google Search Central Blog: Performance data deep dive (2022): https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/10/performance-data-deep-dive (accessed 2026-10-08)