Why Your B2B SEO is Underperforming: 5 Foundational Issues to Fix

By Nick Veneris, Yo Marketing Agency Director of Digital Strategy & Growth

Are you frustrated with investing in content only to see little to no traffic growth? Or perhaps your competitors are consistently ranking higher for your industry’s most important keywords. You’re not alone according to Ahrefs, 90.63% of pages get no organic search traffic from Google, highlighting the critical need for a robust SEO foundation.

Often, B2B companies rush to implement advanced SEO tactics without first ensuring the fundamentals are solid. But ignoring these foundational elements can severely undermine your SEO success. This post will help you recognize five key signs of foundational SEO issues and understand why addressing these can dramatically improve your visibility and lead generation efforts.

1. Your Website’s Technical Health is Holding You Back

Technical SEO might seem daunting, but it boils down to ensuring that search engines can easily crawl, index, and understand your website. Common issues here include:

1. Poor Mobile-Friendliness: With many B2B decision-makers researching on mobile devices, responsiveness isn’t optional it’s essential.

2. Crawlability and Indexability Errors: Broken links, improper redirects, and pages blocked from indexing all limit your site’s discoverability.

3. Lack of HTTPS Security: Secure websites are prioritized by search engines and trusted by visitors.

4.Slow Page Load Speed: A sluggish site hurts user experience and negatively impacts rankings.

Simple tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Mobile-Friendly Test can quickly reveal these foundational problems. If you see issues here, addressing them is crucial.

2. You’re Targeting the Wrong B2B Keywords (or None at All)

Keyword targeting in B2B SEO requires precision. Too often, companies aim for high-volume, generic keywords without considering intent or specificity. Key pitfalls include:

1. Ignoring Long-Tail Keywords: These longer, more specific phrases better match the precise needs of B2B audiences and are crucial for driving sustainable growth.

2. Misaligned Search Intent: Your content must align with how prospects actually search whether they’re looking for information or ready to buy.

3. Lack of Keyword Strategy: Without clear research, your SEO efforts are shots in the dark.

Regularly reviewing your Google Search Console reports can highlight issues like high bounce rates and irrelevant search queries clear indicators that your keyword strategy needs revisiting. A focused approach on demand generation helps ensure your keywords align with genuine buyer intent rather than merely counting leads.

3. Your Content Isn’t Providing Real B2B Value (or Getting Found)

Content must genuinely help your B2B audience solve their problems. Google rewards valuable, authoritative content with visibility. Common content missteps include:

1. Thin or Shallow Content: Pages that barely scratch the surface fail to engage users or rank highly.

2. Overly Promotional Material: Your audience expects educational content not constant sales pitches.

3. Lack of Unique Insights: Original research, expert opinions, and detailed how-tos resonate best in B2B contexts, especially when aiming to measure the true ROI of outbound lead generation efforts.

If your blog posts or resources consistently see low engagement or fail to rank for intended keywords, it’s a strong indicator that your content strategy needs recalibration. Ensuring content aligns with real business outcome beyond surface-level metrics will strengthen your SEO performance significantly.

4. Basic On-Page SEO Elements Are Missing or Weak

Your on-page elements like title tags, headings, and meta descriptions are crucial signals telling search engines about your content. Common on-page weaknesses include:

1. Missing or Unoptimized Title Tags: Title tags should clearly describe the page content and contain primary keywords.

2. Vague Meta Descriptions: Compelling descriptions improve click-through rates from search results.

3. Poor Heading Structure: Proper use of H1, H2, and H3 tags improves readability and SEO clarity.

4. Lack of Internal Linking: Internal links help search engines understand the structure and value of your site’s content.

Use browser extensions or basic SEO tools (such as the free version of Screaming Frog) to quickly audit these elements on your site.

5. Your Off-Page Authority & Trust Signals Are Lacking

SEO success extends beyond your own website. Google evaluates external signals, such as backlinks, to judge your site’s authority. Issues include:

1. Few High-Quality Backlinks: Quality links from reputable websites significantly boost your authority.

2. Spammy or Low-Quality Links: These can actively harm your SEO efforts.

3. Inconsistent Business Information: Inconsistent Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) details online harm trust signals.

Regularly check your backlink profile using free tools like Ahrefs’ backlink checker. A weak backlink profile or negative sentiment online are clear indicators that you need to actively build off-site authority.

Fixing the Foundation: What These Signs Mean

Spotting any of these five signs means your SEO foundation needs attention. Resolving these fundamental issues involves more than quick fixes it requires a strategic, comprehensive approach covering technical, content, and off-site elements.

Build Your B2B SEO Success on Solid Ground

A robust SEO foundation isn’t optional; it’s essential for sustained organic visibility and lead generation. If your self-check revealed foundational weaknesses, addressing them should be a priority.

At Yo Marketing, we specialize in comprehensive B2B SEO audits and strategies designed to address these critical issues at their core. Concerned about your SEO foundation? Contact Yo Marketing today for a complimentary SEO health check and start building the visibility your business deserves.