Despite the ominous predictions surrounding SEO, I find myself with a primarily optimistic attitude towards our sector. I look around and see professionals who have openly embraced the maturity of our discipline. We are curious, we love new toys, but we don’t lose sight of the great marketing classics: a constant focus on the user, the pursuit of business transformation, continuous adaptation, healthy initial skepticism, strong foundations based on universal principles of influence and persuasion, and close collaboration with other areas.
I firmly believe we are facing a unique opportunity to break down the barriers that isolated us from other teams: product, analytics, copy, branding… For years, we have operated under a dangerous dichotomy: on one hand, the Branding team, focused on long-term perceptions, emotions, and messages; on the other, the SEO team, obsessed with keywords, rankings, and algorithms. Two worlds that rarely intersect, losing an immense strategic opportunity.
But the digital ecosystem, accelerated by AI and an increasingly informed and skeptical B2B user, forces us to evolve. Whether you want to see it or not, today, ignoring Branding in your B2B SEO strategy is not an oversight, it’s strategic negligence. SEO as a tactical branch, as an isolated silo, has lost its reason for being. Your keyword research, if not imbued with your brand identity and the real journey of your customer, is fundamentally broken.
We’ll talk about…
Branding and B2B SEO: Why Your Keyword Strategy Cannot Be Built Without a Clear (and Measurable) Identity
For years, SEO has been approached as an almost mechanical exercise: find keywords, optimize pages, build links, and scale traffic. But the terrain has changed. Searches are no longer a simple reflection of existing demand; they are a mirror of the place your brand occupies in the market’s mind.
In the B2B environment, where decision cycles are complex and the user rarely converts on their first visit, SEO can no longer function as an isolated tactic. It must be a natural extension of brand positioning. This convergence is not a nuance; it sets the standard to follow:
- Branding determines the mental space you want to occupy.
- SEO determines how that space can be found, encoded, and amplified digitally.
- Share of Search measures how much of that mental space you actually own compared to your competitors.
When there is no clear branding, keyword strategies fragment into opportunistic tactics, and content ends up competing in categories defined by others. When branding is well-built, keyword research is not limited to discovering demand: it creates it, directs it, and captures it.
The Broken Myth: Pure Rationality in B2B Does Not Exist
The first step is to banish the fallacy that B2B decisions are purely rational. We believe success lies in technical specifications or price. “Make a good product and sales will come on their own.” Sure, darling. All that matters, but we forget the decisive factor: B2B decisions are made by people.
People afraid of making mistakes, whose professional reputation is at stake. People who, faced with two similar options, will choose the one that offers them peace of mind. And that peace of mind doesn’t come from features; it comes from trust, the territory of Branding. As I recently read from Juanma Barea, in B2B, branding operates on a deep level: security, long-term vision. It doesn’t seek likes, it seeks respect.
The New Battlefield: Trust, Customer Journey, and Share of Search as Key Indicators
This is where branding, user journey, and modern SEO collide. Google and the new generative engines seek signals of authority and trust. The Growth Memo study on AI Overviews confirms that, for important decisions, users validate by searching for trusted brands. AI pre-filters, but credibility determines the conversion. And that credibility is built by understanding and responding to the user at each stage of their journey.
The importance of the brand is reflected explicitly and implicitly in the algorithm through:
- Brand and navigational searches: The pillar of Share of Search. Their growth is a direct sign of notoriety.
- CTR and Post-Click behavior: Users click on brands they recognize and stay longer if the content meets their need at that specific moment in their journey.
- E-E-A-T: Solid branding facilitates mentions and links, pillars of authority.
Ignoring branding and the customer journey means ignoring the most potent indirect signals. But now, with Share of Search, we have a direct and predictive metric of brand impact. Research from the IPA shows that SoS is a leading indicator of future market share (explaining, on average, 83% of it) and strongly correlates with sales (69%). When your SoS rises, market share tends to follow. When it falls, it’s an early warning.
The Most Common Mistake: Searching for Keywords Without Defining Who You Are (and How to Measure if They Know You)
In many B2B organizations, keyword research starts with tools and search volumes. Terms related to the product are sought, prioritized by volume, and content is structured. But a critical question is omitted: in which mental category do we want to compete?. Without this definition, content is generated that attracts traffic, but not authority. Visibility is gained, but not market share.
This disconnect explains why so many B2B companies generate hundreds of content pages that do not impact sales. They have optimized for the generic (“human resources software”) without building differentiators (“talent management platform for distributed teams”). SEO ends up serving the category, not the brand.
Branding Defines the Semantic Universe
Every powerful brand articulates a territory: a unique way of understanding a problem and a distinct proposal for solving it. That territory is encoded in terms, concepts, and language. That language is the starting point for SEO strategy.
Branding work must define three key elements that condition keyword research:
- Market narrative: What problem do we redefine? What new category do we propose?
- Own language: What concepts do we introduce that create differential associations?
- Central promise: What do we want the user to remember?
When these elements are clear, keyword research ceases to be an inventory of opportunities and becomes the map of the market we want to lead.
For years, B2B SEO has been built from existing demand. But that approach has a limit: you can only compete for what already exists. Branding answers an earlier question: What mental space do we want to occupy in our market? SEO should be the vehicle that converts that positioning into active visibility. This implies that keyword research is no longer a snapshot of the present, but a design for the future.
How to Build Your Semantic Territory from Branding and Orient It Towards SEO
- The Starting Point is Not Volume, It’s Brand Territory: Before opening Ahrefs, clearly define the problem you aspire to lead, the unique narrative you bring, and the concepts the user should associate with your brand. This is your own semantic territory.
- Strategic Translation: From Positioning to Search Language: Identify how that territory translates into aspirational, functional, pain-point, and category language. This triangulation allows branding to guide which concepts we want attributed to us, and SEO identifies how they manifest in searches.
- Not Every Keyword Deserves Your Brand: Branding acts as a filter. The key question is: Does it reinforce my positioning or push me to compete as just another player? Does it help build thematic leadership or force me into a price/feature war? Positioning for “project management software” can bring traffic, but makes you interchangeable. Prioritize terms where your unique value proposition manifests.
- SEO Doesn’t Follow the Market, It Molds It: Traditional keyword research captures demand. Branding-aligned research builds it. This involves including low-volume keywords with high strategic relevance, introducing new terms, and providing a narrative that places the user within your mental territory.
- Semantic Architecture as Brand Architecture: The site structure should reflect key brand messages (thematic pillars), address different intents within the territory (subtopics), and combine tactical (capture demand) and strategic (create demand) content. This helps Google understand your thematic authority and reinforces your brand positioning with every piece of content.
Reinventing Keyword Research: From Volume to the Mapped Customer Journey
If trust is key and built throughout the customer journey, our keyword research must evolve. We need to map the customer’s language at each stage of their decision process and create a Keyword Universe. This universe must be a dynamic pool of our audience’s language, prioritized by business impact, to which we add the dimension of the user journey.
- Keyword Mining Contextualized by Journey Stage: SEO tools are the beginning. The gems lie in understanding when and why certain words are used:
- Problem Aware Stage: Language of symptoms and broad problems (“why are my sales dropping”). Sources: Sales calls, GSC (“why” questions), forums.
- Solution Aware Stage: Language of solution types and categories (“CRM software”). Sources: Internal site search, competitor analysis, GSC (“types of”).
- Product Aware Stage: Language of specific brands and comparisons (“Salesforce vs Hubspot”). Sources: CRM, GSC (“vs,” “reviews”), social listening.
- Most Aware Stage: Language of purchase and demos (“hire [product]”). Sources: Paid search data, GSC (transactional), sales notes.
- Incorporate Brand Language and Trust Attributes at Each Stage: Include terms from your UVP and brand pillars, adapted to how they resonate at each phase. A “Product Aware” customer seeks specific validation of your brand.
- Dynamic Personas Evolving Through Their Journey: “Personas” are not static. Their needs and trust criteria change. An actionable persona should map: Role, triggers/blockers, typical questions per stage, trust signals required at each phase, format preferences by stage, and AIO validation/Trust pattern by stage.
- Multidimensional Prioritization with a Funnel Focus: The scoring system for our keyword universe must include the “Journey Stage” as a key factor: Business impact (BOFU > TOFU), Volume vs. Intent, Alignment with Branding, and Cost of Acquisition.
The Journey Defines the Keyword and Content Architecture (Building Brand Assets)
A common mistake is segmenting keywords by fixed “search intent” (Informational, transactional). We need to map the buyer’s mental journey, identifying friction points: doubts, risks, comparisons. Each moment must be reflected in the keyword universe. Content ceases to be just an answer to queries: it becomes a decision guide aligned with positioning and designed to create preference for your brand.
For example, in a cybersecurity SaaS:
- A tactical SEO would write for “cybersecurity software for businesses.”
- An SEO aligned with branding and journey would write:
- For vertical specialization: “how biotech companies protect genomic data in cloud environments.”
- To create a category: “active versus reactive cybersecurity: the model change that accelerates time-to-detection.”
The user’s journey doesn’t start on Google; it starts in their mental context. SEO is the bridge, but it’s only useful if it connects to a clear identity.
Imagine two marketing automation SaaS companies. One competes for “marketing automation software” and drowns in comparison sites. The other articulates its territory as “revenue orchestration for B2B PLG companies.” Its keyword universe revolves around “revenue orchestration,” “go-to-market PLG,” appearing where the big players aren’t. The first captures demand. The second directs it and actively builds its share of search. This is the mindset shift needed.
From Research to Content Strategy that Guides, Convinces, and Influences
This approach transforms content strategy:
- Content Mapped to the Journey: Specific pieces for each stage, using the language of that phase (e.g., Educational blog posts for “Problem Aware,” Comparative guides for “Solution/Product Aware,” Case studies for “Most Aware”).
- Progressive Incorporation of Trust Signals: Social proof, data, and brand arguments aligned with what the user needs at each moment.
- Content Architecture that Facilitates Advancement: Strategic internal linking to guide the user from one stage to the next.
- Multichannel Cohesion Aligned with the Funnel: Language and messages adapted to the brand and journey stage across all touchpoints.
- “Interesting and Distinctive” Content: Create pieces that capture attention, are memorable, and encourage sharing and searching (levers to increase SoS).
SEO Stops Chasing Searches: It Starts Molding Them
In B2B, many searches that generate business don’t exist yet. Marketplaces or niche SaaS rarely win with established keywords. They win by positioning themselves at new intersections: combinations of industry, context, use, and specific customer pain. Here, SEO becomes a strategic tool for Branding:
- We analyze what will be searched tomorrow if they adopt our vision of the problem.
- We compete for terms of “high strategic value,” not just “high volume.”
- We produce content that educates and creates preference from the earliest stage.
Measuring Success: From Traffic to Brand Demand and Funnel Progression
Metrics must reflect this holistic approach:
- Share of Search (SoS): The star metric. Measures your notoriety compared to competitors. Predictive of market share and sales.
- Performance by Funnel Stage: Visibility, traffic, and conversions per keyword clusters for each stage.
- Progression Rate: How many users move from TOFU to MOFU/BOFU?
- Brand Search Growth: The main component of SoS.
- Keyword Universe Coverage by Stage: Are we adequately covering all phases?
The Future of B2B SEO is Strategic Empathy
B2B SEO can no longer be an isolated technical discipline. It must merge with Branding, Sales, and Product, armed with knowledge of algorithms, buyer psychology, and their decision process. Reinventing keyword research to incorporate trust, the customer journey, brand identity, and the goal of increasing Share of Search is the only path to sustainable competitive advantage.
B2B brand building is the operating system that determines which keywords to target and in which semantic territory we want to gain authority and notoriety. The brand lives at the heart of keyword research. What’s at stake is not just attracting generic traffic, but deciding which conversations we want to own and how much active demand we generate for our name.
Traditional SEO exploited what was already there. Modern, strategic B2B SEO involves leading conversations, educating the market, positioning the brand as an intellectual reference, and measuring that influence through Share of Search. This requires strategic clarity and differentiation. Branding establishes the promise; SEO converts it into presence and preference; SoS validates it.
The future of B2B SEO is not in the next algorithmic tactic, but in mastering strategic empathy mapped to the journey: understanding the customer so deeply at every moment that each piece of content builds reputation, guides their decision, and ultimately, impels them to search for us by name. The challenge is no longer just appearing on Google. It’s being the brand they choose to search for.