Why Simplicity Pays Off
B2B SMEs are now also required to communicate externally through a website and social media. However, we often see a common problem in companies that lack a senior marketer: the language is too technical and difficult to understand for anyone unfamiliar with the business. Often, it consists of scientific jargon straight out of a thesis or an engineer’s technical data sheet.
Making your messages more accessible not only speeds up the sales cycle but also improves your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google, since readability is now recognized as a ranking factor.
Making It Accessible: A Must for B2B Business
Talking to Your Buyer Personas
It’s important to distinguish between your different audiences, also known as buyer personas to determine the right tone to use when communicating. Often, the end customer or the person making the purchasing decision isn’t familiar with all the technical terms, and this can hinder their conversion.
According to a Forrester study (2023), 43% of B2B decision-makers report that they do not fully understand the specifications of the products they purchase. A prospect who understands your sales proposal will feel more confident, which will help reduce the drop-off rate in your conversion funnel.
Keep in mind that not all of your communications need to be simplified. You can include technical data sheets on your website intended for technicians or in-depth clinical case studies for a more specialized audience.
Direct Impact on SEO
Readability and Search Intent
By making some of your content more accessible to a wider audience, there’s a good chance it will also have an impact on your SEO rankings. By using more common terms and positioning them as keywords, this should naturally boost your content’s ranking in Google search results.
The Semrush Ranking Factors 2024 study indicates that readability is one of the content metrics correlated with top rankings. Specifically, text that is both rich in content and easy to read:
- is better suited to conversational queries (voice search, generative AI)
- keeps visitors on the page longer and reduces immediate bounces, two metrics that Google monitors
To ensure optimal search engine optimization, this simplified explanation must be combined with best practices for SEO.
Methods for Explaining a Complex Topic in Simple Terms
Mapping Personas
It is essential to identify the different personas you want to reach in order to determine the level of detail and technical complexity they need.
Common keywords
Don’t underestimate the importance of making a list of the concepts and keywords you use. Then, check whether these terms are frequently searched for in search engines using tools like Semrush or Ubersuggest. These tools will also help you identify the most commonly used phrases in your field of expertise. There’s a good chance these terms will be more familiar to a wider audience.
Rephrase
Once you've established this list, reuse these terms to illustrate your points to your target audience. You can also use storytelling and analogies to make your message more accessible to a wider audience.
SEO Optimization
Don't forget to optimize your text if it's intended for publication on a web page. Without this step, your accessibility efforts may not be fully effective for organic search engine optimization.
Technical Cases: In some cases, you may want to address a technical topic for which the keyword has little or no search volume. This could involve, for example, a scientific patent you hold or an invention you have filed. In such cases, we encourage you to create specific content to explain these terms.
Finally, feel free to create a glossary or FAQ to make your content easier to understand and more accessible.
Case Studies
For our client Fytofend, we first organized a workshop to identify the various target personas. This step was followed by the development of a list of keywords aligned with both their range of biosolutions and the search queries entered into Google. After a thorough update of the website’s content, we observed a significant improvement in keyword rankings in search engine results. This optimization also had a positive impact on sales presentations and the communication materials used.
6-Step Action Plan
1. Alignment with the value proposition & key messages (executive + marketing workshop).
2. Content audit: inventory, SEO metrics, readability.
3. “User-friendly” keyword research (questions, long tail).
4. Rewriting / content creation in accordance with the editorial guidelines.
5. Technical implementation: tags, schema, performance.
6. Measurement & iteration: Search Console, analytics, conversion rate.
KPIs to Track
- Average ranking for 20 target keywords.
- Visitor-to-lead conversion rate.
- Dwell time and bounce rate, these metrics should improve as a larger audience comes to understand your content.
- LinkedIn Shares and Comments: Greater inclusivity should increase engagement and followers on your page.
Clear, user-centered language increases your business opportunities while boosting your visibility on Google.
👉 Ready to take action?
Book an appointment with one of our consultants today to find out if the language you’re using is truly understood by your audience.