What is the Best Way to Generate B2B Leads?

A loaded question, I know. 

Typically, when people think of lead generation, they think of sales outreach. 

However, B2B businesses are increasingly becoming more fed up with how long it takes the sales cycle to generate quality leads.

Almost every year, studies appear that tout it takes increasingly more touchpoints to get a response from potential clients, with the largest challenges being:

• "identifying quality leads / contacts"

• "getting a prospect to answer the phone"

If the tried and true cold outreach methods are fizzling out, how are B2B companies pivoting?

The top type of content that B2B marketing agencies plan to invest in for 2026 include:

• 57% case studies

• 47% lead nurturing campaigns

• 45% video

• 40% account-based advertising

• 38% webinars

• 35% industry events / trade shows

• 31% regional field events, such as dinners and meetings

What does this mean for B2B Sales?

B2B businesses and B2B marketing agencies are now focused on creating quality content that prospective clients actually search for.

B2B clients don’t want a pitch, they want to be informed.

B2B clients don’t want information in a cold call, they are seeking information themselves.

That’s why so many teams start looking for lead generation services that drive real results without burning out their sales team.

How to Turn Content into Quality Leads?

All right, companies are creating case studies and related content…so now what? 

You still have the age-old problem. 

How do clients know you exist?

How do they find your content? 

Don’t you need paid advertising so leads can find you?

Here’s why I’m a skeptic of ads as a "quick fix."

People often see Google Ads / PPC as a quick fix, a way to get leads fast.

In some ways, paid advertising has become the new cold calling.

I’ve seen B2B companies throw money into Google Ads, thinking it will yield quick results…only to be disappointed when they don’t see any quality leads come through. 

Not only that, Google often makes the claim that if you pump more money into the system, you’ll see more results.

This leads to disappointment and sunk cost.

For many teams, this is where frustration starts. Spend goes up but revenue growth doesn’t follow.

Why doesn’t Google Ads lead to fast results?

Well, platforms like Google have a steep learning curve. 

Google’s documentation states that it can take a couple weeks for its algorithm to complete its learning period.

However, the general rule of thumb on online forums is that it can actually take 1 - 3 months for Google to maximize ad campaign performance.

I prefer to think of paid advertising as a tool in your lead nurturing strategy. It’s just one touchpoint to remind clients that you exist.

Is There a Better Alternative to Paid Ads?

My agency focuses primarily on search engine optimization (SEO) because it is:

• Organic

• Sustainable

• Last for the long-term

• Has low ROI 

Paid ads stop the moment you stop pumping money into them.

SEO doesn’t. It’s the gift that keeps giving.

Is SEO a cost effective way to obtain leads?

Let’s look at the stats. In the below infographic, high cost marketing includes tradeshows, search engine marketing (which includes Google Ads / PPC) and other paid channels.

On the lower end of the spectrum are e-mail marketing and search engine optimization.

While SEO has an upfront cost, its compounding effects make it a more effective, ongoing option than one-offs such as tradeshows / events and advertising.

How long does it take for SEO to work?

The rule of thumb is approximately 3+ months to start seeing qualified leads…

…but, it is possible to reduce this number.

After launching a new website with 10 pages, I personally obtained multiple client inquiries in just 6 weeks through SEO alone.

Many of these turned into paying clients.

Why does SEO work?

If you do it right, you are at the top of Google at the exact moment a potential client is evaluating a purchase.

You aren’t trying to rank for generic search terms such as "SaaS platforms."

No - you’re after search that preludes purchase behavior.

Terms such as:

• "best ERP for multi-location manufacturing"

• "top Salesforce implementation partners"

• "SaaS for large hospitals"

• "best patient portals for healthcare"

These types of searches focus on clients with a strong purchase intent.

Best of all, organic SEO doesn’t look like an ad.

It looks like a company with expert knowledge. It looks like a company you can trust.

What is SEO for B2B Lead Generation?

SEO for B2B entails showing Google - and website visitors - that you are a qualified expert in your space.

This means creating content such as:

• Case studies

• Resource hubs

• Comparison pages

• Use case pages

• Webinars & recorded trainings

• Templates & checklists

• Process pages

• Glossaries for industry terms

• Thought leadership pieces

• Trust signals: Testimonials, logos, security / compliance

Think about how you build your code base - you spend time building a strong foundation to create the building blocks that will result in your project’s success.

Same goes for your SEO. 

It takes time to create effective, quality content like a case study, but the results are multi-faceted.

You aren’t just drawing in potential clients who find that content relevant now but you’re also adding content (stories, statistics, etc.) that others may link to from their own webpages and blog posts.

Not only does these external links drive traffic to your case study, it improves Google’s trust in you.

This has the inconspicuous - but powerful! - effect of making Google more likely to display your website in subsequent search results.

This is where SEO stops being “marketing” and becomes a real lead generation service.

What about AI? Can ChatGPT Generate Leads?

Absolutely!

The more you show Google you’re an authority on a subject, the more you also show AI that you are worth promoting.

The types of high quality content required for B2B SEO provide ample fuel for ChatGPT to showcase.

How does ChatGPT decide who to recommend?

It looks for the same signals humans look for:

• Clarity: Do you explain what you do in plain language?

• Specificity: Do you actually cover use cases, industries, constraints and tradeoffs?

• Proof: Do you have case studies, outcomes, examples?

• Structure: Is your content organized in a way that can be understood and summarized?

• Consistency: Do your pages reinforce or contradict each other?

If your site has strong B2B SEO fundamentals, you’re feeding both systems:

• Google can rank you.

• AI can summarize you accurately.

As a B2B SEO agency, we adapt content so that AI is more likely to surface it to users.

For example, including FAQs that answer the exact objections buyers have.

ChatGPT doesn’t replace Google. It changes how buyers research.

The same B2B buyers who used to open 20 tabs and compare vendors manually are now asking AI to do the heavy lifting for them.

After all, ChatGPT is significantly faster at scouring multiple products and forums like reddit to gather a wide array of information.

There are a growing number of people who use platforms like ChatGPT to find companies and products aligned with their unique specifications (such as values-alignment or specific requirements). 

Complex searches are well-suited to ChatGPT.

This is also why the best b2b lead generation companies are quietly building SEO and content systems behind the scenes.

It supports Google rankings & AI discovery simultaneously.

Be at the Top of Google When Buyers Are Searching

SEO isn’t the be-all, end-all.

Cold outreach can still work. So can paid ads. So can events.

But if you’re exhausted by the constant treadmill of "more volume, more spend, more follow-ups," it’s worth stepping back and asking a different question:

What if I could generate leads because people are already searching for what I do?

That’s the core reason SEO works for B2B.

It aligns your marketing with what buyers are already doing.

• They are researching.

• They are comparing options.

• They are looking for pricing, timelines, proof, risk reduction.

• They are trying to make a decision without wasting time.

The companies that show up at this stage win a lead’s trust.

This is the opposite of what lead generation has been pushing all of these years.

The traditional sales funnel doesn’t equate to a lead that believes in your services or products, not in the same way.

SEO builds the purchase decision funnel into your website.

1. You create content for the information-gathering stage, the decision-making stage.

   
   

2. You’re there every step of the way until they convince themselves that you’re the right company for them.

   
   

3. Your website becomes the 24/7 glue that fuels customer acquisition and revenue growth.

Many companies throw a sales team at the problem and pour money into ads. You (hopefully!) don’t throw a bunch of programmers at a problem and hope it all works out.

It’s time to approach your marketing (and sales!) strategy in the same way.

Start with the strategy and qualified leads will follow.

Create real revenue growth without constantly increasing spend on a never ending treadmill.

Let’s build a true client acquisition funnel.

Schedule a consultation with KC SEO today!

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