General B2B SEO Performance
B2B Search Engine Optimisation Performance
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) remains one of the most critical components of a successful B2B digital strategy. Unlike paid media, SEO compounds over time, delivering sustainable visibility, high-quality inbound traffic, and long-term ROI. However, our audit revealed that a significant majority of B2B websites are failing to implement core SEO best practices, limiting their ability to compete in organic search.
SEO Performance Indicator - Domain Rating (DR)
One of the key indicators we looked at is Domain Rating (DR), a score developed by Ahrefs that measures the strength of a website’s backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100. It’s a useful way to understand how authoritative your website appears to search engines based on the quality and quantity of sites linking to you. Although Google doesn’t measure DR directly, it is a useful indicator of how Google views your website.
DR is a logarithmic scale from 0 to 100. Meaning it becomes increasingly difficult to improve your DR as your increases. Only major authoritative websites have high scores, such as Facebook (DR 100), Google (DR 98), the BBC (DR 93), and Wikipedia (DR 91).
Other SEO platforms use similar metrics. SEMrush uses a score called Authority Score, and Moz uses Domain Authority (DA). While the names and calculation methods differ slightly, all three aim to do the same thing: give you a sense of how well your site might perform in organic search compared to others in your industry.
Why should I care?
Improved Search Rankings
Increased Organic Traffic
Improved Authority
Higher Conversion Rates
B2B DR Benchmark - What is a good DR?
The Domain Authority (DA) scale ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating stronger backlink profiles and a higher perceived trustworthiness by search engines. Below is a general rule of thumb:
- 0–20: Weak authority, often new or unlinked sites
- 20–50: Moderate authority, typically small to mid-sized businesses
- 50–70: Strong authority, often with national presence or content depth
- 70–100: Very high authority, usually industry leaders or major publications
The UK B2B Domain Rating paints a bleak picture: most B2B websites have weak backlink profiles, which limits their ability to compete for high-value search terms.
- 20th percentile (DR 3.6):
- 40th percentile (DR 10):
- 60th percentile (DR 22):
- 80th percentile (DR 31):
- Highest recorded (DR 77):
- Lowest recorded (DR 0.4):
- Median (DR 16):
- Average (DR 20):
Domain Rating Implications for B2B Businesses
- Most B2B websites have underdeveloped backlink profiles. The median DR of 16 indicates that half of the audited websites have minimal authority, which severely limits their organic search competitiveness.
- More than 50% of B2B’s DR is below 20, indicating SEO competition for backlinks is low within the industry. This indicates a substantial opportunity.
- There is a steep climb in value from DR 20 to DR 31. Because DR is a logarithmic metric, each incremental improvement becomes more difficult. Moving from DR 10 to 20 is relatively achievable; however, increasing from 20 to 13 and above requires significantly more effort and higher-quality backlinks. Only 20% of B2B’s have achieved this.
- High performers stand out dramatically. Websites with DR scores above 50 are in a much stronger position to rank for high-volume, competitive keywords and are likely seen as leaders within their niche.
- DR within the DR 22 to 10 is likely to only rank for brand name searches or low-competition terms. It will struggle to generate meaningful organic traffic without an SEO and link-building strategy.
- A DR in the 22–31 range is a positive sign of momentum. These companies are likely to outperform 60% of their competitors. However, continued link acquisition and content creation are essential to improve competitive positioning.
- A DR above 40 suggests the business has a solid content strategy a strong online presence, and is actively building credibility across third-party sites—a significant advantage in B2B lead generation.
Recommendations Based on Your DR Score
If your DR is under 22: Focus on building foundational links. Start with directories, local citations, guest posts, and partnerships with clients or suppliers.
If your DR is 22–30: Accelerate your content marketing and begin targeting industry-specific publications for backlinks.
If your DR is above 30: Leverage your authority by targeting competitive, commercial-intent keywords and investing in thought leadership to further widen your gap over competitors.
General B2B SEO Performance
Other Performance Stats
Our research highlights some deeper technical and structural issues that often get overlooked. These aren’t merely minor details; they’re fundamental SEO elements that search engines rely on to effectively understand, crawl, and rank content.
Many B2B websites fail to include essential aspects such as missing H1 tags, poorly structured headings, a lack of sitemaps, and absent meta descriptions. These issues often go unnoticed by teams without a technical background, yet they significantly impact discoverability and click-through rates.
Our findings suggest that even businesses investing in SEO content may be undermining their efforts by neglecting these critical technical components. This oversight can leave search engines guessing and allow competitors to capitalise on the situation.
Pages With No H1 Tags
One of the most fundamental, yet frequently overlooked, elements of on-page SEO is the proper use of H1 tags, the primary heading element in HTML that indicates the main topic of a webpage. Despite its simplicity, incorrect or missing H1 tags remain a widespread issue across B2B websites, with direct consequences for both search engine rankings and user experience.
Pages without H1 tags are missing a critical opportunity to communicate content focus to search engines. This can result in:
Lower keyword relevance: Google may struggle to associate the page with search intent.
Reduced accessibility: Users with assistive technologies may have difficulty understanding the content hierarchy.
Weakened content structure: A lack of clear headings can make pages appear disorganised or unprofessional.
In competitive B2B industries, even small technical oversights can make the difference between ranking on page 1 or being buried on page 4.
Our audit uncovered a systemic issue in B2B web development practices:
- Only 41% of websites followed the best practice of using a single H1 tag per page.
- The average B2B website had 10 pages without any H1 tag at all.
These omissions occur most frequently on:
- Using multiple
- tags instead of proper heading tags break the semantic structure of the page.
- Relying on visual formatting (like bold text) misleads users and search engines, as it’s not machine-readable.
- Template errors in CMS platforms can cause a uniform absence of H1 tags across pages if not configured correctly.
- Overusing multiple H1 tags per page confuses search engines about the page’s main intent.
- Neglect during content migration leads to structural inconsistencies across newly imported pages.
H1 Title Length
While most SEO discussions focus on the presence of H1 tags, few address another critical factor: the length of H1 titles. In B2B SEO, it’s not only important to use a heading—it’s equally vital to ensure it is appropriately sized for search engines and users alike.
An H1 that is too short can be vague or uninformative, while an overly long H1 can dilute keyword relevance and harm user readability. Both issues reduce the effectiveness of one of the most valuable on-page SEO elements.
Its H1 title length influences:
- Relevance and keyword targeting: A clear, well-crafted H1 helps Google understand what the page is about and which queries it should rank for.
- User engagement: Visitors quickly scan H1s to assess whether a page is worth reading. Unclear or overwhelming headings reduce clarity.
- Consistency with SEO title tags and SERP expectations: A poorly structured H1 can clash with the meta title or result in mixed messaging in search snippets.
Our Research Findings
Our audit revealed that H1 length mismanagement is widespread in the B2B space:
- 67% of websites have H1 tags that are too long, potentially diluting clarity and SEO effectiveness.
- 77% of websites have H1 tags that are too short, possibly lacking context or keyword relevance.
- On average, websites have 15 pages with overly long H1 tags.
- On average, websites have 14 pages with overly short H1 tags.
Optimal H1 Length: Best Practices
The ideal H1 title length for SEO and usability is:
- Between 20 and 70 characters
- Including a clear focus keyword
- Avoiding keyword stuffing or unnatural phrasing
- Reflecting the user intent behind the target search query
This balance ensures the H1 is descriptive enough to satisfy both users and search engines without appearing cluttered or truncated in visual layouts.
Images With No Titles
Titles can provide additional context when users hover over images, enhancing their understanding and interaction with the content.
A whopping 98.3% of B2B websites contain images without titles.
On average, 56 images on B2B websites do not include image titles.
Images With No Alt Tags
Alt tags help visually impaired users understand images through screen readers. Additionally, Search engines use alt tags to understand the content of images. Thus, impacting your search rankings.
An essential oversight is that 89.2% of B2B websites contain images without alt tags.
On average, each B2B website has 43 images without alt tags.
Lack of Sitemaps
A surprisingly common technical SEO oversight among B2B websites is the absence of an XML sitemap. While seemingly minor, failing to implement and submit a sitemap can have serious consequences for a website’s search visibility and content discoverability—particularly for larger or more complex sites.
A sitemap is an XML file that lists all the important URLs on your website, helping search engines like Google and Bing understand the structure of your site and efficiently crawl its content.
Key Functions of a Sitemap:
- Improves crawl coverage by flagging new or updated pages
- Ensures discoverability of deeper, less-linked pages (e.g., blog posts, gated resources)
- Assists in indexing content on large, dynamic, or e-commerce websites
- Signals content importance through priority settings and update frequency
Our analysis revealed a significant gap in sitemap implementation across the audited sample:
- 81% of B2B websites had a sitemap successfully submitted to Google, aiding in better indexing and crawlability.
- 19% of B2B websites lacked a sitemap entirely—no XML file was available or registered in Google Search Console.
Common Causes of Missing or Ineffective Sitemaps
- CMS misconfiguration: Some platforms don’t auto-generate or submit sitemaps unless plugins are installed or settings are manually adjusted.
- Overlooking technical SEO during development: Sitemaps are often omitted when SEO considerations are not integrated into the design and development process.
- Fragmented URL structure or page sprawl: This can lead to incomplete or outdated sitemaps that don’t reflect the full site architecture.
- Poor webmaster practices: Sitemaps may not be submitted to tools like Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools, limiting visibility.
- Legacy content not included: Older or archived pages may be unintentionally excluded from the sitemap, reducing their discoverability.
No Meta Description
Meta descriptions are a foundational element of on-page SEO, yet they are frequently underused or entirely omitted across B2B websites. While meta descriptions do not directly influence search engine rankings, they play a critical role in influencing click-through rates (CTR) by acting as the descriptive preview shown in search engine results.
Our audit revealed a widespread lack of properly implemented meta descriptions, which limits organic performance, user engagement, and overall search visibility.
What Is a Meta Description and Why It Matters
- A meta description is an HTML attribute that provides a brief summary of a webpage’s content. It appears in search engine results pages (SERPs) beneath the page title and URL.
- Why meta descriptions are important:
- Improve CTR in search results by giving users a compelling reason to click.
- Reinforce keyword relevance when search terms are highlighted in bold.
- Influence perception of brand professionalism and content quality.
- Aid accessibility and screen reader interpretation.
Audit Findings: Meta Description Usage in B2B Websites
Our audit uncovered the following:
76% of B2B websites have pages with missing meta descriptions
On average, each affected website has dozens of pages lacking custom or optimised summaries
These omissions most commonly occur on:
Blog articles
Product or service pages
Resource libraries (e.g., case studies, whitepapers)
Landing pages generated via templated CMS workflows
In many cases, these pages are left to rely on automatically generated snippets—often pulled arbitrarily by Google, with unpredictable or suboptimal content.
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