Is HubSpot good for SEO?
Oct 31, 2024
With marketing budgets tighter than ever and an increasing number of channels competing for our attention, we must constantly evaluate where our efforts deliver the best returns. And SEO, despite being a staple of digital marketing for decades, isn't immune to scrutiny.
In a world dominated by AI and short-form content, many marketers are questioning whether SEO remains a worthwhile investment. After all, if search behaviours are changing and traffic is declining, should we still be pouring resources into optimising for search engines?
The B2B marketing landscape has transformed dramatically in recent years, leaving many to wonder if traditional SEO tactics still deliver results. From technological breakthroughs to fundamental shifts in how buyers consume information, several developments have created legitimate concerns about SEO's future.
It's impossible to ignore AI's massive impact on search over the past couple of years. AI overviews in Google and other search engines have fundamentally changed how people interact with search results.
Before AI revolutionised search, algorithm changes would shuffle rankings, but they rarely altered fundamental search behaviours. Now, with AI-generated summaries appearing directly in search results, users often get their answers without clicking through to websites. This shift represents a significant challenge for businesses that have traditionally relied on organic search traffic.
B2B marketing typically follows B2C trends, and we're now seeing the same shifts in content consumption habits that transformed consumer marketing several years ago.
Short-form video has become the dominant content format in the consumer space, revolutionising how people discover and engage with brands. Fast forward to 2025, and B2B buyers are increasingly choosing to consume short-form video content over longer written pieces. This preference shift means traditional blog content may not be engaging buyers as effectively as it once did.
Today’s buyers aren't just using Google to get answers. They're turning to AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude for answers, consulting peer communities for product recommendations, and using social platforms for research.
Buyers are increasingly sceptical of vendor websites and marketing materials, preferring to turn to trusted sources for information. Rather than relying solely on what they find in search results, they're seeking out recommendations from peers, industry communities, and authentic social content when making purchasing decisions.
This shift reflects a growing desire for unbiased perspectives from those who have real-world experience with products and services.
Perhaps nothing prompted more conversation about SEO's viability than the revelation that HubSpot, one of B2B's content marketing powerhouses, saw an 80% drop in blog traffic over a 12-month period.
This dramatic decline seemed to confirm many marketers' worst fears about SEO's diminishing returns. But digging deeper reveals a more nuanced story. Much of the traffic HubSpot lost came from broad, generic content that wasn't closely connected to their actual offerings. Meanwhile, their branded search queries hit an all-time high, as did their stock price.
HubSpot's strategy, as explained by their CMO Kipp Bodnar and SVP of Marketing, Kieran Flanagan, has evolved to focus on creating forward-looking, highly specific content rather than competing for already saturated topics.
Despite all these changes, the answer is a resounding yes, SEO still works in 2025.
But it works differently than it did five years ago.
The data continues to demonstrate that qualified buyers find businesses through search and convert effectively. For many B2B companies, organic search remains a significant driver of high-quality leads that convert into pipeline and revenue.
The key difference is that success in SEO now requires a more strategic, commercially focused approach rather than simply chasing traffic volume.
Many businesses have seen a decline in traffic to informational content like blog posts and pillar pages. This trend isn't universal, some companies continue to see growth in this area, but it's common enough to merit attention.
Several factors contribute to this decline:
Despite this shift, creating informational content remains worthwhile.
The key is to be more intentional about the informational content you create. Instead of producing generic content that vaguely relates to your industry, focus on topics that directly tie to your value proposition and offerings.
While informational content might be seeing variable results, commercial queries continue to drive valuable traffic. More importantly, this traffic converts at a much higher rate because it comes from buyers actively searching for solutions.
This resilience makes sense when you consider the buying process for significant B2B purchases. When organisations are evaluating software, services, or solutions that might cost tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds, they're unlikely to trust an AI summary or social post for their final decision.
Instead, buyers want to conduct their own research, compare features and pricing directly, and develop confidence in potential vendors. This process naturally leads them to search for specific solutions and visit multiple websites to evaluate options.
For businesses that have never seriously invested in SEO, the question becomes even more pressing: is it too late to start, given all these changes?
The answer is yes, you should still consider SEO as part of your marketing mix.
Until data shows that SEO consistently delivers diminishing returns across industries, it remains a worthwhile investment.
This is especially true for businesses that have historically neglected SEO. If you're not currently generating significant traffic from non-branded queries, you have an enormous opportunity ahead of you.
However, if you're just starting your SEO journey, competing head-to-head with established brands that have been investing in SEO for a decade or more can be challenging. Instead, consider these approaches.
Rather than targeting broad commercial keywords with intense competition, focus on more specific terms related to:
This targeted approach allows you to build authority in your specific corner of the market without requiring the massive content production and link-building efforts needed to compete for broader terms.
While the SEO pyramid typically has informational content at the base and commercial pages at the top, businesses just starting with SEO might benefit from inverting this approach.
Begin by optimising your core service or product pages for relevant commercial keywords. These pages have the highest conversion potential and often require less content to rank effectively for targeted terms.
Once you've established these core pages, gradually expand your content strategy to include supporting blog posts and resources that link back to your money pages.
While SEO still deserves a place in your marketing strategy, it should no longer be the cornerstone of your entire approach. Diversification isn't just recommended, it's essential.
SEO should function as one component in a balanced marketing mix rather than the foundation everything else builds upon. Both technology trends and buyer behaviour are evolving in ways that may continue to challenge search's effectiveness:
To adapt to these shifts, consider:
Explore short-form video content for platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube Shorts, and potentially TikTok (depending on your audience). Audio content like podcasts also continues to grow in popularity among B2B audiences.
Identify where your prospects gather online and establish an authentic presence there. Focus on providing value rather than promoting your offerings.
The rise of social content means businesses need faces and personalities, not just brands. Identify people within your organisation who can effectively communicate your message and perspective, even if they're not in traditional leadership roles.
This shift from written content to more personality-driven formats can be challenging, especially for businesses that have relied on SEO to "hide" team members who aren't naturally outgoing. However, finding the right voices to represent your brand in these new channels will become increasingly important.
SEO continues to deliver value in 2025, but its role is changing. The data shows it still drives quality traffic that converts to revenue, but success requires adaptation.
The best approach combines targeted SEO with diversification into emerging channels. By evolving your strategy rather than abandoning SEO entirely, you'll continue capturing valuable search traffic while meeting buyers where they're increasingly spending their time.
As marketing continues to evolve rapidly, having a comprehensive strategy that encompasses SEO alongside other demand generation tactics is crucial for sustainable growth.
