How B2B platforms win online using B2B SEO + GEO
- Get found in AI models for specific, context-based B2B marketplace searches (using the automotive industry as an example here)
- Bring buyers and sellers together on a B2B platform and be found by both
- Visibility for marketplace-relevant products + parts instead of just brand names or B2C searches
The biggest challenge for B2B platforms is to be clearly visible to commercial b2b market participants and to clearly differentiate themselves from the heavily dominated B2C search market. In the automotive example, buyers and sellers do not search for general vehicles, but for availability, vehicle types, components, and specific market opportunities. This is exactly where SEO and GEO come in: they make B2B platforms findable for relevant, context-based search queries, even if no specific provider or marketplace is known yet. At the same time, they enable international visibility by structuring content in multiple languages so that it can be understood and displayed in both traditional search engines and AI systems.
This approach is crucial for our automotive platform customer. The primary goal is to address sellers (car dealers) and make their offers visible internationally. The focus is on 22 languages, with an emphasis on the European market and additional reach abroad. German and English are the strategic core languages of the SEO and GEO strategy.
Initial situation: Where the automotive auction platform stood in 2024
Our collaboration on this project began in 2024, parallel to a comprehensive website relaunch of the platform. The goal was to support the relaunch with SEO strategies from the outset, not only to secure existing visibility, but also to develop it in the right direction. The aim was to open up search engine marketing opportunities compared to other market competitors in order to expand the brand digitally.
The platform is a large used car auction platform where vehicles can only be purchased by car dealers. It is a clearly defined, pure B2B business model.
The challenge: clearly separating B2B car auctions from the B2C market
The central challenge was to make the platform clearly visible for B2B-relevant search queries and to clearly distinguish it from generic car auctions and B2C auctions. This is a common fundamental problem for the SEO strategy of B2B platform operators. Relevant users are not looking for classic vehicle offers here, but for car auctions for dealers, B2B vehicle auctions, and specific auction locations.
This distinction had to work in both German and English, as a significant proportion of dealers operate internationally. In addition, all nine local auction locations had to be clearly structured on the search side and made findable for regional search queries such as “auction center + location.”
Starting values for online visibility
At the start of the project, the platform already had solid basic visibility, as it operates as a subsidiary of an established corporate brand. Monthly page visitors were in the five-digit range, with impressions in the six-digit range.
The challenge was therefore less about building visibility per se and more about strategic realignment: away from broad, brand-driven reach and toward clearly focused B2B visibility for dealers, locations, and auction formats.
Our strategy: SEO/GEO for B2B marketplaces
Audit, Strategiy, Technical
As part of the relaunch support, we first checked the page technology. Headings structure, internal links, and local Google business profiles were optimized. We then set up 20 keyword sets for the core topics.
Content- & Competition-Analysis
After the customer prioritized and defined the keyword sets, the operational SEO work began. Within 4 to 8 weeks, 20 SEO analyses were carried out.
SEO-Briefings + Page-Planning
Based on the topic analyses, we created SEO briefings for all of them. The heading structure and content planning for the 20 relevant platform pages were prepared in German.
Writing SEO-Texts
Our team then wrote the SEO texts for all pages in German. The heading structure, elements, and content were then translated into English.
Embed, Publish, Index
In the final step, all content—heading structures, texts, and elements—was embedded in the CMS of the new platform. The German and English pages were then released for indexing.
Consulting + Monitoring
Close consultation with the client played a major role throughout the entire SEO strategy process. Continuous evaluation of progress, even after the project was completed, was also an important part of the collaboration.
Results after 9 months: Platform successes at a glance
After nine months of targeted SEO work together with the client, a total of 40 new pages were published, 20 in German and 20 in English. During this period, the organic visibility of the platform increased by around 72 percent, while visitor numbers rose by around 40 percent.
As a result, the platform is now in a much more competitive position than it was at the start of the project. This is particularly true in German-speaking countries, where local sites clearly dominate, but also in terms of growing international visibility thanks to the English-language pages. The strategic goal of maintaining a sustainable competitive edge over other B2B auction platforms in the automotive sector has thus been clearly achieved.
Implemented solutions for this project
B2B SEO
Targeted B2B SEO measures were used to strategically support the customer’s platform relaunch. Visibility among B2B buyers was systematically expanded in Germany and English-speaking countries.
SEO Consulting
Targeted B2B SEO measures made Spark Machinery visible for relevant, non-branded search queries from international buyers and product developers.
SEO for Distributors
Specifically, we tailored our SEO work to the requirements of the customer’s industrial trading platform. We focused specifically on optimization for B2B automotive dealers in order to exclude B2C searchers from the automotive platform.
„After some initial coordination difficulties, we have worked well together. The collaboration with Mr. Siegers has been excellent at all times. He responded quickly to questions and always had time for a call. The development of our SEO results is very satisfactory.“
Jennifer Augustin
Senior Projectmanager Marketing Auktion & Markt AG
Collaboration and results in the automotive platform sector
From the outset, the collaboration was conceived as a clearly defined project and strategically accompanied the period following the website relaunch over several months. During this time, 40 new pages were created, supplemented by regular SEO and B2B marketing calls, in which key decisions following the platform relaunch were clarified.
Accompanying monitoring and evaluations provided a reliable data basis that was also used at the group executive board level. Despite initial coordination challenges, efficient collaboration was quickly established through adapted content planning to manage the large amount of new content in multiple languages. The clear positive trend line clearly shows the measurable contribution the project has made to the competitiveness and international positioning of the platform.
