You’re doing everything right. Publishing regularly. Following SEO best practices. Your posts are ranking. Traffic’s climbing.
But your blog has brought in precisely zero clients.
Your boss is starting to question the ROI. Your marketing team is spending hours writing content that generates nothing but page views. And you’re wondering if blogging for B2B is even worth it.
Here’s what’s happening: you’re following advice designed for B2C businesses, lifestyle blogs, and publishers. Not B2B service businesses that need to fill a pipeline.
Stop wasting time on blog posts that don’t convert.
I work with B2B businesses to create content strategies that bring in qualified leads, not just traffic. If your blog is getting visitors but no enquiries, book a call and I’ll show you what needs to change.
You’re answering questions instead of solving buying problems
Most B2B blog advice tells you to answer common questions your audience asks. Sounds sensible, right?
So you write “What is marketing automation?” and “How does CRM software work?” and “What are the benefits of outsourcing IT support?”
These posts rank. People read them. But they’re at the very beginning of their research journey. They’re years away from buying. Or they’re students doing coursework. Or they’re job seekers trying to understand the industry.
None of them are decision-makers with budget ready to hire someone.
I worked with a B2B consultancy whose blog was full of “what is” and “how to” content. Thousands of monthly visitors. Zero enquiries. When we shifted to content that addressed buying problems – “How to choose a marketing consultant when your last one failed” and “What to expect in your first 90 days working with a fractional CMO” – enquiries started coming in.
Decision-makers don’t search for definitions. They search for solutions to specific problems they’re ready to pay someone to fix.
Your blog attracts the wrong audience entirely
You might have noticed something odd in your analytics. High bounce rates. Low time on page. Traffic from universities and job sites.
That’s because your educational content is attracting people who want free information, not people who want to hire you.
When you write comprehensive guides that teach people how to solve problems themselves, you position yourself as a resource, not a service provider. You become the free advice person, not the expert worth paying.
B2B buyers don’t want tutorials. They already know they don’t have time to do it themselves. That’s why they’re looking for someone to hire.
You’re playing the volume game when you need the precision game
Another mistake I see constantly – businesses publishing three blog posts a week because someone told them “content is king” and “consistency matters.”
So they churn out generic posts about industry trends, tips and tricks, and motivational bollocks. None of it targets commercial keywords. None of it speaks to actual buying intent.
I worked with a SaaS company whose marketing team was writing 12 blog posts monthly. Traffic was decent. Enquiries were non-existent. We cut it down to two posts per month – but both targeted commercial intent keywords and addressed specific problems their ideal clients were searching for.
Within three months, those two monthly posts were bringing in more qualified enquiries than the previous 24 had managed in a year.
Volume doesn’t matter if you’re targeting the wrong searches. One post that ranks for a commercial keyword will bring in more business than twenty posts ranking for informational queries.
Educational content has a place, but it can’t be your only strategy
Educational content isn’t the enemy. A well-written “how to” guide can establish your expertise, attract backlinks, and provide value to your audience.
The problem is when educational content is all you’re creating.
If every blog post teaches people to solve problems themselves, you’re building an audience of DIYers, not an audience of buyers. Your blog becomes a free resource library instead of a client acquisition channel.
The businesses getting clients from their blogs use a mix. Some posts target commercial intent keywords and attract buyers. Some posts are educational and serve other purposes – lead magnets, newsletter content, LinkedIn articles, social media fodder.
But they’re strategic about it. They know which posts exist to rank and convert, and which posts exist to be repurposed across other channels.
If you’re publishing three educational posts a week and wondering why nobody’s contacting you, that’s your answer. You’ve trained your audience to come to you for free advice, not paid services.
The fix isn’t to stop creating educational content. It’s to balance it with content that targets commercial intent and attracts people ready to hire someone.
What B2B decision-makers really search for
Decision-makers with budget don’t search for beginner questions. They search for:
Provider comparisons.
“IT support company vs managed service provider” or “fractional CMO vs marketing agency.”
Buying concerns.
“How much does SEO cost for small business” or “What to look for when hiring a consultant.”
Specific solutions.
“Email marketing for B2B SaaS” or “HR software for remote teams.”
Evaluation criteria.
“Questions to ask an SEO agency” or “Red flags when hiring a web developer.”
Problem-focused searches.
“Why isn’t our content marketing working” or “Website gets traffic but no leads.”
These searches have commercial intent. The person typing them is evaluating options, comparing providers, or actively looking for someone to hire.
That’s what your blog should target.
When to get help
If your marketing team is spending 10+ hours a month on blog content that brings in zero enquiries, that’s expensive. A marketing manager’s time costs money. So does the opportunity cost of what they could be doing instead.
At some point, you need to decide: keep doing what isn’t working, hire someone who understands B2B content strategy, or bin the blog entirely and focus your efforts elsewhere.
Most B2B businesses would be better off with two commercially-focused blog posts per quarter than twelve educational posts per month. But you need someone who knows which keywords to target, how to position your expertise without giving away the farm, and how to create content that converts.
If you’re writing blog posts that get traffic but no clients, let’s talk about what needs to change.
