B2B SEO platforms compared: What actually works?

Search engine optimization for B2B usecases works differently than consumer marketing. You're targeting specific decision-makers and competing for keywords where a single piece of content might influence a significant piece of business. Your platform choice determines whether your content becomes an asset that compounds over time, or just disappears into the abyss.

This guide evaluates five platforms B2B companies use for content and SEO. We'll look at what each does well, where they fall short, and which one gives you the best shot at building sustainable search visibility.

What Makes a B2B SEO Platform Actually Useful

Before comparing platforms, let's establish what matters for B2B content operations.

Technical SEO should be automated. Sitemaps, structured data, meta tags, canonical URLs — these fundamentals should work automatically. If you're managing plugins or debugging technical issues, you're wasting time that should go toward strategy and content.

Speed is non-negotiable. Google's algorithm weighs page performance heavily. Slow sites rank lower and lose readers. A platform that can't consistently deliver fast load times will cost you traffic and positions.

Ownership matters more than reach. Building on someone else's platform means you're vulnerable to their decisions — technical changes, policy shifts, or simply shutting down features you depend on. For long-term B2B strategy, you need to own your content, your audience data, and your technology.

Integration should be straightforward. Your content platform needs to work with the rest of your marketing stack. API access and webhook support are basic requirements for serious operations.

The best platforms for marketing teams focused on B2B SEO performance

With the above framework in mind, we'll take a look at five popular choices of platform for managing content for businesses, with a focus on how well they perform in search engines and search results.

Ghost: Performance and Ownership for Serious Publishers

Ghost is an open-source publishing platform built specifically for content-driven businesses. It combines a modern publishing environment with native newsletter functionality and built-in audience management tools.

What Ghost Does Well

Technical SEO is built-in. Ghost is natively optimized for search performance, out of the box. Every site includes XML sitemaps, semantic markup, structured meta data, and proper canonical handling without any manual configuration needed.

Thanks to its modern tech stack, speed is exceptional. Ghost sites routinely score 100/100 on Google PageSpeed Insights because the platform is engineered for performance. Compared to an average WordPress installation, Ghost is up to 1,900% faster when under load. Readers notice that difference, and so does Google.

You own everything. Ghost is open source, which means you own and control the technology that underpins your business. Lots of tech startups with new platforms come and go, often leaving publishers holding the bag when they fall out of favor or eventually shut down. If you're going to invest time and money into content that you expect to perform, you want to be sure it's not going to disappear.

Publishing and newsletters work together. Every post publishes to both web and email automatically. Build SEO authority while growing an owned email list, without managing separate systems or keeping databases in sync. The membership features let you gate content for lead generation, or create dedicated content for premium customers.

Where Ghost Fits

Ghost works for B2B companies that view content and brand journalism as a core business function rather than a side project. It's built for teams that want professional publishing tools, modern performance, and full platform ownership.

The learning curve is small, the editor is straightforward, and you won't outgrow the product as your needs evolve. Because platform is open source and has an extensive developer ecosystem, you can always have your own team adapt and extend it to meet your needs.

Pricing: Ghost has official managed hosting starting at $15/month, or can be self-hosted on dedicated infrastructure for teams who want the ability to fully customize and control their servers and hosting setup.

HubSpot: Comprehensive Integration at Enterprise Prices

HubSpot combines CRM, marketing automation, and content tools in one platform. For companies already embedded in the HubSpot ecosystem, the integration is convenient.

HubSpot's Approach

The platform connects website management tools directly to customer records. Track how prospects discover your content, segment audiences based on search behavior, and trigger automated workflows based on page visits. This tight CRM integration creates a complete view of the customer journey.

HubSpot includes lead scoring, predictive analytics, and sophisticated automation. Teams running complex nurture sequences across multiple touchpoints get value from having everything in one place.

The Cost Calculation

HubSpot's starter plans don't include the features it markets heavily. Accessing the complete marketing suite costs $800/month minimum, scaling quickly from there. For many B2B companies — especially those building content operations from scratch — this pricing may eliminate HubSpot from consideration.

The platform is powerful, but complex. Training new team members takes time, and fully utilizing the feature set typically requires dedicated marketing operations staff. Companies without that infrastructure often end up paying for capabilities they don't use.

For small companies or lean teams focused primarily on publishing, HubSpot might be overkill. The SEO and content features don't justify the cost unless you're leveraging the broader CRM and automation deeply.

WordPress: Flexibility... with Some Complexity

WordPress powers a significant portion of the web, offering tremendous flexibility through its massive plugin ecosystem. But, that flexibility comes with substantial overhead.

WordPress Strengths

The platform can be configured for almost any use case. Thousands of themes and plugins mean you can build nearly anything — from basic blogs to complex membership sites. For teams with specific technical requirements, WordPress provides the building blocks.

Popular SEO plugins like Yoast, Rank Math, and All in One SEO offer granular control over optimization. Set custom metadata, configure sitemaps, manage redirects, and analyze keyword density across your content.

The Plugin Problem

Good SEO on WordPress requires assembling multiple third-party tools. You'll need plugins for SEO optimization, caching/performance, security, backups, forms, analytics integration, and more. Each plugin adds complexity, potential conflicts, and security vulnerabilities.

Keeping everything updated and compatible is ongoing work. Plugin conflicts break sites. Security patches require immediate attention. Performance degrades as you stack tools together — which can significantly damage SEO.

For B2B teams focused on content strategy and execution, WordPress can become a distraction. You spend time maintaining infrastructure instead of creating value. The flexibility is real, but it requires technical resources to manage effectively.

WordPress works for companies with dedicated development support. Otherwise, the maintenance burden of trying to keep sites secure and performane often outweigh the benefits.

Medium: Built-in Audience, Zero Control

Medium provides free access to its simple publishing platform, with nothing to manage. That simplicity comes at a cost, though, as you have no control over the way the platform works with your content.

Why Companies Consider Medium

Publishing on Medium is frictionless. The writing experience is clean, technical SEO is handled, and Medium's domain authority can help articles rank quickly. For testing content ideas or reaching Medium's existing audience, it works.

The platform's algorithm surfaces content to engaged readers. Articles that generate early engagement can get significant additional reach through Medium's recommendation system.

The Control Problem

Medium owns the relationship with your readers. You can't build an email list, can't fully customize the experience, and can't control how your content is presented. The reading experience is dictated by Medium's design choices, not your brand requirements.

From an SEO perspective, you're building authority for Medium's domain, not yours. When you eventually want to move content to your own platform, you lose that accumulated search value. For short-term content distribution, Medium is fine. For long-term B2B strategy, it presents some significant challenges.

Squarespace: Templates Over Performance

Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder with attractive templates. For B2B content operations, it takes care of all the basics very nicely.

Squarespace Basics

The platform offers polished templates and straightforward site building. Add basic meta descriptions and titles through built-in fields. SSL certificates and sitemaps are includede and automatic.

For small businesses needing a simple web presence, Squarespace provides a complete package without technical complexity.

B2B SEO Limitations

The main drawback is speed. Squarespace sites frequently score poorly on PageSpeed Insights compared to modern alternatives. Slow load times hurt search rankings directly. The slick templates come at a cost.

Advanced SEO features are also limited. Sophisticated content organization, custom URL structures, and programmatic optimization aren't available.

Analytics and audience segmentation capabilities are also limited to what Squarespace has built-in, because you can't extend or integrate your other tools. Understanding which content drives qualified leads or segments engage most deeply requires tools Squarespace doesn't provide natively.

Building a B2B SEO Strategy

While platforms provide the tools, your execution ultimately determines results.

Target Keywords That Match Business Value

B2B keyword research differs from consumer SEO. You're targeting terms that indicate purchase intent or signal someone is researching solutions at a specific stage in the buying process.

Start with customer language. Talk to your sales team about phrases prospects use. Review support tickets for terminology that appears repeatedly. Survey customers about how they describe their problems before finding your solution.

Look for keywords that indicate someone is comparing options, seeking implementation guidance, or evaluating approaches. These terms typically have lower search volume than generic category keywords but attract far more qualified traffic.

For example, "marketing automation" gets massive search volume but attracts everyone from students to enterprise buyers. "Marketing automation for 10-person B2B teams" gets less traffic but reaches exactly the audience most SaaS companies want.

Evaluate competition realistically. Winning rankings for highly contested terms requires domain authority you likely don't have yet. Target specific, valuable keywords where you can rank within 6-12 months instead of impossible terms that would take years.

Use tools like Ahrefs to assess keyword difficulty, but make your own judgment based on content quality and domain authority of current ranking pages. Sometimes "high difficulty" keywords are vulnerable because existing content is weak.

Write Content That Earns Rankings

Google's algorithm has gotten sophisticated at evaluating content quality. Keyword-stuffed articles rank poorly. Comprehensive, genuinely useful content wins.

Structure content for both readers and search engines. Use clear headings that include target keywords naturally. Break up text with subheadings, short paragraphs, and formatting that makes scanning easy. Add relevant images with descriptive alt text.

Build topic clusters. Instead of random one-off posts, create comprehensive coverage of related topics. Write a definitive guide on a core subject, then publish supporting articles that go deep on specific aspects. Link these pieces together strategically.

This approach establishes topical authority. Search engines recognize your site as a strong resource on specific subjects, improving rankings across related keywords.

Focus on evergreen content that remains relevant. Guides, frameworks, and strategic insights continue driving traffic years after publication. News or trend-based content might spike initially but offers little long-term SEO value.

Convert Traffic to Owned Relationships

Ranking content is valuable. Converting that traffic into subscriber relationships is more valuable.

Use content upgrades strategically. Offer downloadable resources, templates, or extended guides in exchange for email addresses. Gate advanced content for subscribers while keeping foundational material open.

Email newsletters are a great way to drive lead generation, and keep people coming back.

Build email sequences that nurture new subscribers toward your product. Publish your best content to email first, then to web. Give subscribers reasons to open your emails beyond just getting notified about new posts.

Segment based on engagement and interests. Tag subscribers based on which topics they engage with. Send targeted content to different segments instead of one-size-fits-all broadcasts. This improves open rates, click-through rates, and ultimately conversion to customers.

Track What Actually Matters

Monitor keyword rankings over time. Use a rank tracking tool to follow how your target keywords perform. Identify which content is climbing in rankings and which has stalled. Double down on successful topics and approaches.

Track metrics that connect to business outcomes. Page views matter less than email signups. Configure goal tracking to measure what actually impacts revenue.

Review content performance quarterly. Which posts drive the most traffic? Which convert best? What topics resonate most with your audience? Use these insights to inform your content calendar.

Making the Platform Decision

Choosing a content platform is choosing constraints. Every option limits you somehow — through cost, flexibility, performance, or control. The question is which constraints fit your priorities.

Choose Ghost if: Content is central to your business strategy. You want modern publishing tools, strong technical SEO, and complete ownership. You're building for the long term and value performance over plugin ecosystems.

Choose HubSpot if: You're already invested in HubSpot's CRM and have budget for enterprise tools. You need sophisticated marketing automation and have staff to manage it.

Choose WordPress if: You need to flexibility of a rich plugin ecosystem to serve a variety of different usecases beyond content publication and audience management, perhaps to power a larger business website.

Skip Medium and Squarespace for B2B. Medium doesn't let you own audience relationships. Squarespace lacks the SEO depth and performance needed for competitive content marketing.

Ultimately you should chooose a platform that suits your workflow, so you can focus on strategy and execution to drive results.

FAQs About B2B SEO Platforms from The Creators of Ghost

Does SEO work for B2B companies with long sales cycles?

Absolutely. SEO builds ongoing lead generation that compounds over time. A single comprehensive guide ranking for the right keywords can drive qualified leads for years. The long sales cycle actually makes SEO more valuable — prospects research extensively before engaging with sales, and ranking for those research queries puts you in front of buyers early.

How long before SEO shows results for B2B?

Expect 4-6 months before seeing meaningful traffic increases from new content. Building domain authority takes time. However, individual pieces targeting lower-competition keywords can rank faster — sometimes within weeks. Focus on consistent publishing and gradual improvement rather than quick wins.

What's more important: the platform or the content strategy?

Content strategy matters more, but a poor platform limits what's possible. Ghost provides strong technical SEO by default, letting you focus on strategy. Platforms with performance issues, limited SEO control, or lack of ownership hurt your effectiveness regardless of content quality.

Can I migrate existing content to Ghost without losing SEO value?

Yes. Ghost provides import tools for WordPress, Medium, and other platforms. Implement proper redirects from old URLs to new ones to preserve link equity and search rankings. The Ghost team has documented migration guides for common platforms.

Should B2B companies use multiple platforms for content?

Avoid fragmenting your content across multiple platforms. It dilutes SEO value and complicates audience building. Publish primarily on your owned platform, then syndicate or promote through other channels. Build authority on the domain you control.