Let’s Talk About the Cheetah in the Room

Growth Engine is the big question in today’s fast-changing digital world, where algorithms decide what we see. B2B companies keep asking: is organic digital marketing still worth it, or is paid the better way to hit business goals? It’s a fair question. Ad costs keep rising, buyers are harder to reach, and AI and privacy changes are shifting the rules on all of us. Both organic and paid have their strengths. But if we’re talking about long-term, sustainable results, organic is strongly becoming a key driver of real business results, 2025, 2026, and beyond.

1. Organic fits how B2B buyers actually make decisions

Every marketer understands that the B2B buyer’s journey isn’t a straight line. It’s a maze - multiple stakeholders, long evaluation cycles, and endless rounds of research before anyone ever talks to sales.

Where do buyers spend that time? On search engines, LinkedIn, industry forums, and reading trusted publications, not clicking random banner ads. That’s where organic channels like SEO, thought leadership, organic social, PR coverage, and influencer mentions come in.

When you’re showing up in those places early, you’re shaping their perception before they even start shortlisting vendors. You’re educating them on your value, building familiarity, and making it easier for them to say “yes” later.

You see, paid ads can put you in front of them fast, but organic keeps you in their line of sight throughout the entire journey, which supports business goals like higher lead quality, bigger deal sizes, and shorter sales cycles.

Here’s an example for you: I worked with an industrial equipment manufacturer that leaned into SEO and highly technical content. They started getting engagement from engineers months before RFQs were even issued. Those early touchpoints turned into warmer, more qualified leads down the line.

 

2. Organic builds the kind of trust you can’t buy

In B2B, trust isn’t just nice to have. It’s the currency deals run on. These aren’t impulse purchases; they’re multi-year contracts or mission-critical tools.

Sure, paid ads can grab attention. But buyers know they’re ads. That awareness puts a ceiling on how much trust you can build with them.

Now, organic content, whether it’s a deep-dive whitepaper, a webinar, or a mention in a respected industry journal, positions you as a credible authority. That credibility is often the deciding factor when procurement teams are weighing similar proposals.

The result? Bigger deals, higher win rates, and customers who stick around longer.

 

3. Organic content keeps working even after you’ve paid for it

IHere’s something paid will rarely give you: compounding returns.

When a paid campaign stops, so does the traffic and the leads. But a great piece of organic content can keep attracting and nurturing prospects for months, even years.

That means the budget you put into organic keeps paying you back, without needing constant top-ups. Over time, that makes your pipeline more predictable and your cost per lead lower.

 

4. AI, Privacy, and Platform changes are making organic even more critical

The way people find and consume information is shifting fast.

AI-driven search tools like Google’s AI Overviews and Microsoft Copilot are pulling answers from trusted, authoritative sources. If your content isn’t seen as credible, you’re invisible in those results.

Add to that the privacy changes - cookie deprecation, tighter ad targeting rules - and paid ads are getting more expensive and less precise.

Meanwhile, organic channels help you collect first-party data (subscribers, event signups, community engagement) you actually own. That’s gold for account-based marketing, personalized outreach, and nurturing high-value deals.

 

5. Paid Still Has a Role, Just Not as the Foundation

Don’t get me wrong: paid still matters.

If you’re promoting a product launch, driving event signups, or retargeting high-intent prospects, paid can deliver quick wins. But when paid is your only engine, your costs rise every quarter just to maintain results.

The smarter play? Build an organic foundation that runs 24/7, then use paid strategically to boost your best content and accelerate deals already in motion. That way, you get both speed and staying power.

  So, you see, in B2B, where the landscape is only getting more complex: longer sales cycles, more decision-makers, new tech shaping how people discover solutions, organic marketing isn’t just about “free” traffic. It’s about meeting core business goals: generating high-quality pipeline, shortening sales cycles, increasing deal sizes, and building trust that keeps customers coming back. Paid promotion is a great accelerator. But organic? That’s your foundation for sustainable growth in 2025–2026 and beyond. Build it now, and it will keep paying you back long after the latest ad campaign ends.  

SEO to GEO marks a new phase in online success. For years, success online meant ranking high on Google. And that’s still true - but search itself is expanding. Today, visibility doesn’t stop with search engines.

It also means showing up in AI-generated answers from tools like GPT-4o, Gemini, and Claude.

Here are some facts you need to know:

• 67% of technical queries never make it to Google
• They’re being answered instantly by ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity
• Google’s AI Overviews now appear in ~13% of all searches - up from 6.5% in January 2025

 

If your brand isn’t part of those answers, you’re invisible to a growing share of your market.

Search behavior is evolving:

• Queries are longer (23 words on average, not 4)
• Sessions are deeper (lasting around 6 minutes)
• And AI engines don’t just search - they remember, reason, and respond with personalized, conversational synthesis

SEO still matters. But it’s no longer enough on its own. That’s where GEO - Generative Engine Optimization - comes in: the next evolution in making sure your content gets seen wherever people search for answers.

Here’s how to start positioning your content to show up where it matters most:

5 Ways to Optimize Your Content for AI Engines

1. Build Topical Authority, Not Just Keyword Lists SEO taught us to chase keywords. GEO rewards expertise. AI engines prefer trusted sources that consistently publish valuable content on specific subjects. What to do: Create content clusters. Go beyond isolated blog posts and build topic ecosystems: guides, FAQs, thought leadership pieces, and deep dives.   2. Write Like You’re Explaining It to a Smart Friend AI engines favor content written in a natural, conversational tone. If it reads like stiff marketing jargon, it’s likely to be ignored by LLMs. What to do: Break down complex topics clearly and simply. Use questions, summaries, and direct answers. Write to inform, not impress.   3. Format for Easy Extraction AI engines love content that’s easy to lift, quote, and summarize. Dense paragraphs are ignored - clarity wins. What to do:

• Use H2s and H3s properly
• Add bullet points and numbered lists Start with a TL;DR or summary whenever possible Think: Could ChatGPT easily use this paragraph in an answer?

  4. Build Trust with Credibility Signals AI models look for trustworthy, well-sourced content to avoid hallucinations or misinformation. What to do: Use expert bylines, cite credible sources, include data, and showcase expertise. Think “thought leader,” not “content farm.”   5. Optimize for Zero-Click Visibility People may not click anymore - they may just read the AI’s answer. Your goal is brand visibility in the answer itself. What to do: Include brand mentions, URL citations, or phrases like:“According to [YourBrand].com…” Help the AI connect your expertise to your name.

Final Thought: Be Part of the Answer

SEO isn’t dead. It’s evolving.  GEO is the next layer, giving your brand the power to show up not just in search engines but in the AI-generated answers people increasingly trust.

Here's a surprising fact: Many CEOs still see branding solely as a marketing function, overlooking its potential and missing a major opportunity.

Your brand does more than create awareness — it's an engine of influence

A smart branding strategy connects your company's vision, unique value proposition, core values, and business goals. It answers a critical question: How does your company want to be perceived by all your stakeholders – within your company and beyond your walls to your target audiences?

3 Key Branding Principles Every CEO Should Adopt

1. Your Brand = Your Reputation Your brand is what people think of you. Your brand strategy defines what you want them to think. It's a long-term process, and while it's not possible to control every aspect of perception, clear and consistent messaging helps shape a positive reputation and build lasting influence. 2. Branding + Marketing = A Winning Formula "Marketing is asking someone on a date. Branding is the reason they say 'Yes!'" Your brand is much more than just a marketing tool—it's a strategic asset that can drive our business success. To get more people to say yes—whether they are customers, employees, or investors—your brand must be:

• Relevant to their needs
• Differentiated from your competitors
• Inspiring and compelling

3. A Brand Is a Promise—and Promises Must Be Kept Each time someone interacts with your company, you have a chance to show them you mean what you say. That's why every interaction with your company should reinforce your brand’s promise.

• Your employees are the face of your brand every single day. They bring your promise to life through their words and actions.
• When customers use your products and services, they're testing your promise over time. Each positive experience builds trust and reinforces why they chose you in the first place.
• Your digital touchpoints, from customer dashboards to online shopping, are opportunities to make your customers' lives easier and show them you understand their needs.
• The partners and distributors who work with you are extensions of your voice. When they speak to customers, those customers hear your promise through them.
• Your support team does more than just solve problems—they turn satisfied customers into advocates who will share your promise with others. What others say about us is more powerful than what we say about ourselves.

B2B Branding—A Challenge and an Opportunity

B2B branding navigates long and complex sales cycles, interacts with multiple decision-makers from different generations, and has a strong focus on technology and sales, which often doesn't prioritize marketing. When you manage the customer journey strategically, branding becomes a powerful opportunity—building trust, differentiating your company, and fostering long-term relationships with your customers. A Strategic Brand Accelerates Your Business Whether your goal is converting leads into customers, attracting top talents, or driving organizational changes, leveraging your brand helps you achieve it intelligently and elegantly. Great brands don’t just sell products—they bring people together around something bigger and more meaningful. Ultimately, people seek meaning. What is your brand doing to provide meaning to your customers?