SEO for Manufacturing Companies

SEO Generates Higher ROI for Manufacturing Companies

The use of search engine optimization (SEO) and inbound marketing can drive higher ROI at a very high rate for the manufacturing industry

Manufacturing companies using SEO strategy can notice significant benefits from being found online. Companies searching online for a supplier or manufacturing services are very much in the end of the funnel process to close a contract with a company to provide products or services. Well-designed SEO campaigns drive high qualified traffic to a well built website and it is still the best way to attract visitors looking for your company’s products.

Companies use search engines because it gives them the best results when looking for manufacturing suppliers. These companies will visit a website to find related information on the search performed and then determine if a company is a match before they make contact.

Your website is an essential bridge in creating communication between your company and a prospective client, which often leads to a conversion. Keeping your website up to date with industry information, product specification and documentation, and featuring related industry news is essential to keep your visitor informed and give your company a strong online presence. Read more about this topic on our article Marketing Manufacturing Companies

Content has always been king for search engines, but now it’s more then ever. Instead of attending in-person events to searching for information on the Internet, manufacturing marketers need to develop content that fuels the buying cycle.

56% of industrial professionals don’t contact a vendor until they compare & evaluate vendors through supplier website content (source: GlobalSpec 2013 Digital Media Use in the Industrial Sector)
53% of manufacturing marketers say they are going to increase their content marketing spend over the next 12 months (source: Content Marketing Institute 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report)
21% of B2B manufacturers rank their organization as “effective” or “very effective” at content marketing (source: Content Marketing Institute 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report)
64% of B2B marketers say that “producing enough content” is a challenge (source: Content Marketing Institute 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report)
83% of buyers review up to three pieces of content before making a decision on an industrial purchase over $1,000 (source: GlobalSpec Industrial Buy Cycle Survey)

Industrial professionals are Internet-savvy and are using the Internet to find the information they’re seeking. Because of this, manufacturing marketers need to have good insight on how their website optimization efforts are working. Having great content is one thing, but it needs to get found.

70% of industrial professionals use search engines when comparing and evaluating potential suppliers (GlobalSpec 2013 Digital Media Use in the Industrial Sector)
86% of industrial professionals utilize search engines for work-related purposes (GlobalSpec 2013 Digital Media Use in the Industrial Sector)
84% of industrial professionals use the Internet to find components, equipment and services (GlobalSpec 2013 Digital Media Use in the Industrial Sector)
74% use the Internet to compare products across suppliers (GlobalSpec 2013 Digital Media Use in the Industrial Sector)

Email/Marketing Automation:

Since industrial buying cycles are typically long, manufacturing marketers need to be thinking about how to best nurture someone through the cycle. Email and marketing automation present great opportunities to do this, and more manufacturers are adopting marketing automation technology.

Engineers and related professionals subscribe to an average of 5.8 digital publications (GlobalSpec 2013 Digital Media Use in the Industrial Sector)

Among B2B marketers using automation technology, 62% say they are “strong” or “full” adopters (B2B’s Marketing Automation: Best Practices for the Management of B2B Digital Marketing Campaigns report)

Video:

For many manufacturing companies, videos can be a great digital marketing tactic. Videos can help them explain technical concepts, visually represent how something works, and more. According to GlobalSpec 2013 Digital Media Use in the Industrial Sector, 46% of industrial professionals use YouTube or other video sharing portals.

Manufacturing marketers cite video as their top content marketing tactic.

Social Media:

More often than not, the assumption is that manufacturing companies aren’t using social media or that they don’t know how to. However, these statistics prove that social media is gaining traction in the industrial sector.

According to “Content Marketing Institute 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends” report, the top three social media sites used by manufacturing marketers are

Facebook (77%)
YouTube (67%)
LinkedIn (61%)

Seven out of 10 small- and mid-sized suppliers are engaging with prospects through social channels (source ThomasNet)

Is your company taking full advantage of search engine search results?

About Carla Reis

Carla Reis is the founder of QVivid Search Marketing (formerly Quest Quality Solutions Inc.), a company specializing in online marketing, search optimization, web design and branding identity. Over the past thirteen years, the company has grown with emerging technologies to help clients across Europe, North and South America stay ahead of trends and maintain a compelling web presence to stand apart from competitors in the online environment. Her expertise in achieving this by subscribing to ethical practises is demonstrated by the number of loyal Qvivid clients have worked with her for more than nine years, practically a lifetime in this sector. As an educator and web marketing specialist, Carla set out to create her own company after a number of years with Enquiro – one of the biggest search engine marketing companies in North America - as their training manager. This provided the ideal foundation for the work QVivid specializes in – creating leading-edge websites and providing search engine marketing, graphics and print design. In addition, she draws upon more than three decades of work experience as a teacher, trainer, web designer, and business development professional. Whether leading her expanding team on marketing projects, or educating clients on new innovations in the digital world, SEO and social media, Carla brings her expertise, enthusiasm and integrity to the table every time. You can find Carla’s on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Over the past 10 years, Carla has provided advice and help to over 800 business’s owners. She is sort of a Captain Kirk of the Search Engine Marketing.