In the business-to-consumer sphere, search engine optimization is standard practice. While this is true, business-to-business manufacturers must also consider SEO when redesigning their websites or revamping an existing site.
An important factor to keep in mind, though, is that B2C and B2B SEO strategies and goals are markedly different. In most cases, B2C efforts cast a much wider net within a specific consumer group. In this case, big numbers matter.
However, for B2B manufacturers, thousands of visitors aren’t necessary. What they need is the right visitors. Their target audience is much smaller and more defined. The goal here isn’t immediate and direct sales.
When it comes to SEO for manufacturers, it comes down to one thing – lead generation. Keep reading to learn more about SEO for manufacturing companies and why it’s a crucial part of any effective marketing strategy.
Why You Need to Invest in SEO
Before getting into the “how” of SEO for manufacturers, you may be curious about the “why.” After all, SEO tactics require an investment of time and money. Chances are you want one or several compelling reasons to make this investment.
If that sounds like you, learn about some of the reasons to make this investment here.
There’s No Way to Manufacture Profits
SEO is going to help your website appear in organic search results (rather than PPC or paid search results). This means when someone searches a term related to the service or product you offer, there’s a good chance your website is going to show up in the results.
The more visibility you have in the search results, the bigger the opportunity you have for people to visit your site and actually convert. To put it simply, the more “foot” traffic you attract to your website, the more likely you will get conversions, which leads to more profits.
Your Competitors are Doing It
Have you ever Googled your competitors? Try it.
Are they showing up ahead of you in organic (non-paid) search results? If so, they are likely doing quite a bit to ensure they have drilled down their SEO efforts.
While this may be good for them, it’s bad news for you. Also, the longer you wait to invest in SEO, the longer and more expensive it will be for you to catch up with the competition.
Google Is Constantly Updating Its Search Ranking Factors
The research and development of how to rank websites in search engines are ongoing. Google is constantly evaluating the way people search, where they click the most, the amount of time they spend on a site, and more.
Getting a top ranking in search engines isn’t something that just magically “happens.” There’s a definite reason for this, and most are based on the library of algorithms Google has created.
The algorithms change as expectations and cultural behaviors evolve. This means you have to ensure your manufacturing website is compliant with the emerging, new, and existing algorithms Google creates.
Optimizing Your Site for a Superior User Experience
SEO is going to help your site perform at its technical best. If you want to appear higher in the search results (which is something that goes with great user experience), you have to ensure your site is optimized for various technical aspects. These include:
- Mobile experience,
- Sitemap crawl budget
- Site and page load time
In addition to this technical optimization, it’s also necessary to ensure your site isn’t full of broken links or pages, errors, or anything else that may negatively impact your user’s experience.
SEO Is an On-Going Investment
It’s crucial to ensure your website is optimized for both people and search engines. However, it doesn’t just stop there.
You have to remember – and investment in SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it marketing effort. You have to continually adapt to the way people are searching and other factors.
Keeping up with cultural shifts, algorithm updates, competitor analysis, lead quality, and behavior metrics are key to having a site that ranks well and that provides a good user experience both people and search engines will like.
On-Page SEO Tactics for Manufacturers
Historically, on-page optimization has been all about making a web page attractive to search engines. After all, when your website ranks high on SERPs, you get more traffic. There are two things you need to do to make sure this happens.
1. Create Amazing On-Page Content
When creating content, write for users first, and search engines second. You need to understand your users.
What are they looking for from your company, and what do they want to know about it? Make sure you are developing the content they want. To do this, consider the questions users may ask. For example:
- Who are you, exactly?
- Why should a customer choose your products over the competition?
- Are the products offered customizable?
- What types of products are offered?
If you have a company that specializes in the manufacturing and rebuilding of threaded components, consider creating a blog that provides information about how to decide between thread grinding and thread rolling.
Make sure the content you create is interesting, informative, and uses the targeted keywords. Great content is going to draw in your audience and let the search engine know that you have a relevant and legit site. The result – better rankings for your site.
2. Optimize Your Meta Information
This includes all the meta information – titles, descriptions, alt tags, etc. for the relevant keywords. While metadata isn’t considered when Google ranks your website, it’s essential to make sure people click through to your actual website.
It’s essential to include unique and relevant keywords for each page title you create, along with clear calls to action in your meta description.
Social Connections
In addition to the on-page tactics mentioned above, developing social connections is also a crucial part of SEO for manufacturers. While some manufacturers still think social media is a complete waste of time – this isn’t the case – as long as you get it right.
With the right social media tactics, you can increase your website’s ranking on Google, along with other search engines. Social media channels can provide additional links to your website and build the domain authority that Google loves.
Some of the manufacturers of the social platforms should target include:
As a manufacturer, you need to cultivate your presence on specific channels. LinkedIn is one of the most obvious places to share your manufacturing blog content and to establish your thought leadership and expertise in your sector.
By utilizing LinkedIn groups and attracting new followers and by following other leaders yourself, you can ensure your content is seen by those who make buying decisions in your particular niche or sector.
When you generate traffic from LinkedIn, it’s going to show Google that the content you are creating is relevant and valuable to your users.
YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine and a great way to deliver videos. If you aren’t making videos currently, now is the time to begin.
Some ideas to get you started include:
- How-to videos for your products
- Installation guides
- Helpful tips
- A company intro video
Publishing this type of content signals to Google that you have a dynamic web presence and that you are a thought leader in your space. Establishing these social channels and posting videos, even just once a month, can help to increase your website’s rankings by increasing the traffic that goes to your content.
Link Building
With great content, you can begin to think about various ways to get other websites to start linking to your website. The fact is, link building is often challenging for manufacturers; as a result, you need to be creative.
Consider this example. If you manufacturer equipment for restaurants, reaching out to chef’s blogs may be a great opportunity for links.
If you are a tool manufacturer, consider trade websites that are focused on home improvement contractors. In these cases, you can create content around a single idea – seasoning a frying pan or building a deck – and then include a link to your product line.
Being able to find these opportunities are often time-consuming, but the results can increase your traffic, improve search engine rankings, and result in more leads.
SEO for Manufacturers: Getting It Right Matters
SEO for manufacturers can be challenging. Getting started can seem daunting and overwhelming, which results in some abandoning the effort altogether.
Don’t do that. The benefits offered by SEO far outweigh the time and expense you incur. If you aren’t sure where or how to get started, reach out to us. Our team specializes in industrial marketing and providing you B2B digital marketing solutions that scale with you.
With our help, you can achieve your goals and implement SEO tactics that will exceed your expectations in every way.
