There’s an open secret regarding SEO for manufacturers which other industries are quietly jealous of:
SEO is (relatively) easy for manufacturing companies.
If you already know what Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing are, you can skip this section.
The whole point of SEO is to get traffic (visits) to your website without having to pay for them.
There are two ways to get traffic to a site from a search engine:
Statistics and opinions have varied over the years as to which is more likely to get you a click — a paid listing or what is referred to as an “organic” result.
But, one thing is for certain, an organic result costs you nothing when someone clicks on it. Whereas paid listings can cost several pounds per click! That gets expensive quickly.
Also read these articles for more info': 'Get found on Google' and 'How to do a content audit'.
There are highly competitive keywords and less competitive ones.
There are also industries who traditionally spend more time optimising their websites than others.
For example, a web design company, or a software development company, is far more likely to spend time and money on SEO because that is their business. Just as a painter is more likely to carry out painting jobs around the house. It’s simply a question of familiarity.
Because of this, a tremendous amount of SEO competition accrues for certain fields. Trying to come up on the first page of a search engine for “where to buy great web design” is more difficult than, say, “G3 Grade glass panel filter manufacturer”.
The latter is a far less competitive keyword.
And that’s what makes SEO for manufacturers easier.
SEO does require a little more than creating a home-baked website using Google Sites. A bit of a strategy is required (and perhaps even a bit of professional help).
Here is what we consider an easy and effective strategy to improve your Search Engine Presence immediately.
If you only deal in wholesale, your target market will likely be an extremely knowledgeable purchaser who wants to know:
This type of purchaser will likely search for:
This is a far easier market to target than the “general public” because the keywords to target are more obscure.
Once you’ve established your target market, you must discover what they are searching for. This requires using some sort of keyword research tool.
Some useful tools we know of include:
Here’s a quick tip: Don’t get too bogged down with keyword tools.
(If you'd like a free SEO audit of your site as a starting point, book on this page here)
Keyword tools are particularly important in highly competitive industries.
But, for niche markets, there’s a good chance you’ll know better what people are searching for simply by listening to the questions they ask you when they phone you up or walk into your factory or store.
The main thing is to be aware of keywords, and to realise that search engines all began with keywords.
Search Engines have evolved and use other metrics now to determine a fitting result for a search, but keywords are still central to their business model.
And here is where manufacturers can really shine.
There is one SEO golden rule which has stood the test of time despite all the improvements Search Engines have implemented in the last ten years: Phenomenal content consistently ranks well.
As a manufacturer in a niche market, you are in a unique position to create content that really soars, because you are an expert in that field.
Here are some key elements that your content must have in order to compete effectively with others:
The content must be unique and original. If you manufacture fridges, for example, you could write an article discussing static versus dynamic cooling.
Or, if you manufacture lawnmowers, you could discuss the pros and cons between rotary and cylinder lawnmowers.
Whatever you write about, do a quick search and see if the article is unique or if someone else has already written about it.
If someone has written about it, see if you can give the article a spin and work out a unique touch to it that would be useful for readers.
Length of article is extremely important in search engine optimisation — although, the jury is still out on whether long articles are better than short ones.
And one must be realistic, too. Writing 3,000-word articles is a monstrous task. Finding the time for it is often an impossibility for busy executives.
In such a case, you might consider hiring a writer to assist you.
Either way, extremely short articles will not gain you much traction. Try to aim for articles of about 1,000 words, at least.
The final element is how often you write.
It’s important to write often, and some SEO experts have suggested writing weekly.
Again, you must balance this within what you are able to do within your schedule.
If you can only do it twice a month, it’s better than not doing it at all.
Actually, it is.
Well, yes and no.
The truth is that the above, if done properly, will get you a tremendous amount of the way there. Many companies don’t even do that. Or, if they do it, but not consistently.
Of course, there is much more to know about SEO for manufacturers. And, if you’re really serious about coming in at Number One for multiple search queries, hiring an expert is advised.
But the subject is simpler than many people think. And manufacturers already have a leg up on others because of their unique, niche fields.
Take advantage of it!