To those of you who are new to SEO, the term may sound too technical. However, manufacturing SEO is simply a digital marketing strategy to help your industrial company be found online by those looking for your services.
The higher you rank in organic search results, the more likely people are to find your site. This guide provides you with key SEO strategies that have worked for manufacturing companies worldwide.
What You’ll Learn in This Article 🌟
|
How Does Manufacturing SEO Help?🤔
The goal of manufacturing SEO is to attract potential customers who will visit your page, fill out a form, make a purchase, or give you a call.
For manufacturing companies, ranking nationally or even internationally for the products or services you offer is key to expanding your reach and growing your business. Here are some benefits of manufacturing SEO:
Streamline Your Conversions
When it comes to online searches, the leads you get are usually warmer because people who are actively searching for specific services or products are often further along in their buying journey.
They’re not just browsing; they’re genuinely interested and closer to making a purchase. So, when they find your site because it is optimized for SEO, they’re more likely to be ready to take the next step, whether it’s filling out a form or making a purchase.
You Can Track Your Search Engine Optimization Progress
SEO is fairly simple to track. There are many SEO tools, like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, etc., available online that you can use to measure where your inquiries and leads are coming from and the revenue you’re getting from each channel.
Depending on your manufacturing business’s needs, you can monitor general performance stats or examine customer journeys from initial search to purchase.
A Twitter user highlights the importance of tracking your SEO progress on a monthly basis:
It’s rly important to set up a monthly SEO analytics process from the start.
You might have a destination in mind (ranking for those keywords!), but without tracking your progress, you’ll never know if you’re on the right road.
— Malcolm Peace (@peace_malcolm) May 21, 2024
A study on manufacturing sites that are actively involved in SEO found that 67% of the site visitors and conversions came from organic search traffic from digital marketing efforts through SEO.
That brings us to ROI.
SEO Helps with Tangible ROI
Unlike paid ads that stop working when the budget stops, with SEO, you’re optimizing your site to attract visitors naturally without having to keep spending on it.
This method is less draining on your finances because, in the long run, it can lead to more sales or leads, which means a better return on investment.
With SEO, you’re building a sustainable, cost-effective way to attract customers with just some ongoing maintenance.
Increased Brand Awareness
When your manufacturing website is SEO optimized, you are making it easier for people to find your services online. This increased visibility is due to more eyes on your brand which means more potential customers are discovering what you offer.
Over time, this helps establish your company as a leading player in your industry, leading to more brand awareness and a stronger reputation.
Successful SEO Strategies Practiced by Manufacturers🚀
Now that you know a majority of manufacturers rely on SEO for sales let’s look at the key elements they target to streamline this process.
Killer Content Strategy
No matter what field you are in, producing valuable content in the form of blogs, infographics, tools, resources, videos, etc., can set you apart from your competitors and help you establish yourself as an expert in your niche.
Understanding your target persona not only helps you understand their pain points and common concerns, but also helps you with crafting content strategies to target these concerns and help gain trust from potential customers.
Comment
byu/AdmirablePut6039 from discussion
inSEO
Ultimately, you want to aim to educate your prospects, establish topical authority, and improve organic visibility through your content strategies. Some content ideas that deliver results for manufacturers include:
- Technical blog posts: Dive into the nitty-gritty of how your manufacturing processes work, what goes into choosing the right materials, and how you ensure top-notch quality.
- Product demo videos: Show off your machinery or products in action, highlighting what makes them stand out and why they’re awesome.
- Case studies: Share real-life stories of how your products or services have made a difference across other industries.
- FAQs and troubleshooting guides: Answer common questions and help solve technical problems your customers might usually run into.
- Industry trend analysis: Regularly offer your take on the latest manufacturing tech and market trends to keep everyone in the loop.
Manufacturers who regularly produce top-notch, relevant content tend to get more engagement, more organic traffic, and better-quality leads.
If you write a bunch of detailed blog posts about cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, you’ll attract potential customers who are looking for solutions.
There are other ways to get your content across different popular websites to show audiences that you know your subject. One such tactic is link building.
Link Building
Link building is an off-page SEO tactic that involves getting high-quality backlinks from other established websites to yours. Your manufacturing company needs high-quality backlinks to improve its domain rating and increase your chances of ranking high in SERPs.
Some effective link building tactics for manufacturing companies are:
- Industry partnerships: Team up with your suppliers, distributors, or other manufacturers to exchange links. For instance, if you’re a widget maker, you could exchange links with a company that supplies widget parts.
- Trade show participation: Get links from event websites, industry magazines, and conference materials.
- Technical content creation: Write up whitepapers, case studies, or research that engineering blogs and industry forums will want to link to. Like if you develop a new manufacturing process, a detailed case study on it could attract links from tech blogs.
- Manufacturer directories: List your business in respected industry directories and associations. Famous directories for manufacturing companies are ThomasNet and Manufacturers, IndustryNet, Alibaba, Kompass, and mfg.com.
- PR and media outreach: Share your processes, environmental initiatives, or any industry breakthroughs to score press coverage and links. Say you launch a new eco-friendly manufacturing technique. Make sure to get the word out to news outlets and industry publications for links and visibility.
Tip: While you’re trying to snag high value backlinks, don’t forget about internal links! Internal links help search engines understand how your pages are connected to each other, improves indexability chances and boosts the performance of your content clusters.
Another important element of good website traffic is its performance; this falls under technical SEO.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO refers to the BTS of your site to maximize chances of crawling, indexing and ranking by search engines. It involves optimizing elements like site speed, mobile-friendliness, site structure, and ensuring there are no issues that might prevent search engines from accessing or understanding your content.
Manufacturing companies trying to improve their technical SEO focus on the following aspects:
- Website Performance: Fast-loading pages are a must for keeping users satisfied and ranking well in search results. For example, if a manufacturer’s site has a huge catalog or detailed specs, slow load times will turn potential customers away.
- Crawlability: Crawlability makes sure search engines can easily navigate and understand your site. If a manufacturer’s site has many product pages and technical documents, good crawlability helps search engines index and categorize everything properly.
- Mobile Optimization: Mobile optimization adapts your site for mobile devices, which is important since many buyers are using smartphones to do their research. Imagine a potential client going through your product specifications on their phone. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, they will exit your site and look elsewhere.
- Schema Markup: This helps search engines understand all the minute details about your products, like specifications and manufacturing processes. If you use schema markup for your product pages, search engines can display rich snippets with extra details right in the search results.
- XML Sitemaps: XML sitemaps are roadmaps for search engines, guiding them through complex site structures. For a manufacturer with a detailed site full of various product categories and technical documents, an XML sitemap makes sure everything is easily understandable by search engines.
Keyword Research
Keyword research involves finding relevant keywords and phrases used by potential clients while looking for relevant products, services or information.
Keyword research using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush and Keywords Everywhere, helps you find relevant, industry-related keywords that you can use to target your potential customer’s pain points, needs and attract leads and conversions.
Some top-performing keywords are derived using strategies like:
- Long-tail technical keywords: A very common keyword strategy, long-tail keywords dive into specifics. For example, keywords related to certain product features or processes.For example, if your main keyword is “solar panels,” a more specific long-tail search query might be “Will solar panels help save money on my energy bill?” This helps target users who are asking detailed questions about the topic.
- Industry jargon and acronyms: These are the terms and abbreviations that people in your field use often. They may not be familiar to outsiders, but they are key for connecting with industry professionals. In manufacturing, terms like “CNC” (Computer Numerical Control) or “BOM” (Bill of Materials) are common.
- Product model numbers and specifications: If your customers are searching for very specific equipment or parts, it helps to include those details. For example, “Siemens S7-1200 PLC” or “Model X1003 hydraulic pump” can attract people looking for exactly those products.
- Problem-solving phrases: These keywords focus on the issues your products or services help resolve. Think about what common problems your customers face and how they search for solutions. For example, “best way to prevent machine downtime” can be a good long-tail keyword if your products help with maintenance.
- Localized industrial terms: If you’re operating in multiple regions or countries, using local terminology can make a big difference in standing out in local searches. For instance, what’s known as a “forklift” in the US might be called a “lift truck” in the UK. So, keyword research helps use keywords that match regional language preferences.
Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis is one of the most effective SEO techniques to get backlink, keyword, and content-related ideas from your rivals in the industry.
- Content depth and breadth: Look at out how thorough and diverse your competitors’ blog posts, whitepapers, and case studies are. This content analysis can give you insights into where your content might be lacking, what topics to cover and how to present them.
- Backlink profiles: Analyze the source of your competitors’ backlinks. If they have links from popular industry sites or trusted publications, those are valuable sources you might want to target as well.
- Keyword targeting: Find out what keywords your competitors are ranking for that you haven’t tapped into yet. If they’re getting great results with certain keywords you haven’t focused on, it could be a good opportunity for you.
- User experience and site structure: Understand how competitors manage their technical support, product demos, and lead generation. For example, if they have an easy-to-navigate site with useful product demos and smooth support options, they’re mostly making a better impression on visitors.
Want more SEO tips? Check out our blog on SEO for moving companies to see how similar strategies can work wonders for your moving business, too!
Local SEO
Local SEO is about optimizing your website to be easily discoverable in your nearby geographical location. Local SEO helps you reach potential clients looking for manufacturing companies close to your location.
The king of local SEO is online directories. Think Google My Business listings and others. It’s also extremely important to make sure your Google Business Profile has accurate details about your manufacturing specialties and where you operate.
Don’t forget to encourage positive reviews from satisfied customers!
Use location-specific terms in your content to attract local customers. For example, if you specialize in custom metal fabrication, you might want to use phrases like “custom metal fabrication in Detroit” or “industrial chemical supplier in Houston.”
Remember to keep your name, address, and phone number the same everywhere online.
Another important local SEO tactic is location-specific landing pages. Design pages for each of your facilities or services. Highlight what you offer in each location to draw in local customers.
For example, if you have multiple locations, have a page dedicated to your “Chicago Facility” showcasing projects and services specific to that area.
Should I focus on local or international SEO for my Manufacturing Company?🌍Most manufacturing companies have the potential to serve customers worldwide, but in my opinion, it is always smarter to zero in on specific cities or regions at first. If you’re focusing on a specific city or region, make sure your website displays that. Create a specific page for that area for people looking for services in that city. For example, if you’re targeting potential clients in Chicago, set up a page on your website called “Custom Metal Fabrication in Chicago.” Talk about the services you offer specifically in that city, share some local success stories, and make it easy for people to get in touch or ask for a quote. On the other hand, if you’re targeting a national audience, there’s no need to stuff your pages with local terms. Try to mix things up with generic and long-tail keywords for unique products or services. This way, you’ll show up in searches for both broad and niche topics across the country. Whether you’re focusing locally or nationally, align your SEO strategy with your overall marketing goals to ensure maximum effectiveness. |
E-commerce SEO
E-commerce SEO focuses on optimizing your online product catalogs and making the process smoother for the buyers.
When you focus on providing your buyers with a smooth online shopping experience, you not only make it easier for them to find and purchase what they need but also improve your site’s performance in search results.
Some ways to improve your E-commerce SEO game are:
- Product Schema Markup: Add structured data to your product pages to show off key details like specs, prices, and availability right in search results. For example, if you sell a smartwatch, include information about its battery life and pricing so customers can see it directly on Google and other search engines.
- Faceted Navigation: Add filters on your product pages so users can easily sort by size, material, or what the product is used for. Say your customers are shopping for a jacket: filters like “waterproof” or “size M” help them find exactly what they’re looking for without browsing through tons of options.
- B2B-Specific Features: Customize your site for business customers by making account creation, bulk ordering, and reordering easy and streamlined. For example, if a company regularly buys office supplies, give them the option of reordering their usual items with fewer clicks.
- Technical Documentation Integration: Make it easy for customers to find datasheets, safety information, and compatibility guides on your product pages. If you sell industrial equipment, link to detailed specifications and safety instructions directly where people are shopping for the gear.
- Cross-Selling Optimization: Suggest related or compatible products to boost your average order value. If someone’s buying a camera, recommend lenses or tripods that go well with it so they think about picking up a few extra items.
How Do You Know if Your SEO Game is Working?🔍
SEO is an ongoing process. It requires constant monitoring, tracking and optimizing to reap good rewards. There are certain metrics that manufacturing companies can use to track their SEO performance.
Tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console (GSC), Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you track these metrics.
- Conversion tracking: Watch out for how well your lead forms, quote requests, and downloads of technical documents are doing. For example, see how many people fill out a form after checking out your product specs.
- Industry-specific metrics: Track how people interact with things like CAD files or product configurators. You could also monitor how many users engage with your interactive design tools.
- Geographic performance: Analyze how traffic and conversions vary by region. This helps you understand where you can expand your business. If your website gets more visits from certain states or countries, you can use that information to target those areas.
- Search visibility for manufacturing and product-related terms: Check how well you rank for target keywords and part numbers specific to your manufacturing industry.
- ROI calculation: Learn how your SEO efforts are affecting sales or custom orders for your manufacturing equipment. You can start by calculating how much more revenue you’re bringing in from organic search compared to before you started your SEO campaign.
Uncommon Trends to Hop on: SEO for Manufacturing Companies✨While this article covers the most common, effective SEO practices that are foolproof at getting you to the top of SERPs, there are some newer, less common SEO trends that you could hop on to give your manufacturing company an added edge. Ever since AI and machine learning took over the internet as big players, search engines are getting better at understanding the context behind queries and the way people naturally speak.🤖 For manufacturers, this means you need to fine-tune your site for semantic search and natural language. Interactive media like augmented reality is also a huge market trend these days.🕶️ Hence, if your brand has augmented reality demos for new machines or interactive simulations of custom engineering processes, you should definitely consider pitching them to digital magazines and tech blogs. Unlike long blogs that can be hard to keep people engaged, videos are a great way to show off your products, explain tricky processes, and catch the eye of potential customers.🎥 This way, you’re also tapping into the visual media and gaining access to a wider audience who prefer quick, engaging content. As a manufacturing company, I recommend you craft specific content for each stage of the customer’s journey down the marketing funnel and use detailed analytics to track how users move through the sales cycle. For example, creating a blog post for the awareness stage about industry trends, a case study for the consideration stage showcasing successful projects, and a detailed product guide for the decision-making stage. By following these steps, manufacturers can make their online presence more effective at each step of the customer journey. |
Final Thoughts
SEO for manufacturers focuses on making it easier for people to find your manufacturing business online. The better your site ranks in search results, the more likely it is that potential customers will come across it.
By optimizing your site, you’re not just improving your visibility; you’re also making sure that when people search for what you offer, they’re more likely to find and engage with your content. This guide has covered some key strategies that have worked for manufacturing companies around the world.
FAQs
- What is Manufacturing SEO?
SEO for manufacturing means making sure your business shows up when people search for your products or services online. Think of it as a way to boost your visibility so potential customers can find you easily, whether they’re looking nationally or globally. - How Can SEO Improve My Manufacturing Business?
By nailing your SEO game, you’re drawing in people who are interested in what you offer. This means more of your site visitors are closer to making a purchase or reaching out. And, with better SEO, you can track where your leads come from and how well your website’s performing. - Why Should I Care About Technical SEO?
Technical SEO might sound geeky, but it’s important for making sure your site runs smoothly and is easy for search engines to understand. This means faster load times, mobile-friendly pages, and clear site structure so your visitors stick around and find what they’re looking for without any hiccups. - Should I Focus on Local or Global SEO for My Manufacturing Company?
If you’re just starting out, it’s often smarter to focus on local SEO to build a strong foundation in specific cities or regions. Once you’ve nailed that, you can expand globally.