SEO (or search engine optimization) can be complex for any business; but, it’s especially tricky for industrial and manufacturing companies. Why? Because manufacturers typically serve a small niche or group of niches, they have more competition than most when it comes to the top keywords.
Unfortunately, these keywords are what your potential customers (AKA other business owners) are searching for on Google and other major search engines. The remedy is to get serious about your SEO. But, where do you even start? In this post we’ll try to answer this question for you.
Getting Started With SEO For Industrial & Manufacturing Companies
Know Who You’re Targeting
Your business targets other businesses (this is referred to as B2B, or business-to-business). This is a crucial fact to keep in mind when approaching SEO, as you’ll need to know who it is you’re targeting when it comes to traffic for your website.
For instance, if you manufacture pet supplies, then your ideal customer is a pet store (online and/or physical retailer) looking to sell your products and turn a profit. In this scenario, the keywords you choose to target should be catered to this group specifically.
Choose The Right Keywords
Now that you know who it is you’re targeting, it’s time to choose a group of keywords to include in your SEO strategy. The number of keywords you’ll choose is arbitrary, as it will depend on a range of factors that are unique to your business.
Performing keyword research is a critical first step for any website trying to gain visibility on search engines. Choosing the wrong keywords could end up hurting your business in the long run, as it will likely cause irrelevant traffic to visit your website. You’ll need to be meticulous about the search terms you choose.
Make sure you look at key metrics for each keyword as well, such as how many searches they receive on a monthly basis and how competitive they are. Speaking of competitive, you should also research what other similar companies within your industry are doing in terms of SEO; including the keywords they’re targeting.
Focus on Your Website’s Design & Content
The success of your SEO efforts weighs heavily on the quality of your website. After all, it is the hub where all traffic is sent to after finding you on a search engine. To avoid any issues with your rankings, ensure your website is quick, responsive (for all devices) and has a design that is up to date and fresh.
When it comes to B2B, it’s best not to overcomplicate your web design. Be as straightforward as possible; business owners aren’t interested in flashy website banners or parallax backgrounds, they care more about the products you manufacture and if they can help them solve their unique problems.
Above all else, though, the content on your web pages needs to be high quality to ensure you convey the proper message on each page. In addition to having the standard pages (home, about, contact) you should also create 4-5 ‘pillar’ pages for your top target keywords.
These pages don’t need to be anything specific, they can simply expand on the keywords themselves. For example: if one of your keywords is “organic dog food manufacturer”, then you should create a page that discusses how you make organic dog food, what benefits it offers, and include success stories from your existing customers.
Then, you should publish blog content on a regular basis that links to these ‘pillar’ pages (along with your standard web pages) to build authority for them.
What’s Next?
While these are common first steps towards increasing your visibility on search engines, they’re only the tip of the iceberg. SEO for industrial and manufacturing companies includes a complex set of actions (some of which need to be taken on a consistent basis, such as blog posting and backlink building).
This is why partnering with a team of experts — like Manufacturing Advertising — who specialize in SEO for manufacturers is the ideal next step. Our team of professionals have the knowledge and skill necessary to put together the right SEO strategy that is tailor-made for your company and your target audience.
Get started today by contacting Manufacturing Advertising now!
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