Empowered by the internet to search for the most effective solutions to their problems, today’s consumers are more discerning than ever before. Stand out from the competition and drive business with SEO for manufacturers.
More people are shopping online, and 93% of internet activities begin with a search query. When customers search for products and services you provide, you want your business to be at the top of their results. That’s why SEO must be a priority when strategizing marketing for manufacturers. It can boost visibility, raise awareness, and help drive website traffic for manufacturing companies to increase conversion rates and sales.
Keep reading to learn SEO best practices for sales growth and revenue generation.
Key Takeaways:
- SEO is the process of updating your website and digital content to ensure you’re providing quality information and a superior experience that earns high search rankings.
- SEO for manufacturers increases awareness, drives traffic, ensures your website is reaching peak performance and helps you stand out from the competition.
- SEO best practices range from understanding your audience and creating custom content to ensuring they have a positive experience when visiting your website.
What Exactly Is SEO for Manufacturers?
With more than 4.2 billion Google searches a day, how do you capture the attention of people wading through countless search results? The answer is to follow SEO basics for manufacturing and industrial companies.
SEO is about understanding what content shoppers are looking for online and how they seek that information. Then, it involves using that data to create material for your site that search engines will recognize as relevant and valuable. If you’re successful, your brand will earn high search engine rankings that drive traffic (and business) to your site.
Search engine ranking placement is essential because 75% of online users don’t scroll past the first page of Google search results. That’s why it’s critical that you meet Google’s search criteria. While SEO used to rely on keyword matches, SEO in 2022 is all about providing a positive user experience for your visitors. That means delivering accurate, meaningful content on a website that’s easy and intuitive to navigate. When optimizing your website for optimal performance, you must prioritize the user experience.
Why Is SEO Important?
When you achieve a high search engine ranking, your company appears at the top of the organic results on page one. You raise awareness and get high visibility, which means more people are likely to click on your link and visit your website. There, you can post tailored content that specifically addresses the unique needs of your target audience. You can provide valuable resources to your visitors that keep them coming back for more. It also sends a signal to search engines that you’re providing useful information to their users, so they’ll continue to reward you with high rankings.
SEO also helps ensure your website is operating at peak performance. Through optimization, you can identify:
- Outdated content
- Broken links
- Reasons for shopping cart abandonment
- Which pages (and content) are engaging customers
- Overall usability
Recognizing areas of the customer journey that are going well and identifying areas that need improvement all help ensure your website delivers a superior customer experience. This helps attract quality leads and channels them through the sales funnel more effectively and efficiently.
The following video further explains how SEO works and why it’s important:
Source: Kyle Milan on YouTube
5 Best Practices for Manufacturers in 2022
When it comes to providing a positive user experience, SEO is more than a marketing trend for manufacturing companies. It’s a powerful tool that should be integral to brand marketing for manufacturing companies. Drive business and generate revenue with these five best practices for SEO for manufacturers.
1. Keyword Research
While no longer the main driver for effective SEO, keywords still play a major role in website optimization. Knowing what your target audience is looking for can help you develop tailored content that specifically addresses their needs and problems. Keyword research uncovers trends in marketing for manufacturing companies. It also helps shape your content plan and provides ideas on what topics would resonate with your audience. All of this can help you increase traffic and build a loyal following.
2. Custom Content
People are searching online for specific solutions to their unique problems. Knowing who your audience is and what information they’re looking for helps you create custom content that is sure to be meaningful. Offering real solutions:
- Builds trust
- Establishes your reputation
- Encourages loyalty
- Drives engagement
- Grows website traffic
When you deliver information tailored to individual issues, you connect with your audience and solidify your position as an industry leader. Your audience will feel that you not only understand their needs but are prepared to help them with their problems. For these reasons, custom content (and content marketing) is an essential element of SEO for manufacturers.
3. Page Layout and Design
Part of providing a positive user experience is hosting a site that is intuitive and easy to navigate. A clean layout with clearly marked tabs helps shoppers find what they’re looking for easily and efficiently. Prominently placed Call-to-Action buttons guide visitors to their next steps. Content broken up into brief paragraphs, surrounded by space, is easier on the eye and helps readers digest your information more easily. All of these website must-haves for manufacturing companies help minimize frustration and provide a smooth customer journey.
4. Page Load Times
Research shows that 88% of people with a bad user experience are less likely to return to a company’s website. A large cause of user frustration is slow load times on a company’s website. Through SEO, you can ensure your website is operating smoothly and efficiently by:
- Optimizing and compressing all images
- Minimizing redirects
- Storing your site’s files with cache
- Reducing excessive plugins
These actions keep content from bogging down your website’s performance and allow users to access your information quickly and easily.
5. Mobile Friendliness
Mobile devices account for nearly 60% of online searches. This means that your website must be mobile-friendly to reach the greatest market share. Make sure photos are scalable, so they look as good on small screens as they do on large. Watch for text issues that cut off important information or cause awkward paragraph breaks, making content difficult to read. By ensuring your website is mobile-friendly, you ensure the possibility of reaching a wider audience and increasing the potential for sales.
Make SEO Work for You
Shanahan Strategy builds effective digital marketing and content marketing for manufacturing companies to help increase growth and generate revenue.
Contact Shanahan Strategy today to learn how we can help you maximize SEO opportunities for continued success.
