Let’s start with a simple fact: Manufacturers and industry professionals shun online marketing. According to a recent Fathom SEO study, industry professionals don’t optimize their pages for search engines. Only 15 percent of manufacturers run online search engine marketing campaigns. The numbers are surprisingly low, especially since overall search engine marketing spending is rising dramatically - nearly 40 percent in 2004 alone.

So why have industry professionals been slow to embrace the online marketing revolution?

Manufacturers rightfully see their businesses as different from retailers and service providers that commonly advertise on search engines. This leads to a misconception that online marketing won’t work for manufacturing as it does for these other businesses. Some of the problems industry professionals cite include:

Long, unpredictable buying cycles

While retailers can attract and convert a potential customer into a buyer in a matter of minutes, manufacturers face long and often unpredictable buying cycles. Since manufacturing products are usually more expensive than most retail items, a buying cycle can be up to 12 months long. This leads to the next problem - the difficulty of tracking conversions.

Difficulty of tracking conversions

Any marketing department worth its salt knows about the importance of figuring out precisely which programs are working: how many customers each one brings in, and what the customer demographics are. Long buying cycles make tracking online advertising problematic (but it’s not impossible!)

Even if your customer first noticed your site on Google Ads, it might not have been until later that an ad on Yahoo, Thomas or another search engine that finally got him to pick up the phone. Trying to figure out which campaign drove this customer to your site becomes a challenge, especially if your buyer says that he just can’t remember because it was so long ago.

For industry, buying doesn’t necessarily occur online

Finding a manufacturing vendor online isn’t like buying a book or a pair of shoes: it’s not as simple as point and click. Communication, negotiations, and product testing are often necessary before a consumer will commit to a purchase. This more complicated sales cycle, once again, leads to difficulty in tracking how your customers found your site.

No wonder manufacturers aren’t as quick to embrace online marketing. After all, if you don’t know how well it works, why do it at all?

Because it does work. Because your competition is starting to do it more. And most importantly, because potential industrial buyers are using search engines - more than any other type of media - to find new vendors.

Search Engine Marketing Works for Industry

In spite of all the challenges faced by manufacturers who try to advertise on search engines, SEM (search engine marketing) is still your best shot to reach your customers.

Everyone knows that more and more people are moving online and that search engines are among the top online destinations. Now, recent studies show that B2B users are also using search engines in great numbers to research new products.

Why is search engine marketing important to industry and manufacturing?

The answer is simple: Users have moved online and marketing budgets must follow.

Search engines are the #1 way B2B users find products online

When asked where they would go to find more about a product or service, 63.9% of B2B users said they would head to a search engine. The next source of information would be a known manufacturer’s site, with only 18.9%.

Search engines are used throughout the buying cycle
Industry professionals use search engines in the earliest, middle and pre-purchase parts of the buying cycle. The answers range from a year in advance to just a day before a purchase:

- The same day - 3.7%
- A week or two - 22.5%
- A month - 29.9%
- 2-3 months - 24.7%
- 4-6 months - 12.6%
- 7-9 months - 2.3%
- 9-12 months - 2.9%
-other - 1.4% Source: Enquiro/Marketing Sherpa study, 2005

Industry professionals look for more than just information - they look for products

Search engines have become popular by providing a gateway to informational resources. Although most people still use them for this purpose, 35% of B2B users search with the sole intent of finding a new product to buy.

Industry buyers use search engine more than any other type of media

- In the research phase, search is used 30% more than trade publications

- In the consideration phase, search is used 21% more than print pubs

- In the purchase phase, search is used 62% more than traditional media Source: Google-Millward Brown study, 2005

Filling the Void

Manufacturing companies currently face a rare opportunity. Since your potential buyers are online and your competitors mostly aren’t, you can create a competitive advantage by optimizing your web site , creating search engine ad campaigns and finding industry-specific sites for advertising .

SearchEngines.com is the only online marketing resource focused exclusively on the needs of manufacturers. We can help guide you to an effective online marketing strategy and to many resources for manufacturers.

 

How to hire a professional optimizer

Search engine optimization is a complex field covering everything from the intricacies of HTML to the economics of Internet marketing and the search industry. Before hiring a professional optimizer, consider the following issues:

How does your site rank now?
Are you looking for professional help because you’re concerned about your site’s performance? If your site doesn’t rank very high for common queries related to your business, a professional optimizer can be a wise investment.

Another reason to consider hiring a professional is coverage. A professional SEO firm can advise you on which search engines, other than Google and Yahoo, you need to be listed.

If you haven’t taken stock of your rankings, do so. Many optimizers provide free ranking reports to potential clients. Take advantage of this service to get a general idea of where you stand. If you don’t understand a report, ask a representative to explain its significance to you.

Optimization can be a good investment, even if you’re fairly satisfied with your current search engine presence. Since search listings are such a valuable source of business, improving your position and creating search ad campaigns will almost invariably pay off.

How much do you have to spend?
Search engine optimization services vary widely in their costs. We strongly recommend that you avoid anyone who promises to "optimize your site and submit it to 500 search engines for $89.95." That’s because such promises are almost always false and they can’t provide good, solid results you’re looking for.

If your resources are limited, you may have thought about optimizing your site yourself. This is certainly worth considering if you or your webmaster has a basic understanding of HTML, good writing skills and time to learn how to optimize.

The disadvantage of DIY optimization is that it takes a substantial, and ongoing, time commitment. You’ll need to learn how to optimize, submit and re-submit your pages and monitor your standings. A professional optimizer does all this for you, from researching the engines to presenting a progress report.

How should you judge results?
One of the fist things to do when interviewing potential optimizers is to look at their client lists. What do their clients say about them? Have they successfully optimized for web sites similar to yours in structure or function?

If your site uses a lot of dynamic content or is particularly complex, an optimizer who’s worked exclusively with small, simple sites may not be the best choice. Have your webmaster talk to potential optimizers about his or her technical concerns.

Since industry sites have many special considerations, look an optimizer that has experience with manufacturing clients. Although it’s not necessary for an optimizer to be an expert in your field to get results, he or she should have some idea of the lay of the land. You can get some idea of an optimizer’s adaptability from his assessment of your site’s current situation. He should be able to knowledgeably discuss your competitors, audience and prospects for improvement.

How did you hear about a potential optimizer?
Unfortunately, the field of search engine optimization includes many flash-in-the-pan entrepreneurs who use e-mail spam and other unsavory marketing practices. Your task in hiring an optimizer is to filter the handful of reputable firms out from this group.

Never trust anyone who guarantees they’ll get you a number-one ranking, a listing in Yahoo or some other seemingly impressive placement. Search engines and directories are independent companies, and they don’t contract with optimizers to give certain clients top placement. Anyone who says they have a "100% guarantee" is probably stretching the truth.

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