3 Reasons Manufacturers Cannot Ignore SEO

It's generally understood that ALL businesses need a website. While it is usually more of an uphill battle with the B2B industry to convince them that it can be a useful tool instead of merely an online brochure it is something that B2B companies and manufacturers really need to understand if they are going to compete in the digital age. Here are a few common things we hear from stubborn businesses:

• The people that buy our products don't really use the internet
• We've had the same customers for years and in our industry the number of people that buy our products is small
• People that look for our products/services don't use search engines
• People that look for our products/services don't use social media
• Our sales people are in charge of getting sales and they don't really think the website helps

If you carry some of the above oppositions or other ones I've missed, it is not too late. You can still use the web to generate leads and sales.

Here are 3 reasons Manufacturers Cannot Ignore SEO

1. The kids that turned 18 were born in 1995. This is the year that people started using their internet more frequently in their homes. In the 5 short years before these kids started school, internet usage world wide grew 2,156%. That means these people grew up with the internet. This is generation Z and they are graduating high school, soon college and then entering the workforce. These will be the people that will be researching your products and services. Even if these folks might still be young, the slightly older Gen Y people are pretty comfortable on the web as well. My point is this...your buyers are getting younger and they will use the web to find what they are looking for!
2. 93% of online experiences start with a search engine...75% of them do not go beyond page 1. This should be enough to convince you that regardless of your product or service, you should rank well in a search engine.
3. Your competitors websites are getting better, but don't let them be better than your website. Sure we talk about SEO in terms of how you rank in a search engine, but it is more than that. The traffic you get to your website must be good quality traffic, meaning you rank for relevant keywords and your website must get their attention before they leave and go somewhere else. SEO is still about good old fashioned marketing as well. What will make that website user take the next step to actually contact you? How can you provide value to that website visitor? Why should they contact you vs. someone else? These are the types of things you should be thinking about.

These aren't the only 3, but they are 3 you MUST understand. It's likely that your current buyers are already using the internet to research and buy online, but if they aren't the new ones will. They will search, use social media and other online resources until they find their answer. When they are doing this they will look at some of your competitors websites, your website has to be better. Don't think of an SEO strategy as I want to rank for this keyword and that keyword, think of an SEO strategy as:

How can I have a website that can generate quality traffic and provide a value to my visitors so that they know that I am the right choice for their buying decision?

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If you get the free ebook, read it and implement some of the strategies, you'll be ahead of the competition.