I had a different article planned for this month about how to improve your website’s search engine optimization (SEO), because I see a lot of manufacturing websites that aren’t following the basics of good design. Still. Also because explaining what we do in manufacturing is important to securing new business. And, because in our interconnected world, having a solid digital presence is critical to being asked to the business table. Businesses have to be seen to be noticed.
I want to support your manufacturing business in getting noticed by potential customers or employees. However, I know most of the folks reading this column are not a SEO specialists or website programmers. You do not have a MOZ toolbar installed. You do not check SEMrush or Arefs for data. For you, knowing what to do about SEO can seem like magic, even though it’s not. When I talk to you about SEO, I try to offer practical tips that you can take to your digital specialists or implement easily yourself.
But, if you’ve been watching the digital headlines over the last few weeks you may have caught the news that there were over 2,500 leaked Google documents with 14,014 specific attributes, which seemed to reveal a lot of “secrets” for improving search engine rankings. This Google leak caught the eye of a number of executives I know and raised some questions about how this information impacted what is currently being done, or how the information could be used to improve current websites.
A few surprises came out from the Google reveal – such as not to use common keywords as URLs because that is not a Google positive; that mentions of your brand name “count” in ranking your information; and that paid traffic does boost organic rankings. These impact all website types, including B2B.
In all, only about 8,000 of the leaked attributes are about SEO. Most of them are what people who work with improving website rankings, like me, have said for years. The relevant leaked attributes boil down to having a good build and put in content that helps people. Those are the right ingredients for SEO success.
What does it mean to have “a good build”? It means having a page title on every page counts. It means having metadata to tell search engines what is on the page is important. It means clear headers and keywords are needed. It means having a site with a security certificate (the “s” in HTTPS). It means having a site that is mobile-compliant or at least mobile-responsive. Your website firm or programming team should be able to handle these build basics to showcase your content.
What about content that helps people? It means having landing pages on specific topics rather than many topics on a page, because Google is a search engine – it is looking for answers for people. It means writing for the people who want the service or product you offer – what do they need to know? What are they interested in knowing? What would be helpful to them? What would differentiate you to them? It also means using the words people actually search for rather than internal technical jargon in that content.
Beyond optimizing your website to be found by search engines like Google and Bing by having a good build and having helpful content, the next phase is search-engine marketing (SEM), which is directing people to engage with your website. You wouldn’t set-up for a party and not send out invitations, would you? Marketing extends the invitation. Digital ad … direct invitation to website. Email to customer or potential customers … invitation to website. Social media … invitation to engagement and eventually website. Staff being knowledge-leaders on social media, podcasts, YouTube, industry events … website invitation. You are creating traffic to your website, which, thanks to the Google leak we have confirmation improves your SEO ranking.
In the end, this month I wrote an SEO article for my manufacturing friends. I hope you use the tips above to improve your website for better digital discovery, because being found as a manufacturing resource will expand your sales pipeline.