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Make an impact on the bottom line, from generating qualified leads to new deals, with SEO for industrial companies. Learn how to get started with this guide!
Working in the industrial sector, you’re probably all too familiar with the ever-present struggle of attracting new clients. It can be a tiresome process, especially if you’re not sure how to reach your target audience. Fortunately, there’s a solution that can make life much easier: SEO.
SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, is a marketing strategy that involves boosting your business’s visibility online to get you in front of the right people. It’s also one of the most effective ways to drive RFQs, sales, and (ultimately) revenue. Of course, SEO can be a challenge in and of itself. How do you run a successful SEO campaign? Which tactics should you use? How much should you expect it to cost?
We’re here to answer those questions and more with this helpful guide to SEO for industrial companies. Below, we’ll cover the following:
Read on to begin your industrial SEO journey!
How to use this industrial SEO guide
This SEO guide for industrial companies provides a single place for learning:
- How search engine optimization can generate leads and sales
- How to use search engine optimization to grow a business
- How to get professional SEO help (if needed)
Explore WebFX Industrial Marketing Services
The basics of SEO for industrial companies
Learn the basics of SEO for industrial companies now, including:
- What is industrial SEO?
- What are the types of SEO?
- How can SEO benefit industrial companies?
- Is SEO for industrial companies better than PPC ads?
- How long does SEO take to work?
We’ll answer each of those questions below.
What is industrial SEO?
Industrial search engine optimization (SEO) helps industrial companies improve their website’s visibility in organic search results, like on Google and Bing. Common strategies for achieving this goal include creating relevant content, targeting specific search terms, and earning online citations.
What are the types of SEO?
There are a few types of SEO that industrial businesses focus on, including:
- On-page SEO, which targets on-site optimizations like content creation
- Off-page SEO, which targets off-site optimizations like link-building
- Technical SEO, which targets backend optimizations like page speed optimization
- Local SEO, which targets on- and off-site optimizations like claiming local listings
The most effective industrial SEO marketing campaigns will focus on all of these SEO types together. That’s because search engines use hundreds of factors that extend across these types of SEO to generate their search results.
How can SEO benefit industrial companies?
When it comes to search engine optimization, there are several benefits for industrial companies. SEO can help you:
- Grow your online reach: SEO makes it possible to reach users throughout their buyer journey, from awareness to consideration. That’s because it targets various search intents with helpful and relevant content.
- Improve your lead quality: Like paid advertising strategies, businesses can target the search terms (or keywords) most valuable to them with SEO. With better targeting, it’s possible to attract more qualified leads — without the high cost of paid ads.
- Shorten your sales cycle: With SEO content, industrial companies can shorten their sales cycles by providing leads with the information and confidence they need to make a purchase decision.
- Build your online reputation: Search engine optimization can also help industrial companies build their online reputation, whether as a five-star service provider or industry thought leader — both of which can impact lead generation rates.
Is SEO for industrial companies better than PPC ads?
Yes — and no.
From our experience as an industrial marketing agency (which encompasses hundreds of thousands of hours), we’ve seen the value in using both pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and industrial search engine optimization.
Both have specific use cases that make them valuable in industrial marketing. Here’s a quick breakdown of how they compare:
| Strategy | Benefits | Use cases |
| SEO |
|
|
| PPC |
|
|
That’s why we often advise businesses to use both SEO and PPC to achieve their marketing goals. However, if choosing between the two, we recommend investing in SEO because of its cost-effectiveness and long-term performance.
How long does SEO take to work?
In most cases, SEO for industrial companies requires three to six months to work. Several factors affect this timeline, including the website’s existing SEO and the number of hours set aside for SEO optimizations.
An SEO audit can help create a more accurate timeline, which is beneficial if pitching SEO to leadership. You can get an SEO audit through free tools, like Screaming Frog, or professional SEO audit services.
Getting started with industrial SEO
Learn all about getting started with SEO, beginning with these questions:
- How much does SEO for industrial companies cost?
- What are the most effective SEO strategies for industrial companies?
- What are some key steps for getting started with SEO for industrial companies?
- How do I measure SEO performance?
How much does SEO for industrial companies cost?
On average, SEO for industrial companies costs $2,500–$7,500 per month. Prices depend on several factors, including the size of your business, the aggressiveness of your strategy, and whether you outsource to an agency.
What are the most effective SEO strategies for industrial companies?
The most effective industrial SEO strategies include the following:
- Targeting long-tail keywords
- Building product and/or service pages
- Creating unique, helpful content
- Develop a responsive website
- Optimize your local listings
Get more info about each of those below!
1. Targeting long-tail keywords
About: Search engine optimization revolves around targeting keywords, or the words and phrases people use to browse the web. Long-tail keywords are three to four words long (or more) and often have less search volume and competition than short-tail keywords.
Why this strategy works: Besides being easier to rank at the top of organic search results, long-tail keywords also help industrial companies reach their target market, which is especially useful if offering specialized products or services.
Getting started with this strategy: Use a free keyword research tool like SEO.com to research the most common (and relevant) long-tail phrases people use to find products or services like yours. For best results, start with the product or service offerings that matter most to your business.
Learn How to Do Keyword Research
2. Building product and/or services pages
About: With product or service pages, industrial companies can provide potential buyers with valuable information like dimensions, materials, purchase minimums, and more, informing those potential buyers’ next steps.
Why this strategy works: With product or service pages optimized for SEO, businesses can reach their target audience via organic search. Plus, these pages can help disqualify users who wouldn’t make good customers, saving your sales team valuable time that they can redirect toward more qualified leads.
Getting started with this strategy: Research online competitors to get design ideas. Then, work with a designer and developer to build the page. Next, create copy (aim for at least 500–800 words) that uses your target keywords.
Learn How to Design a Product Page
3. Creating unique, helpful content
About: Content is critical to industrial search engine optimization. That’s because search engines like Google prioritize sharing unique content that helps users solve their problems, whether they’re researching a machinery error code or searching for a parts supplier.
Why this strategy works: With unique and helpful content, industrial companies can reach their target market and persuade them to convert, whether by submitting a quote request or completing an online purchase. Plus, this content will support off-page SEO initiatives by attracting backlinks.
Getting started with this strategy: Brainstorm topics using keyword research tools, online forums, or even conversations with sales and customer support team members. Then, work in-house (or with a professional copywriter) to create the content with your team’s expert insights.
4. Develop a responsive website
About: A responsive website makes visiting a site on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone seamless. In comparison, a non-responsive site is often difficult to use on a smartphone vs. a laptop. The good news is that most website builders have built-in responsive design.
Why this strategy works: Search engines like Google crawl the web from a mobile user’s perspective, which means industrial sites with non-responsive design will have more trouble ranking in search results — and more difficulty turning mobile users into leads.
Getting started with this strategy: Use a free tool like Chrome Dev Tools or Blisk to view your website on different devices, from laptops to smartphones. Alternatively, use your personal device. If there are visual errors, work with a developer to fix your website for SEO.
Learn More About Responsive Design
5. Optimize your local listings
About: Local listings, like Google Business Profile and Bing Places, help users discover businesses in their area. People can even use them to explore companies outside their local area. Local listings highlight a business’s contact information, products or services, and online reviews.
Why this strategy works: Industrial companies that operate locally can use local listings to reach users and showcase persuasive trust signals, like online reviews and images. Even if you don’t operate locally, these profiles can still help buyers learn more about your business.
Getting started with this strategy: Create or claim your local listing on places like Google Business Profile. Next, add your name, address, phone number, and website. Then, consider uploading photos of your business and work, as well as available products or services.
Learn More About Google Business Profile
What are some key steps for getting started with SEO for industrial companies?
Some key steps for getting started with SEO include:
- Understanding stakeholder expectations for SEO’s performance
- Setting up Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4 for tracking performance
- Verifying that search engines like Google can crawl and index your website
- Completing an SEO audit
- Documenting keyword targeting, optimizations, etc.
Get Started With Our SEO Checklist
How do I measure SEO performance?
You can measure the performance of your SEO with a variety of metrics, including:
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Average position
- Engaged sessions
- Conversions
While rankings and clicks matter, most industrial companies primarily want business growth from SEO, which comes via qualified leads and sales. That’s why measuring conversions (like quote requests or purchases) coming from organic search is important.
Measuring some of this data with Google Analytics 4, like the number of organic search users submitting a quote request, is possible. What’s missing, though, is what happens to these users once they enter the sales process.
For example, Google Analytics 4 can’t answer these questions:
- How many users were qualified?
- How many users closed?
- What was the average deal value?
Marketing automation software can help, though.
With marketing automation software, businesses can connect their website analytics data with their industrial customer relationship software (CRM), making marketing automation software essential to measuring SEO performance.
While plenty of marketing automation platforms are available, RevenueCloudFX is our favorite.
Outsourcing SEO for industrial companies
Learn how to get professional SEO help by answering these questions:
- When should I outsource my industrial company’s SEO?
- How much do SEO services for industrial companies cost?
- How do I choose an industrial SEO marketing agency?
Let’s look at those in more detail!
When should I outsource my industrial company’s SEO?
In our experience, there are a few signs that it’s time to outsource an industrial company’s SEO:
- Time: There isn’t the time to optimize for SEO.
- Performance: SEO performance has declined or plateaued.
- Resources: The resources aren’t there to practice SEO internally.
- Goals: The organization has aggressive goals for growth and/or SEO.
- Merger and/or acquisition: The company is managing multiple sites or condensing them.
Acting sooner rather than later can make outsourcing easier.
For example, a business selling fire protection equipment that aims to improve its SEO performance in 30 days will have a tougher time finding a reputable fire protection SEO agency than a company looking to improve its SEO performance in the next 90 days.
How much do SEO services for industrial companies cost?
Industrial SEO services for industrial companies cost around $2,500–$7,500 per month. While some SEO plans advertise at a few hundred dollars per month, these agencies often fail to provide the service or results companies want.
SEO Calculator
How do I choose an industrial SEO marketing agency?
When choosing an SEO agency, ask these questions (which we’ve cultivated based on our decades of experience in the industry):
- Do you have case studies you can share?
- Do you work with any of my competitors?
- How do you measure client success?
- When can I expect to see results?
- How much of my time will you need on an ongoing basis?
- Are you able to work with my other agencies?
- What makes you a better option than XYZ competitor?
- Can you provide a list of deliverables? (The answer should be yes.)
Note: While most companies like the idea of partnering with an industry-specific agency, there is value in hiring an SEO company that works with businesses across industries. These agencies often have more resources and talent, plus a melting pot of ideas from their broad client base.
FAQs about SEO for industrial companies
Here are the answers to some common questions about industrial SEO:
What is SEO for industrial companies?
SEO refers to the process of optimizing your company’s visibility online, particularly in search results. By using a variety of SEO tactics, you can help your business appear to a larger percentage of your target audience, resulting in more RFQs and revenue.
How can industrial companies improve their SEO?
Industrial companies can use several different SEO tactics to earn more online visibility, including:
- Targeting relevant, long-tail keywords
- Making your site mobile-friendly
- Optimizing your Google Business Profile
- Creating helpful content on your website
- And more!
By combining all of these tactics into a larger SEO strategy, you can effectively boost your number of incoming clients, and therefore the amount of revenue you earn.
How much does industrial SEO cost?
On average, industrial SEO services cost between $2,500 and $7,500 per month. That said, the exact price can vary immensely depending on factors like:
- Which agency you partner with
- Which tools you use
- Which tactics you prioritize
Ultimately, the cost of your SEO will come down to the unique needs and priorities of your industrial company.
Grow your business with industrial SEO pros
Congrats! You’ve learned all about SEO for industrial companies. Now, you’re ready to partner with an SEO company to grow your organic rankings, qualified leads, and revenue. If you’re looking for that professional partner, WebFX is ready to help.
With hundreds of SEO pros and thousands of hours of experience in the marketplace, we’re a trusted partner for industrial companies across the globe. Learn how we can help by exploring our SEO plans or contacting us online to speak with a strategist!
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The WebFX team includes 750+ digital marketing specialists across SEO, PPC, web design, analytics, and beyond. Using proprietary RevenueCloudFX technology and transparent, data-driven strategies, we’ve collectively generated $10 billion in revenue and 24 million leads for our clients in the past five years.@webfx -
WebFX is a full-service marketing agency with 1,100+ client reviews and a 4.9-star rating on Clutch! Find out how our expert team and revenue-accelerating tech can drive results for you! Learn more
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