What Every Manufacturing Company Needs To Know About Search Engine Optimization (10314)
By Barbara Weber Castilano President, Marketing Options LLC

While many search engine optimizers downplay the importance of placing Title, Description and Meta Tags in your source code – we disagree. Most search engines index your title tag or a combination of your meta tags, thereby making these descriptive tags very important. In a nutshell, create Web pages that make sense for your business and viewers and you will have created a site friendly to the search engines as well.

Chances are you have already launched your Web site. Like many companies, you are “hoping” the search engines find your site and rank it highly.

Step #1 – Do your homework – know your audience and competition

Perhaps you are a distributor of a non-exclusive line that others also sell. How is your site going to talk to your customers better than the others? What is your positioning and importantly, is it unique? If your site is already up and running understand your ranking and how your competitors are being ranked. Once you do this, you will likely uncover opportunities for keywords that are not being used by your competitors to dramatically produce results where they won’t be found. A free source to easily check your ranking can be found at Check Rankings: www.checkrankings.com

Step #2 – Content is Key

For manufacturing companies, this means detailing product specifications, trade names, product features and benefits along with installations and testimonials. Learning how to write Web copy is essential.

A common mistake is treating your Web like your printed literature by simply uploading your brochure PDF to your Web. Your Web needs to be entirely in HTML with copy that is easy to read. Bulleted copy with headlines and short paragraphs is recommended because it is easily read. You can add your brochure PDF for easy download but remember, search engines would rather read HTML versus a PDF – just like your customers.

Step #3 – Importance of Keywords

More often than not, you will have several phrases that you would like your customers or prospects to use with a search engine to find your site quickly. For example, a plastics machinery company may have several types of dryers from desiccant to compressed air and will want to be found with all of these terms. It is important to use these keywords carefully within the content (and not just splattered everywhere – as that is something the search engines frown upon).

Your Welcome page is the most important page on your site as search engines often rank this page. Therefore, important keywords and phrases need to be placed carefully within the content on this page.

Confused about what your keywords are? Analyze your Web stats. Your Web stats are usually provided free by your ISP (internet service provider). Also, ask your customers/prospects how they found your site and what they like best and least about your site. If you’ve just launched a new site, take the time to send out a survey to make sure your customers can find what they need.

Step #4 – Title, Description and Meta Tags

While many search engine optimizers downplay the importance of placing Title, Description and Meta Tags in your source code – we disagree. Most search engines index your title tag or a combination of your meta tags, thereby making these descriptive tags very important.

Step #5 – Web Design.

Your audience will appreciate a site that is easy to navigate, copy that is clean, links that are active, and contact information that is easily found. These are basic elements that a viewer wants to find without difficulty and are also the same basic elements that a search engine wants to find. If you find a site cumbersome to navigate, chances are the search engines will find it cumbersome as well.

It’s no secret that viewers dislike a “flash” introduction – and hit the “skip into” button more often than not. This technology is also a big turn-off with search engines that may ignore a site built in flash. It’s also nothing new that both viewers and search engines don’t care for sites built with frames, difficult navigation and hard-to-load graphics. If you think a viewer may have difficulty with a site, then you have probably identified a site that the search engines will have difficulty with as well.

In a nutshell, create Web pages that make sense for your business and viewers and you will have created a site friendly to the search engines as well.

About The Author Barbara Weber Castilano is president of Marketing Options LLC, a full service marketing consulting firm. This firm specializes in providing complete marketing support including Web site design, search engine optimization, e-marketing, advertising, public relations, research, marketing plan development, video production and photography primarily to regional, national and international manufacturing companies.

Contact Marketing Options LLC 
937-436-2648 or visit www.moptions.com; 
email: info@moptions.com

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