Quality content is one of the most effective tools a manufacturer can use when trying to generate leads and boost their SEO ranking.
Because of your unique situation, you need to generate quality leads from a specific group of people. Not everybody off the street is looking for a B2B manufacturer’s product. Quality content makes networking easier for you, so the right people get the message. Materials that answer a potential customer’s questions and encourages them to learn more will produce the leads you want. It will also boost your content in the rankings of search engines.
The ultimate goal is to generate new leads by keeping your content as high in the search engine rankings as possible. That means yours is the first article or video that people see when they search for a solution to their problem. This works to your advantage in a variety of ways, including improving your ROI.
1. WHAT IS SEO, AND ARE MANUFACTURERS USING IT?
SEO, or search engine optimization, uses keywords and phrases associated with a particular topic. Whenever that topic or those words are used during a search on Google, Bing, Yahoo, or any other search engine, then your content will get pulled into the search results.
In 2015, a study determined that around 50% of businesses had no digital strategy or marketing plan to support their unique advertising needs. The study was performed by Smart Insights and showed that most companies weren’t prepared at all to implement a digital marketing plan.
Simply knowing how to effectively use SEO is a major step in moving into the digital age. Does your website use specific terminology as well as common layman’s terms? How often do you address common questions in your field? The more you do, the more attention from search engines you’ll get.
2. TARGET YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH THE RIGHT KEYWORDS
With SEO, the key is to target your customers with the right keywords. Your keywords and phrases should match what your potential customers will be entering into the search bar.
Eurokera, for example, is a company that sells glass-ceramic cook-tops. However, they recently realized that many of their customers might just be Googling the term, “stove.” It’s not exactly accurate to their product, but they need to adapt their content in order to show up where they’re needed.
When you begin to learn who your potential customers are, it will become much easier to determine which keywords and phrases you should be using. Over time you’ll learn what works best to boost your position in the search rankings. The right keywords embedded within high-quality content provides the reader with useful knowledge, and will put your page at the very top of the rankings when anybody performs a search.
Use a variety of keywords and look at the content used by other manufacturers to get a few ideas.
3. READABILITY MEANS PEOPLE WILL CONSUME YOUR CONTENT
Readability is key. If your customer can’t read your content or doesn’t understand what you’re talking about, they’ll stop reading and move on to the next webpage that Google recommended.
Make it readable. Keep it interesting. Above all, give readers information that is both accurate and evergreen (meaning it won’t quickly become outdated). Readability will also play a role in whether or not somebody shares your content with their business associates.
Your content must be easy to skim, too. Even thought that sounds insulting, not everyone will read your gorgeous manuscript. They may just spend five seconds scrolling through it: so highlight or embolden important points or numbered lists. People appreciate writers who make things easy for them.
The more informative your content, the more you will stand out head and shoulders above the rest.
4. GO IN-DEPTH WITH YOUR KNOWLEDGE – YOU’RE AN EXPERT!
As a manufacturer, your knowledge of your products and processes is extensive. If you want to make a good impression, include vital pieces of information that no amateur could fake. Give readers a real clue as to the true quality of your products and the manufacturing protocols you use.
Going in-depth with the information you offer doesn’t mean giving away trade secrets. Instead, it offers potential customers a chance to see how committed you are to creating a high-quality product. Offer the reader the right information and you will make them more curious about how you do what you do. Use that to your advantage, and it won’t take long for you to seal the deal and gain a few new committed customers.
5. USE VISUALS OR VIDEOS TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR READERS
Visuals can communicate far more than mere words in many situations. “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” and all that. Images or even videos can help readers connect the dots about whatever they’re reading.
Pictures make it easier for a potential customer to remember what they have read and recall it later when they can actually use the information.
Visuals also fill in any gaps that may be missing in terms of content. This is especially true if you use graphs, pie charts, and spreadsheets. Charts are far more compelling at explaining vast amounts of numbers than a collection of paragraphs. What you can’t quite specify with your words can easily be found within the visuals.
6. FORMAT CONTENT TO USE GOOGLE’S “FEATURED SNIPPETS”
Format your content to accommodate the Featured Snippets Google uses. This will help to attract attention to your content.
Beginning an article with a short bulletpoint list, for example, may attract Google’s attention This could cause your article’s introductory list to appear at the top of relevant searches about that topic. They provide just enough information to make the reader click onto your content, where they can then be drawn further in by the information you provide as well as the visuals you use to complete the picture.
Writing small segments of content makes it easier for Google to choose the most effective parts of your content for the snippets. The right snippets will give your content an overall edge in comparison to the other pieces of content that show up in the search engine rankings.
7. ALWAYS INCLUDE A CALL TO ACTION
A “call to action” encourages the reader to take an additional step and finalize their search. While the information that you provide within your content may be intriguing an interesting, it may not be enough to push them over the edge and commit to being a regular customer.
You need to add that extra push that encourages them to keep moving forward. The right call to action can make that happen. It will turn a potential lead into a customer who is committed not only to your product, but also to building a working relationship with you as a manufacturer.
Generating leads and boosting your rankings in online searches means utilizing every digital resource available to you. SEO through quality content is the most effective way to do this consistently.
The higher the quality of your content – meaning the more relevant and readable and educational it is – the better. Throw in a few strategically-spaced keywords and phrases, and you have a recipe for digital success.
From a manufacturer’s standpoint, using SEO to build quality content makes your information more readable as well as more credible. It gives you exactly what you need to build your business and push yourself into the digital age.

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