Interview with BusinessOnLine: 400+ Manufacturing Websites

Industrial Connection Magazine November 2005

BusinessOnLine (http://www.businessol.com/) is the largest Internet Marketing company focused on building, consulting and optimizing manufacturing websites. BOL has built over 400 manufacturing websites in the last decade. Expertise in Search Engine Marketing and website usability distinguishes the firm from the millions of designers and developers that usually purport to know about the manufacturing space. Aaron Kahlow is the vice president of BusinessOnLine and was interviewed by Thomas R. Cutler.

• Why do most manufacturers neglect their websites?
• What is the most important thing to consider when a manufacturer is putting together a new website?
• What should be the call-to-action for a manufacturer’s website?
• What exactly is Search Engine Optimization?
• What is the best way to drive traffic to a website?
• How often should a website be updated?
• What should be measured in website effectiveness?
• What makes a manufacturer’s website different from any other business's website?

Q. Why do most manufacturers neglect their websites?

A. Most manufacturers neglect their websites for a variety of reasons:

• Lack of understanding about the impact their website can have on sales and company growth.
• Manufacturers simply are not convinced that their website can be a productive channel for generating sales or that customers will actually turn to the website for more than just company information. 
• Manufacturers misunderstand the purpose of a website and believe it is a tool to show corporate headquarters and company achievements.
• Many manufacturers are intimidated by the Internet and do not take the time to learn about using their website as a valuable marketing tool.

Q. What is the most important thing to consider when a manufacturer is putting together a new website?

A. Build the site for the customer. Too many marketing heads build a site based on what they think "looks good" or what they want their customer to see. The customer is coming to the site for a reason, and the more a site helps them accomplish that task, the better the site. It is not all about marketing or advertising.

Q. What should be the call-to-action for a manufacturer’s website?

A. Each manufacturer is going to have a different goal to accomplish with a website, but in most cases, the appropriate call-to-action is getting a visitor to convert to a prospect by either submitting some basic information for a sales follow up, or proactively picking up the phone. The more important issue is not "what," rather "when" should a call-to-action be presented. There are "seducible moments" on a manufacturer’s site when a user feels like they are on a site of value and the next item they want (whitepaper, newsletter, RFQ) is worth giving their personal information.

Q. What exactly is Search Engine Optimization?

A. Search Engine Optimization is the art and science of rendering a Web page more relevant than others in the algorithm of a search engine, like Google, and consequently having that page listed or ranked very high on the search engine's results page. Optimization is the actual work on the website structure, content, meta data and inbound/outbound linking that influences ranking at the top of the search engine results.

Q. What is the best way to drive traffic to a website?

A. There is no “silver bullet” for driving site traffic that works for every manufacturer, however, on a large scale, search engines are a very important tool for driving traffic to a manufacturer’s website. In addition, there are several success stories for manufacturers that are using directory listings (such as ThomasNet) to drive very qualified traffic to their websites. The key for increasing sales is not always the amount of traffic coming to a manufacturer’s website, but the quality of traffic coming to the website in terms of potential and capability of becoming a customer.

Q. How often should a website be updated?

A. It is a common misperception that a website needs to stay fresh. "Freshness factor" is the frequency of visitors coming back to the site in relation to all visitors. If a manufacturer has visitors coming back on a daily or weekly basis (like a news site), then there should be daily updating. Most manufacturers’ sites are not being re-visited frequently, so news and new updates once a quarter may be enough.  However, it is important to note that keeping your content updated and adding new content is a great way to hold your ranking on search engines.

Q. What should be measured in website effectiveness?

A. There are several metrics that can provide a valuable window into a manufacturer’s ability to drive traffic to the website and how well you convert that traffic to a sales lead. website effectiveness can be measured by the amount of traffic (and where it comes from) to the site and the ensuing navigation paths (are visitors achieving their goals?).

Metrics may also include whether a visit results in a conversion (a lead through e-mail, phone, closed sale). By understanding the overall path, from search engine, to marketing campaign to conversion, a manufacturer will be able to identify how well the site caters to users.

Q. What makes a manufacturer’s website different from any other business's website?

A. Manufacturers have a very specialized group of prospects and customers that need access to information quickly. More than other types of sites, like entertainment or publishing, these visitors are not interested in company history or the CEO's bio. They want to know if a product meets their specifications and/or price points, and how quickly they can get one into their supply chain. If they do not find what they need immediately, a competing manufacturer is only one click away, so it is imperative for a manufacturing website to present information in a way that is easy for their customers to access and navigate.