Let’s say a manufacturing firm needs a new supplier. One of the first places they’ll go is the Internet. They enter some keywords, and Google or another search engine returns a list of results; this is an organic search.
Your goal is to be listed on that first page. Even being in the top five is a win, since those first fiveresults account for more than 67% of all clicks in organic searches. Meanwhile, 57% of B2B marketers claim that SEO has the largest impact on lead generation. So it’s a no-brainer to incorporate SEO into your overall marketing strategy.
But it’s not going to solve all of your digital marketing needs.
While a strong organic search presence is essential to any marketing strategy, diversifying your efforts is also critical. Here’s why.
It takes time for the impact of organic search marketing to bear fruit. Even if you were able to implement the grandest and most effective strategies this afternoon, it could take the better part of a year for you to see appreciable results. This isn’t just because your efforts need to take hold; there are other factors at play beyond your control, such as the fact that the various search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) need to crawl and index your website, a process which can take up to four months. Even after that, you shouldn’t expect noticeable results anytime soon.
Although using the SEO and organic search strategy is useful, you definitely shouldn’t rely on it to overwhelm you with business in the short term. It’s a long-term plan, but still absolutely worth every consideration and the best of efforts. In the meantime, you’ll want to use other channels to find potential customers.
If you want optimal visibility on searches, you’ll need strong content, meaning it’s relevant enough for the search engines to list you and compelling enough for potential customers to take the next step in contacting you. Hopefully you already have an employee, a department, or a consultant to help you with this content. Otherwise, start writing. Now.
This presents a significant challenge for smaller companies, since much of the necessary resources in terms of personnel, time, and capital are slotted for more obvious needs, like operational costs. It’s difficult to shift resources away from pressing matters in order to address the more long-term goal of potential buyers in the pipeline. This is just another reason why a shorter term marketing strategy makes sense. It yields results from which you can easily and swiftly benefit.
Here’s the harsh reality: About 33 percent of clicks from organic searches go to the very first listing. Traffic dies by as much as 95 percent by the second page. And this is something we can all understand. After all, how often do you go to the second page of your search inquiry?
The numbers are staggering between the first and second page of any search, and it’s truly abysmal past the second page (assuming it actually exists … we’ve never bothered to look). So the competition is savage, to say the least.
Keywords are interesting, because you can target any combination of words as it relates to your business. But if you’re at all related to a giant like IBM, Amazon, eBay, and so on, then you’re in trouble.
And if you’re new to the SEO game or don’t have an experienced individual or team in place? Forget about it. You’ll be sitting on more than a year’s worth of trial and error, waiting to see if all you’ve learned from YouTube and other blog sites actually works. Do you really want to take that chance?
Our intention isn’t to scare you into thinking that organic search is impossible. It isn’t. But relying on organic search and only organic search isn’t a smart move. Regardless of your business strategy, a solid search plan is one essential piece of a larger puzzle. Your best bet is to employ a mix of inbound marketing and digital advertising options.
Organic search, paid search, social media advertising, and Thomasnet.com are all great facets of a strong marketing approach to reach quality potential customers.
Does it all seem overwhelming? The Thomas team of industrial marketing experts is here to help you navigate the waters of industrial advertising. Contact us today.