Industrial
Marketing on the Internet: Leveling the Playing Field
By Mary Ann Wells & Knute Klefos
Remember when the Internet was free? Small and large companies
alike had the same chance of their web sites being found on
the Internet. The playing field was level; money had no influence
on search engine results. Over time capitalism crept in and
search engines tried to find a way to become profitable, charging
for favorable positioning in the form of ads or charging a fee
for inclusion in their database.
Hitting your target audience
Most major search engines attempt to index sites on every topic
imaginable. Each time a user performs a search the engine relies
on a ranking system to determine which sites have more relevancy
and quality. Both relevancy and quality are important issues.
Typically, the broader the search engine, the less relevant
the search results will be. The search results pages tend to
be cluttered with sites that have nothing to do with industry.
They are also diluted with directories, trade publications,
and associations that are able to maintain high rankings due
to the massive size of their sites and linking schemes.
What about industrial directories? These directories do not
operate like true search engines. A search engine can deliver
results with one click of the mouse. Directories require the
user to repeatedly select from a list of headings until arriving
at the desired results page. Even if they have a search feature,
it brings up a "sampling" of sites from various categories and
the user then has to drill-down to find the complete listing
of sites in the appropriate category. This usually means multiple
steps for the user that can be both frustrating and a waste
of time.
On top of the multiple-click issue, Industrial directories
usually charge for representation in their database and sell
preferred positioning or advertising at great expense. This
means that many companies have to pick and choose the directories
they can afford thus limiting the overall size of their database
to those who can afford a listing.
Targeted advertising everyone can afford
A new search engine has just arrived dedicated to serving only
the industrial community: Industry2Industry.com.
This is a free-to-list search engine specifically for industrial
companies that provide products and services. By filtering out
the non-industrial providers, directories, trade publications,
and associations from the main search results, Industry2Industry.com
delivers quality search results for industrial buyers. The results
are not influenced by money; hence it is a level playing field
for all companies in the database.
Industry2Industry.com
offers industrial buyers a relevant platform to search for quality
goods while providing an advertising medium free-of-charge for
all industrial companies. Removing listing fees provides buyers
with a more complete database and gives all industrial companies
an opportunity to be represented, not just those with large
budgets. In addition, the "recommend this vendor" feature and
the rating system affords industrial buyers the opportunity
to voice their satisfaction with specific companies. These tools
provide buyers with valuable information when specifying products
and gives valuable feedback to the site owner.
Managing your message
With most search engines, the site owner cannot really control
the message shown when his site is selected for a search query.
The description under the title of the selected link may or
may not come directly from his site or his meta description
tag (a tag most site owners use to state what their page is
about). With directories, the site owner may get a chance once-a-year
or so to update his listings' description, if at all. At Industry2Industry.com,
however, a site owner can log into his site's listing at any
time and update the title and description displayed to users.
It's by controlling this information that the site owner can
influence the terms that his site will appear in a search result.
It is to the benefit of the site owner to enter specific and
accurate terms that will bring buyers to his site. Industry2Industry.com
recognizes that industrial site owners want relevant traffic
and trust their judgment as to how to achieve that goal with
the proper title and description. Unlike some Internet media
that forbids the use of superlatives, at
Industry2Industry.com there are no limits on how a site
owner may describe his site except in the number of characters
allotted for this purpose.
As a professional Internet marketer that specializes in promoting
industrial websites on the Internet, we feel that Industry2Industry.com
is a great way to get your site more exposure and a valuable
tool for the Industrial buying community.
About the authors: Mary Ann Wells and Knute Klefos are
partners of Web-Kare, LLP (www.web-kare.com), an Internet marketing
company that specializes in the design and promotion of industrial
web sites.
Internet Marketing For Industry
Issue
8 Volume ~August, 2005