February 8

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Common Problems with Engineering Firms and their SEO

By Jason Khoo

February 8, 2020


Every industry has its own unique challenges to face when attempting to grow a business, especially on the ever-changing world of the internet. Today we want to focus on the elusive industry of engineering firms, breaking down specific Dos and Don’ts of company websites. Zupo works fairly intimately with budding companies in the engineering space and through first-hand experience, we’ve seen these common issues arise time and time again. 

#1 Not Enough Content

It’s safe to say that most firm’s websites can start out stark and bare. We don’t tend to think of engineering as a creative industry with room for written content. However, engineering firms, as much as any online entity, need a variety of blog posts and pages to create a sense of credibility and authenticity for potential clients to judge.

Typically, firms will often feel self conscious about releasing content and become consumed with achieving perfection, causing a delay in consumable material. In our eyes, it is better to publish with concerns than to never publish at all. Ultimately, blogs and web pages help drive search engines toward your new, relevant content, while adding to your site’s library archive and proof of dedicated, hard work.

#2 Over Reliance on Manufacturer/Vendor Marketing Material

When it comes to marketing, it has become the norm for companies to take advantage of the already provided vendor instructions. Brochures and information straight from the main software and equipment manufacturers are being heavily relied upon in order to sell product. Firms who simply attach their logo onto recycled marketing material and upload it to the business website for consumer use are not putting in enough effort.

This duplicate content does not count as customized, strong content if all other sites are doing this exact same practice. We cannot stress this enough: content must be unique to the brand!

#3 Too Timid 

As an emerging trend, we’ve noted that many engineering firms can be quite timid in their pursuit of prominent thought leadership within their industry. When reviewing industry publications and think tanks, you’ll see that a large amount of writers and contributing authors are one-offs. More businesses need to make a shift toward leveraging their expertise into thought leadership without fear. Not only will this contribute the company’s perspective on a broader scale, it will also build a core SEO Profile for further online progress.

#4 Site Speed (Especially Mobile)

It has become commonplace to endure engineering sites that are utterly lackluster in speed. This can oftentimes be due to the level of PDF’s and outside materials uploaded onto a website, however, it usually comes down to a lack of time and resource input from the brand. We also witness far too many sites showing a combination of below average site speed on desktop, and abysmal speeds for mobile. In a world where Google has put a much larger emphasis on mobile speeds, a mobile-friendly webpage is especially important. 

Conclusion

These are the most common foundational issues we see when auditing and reviewing sites specifically surrounding the engineering industry. Next time you’re giving your business’s online presence a refresh, consider the mistakes others have made and take the initiative to create a user-focused website.

 

Jason Khoo

About the author

Jason is founder and CEO of Zupo, which is an Orange County based SEO consulting agency helping construct powerful long term SEO strategies for our clients. Jason also enjoys multiple cups of tea a day, hiding away on weekends catching up on reading and rewatching The Simpsons for the 20th time.

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