Four Important Marketing, SEO, and Website Design Tips for Machine Shops:

1. A great CNC job shop website design is vital to gaining new leads for because it helps demonstrate your credibility
2. SEO or search engine optimization for machine shops help build your website’s ranking and traffic, getting you new business
3. Word of mouth still matters but online marketing supplements and enhances results from word of mouth
4. CNC Manufacturers are seeing massive results every day through performing these steps correctly

What if I told you that building a new website for your CNC machining business could more than double the number of visitors to the site, and start regularly generating valuable RFQs? The average CNC machine shop has a website, but those websites usually have significant deficiencies that prevent them from performing up to standards.  Many owners of fabrication and machining businesses do not grasp the importance of the website because it has never been explained in a simple manner. Other owners fall into the logic loop of:

 “Most of our business is from word of mouth, therefore the web is unimportant, therefore I will not invest in web leads, therefore most of my business will continue to come from the same limited avenues.”

Word of mouth and reputation are incredibly important, but if your goal is to grow, the easiest and cheapest way to do it is through web traffic. The explanation of how you can start generating business for job shops from online leads I’m about to provide is easy to grasp, and should provide a new perspective on web lead generation and website design for CNC job shops.

Through many conversations with B2B/manufacturing sales people, I’ve gathered that the job is getting more difficult, and cold calling just doesn’t work like it used to.  Even if it did work as well as it used to, leads from the web have a distinct advantage: With a web leads/RFQs, you are talking to a person who is already looking for what you have to offer – they’re already in the buying cycle. In contrast, a cold call will only sometimes develop into a warm lead that might take a very long time to close.

How do I know your website can get you new customers?

I know this because every website we build has tracking tools installed which allow us to determine what keywords the website ranks for, and how many people are visiting their website after typing in those keywords. I can see the direct impact of optimizing a page – usually within two weeks of the content modifications or additions. Here’s how that flow works:

Sourcing person/Potential customer types a query into Google search:

Your site appears in search results, falling into a given position in rank with other websites.  The higher the position, the more likely the site will be clicked on

Potential customer clicks on your listing in Google and ends up on your site:

This website was designed to do a number of specific things in order to optimize visitors getting there in the first place, and increasing the odds of that visitor becoming a customer.

1. The words on the site were written by someone who understands why Google ranks a page for a search term. It isn’t just about putting the word “cnc machining” on the page a bunch of times. Optimizing a page for a keyword is very scientific and detailed – just as important as choosing the right keyword.
2. The page was optimized for conversion. It quickly informs and sells, and has outlets for contact readily available. We try to make it as easy as possible for the visitor to process information and then reach out.
3. The design of the site is dynamic, fits the brand of the company, and builds the credibility of the company.

Now let’s look at real page performance data by viewing a sample of some of the keywords that are getting traffic:

We can see on the left side of the chart a list of queries that potential customers or others have typed into Google

The second column shows Clicks, or how many people clicked on your site in search results. Obviously being clicked on when someone uses a search query relevant to you business is important to gaining leads from the web.

In the third column we see Impressions, or how many people ended up on the page of Google where your site ranks. Most people don’t click through to the second page of Google but sometimes they do. If your site ranks #11 (the 4th column shown) then you are on the second page of Google for that search term.

We can pull this keyword data for every page on a website. Each page on your website represents another “net” with which you catch people that are searching for the terms the page is optimized for. Google wants to see a page dedicated to a topic. Letting Google know exactly what your page is about, allows them to serve relevant results to the searchers. As an example of why relevance is important, if you were to Google “computer parts for sale”, you would not want to see a list of websites that only sell fully built computers.

Let’s talk a bit more about those terms that the pages on your site are optimized for. Just because your job shop provides CNC machining services does not mean you should automatically assume that having those words present on your homepage will get you business (think of the difference between a page title including the word “computers” versus containing the words “computer parts”). Let me ask you– how many CNC shops are within a 100-mile radius of your business? Probably at least 100, maybe 1000. Those numbers represent 10 to 100 pages of Google search results. If you rank on page 10 for your target keywords, you will never see a lead. The point is– you need a team who understands your business enough to find niche keywords that will get you the type of business that makes you the most profit. Take a moment and analyze these three key phrases as a potential page title for your site:

1. Pennsylvania CNC Machine Shops
2. Pennsylvania Large Diameter Lathe Turning
3. Pennsylvania Machining and Design Services

The first term is very common and highly competitive, meaning it may not be the best choice for a page title. As a side note, we can help you compete for this type of phrase but it’s easier to start with lower volume, lower competition keywords. The second and third terms are less common and less competitive, but they are specific services that your company may excel in. If these are the focus keywords for a page on your website, we are likely to be found by the potential client that is more specific in their Googling.

Choosing the Right Keywords for a CNC Machine Shop Website – Case Study

The chart below shows clicks and impressions on a page of a customer’s website about tool and die capabilities. The original keyword focus of the page was “Tool and Die Manufacturer”. We noticed that the page had very low traffic, and was not generating leads, so we realized that some changes needed to be made.  We did some keyword research on possible alternatives, and came up with “Die Cast Tooling Suppliers” in addition to a couple others. Our changes resulted in dramatic improvement in clicks and impressions in only a month!

Take-Aways for CNC Job Shops Looking to Build a New Website:

1. No matter what you manufacture, there are people looking for you online
2. Properly written and researched content has the ability to pull in people searching
3. A well designed and thought out website design for machine shops has the ability to convert visitors into leads
4. On-going content writing and optimization has infinite potential for generating new site visitors
5. weCreate is your #1 choice for CNC Manufacturing Website Design. Reach out to us and allow us to earn your confidence by demonstrating what we’ve done for others.