I think we can all agree that the first half of 2020 was completely unexpected; and with social distancing practices set in place people are spending more time than ever searching for goods and services online. This makes SEO (search engine optimization) more important than ever; if your company hasn’t been investing in digital marketing you can at least get started on the right path by following our step-by-step guides on these 5 key marketing trends for 2020.

According to BigCommerce, “E-commerce success is more than having a beautiful website — you need a healthy amount of traffic to your online store. In a recent Statista survey, direct to site, e-mail, and SEO were found to be leading traffic drivers. 22% of global retail sales will be thanks to e-commerce by 2023. To give context to this growth, 14.1% of global retail sales were e-commerce purchases in 2019.” We understand metals and manufacturing is not your typical retail transaction; however, getting people looking for your services to fill out a request quote form is just as beneficial.

Prior to working with any company, sales through their website are never near the 10% mark and when implementing a long-term result proven strategy, we have seen this number increase to nearly 30% of new business acquisitions (here’s a case study to check out the numbers for yourself). This higher than overall business average is from what we refer to as the low-hanging fruit affect; most machine shops do not keep up with modern marketing efforts. This has resulted in businesses that do grabbing a large share of the pie due to lack of competition in one’s geographical area. We put together a list of 5 steps, their importance, and a step-by-step guide on how you can begin to reap the benefits of correct digital marketing.

 

KriXis Consulting | 2020 SEO Trends | Blog Main Image

 

Our list below is broken down into two major categories, technical adjustments and content adjustments, so let’s dive into it.

Technical Adjustments

 

Securing Your Website (HTTPS / SSL)

 

Why Important

Search engines such as Google recognize this as your website being secure, this can be seen as a closed lock symbol when using browsers such as Chrome. Having a website that is not secure will discourage search engines from showing you in the SERPs (search engine results page), due to not protecting visitors while spending time on your website.

 

How To Do It

This is probably the simplest fix on the list and can be down by contacting you visiting your hosting provider and searching, “SSL Certificates.” Annually this should cost no more than $100, and if you are having any issues figuring this out feel free to reach out and we are more than happy to walk you through the process at no charge.

 

GoDaddy SSL | Screenshot

 

Internal Linking & Conversion Rate Optimization

 

Why Important 

As of October 2020, search engines gauge page importance by the amount of links directed to them. Links from other websites (social media profiles count) are the most valuable; however, you can guide search engines to your most important pages, by adding links to them throughout your website. An example of this can be a particular blog article contains a link guiding the reader to your contact form.

 

Content Adjustments

 

Merging Content

 

Why Important

Content still remains king in digital marketing, but as algorithms continue to improve search engines are getting better at delivering the best content possible to answer the searchers questions. Due to this, we suggest combining some of your shorter posts as long as they are relative to each other.

According to SerpIQ, the top result provided by search engines has on average 2,416 words. Rich content such as this is likely to attract backlinks as well, in turn, leading to benefits that compound on each other.

 

How To Do it

If you decided to go this route, we suggest using redirects from the original posts to the new combined post. This can be somewhat confusing, so if you come across any issues feel free to reach out for some advice. If you are determined to tackle this yourself and use WordPress, check out the video below from WP Beginner’s Guide:

 

 

 

Convert Written Content to Video Content

 

Why Important

As previously stated, content is king, so getting the most out of the content you have already invested resources in is both efficient adds to the compounding SEO effect mentioned earlier. Secondly, short videos grab and hold attention, simple as that.

 

How To Do It

When turning content into video the two websites Fiverr and UpWork are both filled with individuals that specialize in this. After trying them both we have found that Fiverr is typically the cheapest option, but UpWork delivers better quality work. Both require turning content pieces into scripts and charge based on the amount of words.

 

Video Example Blog Post – Local SEO Overview Video

Written Example Blog Post – Reasons & Strategies For Local SEO

 

Influencers

 

Why Important

This may be new for many of you, so we are going to begin by breaking this concept down.

 

What is an influencer?

 

Influencers increase brand awareness or conversions among a specific target audience. An author at Modern Machine Shop is a good example.

 

How can these individuals be utilized in manufacturing?

 

Once an you have selected an influencer, we suggest providing them with some examples of work that you are proud of, and let them review the craftsmanship.

We at KriXis Consulting are driven by the numbers and BigCommerce states, 89% of those that invest in influencer marketing say ROI is comparable or greater than other marketing channels in 2019. The trend is projected to continue as 86% of surveyed business began setting aside a influencer marketing budget for 2020 according to Digital Marketing Institute.

 

Conclusion

This has been a year unlike any other, and by implementing some or all of these steps your business will finish the year out strong from a marketing standpoint. The five points addressed is just a baseline, and we at KriXis Consulting encourage you to click the button below for a complimentary overview and proposal customized to your business needs.

 

 

Works Cited

  1. https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/online-shopping-statistics/#ecommerce-is-growing-every-day
  2. https://www.sweor.com/seocontentlength
  3. https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/influencer-marketing-statistics/
  4. https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/20-influencer-marketing-statistics-that-will-surprise-you

Welcome back everyone, and we would like to apologize for the delay in featuring a new shop; however, the wait was certainly worth it. For this installment in our Machine Shop Of The Week series we head to Fraser, Michigan to meet Zero Tolerance CNC.

So jumping right into it, how did you get started? 

We started our business in Lawrence Kansas while I was still working as a full time employee with a different company. We bought our first CNC mill in 2011 and I had to totally rebuild it myself, it took 3 months. From there we acquired more used equipment until we reached the point where we had a fully equipped machine shop. Originally from Michigan, my wife Jamie and I made a decision to sell our homes in Kansas and move back to Michigan to live with my parents until we had the company (Zero Tolerance, LLC) fully funding itself in its new location. Our growing family moved into my parent’s basement and lived there for 3 years until we thought the timing was right to make it on our own again while running the shop. During our time living with my parents we had our 4th son, Eli James. Hit the fast forward button 3 years… and we have a great family of employees that have helped us continue to grow and be the best we can be. We have purchased our first shop building and also recently purchased another company called Sunspot Tooling Systems. We can’t wait to see what the future holds!

What are some struggles you have had along the way of growing your shop?

Trying to stay up-to-date with all the new technology in the world so we can provide the best possible outcomes for our customers and staff.

What should we know that makes your shop unique?

We pride ourselves on hitting deadlines and making sure any job that comes out of our shop is as close to perfect as it can be. We have the willingness to continue to learn, whatever our customers need and if it can be done we WILL figure it out! We are always striving for perfection – achieving and delivering excellence.

What are your capabilities/services?

We are a plastic injection mold machine shop our services are:

-Design/Build Plastic Injection Molds

-Sinker EDM Burning

-Mold Design

-3D Printing

-CNC Machining/programming

-Benching and Spotting

-Fixturing

-Injection Molding

Do you specialize in working in a particular industry or industries?

We work with a lot of different industries such as Medical, Automotive, Military, Consumer Products…etc. We do it all!

Tell us about a unique job you’ve done.

Some unique work we’ve done as a company has been related to technology and the internet. We worked on a project called MYCROFT funded and started on Kickstarter it is the OG of Amazon Alexa or the Echo Dot. We built the mold for the body of the robot and seeing the journey their company has gone through and the success has been really cool, and it was awesome we were able to be apart of it.

Another cool job was when we built molds that make an Iphone case called, Slyder. The back of the case slides out so you can put your credit cards and license in the back of your phone, or money! Along the way I’ve been brainstorming a new invention called SMARTSPOT. A phone holder for your car that fits right into your cars cup holder, it holds your phone, drink, charging cords and best of all… ITS NOT MOUNTED ON YOUR WINDSHIELD! With the ever increasing dangers of having our phones constantly in our faces when driving SMARTSPOT gives drivers the option of putting your phone in a place that is NOT a distraction or obstruction but is in reach. Promoting the wise choice to leave your phone in the SMARTSPOT while driving, could save a life.

Zero Tolerance CNC Project - SMARTSPOT | Michigan Machine Shop

Additional Company Information

  • Website     zerotolerancecnc.com
  • Phone                 (586) 630 3032
  • Mailing Address         33419 Kelly Road Fraser, MI 48026
  • Facebook Page URL         facebook.com/zerocnc
  • Instagram Page URL     www.instagram.com/ZEROCNC
  • Owner(s) Name(s)                   Steve & Jamie Michon

Fraser, Michigan Machine Shop Logo | Zero Tolerance CNC LLC

We have found our third machine shop to feature in our Machine Shop Of The Week series, and we are thrilled to introduce Precision Manufacturing Solutions of Biddeford, Maine.

Logo For Precision Manufacturing Solutions | Maine

How did you get started? And how has the journey been so far?

In 2003 Precision Manufacturing Solutions was formed and continues to be operated by key employees of the former Atlantic Precision Products. Our focus from the beginning has been High Complexity work in the Aerospace and Defense sectors that other shops shy away from while utilizing the highest levels of technology available. We started with a dozen employees and have grown to 75 currently. We employ machinists who enjoy being challenged and are passionate about the trade. Employees looking for an easy ride don’t do well here.

Alloy Machined | by Precision Manufacturing Solutions

What are some struggles you have had along the way of growing your shop/business?

Probably the biggest challenge has been finding employees that are interested in a challenge, and are willing to put the time in to learn the necessary skills.

What should we know that makes your shop/business unique?

We are unique in our ability to create processes to control difficult to machine features, in difficult to machine alloys, at difficult to hold tolerances.

What are your capabilities/services?

ISO 9001:2015 & AS9100D Certified Quality System.

Full ERP System with integrated scheduling

Solid Model Creation

100% of our programing is from Solid Models, including our CMM’s

Flatness to 2 HLB (.000022”)

Roundness .0002

True Position to .001

Profile to .001

Diameters to +/-.0002

Multiple CMM’s with Calibrated accuracy < .000045

Optical Flat measuring capability to 5” diameter

Form-Scan measurement capability (Roundness, Flatness, Perpendicularity, Parallelism to <.00001)

Contrace measurement capability (Theoretical Points of Intersect, angles, radi to <.00005)

Turning = up to 18”

Milling = 400mm Cube

5-Axis = 14” dia x 12” long Cylinder

Multitasking (Mill Turn) 12” x 12” Cylinder

We regularly work in 300 & 400 Series Stainless Steel, Inconel’s, Hastelloy’s, Nimonic’s, Titanium’s, Tungsten, Magnesium, etc…

Exterior Photo of Precision Manufacturing Solutions | Maine

(Exterior)

Maine Machine Shop | Precision Mfg. | Interior

(Interior)

Do you specialize in working in a particular industry or industries?

We specialize in Aerospace, primarily engine seals, and Defense, primarily Optics.

CNC Machining by Precision Mfg. | Maine

Multiple Images | CNC Machining Project | Precision Mfg.

Business Information

Website – https://www.precision-mfg.com/

Phone – (207) 282-6080

Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/precisionmanufacturingsolutions/

Thank you for telling us a little about yourself! We encourage that you read our week #1 and week #2 posts if you haven’t already. If you would like to learn more about our work here at KriXis Consulting be sure to check out some of our results from a recent Case Study – Marketing Guide For Online Dominance.

Be sure to share this post with others in the industry, and if you are interested in being featured in an upcoming post please fill out the contact form below.

This week marks the second post in our blog series Machine Shop Of The Week, and we are happy to say we found a shop in our home state of California. So without further delay we would like to introduce Burch Micro Machining of Napa, Ca.

Company Logo | Burch Micro Machining

How did you get started? And how has the journey been so far?

Well, the business was started in 1986 by Arthur Burch who began as an apprentice on Mare Island during WW2. After working there for many years and going through the pilot training program, the war ended and he ended up as a B29 mechanic at Travis Air Force Base. He went on to run a motorcycle shop and was the mechanic for his race team. When the time came to move on he found this shop space and brought his knowledge with him!

What are some struggles you have had along the way of growing your shop/business?

The greatest struggle has been learning the effective use of social media and online marketing strategies. Finding where we can get the most out of out money is an on going battle.

What should we know that makes your shop/business unique?

We find that our customers become long time friends more often than not! Having lunch with several of our past customers is a regular Friday for us!

Building Exterior | Burch Micro Machining

(Shop Exterior)

What are your capabilities/services?

Our services range anywhere from repair to making parts and prototype! We also bore motorcycle cylinders and other small engines!

Napa, CA | Burch Micro Machining | Inside View

(Shop Interior)

Do you specialize in working in a particular industry or industries?

We’re smack dab in the middle of wine country where hundreds of business revolving around agriculture are based. We have no specializations listed but wine production repairs and bottling line parts are not uncommon sights in our shop!

Tell us about a unique job you’ve done.

Many interesting one off jobs come through our doors but one that sticks out to me is a recent one where a customer asked us to mount a Rolls Royce hood ornament to a walking stick!

Rolls-Royce Emblem | Machined by Burch Micro Machining

Business Information

Website – http://burchmicromachining.com

Phone – (707) 257-7229

Mailing Address – 1790 Tanen St. Napa, CA

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Burch-Micro-Machining-154997467869157/

Owner(s) – Arthur Burch & Joseph Gabrielian

Owner Of Burch Micro Machining

We at KriXis Consulting would like to thank Burch Micro Machining for their time and letting us get to know them. If you have not had the chance to view our first post in the series, be sure to check out Caliber Automation.

If you are interested in having your shop featured in this series at no cost or expectation hire us for your marketing services simple fill out the contact form below and we will send a questionnaire to you as soon as possible.

Become Featured

It is safe to say that nearly every aspect of life is connected to the Internet these days. The term ‘Google It’ has become the most efficient way to gather information on any desired topic. Now you may be asking yourself what does this have to do with a personal website, and the answer is simple, it puts you in control of your own digital footprint.

This post will break down what we at KriXis Consulting consider to be the top 2 reasons an executive should have a personal website: reputation management and name ownership; followed by a step-by-step guide on beginning this self-marketing process.

Top 2 Reasons

After carefully thinking about how in-depth we can go into making the decision to brand oneself as a business owner, all roads pointed back to two major topics. So we are going to be brief and to the point.

Control Reputation

This is the section that we have found our clients most interested in. Digital reputation management puts you in control when people search you via online. Most business owners are familiar with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) at this point; everyone wants to have their business and services appear when being searched. However, when was the last time that you searched your own name? Or even the name of a future hire?

This search engine-marketing tactic can and should also be applied to oneself. You are a leader in business and as the face of your company you should make sure that you are in control. Below I’ve screenshot what appears when searching for myself.

 

Searching On Google | "Matthew Borza"

 

The typical social media profiles appear, but below that my personal website appears in the query. This is also where I am given the opportunity to showcase myself as well as set myself apart from the competition.

As you can see my personal website appears on the first page of Google, and anyone seeking to find out more about my business and me is likely to search my name, especially before entering into a marketing agreement.

 

Personal Branding Website | Screenshot | Matthew Borza

(Matthew Borza’s Personal Website)

 

Even if your name isn’t being searched frequently, the business cards you hand out can always be a great way to promote your personal website. Who wouldn’t get curious if the frequently disposed of cardstock had in large font ‘YourName.com’ and you instructed the individual to check out your website. You now stand out, and that is exactly what you need to do in the digital era.

While on this topic we also wanted to touch on controlling your images, which goes hand-in-hand with reputation control.

Images

Everyone has had pictures taken that are less than flattering. Or perhaps you have some pictures that appear in the search results that you wish would just go away. Having pictures optimized on your personal website will appear higher in the search engine rankings over time as long as they are properly optimized. This is another aspect of controlling your digital footprint. Image strategies can be put in place specifically for this as well, but that is another topic for another time; however, below I have provided an example of controlling images that appear for your name.

 

Google Image Search | "Matthew Borza KriXis"

Domain Ownership

I am a firm believer that everyone should own his or her own name. Even if you do not build a personal website, ownership should never be placed into the hands of another. If you have a common name such as “John Smith” this may not be possible; however, alternatives such as “JohnAbeSmith.com” may still be available.

The cost of owning your name is under $20.00 per year, so there should be no hesitation on pulling the trigger for this investment. The following portion of this post will walk you through the buying process as well as how to get started in creating a standout personal website.

Step-By-Step Guide | Personal Website

We at KriXis Consulting have broken this portion of the blog into three phases: domain purchase, website content, and hosting options/creation.

Domain Purchase

This is relatively simple to do. First head to GoDaddy.com, there are other websites to purchase a domain from but due to this company’s reputation and quick reliable customer service we suggest going here. Upon arriving to their website you will see a screen that looks like the screenshot below:

 

Screenshot of GoDaddy's Homepage

 

Once here simply type in your name, click search, and the available options will appear (SEE example below).

 

Purchase Searched Domain | GoDaddy's Website

 

From this point all you will need to do is add the desired domain to your cart, create an account, then make the payment. It’s very simple and can be done in less than 10-minutes.

Content And Purpose Brainstorming

Now that you have ownership of your domain, the next step will be to figure out what you want on your website. Skipping this step and jumping into building something before organizing your ideas will lead to a site that appears unprofessional and cluttered. We have created a checklist to efficiently put together the best layout for your personal website.

  • Decide the purpose of your website
    • About you, drive business, lead people to your business, etc.
  • Starting with the end goal work backwards in laying out sections
    • I want contact information: tell about self -> inform who you wish to connect with -> how I can help those connections -> contact form
  • Create content and select images specifically for your goals and sections
    • Be sure to avoid unnecessary info, less is more online

Hosting Options And Creation

Domains and hosting can be confusing. The best way to understand this is to consider your domain (“YourName.com”) as an arrow that points people to where all your website information is (hosting).

To keep things simple, we suggest using GoDaddy as a hosting provider, as well as using what is called “Managed WordPress,” you only need to cheapest option.

As for creation, you can build something yourself using GoDaddy’s Website Builder; however, for something that stands out and provides the SEO benefits mentioned above we would suggest going with a professional. We are offering executive website services and you can view our offer by clicking the button below.

 

 

Conclusion

We want to thank you for taking the time to read our post. If you have any questions regarding reasons to build a personal website or how-to get started we are more than happy to answer them either by commenting on this post or calling us directly at – (855) 4-KriXis | (855) 457-4947.

We also encourage you to check out the following posts and sharing them with fellow executives and friends:

Over the next 3-5 minutes this post will cover an explanation of what CRO is, reasons for it being important and step-by-step methods you can implement for self-improvement for this aspect of digital marketing.

 

What Is CRO?

 

CRO stands for Conversion Rate Optimization, and although it may sound complex it can be easily understood when broken down.

 

Conversion

 

First we must address what you as the business owner or Webmaster identify as a conversion. A conversion can range from moving from one page on a website to another, to filling out a contact form, or completing the online purchase of an item; basically a goal for a particular page.

 

Rate

 

It is all about looking at the data when determining the rate. To do this you can use free tools from Google such as Google Analytics. This tool will allow you to see how many people are visiting each page as well as the time spent on the page, and most importantly what they did while on that page.

 

We will now need to incorporate the conversion into the rate section, and for simplicity sake let’s say that we are looking for a visitor to fill out a contact form. Now there are two numbers we need to look at, the number of people who are visiting the page and the number of contact form submissions received.

 

Basic calculations can now be used to determine the conversion rate – # of submissions received / # of visitors to the page.

 

For example, say five people visited the page and one completed contact form was received:

 

1 (number of contact forms received)

___________________________________________

5 (number of page visits)

 

= .20 or 20% conversion rate

 

Optimization

 

Lastly, now that we have covered a conversion rate, we can get into the fun stuff that makes you more money, optimization.

 

Express Writer’s explains that there are two main methods for optimizing CRO, testing various possibilities and pre-testing.

 

Testing various possibilities can easily be demonstrated through what’s called A/B testing. An example of this can be by creating two identical pages with the exception of a varied colored button on each saying to ‘click here to find out more’ (one button being blue and the other red). The next step would be to send half of the website traffic to each page, and then determine the conversion rate of each page. After completing the calculations you would be able to see what button color leads to the most conversations, allowing you to optimize that particular page so you can send all traffic to the most beneficial button color.

KriXis Consulting CRO Blog | A/B Testing Example

Pre-testing focuses on completing market research upfront, then building the page(s) around that information.

 

We have found that both strategies are effective; however, if you really want to see results it is best to take the time to utilize both methods, there is no such thing as a page that converts too well.

 

KriXis’s Top CRO Benefits

 

We focus primarily on working with machine shops and manufacturers and from our clientele we have established three consistent major benefits delivered on CRO projects – improving sales and lead acquisition, getting the most from previous SEO campaigns and CRO being a low cost website upgrade when compared to other digital marketing strategies.

 

Improve Sales and Lead Acquisition

 

This benefit should be the easiest to see since the purpose of CRO is improving the rate at which goals are reached, assuming the ultimate goal is to increase sales and lead gen.

 

Get The Most From SEO Efforts

 

SEO (search engine optimization) is a primary focus of all of our clients. The benefits of SEO are incredible, and will drive traffic to your businesses’ website, but once they get there everything needs to be in place to turn them from a visitor into customer. This is where CRO plays a key role.

 

Budget Friendly

 

The trend for all marketing in business is that you get what you pay for; however this is not always the case. A decision maker could spend a fortune on paid ad campaigns, but could see equal increases in sales at a fifth of the cost. This is why we encourage CRO to be just as important of a marketing strategy as SEO.

 

Logo Of KriXis Consulting | Top CRO Benefits

How To Improve CRO

 

We at KriXis Consulting love to get more business, but as a thank you for taking the time to read this post we want to leave you with three do-it-yourself processes that can be implemented on your spare time to begin building a foundation for CRO success.

 

Ask Current Clients

 

If you are reading this I am assuming that you have at least one client under your belt. Now would be a great time to ask them to look over your website and see what would make things easier for them. They may give you the best advice for some quick fixes to improve a visitor’s experience.

 

Shorten Your Website Content

 

We have all experienced websites where you get bored of reading through everything and before you even find what you are looking for you leave the page and see what someone else has to offer. Don’t be this website. Review the content on your website and see if you can make everything more concise and to the point. You would be amazed at the correlation between less text and more time spent on the page.

 

Use Google Analytics

 

The proof is in the pudding, and Google Analytics provides all the possible pudding (for your website data at least). Take some time and review what pages visitors are spending the most time on, as well as the pages with the least amount of time. See how they differ and try to mimic the design and layout of the pages with the most time spent.

Data From Google Analytics By KriXis Consulting | O&S Machine Company

CRO Summary

 

You should now have a better understanding of what CRO is, the benefits that it can provide for your business and how to create some of these benefits for yourself. If you really want to supercharge the CRO of your website click the button below.

 

 

We want to say thank you for taking the time to read this post and as always we encourage sharing this information with business associates and friends. Also be sure to check out some of our other posts:

Owners and marketing directors are hounded weekly if not daily regarding digital marketing. We at KriXis Consulting decided more than a year ago to take a different approach; create a data-backed, industry-specific case study.

This post has been written with two goals in mind, to thoroughly explain a digital marketing process and provide realistic attainable benefits from the explained processes. We realize you may be unfamiliar with some terms in this post, to help we hyperlinked terms-of-art to pages with easy explanations for your convenience.

We wanted to find the perfect machine shop; a company that understood an online presence was needed, but was not actively making improvements.

Our desired shop met the following criteria:

  • Has an outdated or no website;
  • Absent from social media;
  • Sparse if any digital presence;
  • At least 10+ years in business.

 

Shop Selection

 

Over a year ago (currently May 2017) we sent an offer via email blast for a discounted website, design and build, and creation of a digital marketing foundation in return to allow us to create a case study. We selected two machine shops – Southeastern Manufacturing Enterprise, based in Franklin TN; and O & S Machine Company, from Latrobe PA. Both met all (4) criteria, and were located in competitive machining markets.

 

Southeastern Manufacturing Enterprise Initial Online Presence

Shop had dated and not responsive, not mobile-friendly, website (SEE screenshot below).

 

Southeastern Manufacturing Enterprise | Homepage | Old Website

 

 

Social media signals and profiles were not present and the website had zero back-links. However, due to having a website, SME was able to build some domain authority.

 

O & S Machine Initial Online Presence

This fifty year-old machine shop had no online presence at all.

 

Browser Not Found Sample

 

Both companies were given similar plans-of-action, processes and timelines, each are discussed in further detail below.

 

Timeline and Process

 

Due to both businesses having different starting points we tailored separate plans to ensure both were given a strong digital marketing foundation. However, each strategy followed a few basic principles: designing and building a responsive website, ensure focus of all major on-page SEO elements, create social media accounts, and correctly submit business listing citations.

At KriXis Consulting projects always kick-off with market research by MBAs utilizing a variety of tools, such as Google Keyword Planner and FreshKey, creating a clear marketing picture.

The two machine shops in this study were no exception to this rule. This tactic gives us insight into the volume of searches queried for specific terms or phrases, with results being based on monthly averages over 12-months, these can even be pinpointed to specific geographical areas. To simply put it, we uncover what potential customers are searching in your area, and make sure marketing efforts are geared towards those searches.

If that sounded confusing, don’t worry, it will all make sense when you see the plans in their entirety, followed by the results. Specific details for each company are listed below.

 

Southeastern Manufacturing Enterprise Marketing Plan

 

SME Responsive Website

 

We allotted 7-business days to conduct the research, present a mock-up layout, and build the new website.

 

Southeastern Manufacturing | Homepage | New Responsive Design

 

On-Page Keyword SEO Focus

 

  • Nashville TN Machine Shop
  • CNC Milling
  • Turning
  • Machine Building Services

 

Created Social Media Accounts

 

Completed within 30-days.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google+

 

Business Listing Citations

 

Completed within 60-days.

  • Top 50 Directories

 

Kudzu Business Listing | Southeastern Manufacturing Enterprise

(Sample of correctly formatted business directory submission.)

 

Additional Blog

 

Within 90-days of project commencement we built SME a blog page, as well as produced an optimized article.

 

O & S Machine Company Marketing Plan

 

O & S Machine’s Responsive Website

 

We allotted 14-business days to conduct the research, present a mock-up layout, and build the new website. Extra time was provided due to no website existing prior to project.

 

Responsive Homepage | O&S Machine Company

 

On-Page Keyword SEO Focus

 

  • South Western PA Machine Shop
  • Pittsburgh Area Machining

 

Created Social Media Accounts

 

Completed within 30-days.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+

 

Business Listing Citations

 

Completed within 180-days.

  • Top 80 Directories

 

AboutUs Business Directory Submission | O&S Machine Company

(Sample of correctly formatted business directory submission.)

 

Current Standings (May 2017)

 

This is everyone’s favorite part, results that affect the bottom-line.

 

Search Engine Results

 

For each company we ran over 50 variations of common search phrases regarding services provided. We then selected (4) search terms using keywords for each shop’s geographical area, which averaged at least 50-100 searches per month; this provided a total of 200-2,000 opportunities for their machine shop to be found per month. These numbers only account for Google and their search partners; when considering Bing, Yahoo and Ask Jeeves, those numbers are easily doubled.

Feel free to test the following results for yourself.

 

SERPs | Southeastern Manufacturing Enterprise

Tennessee Machine Shop

  • Ranking: First Page, #10

Machine Building in TN

  • Ranking: First Page, #6

Franklin TN Machine Shop

  • Ranking: First Page, #3

CNC Machining in Franklin TN

  • Ranking First Page, #3

 

Google Search Engine Result | CNC Machining in Franklin TN

 

SERPs | O & S Machine Company

 

PA Machine Shop

  • Ranking: First Page, #1

Greater Pittsburgh Area Machining Services

  • Ranking: First Page, #1

Southwestern PA Machining

  • Ranking: First Page, #2

Pittsburgh Area Natural Gas Machining

  • Ranking: First Page, #1

 

Google Search Results | PA Machine Shop

 

Google Analytics Data

 

We added Google Analytics tracking to both websites. This software allows web admins to gather data ranging from the number of times a website was visited, geographic location of the visitors, how someone found a website (ex. search engine or directly typing in the web address), even exactly how the website is navigated during the visit. Not only does this information track marketing effort progress, but also allows admins to seek out bottlenecks preventing visitors from what is most important, making visitor into customer.

Below we added screenshots for both company’s data over a 6-month period, November 1, 2016 – May 1, 2017.

 

Google Analytics | Southeastern Manufacturing Enterprise

 

KriXis Consulting Google Analytics Data | Southeastern Manufacturing Enterprise

 

  • 597 unique visitors during a 6-month period.

 

Google Analytics | O & S Machine Company

 

Data From Google Analytics By KriXis Consulting | O&S Machine Company

 

  • 505 unique visitors during a 6-month period.

 

Case Study Overview

 

  • Two machine shops, in different locations and markets began with little to no online presence.
  • KriXis Consulting provided tailored plans to build a strong digital foundation.
  • Both companies generated awareness and business within a year time period, backed by data directly from Google.

 

We cannot stress enough that digital marketing is not an overnight success. You will not see immediate results unless you implement paid ad campaigns, which we highly discourage doing for the machining and manufacturing industry.

Additionally, it’s important to note both projects have been complete for almost a year, which provided the necessary time to have all aspects of the foundation indexed.

Our goal is long-term partnerships with clients that provide years of growth and online dominance. If you have any questions regarding what you have read or if you are interested in seeing what we can do for you, fill out the contact form below, or visit our contact page and it will be our pleasure to provide a free consultation. Thank you for taking the time to read this post, please share it via social media or with anyone whom you think it could benefit, if you’d like to learn more about our services or see more posts like this, all you need to do is click either link.

 

We Look Forward To Hearing From You!

 

Do-It-Yourself Website Audit – Improve SEO

Marketing Audit Main Image

If you were building a house, would your first step be to break ground? Of course not, a detailed blueprint (or audit) is always where you begin. However, many people are not thinking to apply the same principles to their business when crafting a marketing strategy. This post will increase your understanding of the importance of auditing your website, as well as provide a detailed list of the steps you can take to put together a beneficial audit.

Top Reasons For An SEO Audit

Our research uncovered 2 fundamental reasons businesses should immediately look into having their digital marketing efforts audited:

  • To provide a complete picture
  • To save money

Complete Marketing Picture

Sometimes the best thing a business owner can do is take steps back and see the big picture. An audit allows you to do this. A thorough digital marketing audit informs you on how all search engine ranking factors affect your website.

If you are looking to have an audit professionally done, you should ensure that you are receiving a report containing information regarding on-page, off-page and social media at a minimum. An in-depth audit will also contain a competitor analysis; together these aspects provide realistic goals when developing your own strategy.

Save Your Business Money 

Everyone has been sold on something they don’t necessarily want or need. In digital marketing it is very easy (especially if unfamiliar with the industry) to have a service sound like a ‘must’ purchase.

We get it; you want to do whatever possible to have the greatest advantage online. In 2012 Fleishman-Hillard reported that 89% of consumers began their search online; we can safely assume that number has grown as more people have access to the Internet, especially from smartphones. However, and more importantly, you want a high ROI. An audit will ensure you are focusing on the areas that need focused on first.

DIY SEO Audit

We do not expect you to be audit-creating masters after reading this, but we do anticipate that you to be able to avoid getting ‘sold’ and begin seeking services that will have the greatest impact on your business.

The do-it-yourself audit section covers 4 of the major digital marketing SEO elements, providing you with simple step-by-step instructions.

  • Responsive Design
  • On-Page SEO
  • Local Search
  • Off-Page SEO

Responsive Test

Importance Of Responsive Website Design

As of May 2015, Google released that the amount of mobile searches have surpassed desktop searches. Algorithms have adjusted for this trend, and if your website is designed to adapt to these devices, search engines, such as Google, reward you by appearing higher in the rankings.

Other notable reasons for a responsive website are:

  • Staying ahead of your competition
  • Keeping people on your website
  • Having a fresh online presence

We’ve previously created a post covering the top reasons for responsive website design, if you want to learn more – Click Here.

Responsive Test: Step-By-Step

  1. Go to – https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
  2. Enter your website’s URL

This is an example of a mobile-friendly (responsive) website.

Mobile Website Design | Responsive Website Example

This is an example of a NON-mobile-friendly (responsive) website.

Non-Responsive Design | Not Mobile-friendly

 

The difference is easy to see.

On-Page Elements

Importance Of On-Page SEO

Search engines use robots per se to look at specific elements embedded in your websites code. This information lets search engines know what your website is about. The more focused the elements are toward one topic, the higher the likelihood of a search engine ranking that website for a particular search phrase.

If you want to learn more about on-page SEO, you can –Click Here – to see and article by Moz.

We are going to show you how to audit your own website for the following major on-page elements:

(We provided short videos below each addressed element for further explanation)

Title Tag

Meta Tag

 

 

Heading Tags

 

 

On-Page Elements: Step-By-Step

The below steps are only designed for a per page analysis not for the entire website. You need to take notes on steps 3-5.

  1. Go to – http://www.seocentro.com/tools/seo/seo-analyzer.html
  2. Type in your web address and the access code. The screen you should see is pictured below.

 

SEO Centro - Credentials

 

  1. You should see a screen with an SEO ‘score’ and can scroll down to the bottom of that page to find your heading tags.

 

Analysis Screen From SEO Centro

 

  1. Next click on the ‘server’ button, located below the score.

 

Options From SEO Centro

 

  1. If you scroll down on this page you will be able to determine the Title tag and Meta tag. The page title is labeled ‘title’ and the Meta tag is labeled ‘x-meta-description.’

Meta Tag Location:

 

How SEO Centro Shows Meta Descriptions

 

Title Tag Location:

 

Where Page Title Can Be Found | SEO Centro's Analyzer

 

After looking at your notes there are three possibilities. We have created a next best step for each.

(1) You will be missing an element. Next step – prioritize fixing on-page SEO.

(2) You will have the all elements present, but not targeted towards anything specific. Next step – fix focus of on-page SEO.

(3) All 3 elements will be directed at the same keyword(s). Next step – further optimization is optional.

You do not want to oversaturate elements with desired keywords. Search engines will pick up on this on penalize you.

Local Search

Importance Of Local SEO

Local SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your website to show up locally (depending on where the search is made OR if a specific location is included in the search query) for targeted keywords or phrases on search engines.

We’ve written a more in-depth post covering reasons and strategies for Local SEO – Click Here – if you want to learn more.

As of 2014, Google conducted a study which revealed 18 percent of local searches resulted in an action from the consumer.

Below provides a visual of local search results:

 

SERPs | Local SEO In San Diego

 

For a well-rounded local SEO audit we are going to focus on two factors:

  • Directory submissions
  • Current positioning

Listing Directories: Step-By-Step

  1. Go to – https://moz.com/local
  2. Enter your business name and zip code.
  3. Select the most accurate listing.
  4. Take notes on the following:
    1. Complete
    2. Incomplete
    3. Inconsistent
    4. Duplicate

The information Moz provides gives a general understanding of how consistent your business is appearing across various directories. Consistency is key to reap the benefits of listing directories; specifically, business name, address, phone and website (NAPw).

Current Position: Step-By-Step

This also provides you with insight on your competition.

  1. Search – ‘(Your City) (Your Service or Desired Keyword[s])’

Example:

(Latrobe) (Machine Shop)

Below shows the local search results.

 

Latrobe Machine Shop SERPs

  1. Record where your business is currently positioned in the results.

Off-Page Factors

Importance Of Off-Page SEO

Off-Page SEO encompasses all digital marketing signals that take place outside of your website. These signals build credibility in search engine algorithms. Signals with high credibility pointing back to your website boost your own website’s credibility, our example below will clear up any confusion.

Ex.

Two websites contain links to your website. One link is from a local band’s website, while the other is from CNN. The CNN link will have a greater impact on your SEO.

Similarly to the local SEO section above, we selected two factors to provide a well-rounded audit:

  • Backlinks
  • Social Media

Backlinks: Step-By-Step

  1. Go to – https://moz.com/researchtools/ose/
  2. Type in your website’s URL and click search.
  3. SEE IMAGE BELOW – record data in notes.

 

Amount Of SEO Backlinks | Audit Info

 

If your domain or page authority is a ‘1’ and you have no links, you would want to consider implementing a backlink strategy.

Social Media Signals: Step-By-Step

These do not have as strong of an effect as backlinks, but they do provide search result benefits.

  1. Go to – http://www.seocentro.com/tools/search-engines/link-popularity.html
  2. Enter your website’s URL and access code.
  3. SEE IMAGE BELOW – record data in notes.

 

SEO Factoring Social Media For Marketing Audit

 

This is a great straightforward tool that simply lays everything out. You can see exactly where signals are coming from, as well as the areas that need improvement. If you have all 0’s or single digit numbers, you should consider putting together a social media strategy. This can be beneficial to SEO even if your industry does not conduct business through social media.

The social media post needs to have the webpage URL in order to count as a signal.

Summary

After going through the steps, this process will provide you with a solid general website audit. You will know which direction to head with your digital marketing efforts.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comment area below and we will answer them as soon as possible.

If you are looking for a professional audit – click here – and we can handle that for you.

Thank you for taking the time to read our post, we always want to hear your feedback and greatly appreciate when share our post with friend and co-workers.