Top 10 Industrial Ecommerce Website Tips

Industrial ecommerce is growing, with more and more industrial and B2B products being sold online every day.  What can you do to make sure your industrial website is successful?  Here are 10 tips for building successful industrial ecommerce websites

1. Usability: Make sure it is easy to navigate your industrial website is easy to use.  Keep your navigation as simple and clear as possible and provide an internal site search that can address both terminology and part numbers.  Test your own checkout process to make sure purchasing online is easy and not confusing.




2. SEO: Search engine optimization (SEO) should be built in to your ecommerce solution.  Make sure your page titles, meta descriptions, alt attributes, and copy are keyword optimized, but not spammy.  Interlink between pages of your site to guide visitors and show page importance for search engines. URL’s should contain your keywords whenever possible.




3. Pricing: Make sure it is easy for customers to see the price they are paying for products, shipping and any other fees.  If you have distributor pricing, use an ecommerce solution that allows discounted pricing based on their login.




4. Product Details: Provide complete product information on your industrial ecommerce website. Add video, photos and diagrams that help to explain your products, and make sure they are optimized for SEO.  Include case studies or customer testimonials when applicable to add to your credibility.




5. Clear Calls To Action: Every page on your industrial website should have a clear and compelling call to action. You can create ‘soft’ calls to action for whitepaper downloads or newsletter signups for those who are not ready to buy.  For those who are further along in the purchasing process, make it easy to add products to a cart and either purchase online or get a quote.




6. Informational Content: Provide informational content for your visitors that they can’t find easily on other sites. Are there specifications, product manuals or material properties charts that you can add to your site?  Ask your customers what they have a hard time finding online and what would be helpful to them.




7. Local Optimization: Even if you’re targeting the nation (or world), and not a local audience, you can still benefit from local optimization. Search results can be personalized based on IP address or Google  Login, with local companies getting preference.  Additionally, showing up in the local “10-Pack” in Google gives you additional visibility. Claim your local listings in all 3 of the major search engines and include your local phone number and address in the footer of every page of your website.




8. Coordinate With Your Catalog: Make sure to include a PDF of your catalog on your website for visitors who wish to view it. Also, make sure your part numbers online match up with part numbers in the catalog, as many industrial buyers will search your site based on part numbers from a catalog. Also allow for a “quick order” by part number to make repeat shopping fast and easy.




9. Google Shopping Feed: You can add your industrial products to the Google Shopping Feed for free. Searchers looking for specific products often use shopping verticals like Google’s to compare products and prices.




10. Industrial Directories: Get listed in online directories that are specific to the industrial and B2B marketplace. Sites like Thomasnet.com, IQSDirectory.com and others give a multitude of advertising options. Just make sure you are measuring all the leads you get from them to make sure you are getting your money’s worth. Many industrial directories also offer free listings that you can take advantage of by filling out a form.

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