How-To Guides for Industrial Sites

Last week, Graham Carlton at Search Engine Watch wrote about how-to guides. Carlton says that how-to guides are "an effective content marketing tactic for online retailers." The article uses companies like Home Depot and Nordstrom as examples, but B2C websites aren't the only ones that can get a boost from how-to guides. How-to guides can be an excellent marketing tool for B2B Industrial websites as well.

Benefits of How-To Guides for Industrial Websites

A well-written how-to guide can do great things for you, such as:

• Show off your expertise: Audiences for B2B industrial websites are comprised of engineers, technicians, architects -- people who know their stuff. As an industrial marketer, it's extremely important for you to show that you know your stuff, too. How-to guides can help you do that.
• Provide useful information to users: The best content on the web gives people information they can really use. By putting this kind of content on your site, you'll not only attract new users, you'll keep them coming back. Why? Because they'll know that they can find answers to their questions on your site.
• Drive better traffic: How-to guides don't just attract more traffic -- they attract traffic from users with intent. Carlton writes: "Searches with phrases like 'how do I fix a leaky faucet' obviously indicate that the searcher has an intent to solve the problem, and may also indicate an intent to purchase the tools needed to complete the task."
• Boost sales: If a buyer is on the fence about making a purchase, a how-to guide could be the thing that nudges them to the other side. For instance, if a buyer thinks that threaded inserts will solve a problem, but doesn't know how to install them, an instructional video could be the bridge between the buyer and the 'buy' button.

Examples of How-To Guides for Industrial Sites

Here are some examples of the how-to guides that industrial marketers could create:

• "How to Install Threaded Inserts"
• "How to Use Anti-Static Brushes"
• "How to Use Hand Grinders for Deburring"
• "How to Improve Pump Efficiency with Vespel"

Think about common questions that your customers have, and use how-to guides to answer them. It something we do at Ecreative all the time.

Video Guides

There are many ways to construct a how-to guide, but video is an excellent way to go. A video will help you stand out in search engine results and attract more people to your site. Videos do require an investment of time and money, but they pay for themselves in the long run.

How-To Guide Help

At Ecreative, we can help you create a great how-to guide by providing assistance with design, copy and SEO. To learn more, contact Ecreative today. Photo credit: Villanova University Digital Library / Foter.com / CC BY-SA