Common B2B SEO Mistakes That Can Harm Your Website Rankings

I have spent more than 4+ years working as a B2B SEO expert in India, and I will tell you what manufacturing and supplier businesses keep making the same SEO mistakes.

It makes me crazy because I see good companies losing out on serious business because of these common problems.

Let me share with you what I have seen after working with multiple industrial clients across the country.

They don't know how buyers actually search

When I sit down with manufacturing clients in India, I usually discover that they are completely misunderstanding how potential customers search for suppliers and manufacturers online.

You know, your potential customers are not typing stuff like metal parts or industrial suppliers. Actually they are super specific they know what to write on Google.

For example: They will write like “food grade stainless steel fabrication in Mumbai” or “CNC machine for aerospace components”

These kind of words or phrases show they are ready to buy, but many manufacturers miss out due to chasing the wrong keywords.

Too much technical and boring content

Look, I've checked out hundreds of manufacturing websites, and most of them have content that might work for engineers but puts purchasing managers to sleep. In my years as a B2B SEO Specialist, I've learned you need content that works for both technical folks and the people who actually approve the budgets.

Ignore location based keywords

Many indian manufacturing companies don’t focus on location-based seo, or you can “Local SEO”. If you have factories in specific industrial zones or mainly serve in certain areas, you should make your Google My Business profile and use location-based keywords in your website.

If you have a textile business in Surat or make auto parts in Ahmedabad, you should appear on google when people search in those areas. I have also worked with many manufacturer in Gujarat to boost their traffic and help them to generate quality leads by focusing on locally based keywords.

Technical mess

Manufacturing websites often have tons of product pages, spec sheets, and category listings. This makes good technical SEO even more important than usual.

I constantly find problems like duplicate content across similar product categories, missing descriptions, websites that look terrible on phones, and PDF spec sheets that take forever to load. These technical headaches will tank your rankings no matter how good your actual manufacturing is.

They don't use industry connections for links

Regular backlinks help, but in manufacturing, industry-specific links are gold. Too many B2B suppliers aren't getting listed in the industrial directories and trade association websites that matter.

After working as a B2B SEO expert in India for years, I can tell you that getting featured in relevant industry publications sends strong trust signals to search engines about your credibility as a manufacturer.

They're not showing off their work properly

Search engines love detailed case studies that demonstrate what you can actually do as a manufacturer. Yet many suppliers either don't create these at all or bury them so deep in their website that nobody finds them.

Good case studies not only help with SEO but also convince potential customers to contact you. They should tell the story of specific manufacturing problems you solved and include actual numbers about improvements you delivered.

Complicated contact form

The main goal for most manufacturing websites isn't just traffic, it's getting people to request quotes.

I have seen supplier websites that are getting decent visitors, but still their conversion is terrible due to their forms are complicated to fill out.

Your contact forms should be simple and visible on every page. Don't make potential customers hunt around your site looking for ways to send you their specifications.

What you should do about it

You can work with those who have experience in business-to-business digital marketing, like Sumit Dynamics, to avoid these mistakes.

If you can fix these common problems, you can see the positive response on your search visibility and qualified buyers can reach out to you directly on your website without any business directory. Get these things right, and you'll see your rankings climb and your inquiry numbers go up.