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galendeyoung
Thanks, Rich [adman57]
Zibb and Jayde are general b2b search engines. In looking at Kellysearch, I’d put this in the industrial search engine category along with GlobalSpec and ThomasNet. MasterSeek used to have more traffic, but its inclusion was mostly because of recent news re its acquisition. Inevitably, we weren’t able to include every search site. Had we included more of the industrial search engines, Kellysearch probably would have been mentioned. Frankly though, we didn’t see it in our searches. In looking back, I believe it was because it ranked lower than we looked in the organic results. In looking today, it shows up around #40 in Google’s natural search for “b2b search engine” and doesn’t show up in Google’s top 100 natural search results for “industrial search engine”. I noticed today that you have paid search on Google for these terms, but unfortunately we didn’t look there. Rightly or wrongly, we looked at organic results (as one of many sources), figuring that the most of the more popular search engines in a given vertical would show up fairly high in the organic rankings. Kellysearch didn't for the search terms we used.
@RanOh and JeffC--I think you're under the impression that Google searches was the sole methodology. We used many different methodologies to identify search engines for potential inclusion. Using Google for several numerous keywords (not just a couple obvious ones) was just one methodology. In many respects, it was a later option in hopes of identifying more. Sorry you didn't make it on the radar. Perhaps that speaks not only to this situation, but also a broader marketing issue as you hope to reach your prospects.
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Thanks, Alan. Great comment.
No question about it. It takes time...and skill...and the content does need to be good. But it really comes down to priorities. B2B blogging, done right, can have perhaps the greatest ROI of any marketing initiative. Yet how much time do we spend doing other tasks that have marginal yields at best. How much time do we waste on sales activities with prospects that aren't properly qualified? How much time and money do we invest in a single print ad for a trade publication? In a local networking meeting of questionable potential? On tasks that could be delegated to others to free up those who can write and blog?
The only way it works for me is if I make it a priority. I have to force myself to set aside time to do it. I have to delegate things I need or want to do to others to make time for it. But aside from making sure our current clients get great service (and become excellent brand ambassadors for us), writing articles and blogging is one of the most important things I can do to build our brand. What better vehicle is there for me to build corporate and personal credibility and position our firm as having few credible substitutes in the marketplace?
No, it's not easy...and it is forever, but are we only going to seek to build our businesses, our brands, our reputations, for the next month or year? Building and growing a business is a long-term investment. We simply have to make sure we make things like blogging part of the mix, and prioritize it among other matters competing for our time and attention.
B2B blogging may not be appropriate for every enterprise, but it is for a great percentage of firms. I think many firms that could benefit greatly from it dimiss blogging because they don't want to figure out the answers to the questions I mentioned in the article. And that's not a good enough reason. We've all solved tougher problems than that.
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