In today’s AI-powered, user-driven search environment, simply ranking on Google doesn’t mean squat for most industrial marketers. Position #1 looks nice in your SEO report, but here’s the cold truth: if the rest of the search results page isn’t working in your favor, you’re invisible in the age of AI. .
For manufacturers, OEMs, and industrial suppliers, your real opportunity isn’t in winning the top spot ... it’s in owning the entire Search Engine Results Page (SERP) narrative. It’s time to stop chasing rankings and start building search visibility intelligence. Brand visibility, if you will.
Let me show you how.
What is a SERP Presence Audit … and Why Should Industrial Marketers Care?
A SERP presence audit is a reality check ... a deep dive into how your industrial brand actually shows up across every inch of Page 1. It’s not just about “Are we ranking?” It’s about “How are we presenting? What brand story are we telling? And who else is telling it for us?”
Here’s what it uncovers:
- How your brand appears on both branded and non-branded searches
- Whether your messaging is consistent with your current brand position
- Where third-party platforms (like Reddit, YouTube, or review sites) are filling in the gaps for your prospects
- Which competitors are bidding on your terms and dominating paid placements
- Where your SERP real estate is being stolen, ignored ... or wasted
Let’s be clear … industrial buyers don’t just click the first link. They scan the entire SERP, research your reputation, and make decisions based on more than just rankings. You do the same when you shop for a car or golf clubs.
Industrial Marketers Must Think in SERP Ecosystems … Not Positions
A typical Page 1 in 2025 is chaos. You’ll see:
- AI Overviews cherry-picking content (often not yours)
- Video carousels
- Paid ads and competitor shopping results
- UGC (user generated content) from forums or Reddit
- Third-party reviews
- Social media embeds
- And maybe ... your site
If your messaging isn’t aligned across this SERP ecosystem, you’re handing over your narrative to someone else. Worse yet, if the only thing showing up is outdated or off-brand ... you’re doing active damage.
How to Run a SERP Audit (Step-by-Step for Industrial Brands)
This is not just an SEO task. It’s a brand leadership initiative. You’re assessing visibility, not vanity. Here’s how I walk industrial clients through it:
1. Pick Your Priority Queries
Start with:
- Your branded search terms
- Key product and service keywords
- High-intent phrases from sales calls or customer service chats
These are the searches where your reputation is on the line.
2. Go Incognito
Use incognito or private browsing modes to remove bias. Better yet ... use a VPN to simulate different geos and user types. Your Midwest OEM might look very different to a buyer in Houston or Ontario.
3. Capture the Full SERP
Document what Page 1 looks like … both desktop and mobile. Tools like SEO Minion, SerpAPI, or even just a screen recorder will do the trick.
Don’t skip the mobile version. Many industrial engineers are doing initial research from their phones, even if purchasing happens on the desktop later.
4. Categorize What You See
Break each result into buckets:
- Owned (your website, blog, LinkedIn, YouTube)
- Earned (press mentions, guest posts)
- Social/Forums (LinkedIn posts, Reddit, Quora)
- Paid (ads — yours or competitors’)
- Competitor Content
- Outdated/Off-brand Listings
5. Score Visibility and Alignment
Rate each result based on:
- Presence (Do you show up?)
- Control (Do you own it?)
- Freshness (Is it recent?)
- Alignment (Is the message right?)
Build a simple grid and score each listing. Patterns will emerge fast.
6. Highlight the Gaps
These are your opportunities:
- Paid ads from competitors stealing your clicks
- Old job posts or obsolete content cluttering the SERP
- Missing formats (no video, no rich snippets, no images)
- Reddit threads ranking above your own content
These aren’t just SEO issues ... they’re brand control problems.
When to Run a SERP Audit
Timing matters. Here are the moments when you absolutely must audit your SERP presence:
- Before a product launch or rebrand — ensure your new messaging shows up consistently
- When conversions drop unexpectedly — discover if off-brand SERP results are to blame
- After a PR or thought leadership campaign — check if those earned mentions actually appear
- When entering new verticals or markets — see how your presence stacks up against current incumbents
- As AI search evolves — make sure your brand doesn’t get edited out of the narrative
Google’s AI Overviews: A Wake-Up Call for Industrial Marketers
Google’s AI Overviews aren’t your friend ... unless you’ve earned it.
These generative blurbs pull content from third-party sites. If your competitors, directories, or forums dominate that space, guess who Google thinks is the authority? Not you.
To win here, your content must scream E-E-A-T — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. Google’s algorithm is watching ... and so are your buyers.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Rank — Resonate
In a visual-first, AI-driven, zero-click search world ... ranking high is nice. But owning the whole SERP experience is where the real brand wins happen.
Industrial buyers are evaluating you long before they click. Your job is to shape every signal they see … from organic listings to videos to Reddit threads … so that the narrative is clear, aligned, and trustworthy.
Want better leads? Stop obsessing over Position 1 ... and start owning the page.
Here is another take from HubSpot on SERPs and how volatile, yet important, this whole exercise is.
Want to know more, go to What We Do or Contact Me in the menu above. Or give me a call at 269-375-0349
