Cobble carpets competition with key online improvements

Lancashire-based carpet tufting machinery manufacturer Cobble Blackburn says it has cracked developing export markets since improving its online act – and is flying. The company says it’s now receiving enquiries from India, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey as a result of improving its online marketing. So significant is the transformation that Cobble commercial manager Alan Barton is now calling on other manufacturers to change their fortunes by exploiting the web better. “Like most companies, we had a website, but this was gaining very few hits,” he says. “None of the major search engines had us listed on their first few pages, under any of our main keywords and phrases, and the company name itself did not fare much better.” Cobble turned to Blackburn-based eBusiness UK to research its industry and to learn how to attract global buyers to its website. The result: Cobble’s website now features in the top three listings on Google, MSN and Yahoo, for each of its main keywords and phrases. Says Barton: “In terms of reaching more customers, the internet offers fantastic opportunities and has allowed us to save both time and money… Dedicating resources to online marketing has allowed us to improve our competitive position by introducing us to new and previously untapped markets.” Nasir Kothia, business development director at eBusiness UK, adds: “Recent studies show that over 90% of manufacturing companies have a website, but less than one-third employ an effective website marketing strategy. Too many businesses give up on the internet after paying out for a website only to experience no benefits. But the important thing is to find a way of letting people know you’re out there.