Industrial Marketing Glossary

AI Overviews

The AI-written summaries Google shows above its normal search results. They draw on pages Google already trusts, so the same basics apply: clear text, sensible internal links and accurate schema markup.

AI visibility

How often, and how accurately, AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews mention your business when buyers ask about your field. You can test it by asking those tools the questions your buyers ask.

Authority

The trust buyers, search engines and AI tools place in your business on a subject. In industrial markets it comes from specific technical content, visible people with real experience, and proof such as case studies.

B-BBEE

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, South Africa’s framework for economic transformation. Procurement teams usually ask for your current B-BBEE certificate or sworn affidavit, and your level can affect how a tender is scored.

Buying committee

The group of people with a say in an industrial purchase. Alongside the engineer it often includes procurement, finance, safety, quality and a manager who signs off. Most of them never speak to the supplier.

Buying journey

The path a buyer’s organisation follows between first noticing a problem and placing an order. We describe six stages: trigger, private research, shortlist, validation, formal request and decision.

Call to action (CTA)

The next step a page asks a visitor to take, such as booking a call, downloading a guide or requesting a quote. Every key page should have one that suits a buyer at that stage.

Case study

A written account of a real project: the client’s problem, what was done and what changed. For industrial buyers it is often the strongest proof a supplier can offer, because it can be forwarded to the people who approve the purchase.

Central Supplier Database (CSD)

National Treasury’s register of suppliers to government and state-owned organisations in South Africa. Registration is usually required before a public-sector buyer can appoint you.

CIPC registration

Registration with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, which records that your company legally exists. Procurement checks that the registered name and number match your documents and invoices.

COIDA letter of good standing

A letter from the Compensation Fund confirming you are registered and paid up under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. It is commonly required before contractors work on a client’s site.

Content strategy

A plan for what you publish, who it is for and what each piece should achieve. A good one starts from the questions buyers ask and gives every article or page a clear role in winning work.

Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)

Improving the share of website visitors who take a useful next step, such as an enquiry. It covers clarity, page structure, proof, forms and calls to action, and it is measured with real visitor data.

Discoverability

How easily the right buyers can find your business when they search, on Google, on LinkedIn or in AI tools. It depends on the topics you cover, how your site is built and how consistent your details are online.

E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Google uses these ideas to describe the kind of content it wants to rank. Named authors, real project detail and clear company information all help.

Generative engine optimisation (GEO)

Structuring your website and content so AI tools can understand, retrieve and recommend your business in their answers. It builds on SEO and adds clear entity information, direct answers and consistent facts across the web.

Google Business Profile

Your free business listing on Google Search and Maps. A complete, current profile with the right categories, address and reviews helps buyers and AI tools confirm you are an established business.

Internal linking

Links from one page on your website to another. They help buyers move to the next useful page and help search engines and AI tools understand which pages matter and how your topics connect.

Lead magnet

Something useful a buyer can download in exchange for their contact details, such as a checklist, guide or self-assessment. It lets you stay in touch with buyers who are not ready to call.

Lead nurturing

Staying in useful contact with prospects until they are ready to buy, through follow-up, newsletters and relevant content. In long industrial buying cycles it keeps you on the shortlist.

Marketing audit

A review of all your marketing together: website, search, content, LinkedIn and how enquiries are handled. It shows where buyers are lost and what to fix first.

Positioning

What you want buyers to remember you for, and why they should choose you over the alternatives. Clear positioning names the industries, applications and problems you specialise in.

Private research

The research buyers do before they contact any supplier: searching, reading, asking AI tools and checking websites. Suppliers rarely see it happen, which is why your website and content have to do the work.

Qualified lead

An enquiry from a buyer who fits the work you want, has a real need and can make or influence the decision. A few qualified leads are worth more than many enquiries that were never going to buy.

Referral dependence

Relying on word of mouth for most new work. Referrals are valuable, but they can’t be planned or scaled, and even referred buyers check you online before they make contact.

Request for quotation (RFQ)

A formal request asking suppliers to price a defined scope. By the time an RFQ arrives, the shortlist is usually set, so most of the decision has already been made during private research.

Sales funnel

The stages a prospect moves through on the way to becoming a client: attract, capture, nurture and convert. Mapping it shows where buyers drop out and what each stage needs.

Schema markup

Code added to a web page that labels its content for search engines and AI tools, for example your company name, services, articles and FAQs. It is also called structured data.

Search intent

What a person actually wants when they type a search. An engineer searching a problem wants an explanation; one searching a supplier type wants a shortlist. Each page should match one intent.

Shortlist

The small group of suppliers a buyer seriously considers. In industrial markets it is often formed before anyone is contacted, from what buyers find online and hear from colleagues.

Supplier pack

The set of documents procurement needs to approve a new supplier, such as CIPC registration, tax compliance status, B-BBEE certificate, bank letter, insurance, COIDA letter and certifications. Keeping it current avoids delays.

Tax compliance status (TCS)

Confirmation from SARS that your tax affairs are in order, shared with buyers through a TCS PIN. Procurement teams check it before appointing a supplier and often again before payment.

Technical SEO

The behind-the-scenes work that lets search engines crawl, understand and index your website: speed, page structure, internal links, schema markup and clean addresses.

Thought leadership

Sharing a clear, informed view on problems in your field, usually through articles and LinkedIn posts by your senior people. In industrial markets it works best when it is specific and practical.

Validation stage

The stage after the engineer favours a supplier, when procurement, finance and management check that appointing you is safe. Your website, people, proof and documents are all reviewed, often without you knowing.

Website audit

A structured review of how your website turns visitors into enquiries: clarity, positioning, structure, proof, search visibility and next steps. It ends with a clear order of what to fix.

Zero-click search

A search answered on the results page itself, through an AI Overview or a featured snippet, so the person never visits a website. It makes being named in the answer as important as ranking.