For B2B industrial manufacturers, understanding the difference between thought leadership and content marketing is essential for optimizing marketing strategies.

Is Organic Traffic Disappearing? What Our Review of the Largest U.S. 100 Manufacturers Reveals About the Impact of LLMs

If you market to manufacturers, you’ve likely heard it already: organic traffic is down.

While individual stories of traffic decline have been circulating for months, we wanted a broader picture. So we analyzed estimated organic traffic data for the top 100 U.S. manufacturers by market cap, comparing May 2024 to May 2025. The results were eye-opening:

  • 70 out of Top 100 U.S. Manufacturers saw a decline in traffic
  • Overall traffic dropped by 35.8%
thought leadership ebook

The 2025 Thought Leadership in Manufacturing Report:

Thought Leadership’s Impact on Long Sales Cycle Offerings in the Manufacturing Ecosystem

    We gathered this data using SEranking.com. While the platform provides estimates, the directional trends are clear and valuable. A shift is underway in how buyers are discovering (or not discovering) manufacturers online.

    There are always multiple variables affecting traffic. However, one factor appears to be having a disproportionately large impact: Large Language Models (LLMs), including ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and other generative search tools.

    Let’s explore what this means and how manufacturers can respond strategically.

    A Widespread and Measurable Shift for Manufacturing Marketing

    Organic traffic has long been one of the most reliable channels in manufacturing marketing. A well-optimized blog post, resource page, or product listing could generate consistent engagement over time. That reliability is starting to disappear.
    We saw it across a range of manufacturing industries, from specialty materials to industrial automation to heavy equipment. The same pattern emerged in nearly every sector: significant declines in organic traffic without any meaningful drop in overall search demand.
    So what’s changed?

    LLMs Are Changing the Way Manufacturing Buyers Discover Information

    Search isn’t going away. It’s evolving.

    AI-powered tools now deliver instant, conversational answers to questions that previously led users to visit multiple websites. Instead of browsing ten blue links, users are often presented with AI-generated summaries or insights at the very top of the page. And that’s before they even scroll to see traditional organic listings.

    This dynamic leads to fewer impressions, fewer clicks, and less time for your brand to make an impact.

    While these AI search experiences offer convenience to users, they’re reshaping the competitive landscape for marketers. Manufacturers that once relied on traditional SEO to generate traffic are now struggling to get noticed.

    What This Means for Manufacturing Marketers

    If you’re in manufacturing, here’s the core takeaway: your buyers’ discovery behaviors are changing, whether or not you’re seeing the effects in your analytics yet.

    Many manufacturing buyers don’t start their journey by searching for a specific product or supplier. They begin with questions like:

    • How do we reduce unplanned downtime?
    • How do we comply with upcoming regulatory requirements?
    • Who are the leading suppliers for this application?

    Previously, strategic content could help you show up for these questions. But with AI-generated summaries now answering many of them directly, your content may never be seen at all.

    If you aren’t actively adapting your marketing strategy to reflect these changes, you could be missing the chance to connect with potential customers before they even start evaluating suppliers.

    How Manufacturing Marketers Can Respond and Realign

    This shift is not just a traffic issue. It’s a visibility issue. And visibility influences pipeline, awareness, and ultimately revenue. Here are four practical steps manufacturers can take to respond effectively.

    1. Reevaluate Your Buyer Journey Assumptions

    Many buyer journey frameworks were built before LLMs began influencing search behavior. Now is the time to revalidate your assumptions.

    • When does Google enter the buying journey? And for what types of searches?
    • When do buyers rely on referrals from colleagues?
    • Are they using tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Perplexity? And for what types of searches?
    • Are they turning more towards in-person events, webinars, or LinkedIn?

    Voice of the Customer (VoC) research is a great way to find out. Interviews, surveys, and digital behavior analysis can reveal how your audience discovers information today. That insight will help you align your strategy to meet them where they are.

    1. Optimize for a Broader Discovery Ecosystem

    Online search is no longer primarily confined to Google. Buyers are gathering insights across multiple channels, tools, and platforms.

    To stay visible:

    • Use structured data, schema markup, and clear formatting to help AI tools parse and prioritize your content

    • Create content that authoritative sources will want to cite

    • Build a presence on platforms that influence your buyers, including LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, and respected trade publications

    Visibility is no longer about dominating a single search engine. It’s about being discoverable where your customers are.

    1. Invest in Thought Leadership Content

    The days of relying on keyword-heavy blog posts to drive traffic are fading. What works now is original, helpful content that builds trust and authority.

    Strong examples include:

    • Thought leadership interviews with internal experts
    • Deep dives into market or technology trends
    • Proprietary research and benchmark studies
    • Practical, well-structured technical guides

    This type of content not only builds brand equity but also increases the likelihood that your company will be referenced in AI-driven responses and curated results.

    1. Build and Nurture Your Own Audience

    The most reliable way to maintain visibility is to create and nurture direct relationships with your audience. Owned channels give you control in a way that third-party platforms cannot.

    Consider expanding your:

    • Email subscriber base
    • Focused events
    • Webinar and virtual event programs
    • LinkedIn following and engagement strategy
    • Industry-specific resource hubs and gated content offerings

    Instead of hoping potential customers find you through a changing algorithm, create reasons for them to subscribe, follow, and return.

    Manufacturing Marketers Looking Ahead: Adaptation Is Not Optional

    LLMs aren’t the only reason organic traffic may be declining, but they’re clearly a major factor. Manufacturers that respond early will be better positioned to win attention and influence in the next evolution of the buyer journey.

    This is not about abandoning SEO. It’s about evolving your approach to stay relevant.

    Understand how your buyers search today. Reexamine your content strategy through the lens of modern discovery habits. Create material worth sharing and referencing. Strengthen your presence across multiple digital paths.

    The way manufacturing buyers research and decide has changed. If your strategy doesn’t change with it, your relevance will erode.

    Need help adapting your marketing to this new landscape?

    At RH Blake, we help B2B manufacturers and suppliers refine their strategies and develop and deploy marketing programs that align with buying journeys to drive awareness, leads and revenues. Let’s talk about how we can help your brand stay visible and valuable, no matter how the discovery journey shifts.

    Effective-marketing-program-guide

    Industrial Marketer’s Guide to Creating an Effective Marketing Program

    147 pages of actionable ideas to help you create a winning marketing strategy and program



      Industrial Marketer’s Guide to Creating an Effective Marketing Program

      147 pages of actionable ideas to help you create a winning marketing strategy and program



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