Derby firm tops digital marketing index

A Derby firm, Mirage Machines, has topped a list of 50 Midlands manufacturing and engineering firms recognised by marketing agency, Katapult, for their digital marketing efforts within the past year.

Katapult’s Midlands Marketing Index, now in its second year, hopes to draw attention to examples of excellent digital marketing practice within the industry while also inspiring them to get ahead in an online world.

The top 50 in Katapult’s Midlands Marketing Index were shortlisted from an initial list of 350. Businesses were scored for their overall online presence including; social media activity, mobile responsiveness, blogging, SEO and lead generation performance.

Taking the top spot this year was portable machine tools manufacturer, Mirage Machines.

With a score of 77 out of 100, Mirage Machines has a website that is optimised for converting website visitors to leads, and a keyword-led blog that shows that it is maximising the opportunity to get found by relevant prospects through organic search.

Making it into the Top 50 were last year’s leaders, Baxi, who remain within the top 10, construction firm JCB and aerospace giant Rolls-Royce.

Katapult’s business development manager Emma Jones said: “It’s fantastic to see more and more manufacturing companies in the region embracing digital marketing technologies to build their brands and generate new business leads.

“Many companies were fortunate enough to have built their success on word of mouth referrals and long standing relationships, so sophisticated marketing was never necessary.

“However, in a changing landscape where growth is a priority and prospects research and purchase online, a digital strategy has never been more vital.

“I’m reassured to see that manufacturing firms are not only investing in digital, but getting great results from it.”