Page 2 to EMC Contract: Real Lab Demand Generation

The Challenge

When a 15-person RF testing lab approached me, they were convinced they were doing “cyber security testing.” Why? Because they tested products to cyber security standards. But here’s the thing about lab marketing: your technical accuracy doesn’t translate to search visibility.

They were hemorrhaging money competing with global testing conglomerates on terms like “EMI testing” while their ideal customer—that panicked product manager with a failed test—was desperately scrolling to page 2 looking for specific expertise.

The Discovery

Lab Marketing Misconceptions vs. Market Reality

What Labs Think	What Actually Happens
”We do cyber security testing” (because of standards)	Buyers search for “penetration testing” or “red team assessment”
Compete on broad terms like “EMC testing”	Qualified buyers use specific problem searches: “spurious emissions 2.4GHz fix”
Technical credentials = trust	Demonstrating you’ve solved their exact problem = trust
Need to rank #1 on Google	Desperate buyers scroll to find expertise, not just availability

Think of search intent like a street address. There might be thousands of addresses starting with “10,” but only one “10 Adams Avenue.” Your lab’s expertise is that specific address—you just need to label it correctly.

The Strategy

📊 Content That Demonstrates Expertise

Not just listing certifications

• Best practices by frequency range
• Common failure patterns
• Design guidance for specific standards
• “At 2.4GHz, check your chassis grounding first”

🎯 Target the Decision Hydra

Multiple stakeholders, multiple languages

• Product managers need problem recognition
• Engineers need technical dialect
• C-suite needs confidence triggers
• One piece of content, three perspectives

Implementation

Issue: “But we’re not writers!”

Solution: You don’t need to be. Document what you tell clients every day:

• That explanation you gave about why their product failed at 915MHz? That’s a blog post.
• The design checklist you email after pre-scans? That’s gated content.
• Your engineer’s debugging process? That’s a technical guide.

Issue: “We can’t compete with big labs on SEO”

Solution: You’re not trying to. While they fight over “EMC testing services,” you own:

• “Class B spurious emissions troubleshooting”
• “FCC Part 15 common failure modes”
• “Pre-compliance checklist for IoT devices”

Issue: “How do we measure ROI with only a few contracts per year?”

Solution: Forget traditional funnels. When you need 20-30 contracts annually, attribution models break down. Focus on:

• Being findable when someone needs you
• Demonstrating expertise immediately
• Making it easy to justify you to their boss

Results & Key Takeaways

The Numbers:

• 🎯 $24,000 contract from page 2 search result
• 📈 20% increase in qualified traffic
• ⏱️ 3-month implementation timeframe

What Actually Worked:

• Specific beats broad every time - Stop fighting for “EMC testing.” Own “automotive radar testing 77GHz band.”

• Engineers have a dialect, not just jargon - Write how you’d explain it to a stressed engineer at 4:47 PM on a Friday.

• Quality content works even on page 2 - That panicked product manager will scroll past ten generic lab websites to find one that clearly solved their exact problem before.

• Simple additions make the difference - A FAQ section answering “Why did my product fail at X frequency?” can be your highest-converting page.

The Bottom Line

Your ideal customer isn’t comparison shopping—they’re panic searching. They don’t need another lab; they need someone who’s solved their specific problem. Show them you have, and ranking becomes secondary to expertise.

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Ready to fix your lab’s marketing? Let’s talk about making your expertise visible to the people desperately searching for it.