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The Industrial SEO Report 2026

How every manufacturer in the S&P 500 performs in Google and AI search, and what separates the few that win from the many that are barely found.

Christopher LierChristopher LierFounder and CEO, Sentosa LimitedPublished October 2026

Key findings

Most large manufacturers have the reputation and the website authority to be found in search. Many of them do not turn that into traffic.

18,172
US search visits a month for the median manufacturer
62%
of all search traffic goes to 10 of the 88 companies
30
of the 88 get fewer than 10,000 search visits a month
17
have very strong websites (DR 70+) but under 10,000 visits a month
$7.8m
a month: what their combined Google traffic would cost as ads
523
AI search citations for the median manufacturer

The trend

Search traffic to these manufacturers is down 41% in a year

Together, the 88 companies got 10.3 million search visits in October 2026, against 17.6 million in October 2025. Across January to October, traffic is down 28% on the same months a year earlier, and 81 of the 87 websites lost traffic.

Because the fall is so broad, it is most likely driven by changes in Google search itself, such as AI answers that resolve more questions without a click, rather than by individual websites getting worse.

Combined search visits of the 88 manufacturers, 2025 against 2026Estimated monthly organic visits from Google, all countries, January to October. October 2026 is a month to date average. Source: Ahrefs.
0m5m10m15m20m25mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctJan 2025: 14,978,166 visitsFeb 2025: 15,692,073 visitsMar 2025: 17,071,424 visitsApr 2025: 18,870,759 visitsMay 2025: 20,364,936 visitsJun 2025: 20,271,214 visitsJul 2025: 20,497,551 visitsAug 2025: 19,957,474 visitsSep 2025: 19,186,918 visitsOct 2025: 17,595,366 visits2025Jan 2026: 14,581,032 visitsFeb 2026: 14,712,885 visitsMar 2026: 14,740,389 visitsApr 2026: 15,413,289 visitsMay 2026: 13,574,697 visitsJun 2026: 12,471,472 visitsJul 2026: 13,947,082 visitsAug 2026: 11,903,958 visitsSep 2026: 10,817,854 visitsOct 2026: 10,335,555 visits2026

Finding 01

A handful of manufacturers take most of the search traffic

The 88 companies get about 7.1 million visits a month from US Google searches. The top 10 take 62% of that, and Sherwin-Williams alone gets more than the bottom 64 combined.

How many companies fall in each traffic bandUS search visits a month to the corporate website
  1. Under 5,00020 companies
  2. 5,000 to 10,00010 companies
  3. 10,000 to 50,00030 companies
  4. 50,000 to 100,0009 companies
  5. Over 100,00019 companies
The 20 manufacturers with the most US search trafficEstimated visits a month from US Google searches
  1. Sherwin-Williams1,146,351
  2. W. W. Grainger655,434
  3. Deere & Company546,863
  4. Boeing435,467
  5. Carrier Global398,554
  6. Eaton292,811
  7. 3M248,758
  8. Rockwell Automation241,011
  9. Generac233,336
  10. Lockheed Martin202,628
  11. Cummins193,207
  12. Snap-on164,034
  13. Zebra Technologies145,147
  14. Keysight Technologies132,045
  15. Honeywell Technologies130,056
  16. Lennox International120,305
  17. Pentair108,686
  18. RTX103,238
  19. TE Connectivity101,947
  20. L3Harris91,062

Finding 02

17 companies have strong websites and weak traffic

Domain Rating (DR) measures the strength of a website’s backlink profile from 0 to 100. These 17 companies all score 70 or more, yet each gets fewer than 10,000 search visits a month.

The authority is there. What is missing are pages that answer what engineers and buyers search for: specifications, applications, comparisons and technical guides.

Strong website, little search trafficDR 70 or above and under 10,000 US search visits a month
CompanyDRLinking websitesUS visits / month
Amcor7614,2689,964
Ametek744,9666,077
Aptiv747,7617,997
Ingersoll Rand746,3382,975
Linde747,2075,828
LyondellBasell747,5786,156
Amphenol734,7277,457
Honeywell Aerospace737,2604,783
A. O. Smith724,0098,825
CRH725,1412,477
Illinois Tool Works724,4353,472
Lam Research7210,3978,961
Paccar725,9123,275
Teledyne Technologies724,6273,775
Wabtec726,1564,719
Albemarle704,9667,323
Teradyne705,5143,189

Spotlight

Honeywell’s break-up cost its aerospace business 63% of its search traffic

When Honeywell split in three, its aerospace business moved to a brand new website. Here is what happened, why, and what it did to search.

Honeywell group search visits before and after the aerospace splitEstimated monthly organic visits, all countries, as averages for May and October 2026. Before: honeywell.com, including the aerospace section, plus solstice.com. After: the three websites. Most of the fall is honeywell.com losing traffic on its own pages; the aerospace move explains only about 19,000 visits of it. Source: Ahrefs.
0200k400k600k800kBefore, May 2026: 706,292 visits706,292honeywell.com, October 2026: 466,283 visitshoneywellaerospace.com, October 2026: 6,896 visitssolstice.com, October 2026: 2,577 visits475,756BeforeMay 2026AfterOctober 2026
  • honeywell.com466,283
  • honeywellaerospace.com6,896
  • solstice.com2,577

What happened

  1. November 2024Activist investor Elliott Management discloses a stake of about $5 billion in Honeywell and pushes for a break-up. Honeywell shares had risen 7.7% that year to 11 November, against 26.6% for the wider market.
  2. 6 February 2025Honeywell announces it will split into three listed companies: aerospace, automation and advanced materials.
  3. 30 October 2025The advanced materials business is spun off as Solstice Advanced Materials (Nasdaq: SOLS), with its own website, solstice.com.
  4. 29 June 2026Honeywell Aerospace becomes an independent company (Nasdaq: HONA), based in Phoenix with more than 36,000 employees. The remaining company is renamed Honeywell Technologies (Nasdaq: HON) and keeps honeywell.com.
One company, three companies, three websitesHoneywell before and after the break-up
Honeywell Internationalhoneywell.comUntil June 2026
Honeywell Technologieshoneywell.comNasdaq: HON. Keeps the original website
Honeywell Aerospacehoneywellaerospace.comNasdaq: HONA. New website, 29 June 2026
Solstice Advanced Materialssolstice.comNasdaq: SOLS. New website, 30 October 2025

Why large companies split up

Conglomerates often trade at a lower value than their separate parts would, because investors find it hard to value very different businesses under one roof. Splitting gives each business its own management focus, its own decisions on where to invest, and its own share price that investors can value against direct competitors. Honeywell follows 3M, General Electric and United Technologies, which all broke up in recent years.

Some separations are forced. Competition regulators can require a company to sell parts of its business before approving a merger. That was not the case here.

Was Honeywell’s split its own choice?

Yes. No regulator required it. The board chose to split after sustained pressure from Elliott and a long period in which the shares lagged the market. Aerospace was the prize: it produced about 40% of Honeywell’s 2024 revenue, and analysts valued it at $90 billion to $120 billion on its own. The separation was structured to be tax-free for shareholders, who received one Honeywell Aerospace share for every two Honeywell shares they held.

Did the new company start from zero in search?

Almost. Before the split, the aerospace business lived on aerospace.honeywell.com, a section of the main Honeywell website, and got about 18,900 search visits a month worldwide. The new domain, honeywellaerospace.com, had fewer than 10 search visits a month until June 2026. Everything it ranks for now came across through redirects from the old section.

The redirects did carry the links: the new website already has 7,260 linking websites and a Domain Rating of 73. But that is well below the 89 of honeywell.com, the website the aerospace pages used to borrow their strength from. The traffic tells the rest of the story.

Search visits before and after the moveEstimated monthly organic visits, all countries. Hover for exact figures. Source: Ahrefs.
−63%Combined visits, October against the January to May average
05k10k15k20kJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctSplit, 29 JuneCombined, Jan 2026: 18,544 visitsCombined, Feb 2026: 19,444 visitsCombined, Mar 2026: 19,027 visitsCombined, Apr 2026: 17,972 visitsCombined, May 2026: 19,542 visitsCombined, Jun 2026: 18,748 visitsCombined, Jul 2026: 13,114 visitsCombined, Aug 2026: 8,399 visitsCombined, Sep 2026: 7,058 visitsCombined, Oct 2026: 6,912 visitsOld section, Jan 2026: 18,544 visitsOld section, Feb 2026: 19,444 visitsOld section, Mar 2026: 19,027 visitsOld section, Apr 2026: 17,971 visitsOld section, May 2026: 19,536 visitsOld section, Jun 2026: 9,404 visitsOld section, Jul 2026: 2,281 visitsOld section, Aug 2026: 1,241 visitsOld section, Sep 2026: 234 visitsOld section, Oct 2026: 16 visitsNew website, Jan 2026: 0 visitsNew website, Feb 2026: 0 visitsNew website, Mar 2026: 0 visitsNew website, Apr 2026: 1 visitsNew website, May 2026: 6 visitsNew website, Jun 2026: 9,344 visitsNew website, Jul 2026: 10,833 visitsNew website, Aug 2026: 7,158 visitsNew website, Sep 2026: 6,824 visitsNew website, Oct 2026: 6,896 visitsCombinedNew websiteOld section
Honeywell Aerospace search traffic before and after the moveEstimated monthly organic visits, all countries. Source: Ahrefs.
2026Old section (aerospace.honeywell.com)New website (honeywellaerospace.com)Combined
Jan18,544018,544
Feb19,444019,444
Mar19,027019,027
Apr17,971117,972
May19,536619,542
Jun9,4049,34418,748
Jul2,28110,83313,114
Aug1,2417,1588,399
Sep2346,8247,058
Oct166,8966,912

Three months after the move, the aerospace business gets about 7,000 search visits a month, down 63% from before. The drop has not recovered so far; it has settled at the lower level.

Was the move well executed?

Partly. The product pages were handled well: most kept the same address structure on the new domain, and each old product page redirects to its exact new equivalent. That is the correct method, and those pages kept their rankings.

The articles were not. The single most visited page in the old section, a guide titled “What is a gyroscope”, brought in about 4,300 visits a month, nearly a quarter of all the section’s search traffic. The article still exists on the new website, but the old address redirects to a general list of articles instead of to it. Google treats that as the page being gone, so its rankings were lost. The same happened to several other high-traffic articles, one popular article was removed altogether, and at least one product redirect leads to a page that returns a server error.

Where the old pages lead nowThe most visited pages of aerospace.honeywell.com in May 2026, tested on 17 October 2026
Old pageVisits a month beforeWhere it redirects nowResult
What is a gyroscope (article)4,296Generic article listLost
Honeywell Aerospace home page2,492New home pageKept
33 things about the Chinook (article)1,027Same article on new siteKept
What is an inertial navigation system (article)746Generic article listLost
Ka band vs Ku band (article)400Generic article list; article removedLost
Why aircraft use cabin pressurization (article)242Generic article listLost
Enhanced ground proximity warning system240New product page that returns a server errorBroken
Embedded GPS/INS (product)142Same product pageKept
Auxiliary power units (product)115Same product pageKept

Solstice handled its own launch differently. Ahrefs data shows it ran Google Ads heavily in the months around its separation, reaching about 6,200 paid visits in June 2026, which kept visitors coming while its new website built up organic rankings.

What manufacturers should take from this

  1. Redirect every page to its exact equivalent

    List every old page that gets search traffic or has links pointing to it, and send each one to the matching new page. Redirecting to a category or home page throws away the rankings.

  2. Test before and after launch

    Check every redirect for errors and long chains on launch day, and again a month later.

  3. Plan for a dip and cover it

    A new domain starts with less authority than the one it leaves. Budget for paid search and fresh link building to bridge the first months.

Sources: Fox Business, Honeywell press release, June 2026, Honeywell press release, October 2025. Search data: Ahrefs, 17 October 2026.

Finding 03

Links and traffic rise together

The number of websites linking to a manufacturer tracks its search traffic closely (rank correlation 0.89). The quarter with the most linking websites has a median of 202,628 visits a month; the quarter with the fewest has 3,434.

Bigger brands earn both, so this is not proof on its own. But no company in the set gets strong traffic without a strong link profile.

Linking websites against search trafficOne dot per company, both scales logarithmic. Hover for details.
1k3k10k30k100k1001k10k100k1mWebsites linking to the companyUS search visits a month3M: 50,768 linking websites, 248,758 visits a monthA. O. Smith: 4,009 linking websites, 8,825 visits a monthAir Products: 7,643 linking websites, 10,373 visits a monthAlbemarle: 4,966 linking websites, 7,323 visits a monthAllegion: 10,276 linking websites, 16,987 visits a monthAmcor: 14,268 linking websites, 9,964 visits a monthAmetek: 4,966 linking websites, 6,077 visits a monthAmphenol: 4,727 linking websites, 7,457 visits a monthApplied Materials: 11,076 linking websites, 27,091 visits a monthAptiv: 7,761 linking websites, 7,997 visits a monthAvery Dennison: 12,726 linking websites, 25,037 visits a monthAxon Enterprise: 13,305 linking websites, 80,658 visits a monthBall: 8,928 linking websites, 10,539 visits a monthBloom Energy: 6,788 linking websites, 45,114 visits a monthBoeing: 46,063 linking websites, 435,467 visits a monthCarrier Global: 24,443 linking websites, 398,554 visits a monthCaterpillar: 17,480 linking websites, 76,432 visits a monthCF Industries: 4,835 linking websites, 4,227 visits a monthCoherent Corp.: 8,678 linking websites, 17,412 visits a monthCorning: 20,217 linking websites, 63,002 visits a monthCRH: 5,141 linking websites, 2,477 visits a monthCummins: 20,112 linking websites, 193,207 visits a monthDeere & Company: 24,727 linking websites, 546,863 visits a monthDover: 3,386 linking websites, 1,193 visits a monthDow: 27,477 linking websites, 47,244 visits a monthDuPont: 27,186 linking websites, 38,225 visits a monthEaton: 39,188 linking websites, 292,811 visits a monthEcolab: 15,779 linking websites, 41,406 visits a monthEmerson Electric: 25,884 linking websites, 56,601 visits a monthFlex Ltd.: 10,510 linking websites, 11,102 visits a monthFortive: 2,866 linking websites, 3,104 visits a monthGE Aerospace: 16,556 linking websites, 47,790 visits a monthGE Vernova: 19,001 linking websites, 44,130 visits a monthGenerac: 11,716 linking websites, 233,336 visits a monthGeneral Dynamics: 8,429 linking websites, 12,008 visits a monthHoneywell Aerospace: 7,260 linking websites, 4,783 visits a monthHoneywell Technologies: 52,594 linking websites, 130,056 visits a monthHowmet Aerospace: 7,781 linking websites, 3,073 visits a monthHubbell Incorporated: 13,245 linking websites, 64,263 visits a monthHuntington Ingalls Industries: 9,477 linking websites, 14,171 visits a monthIDEX: 2,795 linking websites, 2,411 visits a monthIllinois Tool Works: 4,435 linking websites, 3,472 visits a monthIngersoll Rand: 6,338 linking websites, 2,975 visits a monthInternational Flavors & Fragrances: 9,618 linking websites, 11,165 visits a monthInternational Paper: 9,083 linking websites, 24,667 visits a monthJabil: 9,551 linking websites, 16,723 visits a monthJohnson Controls: 21,466 linking websites, 89,052 visits a monthKeysight Technologies: 23,779 linking websites, 132,045 visits a monthKLA: 10,651 linking websites, 12,297 visits a monthL3Harris: 18,029 linking websites, 91,062 visits a monthLam Research: 10,397 linking websites, 8,961 visits a monthLennox International: 11,228 linking websites, 120,305 visits a monthLinde: 7,207 linking websites, 5,828 visits a monthLockheed Martin: 37,741 linking websites, 202,628 visits a monthLyondellBasell: 7,578 linking websites, 6,156 visits a monthMartin Marietta Materials: 7,208 linking websites, 20,296 visits a monthMasco: 4,001 linking websites, 2,274 visits a monthMosaic: 4,074 linking websites, 2,194 visits a monthNordson: 7,831 linking websites, 10,429 visits a monthNorthrop Grumman: 22,907 linking websites, 90,262 visits a monthNucor: 5,952 linking websites, 26,743 visits a monthOtis Worldwide: 10,487 linking websites, 10,256 visits a monthPaccar: 5,912 linking websites, 3,275 visits a monthPackaging of America: 3,936 linking websites, 4,754 visits a monthParker Hannifin: 23,715 linking websites, 75,806 visits a monthPentair: 14,590 linking websites, 108,686 visits a monthPPG Industries: 19,819 linking websites, 24,493 visits a monthQnity Electronics: 1,488 linking websites, 5 visits a monthRTX: 28,378 linking websites, 103,238 visits a monthRockwell Automation: 24,203 linking websites, 241,011 visits a monthRoper Technologies: 2,944 linking websites, 2,131 visits a monthSherwin-Williams: 40,208 linking websites, 1,146,351 visits a monthSmurfit Westrock: 6,126 linking websites, 14,646 visits a monthSnap-on: 10,781 linking websites, 164,034 visits a monthStanley Black & Decker: 11,079 linking websites, 20,116 visits a monthSteel Dynamics: 4,138 linking websites, 3,434 visits a monthTE Connectivity: 20,936 linking websites, 101,947 visits a monthTeledyne Technologies: 4,627 linking websites, 3,775 visits a monthTeradyne: 5,514 linking websites, 3,189 visits a monthTextron: 7,947 linking websites, 18,337 visits a monthTrane Technologies: 6,830 linking websites, 18,006 visits a monthTransDigm Group: 1,913 linking websites, 2,086 visits a monthVertiv: 13,607 linking websites, 27,848 visits a monthVulcan Materials Company: 5,900 linking websites, 9,934 visits a monthW. W. Grainger: 20,113 linking websites, 655,434 visits a monthWabtec: 6,156 linking websites, 4,719 visits a monthXylem: 18,363 linking websites, 38,211 visits a monthZebra Technologies: 26,700 linking websites, 145,147 visits a month
Median search traffic by sectorSectors with four or more companies in the set
  1. Electronic Equipment & Instruments (4)67,910
  2. Electrical Components & Equipment (6)50,858
  3. Aerospace & Defense (13)47,790
  4. Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment (4)40,576
  5. Building Products (7)18,006
  6. Specialty Chemicals (6)17,829
  7. Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components (14)15,272
  8. Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials (5)14,646
  9. Semiconductor Materials & Equipment (5)8,961

Finding 04

Company size barely predicts search traffic

Market value and search traffic are only weakly linked (rank correlation 0.27, against 0.89 for linking websites). The quarter of companies with the highest market value has a median of 52,196 US search visits a month; the smallest quarter has 15,579.

Lam Research, Linde, KLA and Amphenol are each worth more than $190bn and get fewer than 13,000 visits a month. Generac, Lennox and Pentair are each worth less than $13bn and get more than 100,000.

Revenue tells the same story. The median company gets 1,119 US search visits a month for every $1bn of annual revenue. Generac gets 52,553; CRH, with $39bn of revenue, gets 64.

Market value against search trafficOne dot per company, both axes on a log scale. Market value at close on 16 October 2026. Hover for each company.
$5bn$10bn$25bn$50bn$100bn$250bn$500bn1001k10k100k1mMarket valueUS search visits a month3M: $85bn market value, 248,758 visits a monthA. O. Smith: $8bn market value, 8,825 visits a monthAir Products: $67bn market value, 10,373 visits a monthAlbemarle: $11bn market value, 7,323 visits a monthAllegion: $13bn market value, 16,987 visits a monthAmcor: $20bn market value, 9,964 visits a monthAmetek: $57bn market value, 6,077 visits a monthAmphenol: $196bn market value, 7,457 visits a monthApplied Materials: $325bn market value, 27,091 visits a monthAptiv: $9bn market value, 7,997 visits a monthAvery Dennison: $13bn market value, 25,037 visits a monthAxon Enterprise: $32bn market value, 80,658 visits a monthBall: $17bn market value, 10,539 visits a monthBloom Energy: $65bn market value, 45,114 visits a monthBoeing: $150bn market value, 435,467 visits a monthCarrier Global: $45bn market value, 398,554 visits a monthCaterpillar: $336bn market value, 76,432 visits a monthCF Industries: $18bn market value, 4,227 visits a monthCoherent Corp.: $46bn market value, 17,412 visits a monthCorning: $114bn market value, 63,002 visits a monthCRH: $56bn market value, 2,477 visits a monthCummins: $73bn market value, 193,207 visits a monthDeere & Company: $173bn market value, 546,863 visits a monthDover: $26bn market value, 1,193 visits a monthDow: $22bn market value, 47,244 visits a monthDuPont: $18bn market value, 38,225 visits a monthEaton: $152bn market value, 292,811 visits a monthEcolab: $81bn market value, 41,406 visits a monthEmerson Electric: $90bn market value, 56,601 visits a monthFlex Ltd.: $33bn market value, 11,102 visits a monthFortive: $17bn market value, 3,104 visits a monthGE Aerospace: $326bn market value, 47,790 visits a monthGE Vernova: $245bn market value, 44,130 visits a monthGenerac: $11bn market value, 233,336 visits a monthGeneral Dynamics: $93bn market value, 12,008 visits a monthHoneywell Aerospace: $53bn market value, 4,783 visits a monthHoneywell Technologies: $67bn market value, 130,056 visits a monthHowmet Aerospace: $88bn market value, 3,073 visits a monthHubbell Incorporated: $24bn market value, 64,263 visits a monthHuntington Ingalls Industries: $10bn market value, 14,171 visits a monthIDEX: $17bn market value, 2,411 visits a monthIllinois Tool Works: $78bn market value, 3,472 visits a monthIngersoll Rand: $30bn market value, 2,975 visits a monthInternational Flavors & Fragrances: $23bn market value, 11,165 visits a monthInternational Paper: $18bn market value, 24,667 visits a monthJabil: $29bn market value, 16,723 visits a monthJohnson Controls: $88bn market value, 89,052 visits a monthKeysight Technologies: $56bn market value, 132,045 visits a monthKLA: $216bn market value, 12,297 visits a monthL3Harris: $46bn market value, 91,062 visits a monthLam Research: $330bn market value, 8,961 visits a monthLennox International: $12bn market value, 120,305 visits a monthLinde: $230bn market value, 5,828 visits a monthLockheed Martin: $127bn market value, 202,628 visits a monthLyondellBasell: $21bn market value, 6,156 visits a monthMartin Marietta Materials: $36bn market value, 20,296 visits a monthMasco: $14bn market value, 2,274 visits a monthMosaic: $7bn market value, 2,194 visits a monthNordson: $18bn market value, 10,429 visits a monthNorthrop Grumman: $74bn market value, 90,262 visits a monthNucor: $58bn market value, 26,743 visits a monthOtis Worldwide: $27bn market value, 10,256 visits a monthPaccar: $58bn market value, 3,275 visits a monthPackaging of America: $21bn market value, 4,754 visits a monthParker Hannifin: $121bn market value, 75,806 visits a monthPentair: $9bn market value, 108,686 visits a monthPPG Industries: $24bn market value, 24,493 visits a monthQnity Electronics: $24bn market value, 5 visits a monthRTX: $261bn market value, 103,238 visits a monthRockwell Automation: $47bn market value, 241,011 visits a monthRoper Technologies: $38bn market value, 2,131 visits a monthSherwin-Williams: $81bn market value, 1,146,351 visits a monthSmurfit Westrock: $22bn market value, 14,646 visits a monthSnap-on: $19bn market value, 164,034 visits a monthStanley Black & Decker: $14bn market value, 20,116 visits a monthSteel Dynamics: $34bn market value, 3,434 visits a monthTE Connectivity: $62bn market value, 101,947 visits a monthTeledyne Technologies: $29bn market value, 3,775 visits a monthTeradyne: $51bn market value, 3,189 visits a monthTextron: $13bn market value, 18,337 visits a monthTrane Technologies: $101bn market value, 18,006 visits a monthTransDigm Group: $63bn market value, 2,086 visits a monthVertiv: $79bn market value, 27,848 visits a monthVulcan Materials Company: $33bn market value, 9,934 visits a monthW. W. Grainger: $63bn market value, 655,434 visits a monthWabtec: $48bn market value, 4,719 visits a monthXylem: $24bn market value, 38,211 visits a monthZebra Technologies: $17bn market value, 145,147 visits a month
Search visits per $1bn of revenueUS search visits a month for every $1bn of annual revenue (last 12 months). Qnity Electronics is left out because its website is new.

Most visits for their size

  1. Generac52,553
  2. Sherwin-Williams46,962
  3. W. W. Grainger34,771
  4. Snap-on31,126
  5. Pentair27,104
  6. Rockwell Automation26,869
  7. Axon Enterprise25,049
  8. Zebra Technologies24,811
  9. Lennox International22,690
  10. Keysight Technologies20,068

Fewest visits for their size

  1. CRH64
  2. Paccar118
  3. Dover142
  4. Linde164
  5. Steel Dynamics167
  6. Mosaic179
  7. LyondellBasell197
  8. TransDigm Group208
  9. Illinois Tool Works211
  10. General Dynamics219

Finding 05

AI search is even more concentrated

We counted how often each company’s website is cited as a source in answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Grok and Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode. The median manufacturer has 523 citations. The 10 most cited take 67% of all citations, and 4 of the 88 have fewer than 100.

The companies with the most Google traffic are almost always the ones AI tools cite most (rank correlation 0.93).

The 15 most cited manufacturers in AI searchCitations across all AI platforms tracked by Ahrefs, US
  1. Sherwin-Williams55,887
  2. W. W. Grainger41,757
  3. Carrier Global37,313
  4. 3M22,303
  5. Deere & Company21,322
  6. Lennox International18,674
  7. Eaton18,210
  8. Keysight Technologies8,706
  9. Generac8,625
  10. Cummins8,542
  11. Boeing7,807
  12. Zebra Technologies7,632
  13. Pentair7,571
  14. Honeywell Technologies6,775
  15. Lockheed Martin5,956
Citations by platformTotal for all 88 companies
  1. ChatGPT31,554
  2. Perplexity20,772
  3. Google AI Overviews7,194

Finding 06

What the leaders do differently

The companies at the top of this report have three things in common.

  1. They publish the pages buyers search for

    Product pages with full specifications, application guides and comparisons. Deere, Eaton and Carrier each rank for tens of thousands of searches because their websites answer specific questions.

  2. They keep earning links

    Every company with strong search traffic also has a strong link profile, built from trade press coverage, technical resources other sites reference, and partner and distributor links.

  3. They treat search as a sales channel

    All 20 of the companies with the most search traffic also run Google Ads. Companies that run paid search have a median of 47,244 organic visits a month; the 33 that run none have 6,077.

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The data

All 88 companies

Click a column to sort, or search by company or sector.

RankCompanySectorUS visits / monthWorldwide visits / monthKeywords in top 20Position 1 to 3Position 4 to 10Position 11 to 20Linking sitesDRAI citationsChatGPTPerplexityAI Overviews
1Sherwin-WilliamsSpecialty Chemicals1,146,3511,239,53475,57544,12427,3624,04640,2088855,8875,7552,9751,387
2W. W. GraingerIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components655,434679,71496,13022,75354,68718,46620,1138041,7572,2063,235736
3Deere & CompanyAgricultural & Farm Machinery546,863646,71429,87718,54810,0021,31724,7278321,3221,7331,312334
4BoeingAerospace & Defense435,467548,14817,5387,08110,01242346,063857,80725915334
5Carrier GlobalBuilding Products398,554512,45642,86920,07220,7791,99024,4438437,3133,0012,3981,153
6EatonElectrical Components & Equipment292,811509,65730,01415,18312,9941,82539,1888618,2102,1001,292473
73MIndustrial Conglomerates248,758292,51031,30314,82813,1723,27150,7688922,3034,1801,946503
8Rockwell AutomationElectrical Components & Equipment241,011330,03212,1658,2173,68725724,203835,93226622467
9GeneracHeavy Electrical Equipment233,336245,41510,1205,4813,91371911,716818,625823460284
10Lockheed MartinAerospace & Defense202,628276,7799,0534,3414,54616637,741845,9561378613
11CumminsConstruction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment193,207276,70914,2087,4516,07467920,112828,542691207120
12Snap-onIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components164,034184,39914,5105,1457,0642,29210,781774,841439275104
13Zebra TechnologiesElectronic Equipment & Instruments145,147412,28012,0716,6604,92748226,700867,632569451157
14Keysight TechnologiesElectronic Equipment & Instruments132,045272,11013,2105,4837,32240123,779828,706201384152
15Honeywell TechnologiesIndustrial Conglomerates130,056466,28312,6726,3945,70556052,594896,775658345102
16Lennox InternationalBuilding Products120,305146,87020,9489,9059,6791,34711,2287918,674458834374
17PentairIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components108,686127,01610,7125,4634,23599914,590817,5711,127464149
18RTXAerospace & Defense103,238140,5754,1682,1941,8957928,378832,5591044916
19TE ConnectivityElectronic Manufacturing Services101,947265,1469,8624,7984,42963020,936804,92960327675
20L3HarrisAerospace & Defense91,062116,4763,9562,1921,66310118,029792,345995127
21Northrop GrummanAerospace & Defense90,262104,8165,5802,5062,90017322,907803,16347346
22Johnson ControlsBuilding Products89,052134,9376,3073,1422,92223521,466812,61521311623
23Axon EnterpriseAerospace & Defense80,658110,5874,2752,2011,9779613,305792,91514016370
24CaterpillarConstruction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment76,432190,6172,2831,3049245517,480801,55123514447
25Parker HannifinIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components75,806150,58710,2284,5074,95576123,715833,46654116325
26Hubbell IncorporatedIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components64,26375,0997,4593,9012,80674913,245772,7951919235
27CorningElectronic Components63,002119,1556,6643,3583,04725820,217813,85442120676
28Emerson ElectricElectrical Components & Equipment56,601115,0615,9053,4012,25125225,884833,21125718830
29GE AerospaceAerospace & Defense47,79075,5792,5161,2961,1576116,556781,45978529
30DowCommodity Chemicals47,24495,2024,0962,3451,60514327,477832,2672218225
31Bloom EnergyElectrical Components & Equipment45,11460,114506229253236,7887338948207
32GE VernovaHeavy Electrical Equipment44,130113,0643,0781,5681,4396919,001801,980876416
33EcolabSpecialty Chemicals41,40685,8653,1931,4851,46723715,779801,7901037122
34DuPontIndustrial Conglomerates38,22556,9884,3092,2561,75829127,186843,837573267110
35XylemIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components38,21178,3313,8011,9081,74214918,363811,8181778525
36VertivElectrical Components & Equipment27,84860,6282,0331,04087811413,607781,4118512831
37Applied MaterialsSemiconductor Materials & Equipment27,09160,7596873323431111,076753542151
38NucorSteel26,74328,842796466299295,9527445350203
39Avery DennisonPaper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials25,03747,4212,1378981,03120712,726811,33528812839
40International PaperPaper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials24,66728,254815535264169,083733107120
41PPG IndustriesSpecialty Chemicals24,49349,2023,8051,9151,73715319,819812,54233814042
42Martin Marietta MaterialsConstruction Materials20,29620,664882640221217,20864182490
43Stanley Black & DeckerIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components20,11625,4981,3957166304811,079781,76438218382
44TextronAerospace & Defense18,33720,6261,113383716147,94773589160387
45Trane TechnologiesBuilding Products18,00621,0582,0898751,150636,8307483482405
46Coherent Corp.Electronic Components17,41235,1241,029380584638,67874610603212
47AllegionBuilding Products16,98721,1212,9271,4981,26716010,276761,71234417238
48JabilElectronic Manufacturing Services16,72351,39835517517469,551752131992
49Smurfit WestrockPaper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials14,64623,9691,411636689866,1267252848423
50Huntington Ingalls IndustriesAerospace & Defense14,17137,452639352271169,47771277620
51KLASemiconductor Materials & Equipment12,29738,789388267115610,651722311480
52General DynamicsAerospace & Defense12,00814,446715359344128,4297237356122
53International Flavors & FragrancesSpecialty Chemicals11,16523,762738326373399,618754142057
54Flex Ltd.Electronic Manufacturing Services11,10257,9386673642921110,5107437224534
55BallMetal, Glass & Plastic Containers10,53915,603563282265168,9287335452233
56NordsonIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components10,42920,1401,132520556557,8317342128185
57Air ProductsIndustrial Gases10,37318,5271,061368618757,6437451814492
58Otis WorldwideIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components10,25658,5316903333411610,4877535518102
59AmcorPaper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials9,96423,5801,0385014785914,26876456414312
60Vulcan Materials CompanyConstruction Materials9,93410,369463234209205,90069154660
61Lam ResearchSemiconductor Materials & Equipment8,96129,030450213228910,3977236228121
62A. O. SmithBuilding Products8,8259,7021,103510553394,00972609116289
63AptivAutomotive Parts & Equipment7,99733,900545281248157,7617443229194
64AmphenolElectronic Components7,45718,918314166133154,7277319325245
65AlbemarleSpecialty Chemicals7,32315,662637282335204,96670473331310
66LyondellBasellSpecialty Chemicals6,15614,95330017012467,578741761341
67AmetekElectrical Components & Equipment6,07713,83138624413844,9667416910153
68LindeIndustrial Gases5,82811,314421185222147,2077438155465
69Honeywell AerospaceAerospace & Defense4,7836,896961360544577,260734461685
70Packaging of AmericaPaper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials4,7545,128676373285183,93662256134212
71WabtecConstruction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment4,71910,37639223215196,156722091031
72CF IndustriesFertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals4,2276,12834821412774,83565221680
73Teledyne TechnologiesElectronic Equipment & Instruments3,7756,7212018511064,6277216524191
74Illinois Tool WorksIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components3,4724,58224412511364,43572111981
75Steel DynamicsSteel3,4343,52926312412984,1386514717101
76PaccarConstruction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment3,2755,32729017311165,91272341632615
77TeradyneSemiconductor Materials & Equipment3,1897,296158916435,514701231852
78FortiveIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components3,1043,854196949842,8666416120221
79Howmet AerospaceAerospace & Defense3,0734,3762481499457,7816116321115
80Ingersoll RandIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components2,9754,99527314911956,3387418510231
81CRHConstruction Materials2,47711,0252849817885,141721271392
82IDEXIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components2,4113,910127636222,7956474890
83MascoBuilding Products2,27410,4691801047514,00165172371813
84MosaicFertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals2,19411,9972161119774,074691231792
85Roper TechnologiesElectronic Equipment & Instruments2,1319,747105545012,944578915114
86TransDigm GroupAerospace & Defense2,0862,35865402501,9134933140
87DoverIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components1,1932,543187819973,3866811719152
88Qnity ElectronicsSemiconductor Materials & Equipment5543101,488453000

Methodology

How we built this report

The set is every company in the S&P 500 that the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) places in a manufacturing sub-industry: aerospace and defense, machinery, building products, electrical equipment, industrial conglomerates, chemicals, industrial gases, fertilizers, construction materials, packaging, steel, electronic components and equipment, electronic manufacturing services, semiconductor equipment and automotive parts. That gives 88 companies. We fixed this list of sub-industries before looking at any data, leaving out Semiconductors (mostly chip designers rather than manufacturers) and mining, and did not add or remove any company by hand. Constituents and classifications are from the public S&P 500 constituents dataset as of 17 October 2026.

We analysed each company’s main corporate website on 17 October 2026 using Ahrefs. Traffic figures are Ahrefs estimates of average monthly visits for October 2026; keyword and traffic value figures are Ahrefs estimates for US Google searches; keyword counts cover rankings in the top 20 positions. Revenue figures are the last 12 months reported by each company, as of October 2026. Market values are closing values on 16 October 2026 from public market data (StockAnalysis, TipRanks, Public.com, Robinhood); Mosaic’s is from 5 October 2026, the latest available. The full table also shows worldwide visits, all countries combined, for comparison; the ranking itself uses US visits. Traffic value is what the same traffic would cost through Google Ads.

AI citations count how often pages on each website were cited as sources in answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, as tracked by Ahrefs for the US.

We analysed corporate websites only. Groups such as Dover, Fortive, IDEX and Illinois Tool Works sell through separate brand websites, so their corporate figures understate their total search presence. Qnity Electronics launched as an independent company in late 2025, so its website has little history. You may cite this report with a link to this page.