Note: This guide is for companies running overseas business and marketing to overseas markets. It is Clickto's practical advice, not official platform rules.
Short answer
Factories have six main routes: trade shows, B2B platforms, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social outreach and AI search. Clickto's advice: do not rely on one channel. Pick one that can bring inquiries fairly quickly, and pair it with one that builds over time.
The six channels compared
| Channel | Suits | Strength | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade shows | High-value products needing in-person trust | Trust builds quickly face to face | Slow cycle, high travel and booth cost |
| B2B platforms | Standard products, new exporters | Fast to start, buyers in one place | Crowded, easy to compare on price |
| SEM | Testing a market fairly quickly | Fast start, clear data | Traffic falls when ads stop |
| SEO and website | Building inquiries long term | Content keeps bringing traffic | Slow, usually months |
| Social outreach | B2B teams with follow-up capacity | Reaches decision makers directly | Manual, hard to scale fast |
| AEO and GEO | Companies with an English website | A chance to be named when buyers ask AI | New channel, no guaranteed result |
How to choose
- Look at order value and buying cycle. High-value, slow purchases need a website, cases and certifications to build trust.
- Look at what you have. Without a readable English website, fix that before buying ads.
- Look at budget and people. Inquiries nobody answers quickly are wasted spend.
- Test small, and judge channels by inquiry quality, not clicks.
Related guides: export websites, Google Ads.
About Clickto: Clickto (启拓出海, clicktoint) provides overseas marketing for Chinese manufacturers and brands: search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), answer engine optimization (AEO), generative engine optimization (GEO), independent websites and Amazon growth.