Understanding GlobalSpec

GlobalSpec was founded in 1996 with a 40 million dollar investment from Warburg Pincus and claims to have over 7,000,000 registered users. Globalspec acquired by IHS earlier in 2014. In 2016, IHS sold to IEEE-The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. On July 31, 2020, San Francisco based Compare networks Inc. bought Globalspec.

GlobalSpec is not like most Industrial directories in 2 ways. First, it requires registration with username and password, and provides these details to advertisers. Second, Globalspec wants to keep the user within GlobalSpec versus directing to advertiser’s websites.

GlobalSpec has branched into searchable catalogs, newsletters, online events, online trade shows and a banner advertising network.

Here are the current top organic keyword phrases on Google:

How the Programs Work

Directory Program – Global Spec has a basic directory with their Spec Search technology allowing the user to select their choices by attributes of the product or service (see below)

Buyers compare different catalogs and products from different manufacturers.

Ranking is by Alphabetical sort for all companies followed by non-paid listings with much less information.

The big push with GlobalSpec is “lead nirvana” based on providing full contact information. (See example of leads below)

Cost for Directory programs are $18,000 for a one year period and they often offer a 6 month trial program at

Newsletters

Globalspec publishes over 70 industry newsletters. Most of the promotions are more “advitorials” Globalspec claim that 95% of recipients are Globalspec registered users and that 60% of recipients read the newsletters. The number of subscribers for each newsletter range from about 20,000 to over 200,000. The newsletter is sold in three different programs and range from about $2,000 to over $6,000 per issue. Sample newsletter below.

Online Trade shows and Events

GlobalSpec also has online trade shows and events. Cost for an exhibitor at events ranges from about $5,000 to over $10,000.

Marketing Tips

A few things to consider with GlobalSpec:

-The price is basically the same regardless of the number of categories you are listed. If you are a manufacturer, you will probably not get many users. However, if you are a broad-line manufacturer, you can be listed in a many headings generating more contacts. As always, it is important to measure your conversions and activity to determine your ROI.

-User contact info of their registered users is distributed to many advertisers as page views that are not qualified by the user selection leading to wasting resources since the information was not requested directly from the user thus wasting valuable time of the advertiser.

Conclusion

GlobalSpec continues to innovate with Online events. The Newsletters can be a point of interest for larger companies looking for new branding opportunities. As for the smaller companies, it is a significant investment to be listed on the site. It would be best to determine exact Categories and look at the activity and user base before making a commitment.