Before sending an inquiry, overseas buyers check four things on your English website: what you sell, the minimum order, how soon you can ship, and what you handle in between. If they can't find these, they may simply move on to the next supplier. The fix: one page per product category, stating specs, packaging, minimum order quantity, lead time and shipping; plus one page that spells out the parts of the job you handle, such as finding factories, quality checks, consolidated shipping and documents. Clear pages also give AI more to quote when overseas buyers ask in English for something like a Taiwan supplier of bicycle parts.
1. How overseas buyers look for Taiwanese suppliers
Overseas buyers often ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini in English or Japanese, for example for a Taiwan supplier of bicycle parts with small MOQ, or search Google for the product plus Taiwan. When AI answers, it draws on factory websites, trading company websites, B2B platforms and industry directories. If your English website is one company profile page and an email address, AI has nothing to quote in English, and buyers who click through can't tell whether you can supply what they need.
2. Say who you are and which parts of the job you handle
A big difference between a trading company and a factory is that you sit between the buyer and the factory. Buyers don't want to know how many machines you have; they want to know what they can stop worrying about by working with you. So use one page to spell out the parts of the job you actually handle, and leave out what you can't do.
| Part of the job | What to write | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Sourcing and product selection | The product categories you know and how you help buyers find the right factory | You can keep factory names private, but explain how you choose them |
| Sampling and approval | The steps from the buyer's request to shipping samples | State the typical time and what affects it |
| Quality checks | Who checks goods before shipment and what is checked | Only what you actually do; don't present it as third-party certification |
| Consolidation and shipping | Whether you can ship goods from different factories together, and the trade terms you commonly use | For example FOB or CIF; list only terms you actually use |
| Documents and communication | Which languages you work in and which shipping documents you prepare | State what you usually provide; discuss special documents separately |
If you're not a factory, don't present yourself as one. Buyers will find out sooner or later; being clear makes communication easier and tells AI what kind of supplier you are.
3. One page per product category
You don't need a page for every item; start with your main product categories. Each page's first sentence should say what you sell, who it's for and whether you take small orders. Then put the specs in a table, not just a PDF catalog or images, because AI and search engines may not read text inside images.
- Product specs: material, size, available colors or styles
- Packaging: units per carton, carton size, and weight if available
- Minimum order quantity (MOQ): samples and production separately; if it's negotiable, say so
- Lead time: how long samples and production take, as a typical range
- Regions shipped to: only regions you've actually shipped to, no client names
- Certifications or test reports: only ones you actually have documents for, with the scope as stated in them
4. Ask the right questions on the inquiry form
Ask too little and sales has to email back and forth for details; ask too much and buyers won't bother. These fields usually work, with only the first four required:
- Company name, country, contact person and email
- The product or items wanted
- Estimated quantity, samples and production separately
- Target shipping date
- Destination port or location, and preferred trade terms
- Upload specs, images or photos of a reference sample
Once the form is sent, the system can reply with a confirmation email and assign the inquiry to the salesperson for that product or region. The buyer knows you received it, and sales doesn't have to dig through the inbox.
5. Common wording problems
| Common wording | Write this instead |
|---|---|
| We supply all kinds of products | The product categories you actually ship often, one page each |
| High quality, good price | Specs, packaging and inspection methods buyers can verify |
| Reliable partner | Which parts of the job you handle and which regions you've shipped to |
| Just one Contact us email address | An inquiry button on every page and a form that asks for quantities and shipping dates |
| A machine translation of the Chinese website | Have salespeople who know the buyers check it and rewrite it the way buyers talk |
6. How to measure after the changes
Before making changes, run a check in GEO by TriloAI in the buyers' market: the US or Global with an English report for Europe and North America, or the Japan market with a Japanese report if Japan is your main market. Note whether you're mentioned, which suppliers AI recommends and which sites it relies on. A few weeks after the changes, run the same questions again and look at overseas inquiries from your website and inbox. Changes usually take a few weeks to show, and no change gets recorded as no change.
The short version
An exporter's English website should tell buyers, before they send an inquiry, what you sell, the minimum order, how soon you can ship and what you handle in between; clear pages are also what AI can quote.
Frequently asked questions
- Can we keep the names of the factories we work with private?
- Yes. You don't have to name factories, but explain how you choose them, who checks quality and how goods are confirmed before shipment. Buyers care whether the goods are right and on time.
- Should prices be on the website?
- Not necessarily. Trade quotes often depend on quantity, specs and shipping terms, so leaving prices off is fine; but a clear minimum order, lead time and way to request a quote tell buyers whether it's worth sending an inquiry.
- Do we need a Japanese version?
- Only if your main buyers are in Japan. You can run the five-platform check on the Japan market with a Japanese report first, then decide whether to build Japanese pages.
- We're already on B2B platforms. Do we still need all this?
- We'd recommend it. Platform fields are fixed, and only your website has room for the parts of the job you handle and full product specs. Keep your company name and product wording the same on platforms and your website so AI doesn't mix them up.