Top SEO Strategies for Automotive Dealers 

Are you an automotive dealer? Do you want to figure out how to get the most out of automotive search engine optimization? This article will explain all you need to know about the best strategies for automotive dealers. 

What is Automotive SEO? 

Automotive SEO, or automotive search engine optimization, is a type of digital marketing strategy that uses different keywords in order to improve your website’s ranking in search engine result pages. These optimizations can increase your site’s traffic, online conversions, and even your sales! 

Why Should You Use Car Dealer SEO? 

SEO for car dealers is very valuable. Here are just some of the reasons why auto dealer SEO can help improve your business. 

Car Dealer SEO Gives You a Competitive Advantage

When you use an automotive SEO strategy to stand out against your competitors, more potential clients will want to go to your business. Your website will gain more attention and get more clicks than your competitors who rank lower. 

Make sure you have a great website with at least 400 words on your homepage, your address, phone number, etc. This can translate to more leads and higher sales.

seo for car dealers

Using Specific Keywords for Your Automotive SEO Strategy

If you use keywords on your website such as “car dealerships,” you won’t get much attention. This is because millions upon millions of other websites are using the same keyphrase. But if you add specific keywords, you will start to rank higher than other companies

SEO for car dealers helps you get more traffic through what is called long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are ultra-specific keywords, such as “Honda Accords” or “2011 white Jeep.” These keywords do get fewer searches, but it does mean that when people do search for them, they’re more likely to convert.

Car Dealer SEO Gives You More Authority

You are generally put in a better position overall if you use SEO for car dealers. People tend to have a more favorable view of the websites that come up first on search engines. They see you as more respectable and also as more authoritative. As your dealership’s site ranks higher, it will take on higher authority, making it the go-to site for people searching for auto dealerships. When you rank higher, you are also seen as a leader in your industry. 

Car Dealer SEO Increases Awareness of Your Dealerships 

You might be the best auto dealership in town, but if nobody knows who you are, you won’t attract new customers or close any sales. Automotive search engine optimization makes sure that your dealership appears in front of a relevant audience. Only people who know about your dealership can turn into customers. This is a great step to making people aware of your business.

The Best Tips for Your Automotive SEO Strategy

Automotive search engine optimization can seem like a big, complicated thing, especially if you haven’t done it before. It will get easier as you gain more experience. Until then, here are nine tips that can help your SEO become more effective. 

car dealership seo

1 – Choose the Best Kind of Keywords 

Most customers go straight to the internet when they are trying to look for a product or service. The only way that your site can be a result for these searches is if you include search terms on your website. 

Start by doing a quick keyword search to look at what your customers are looking for, and then write your content based on these keywords. Think about your auto dealership as a whole – what stands out about it? Do you offer different services, specific car models, or unique locations? Try to incorporate these different keywords on your website and let it focus on specific topics. 

You should also use dynamic tags. With dynamic tags, you can automatically pull category and product names into the page title. Having effective keywords can make a big difference in your search rankings. The only thing to make note of is to try to avoid over-using a certain keyword because this can actually work against you. 

2 – Create High-Quality Content for Your Website

Everyone likes good, high-quality content. People are much more likely to want to find out more information about your dealership when you create helpful, meaningful content. A blog is a great way to do this. 

On your blog, you can post car buying tips and information about the car dealership industry. Blogging is a great way to stay connected with potential customers. You can also answer any questions that they might have about your inventory. Include basic but key information, such as contact hours and locations on your website so that visitors can easily find the information they need to take the next step. 

3 – Utilize Every Kind of Element on Your Site

Keywords are an important part of your automotive SEO strategy, but be careful not to overuse them. Instead of overusing keywords in the text on your website, add them in various different places. This can include photo text, URLs, title tags, and meta descriptions that are correlated with each page. Including these can help not only with your rankings but also help with increasing your visibility. The more often that your dealerships are associated with different specific keywords, the higher ranking your website will have. 

4 – Make Sure You Track the Results of Your SEO

Implementing these SEO strategies only becomes valuable if you know that they are actually working. You should track things like the number of people who view your page and your search engine ranking. You should also track how often visitors are turning into customers. Make note of what these numbers are before you start your SEO campaign. Then, once it has been implemented, check whether these numbers have improved or not. This will tell you what areas could use improvement and which ones have worked the best.

automotive seo

5 – Make the Time for Your Automotive SEO Strategy

SEO requires a large time commitment, especially if you have not done it before. Getting it started will be the most time-consuming part of the process. However, you will need to be consistent with it afterward. 

6 – Try Localized Strategies Such as Google My Business 

Google My Business is a great localized strategy application that can work for auto dealer SEO. By optimizing your Google My Business profile, your car dealership can pop up first over many other dealerships in your area. The best part about Google My Business is that it is completely free and very easy to use. 

Make sure you include specific information such as: 

  • Your dealership’s name 
  • Address 
  • Phone number 
  • Operating hours 
  • Website URL 

You should also add other details like a description of your dealership and images or videos of your dealership or team. It’s not enough just creating a Google My Business account. Make sure you keep it regularly updated. Add recent pictures as well as any upcoming event. 

7 – Protect Your Reputation by Getting Positive Reviews 

Did you know that 92% of consumers read online reviews and 40% of individuals form an opinion about a product based on just 1 to 3 reviews? That goes to show you why online reviews are so important to your SEO strategy. 

Bad reviews will come up every once in a while. If you do get a bad review, get in touch with that customer and make sure you find out what went wrong. Additionally, make sure that you regularly invite your customers to provide feedback on your business. Existing customers can help you identify if your business needs to make improvements or any adjustments. Some dealerships have detailed questionnaires that they have their customers fill out after a service.

seo strategies for auto dealerships

8 –  Make Your Website Mobile Friendly 

These days, so many people look for products and make purchases on their phones. Having a mobile-friendly website will make you stand out from other auto dealerships. Make it easy for your customers to shop from anywhere by ensuring your website is compatible with mobile devices.

9 – Use Schema Markup on Your Website

Using schema makeup will give you a competitive advantage over other companies. Chances are, your competitors don’t know what schema markup is. Schema markup is a code that you can place on your website in order to help the search engine understand your website better. This will in turn lead more visitors to your site. 

Lookup a vehicle “type” schema and then mark each particular car using the auto schema markup JSON-LD code. You can find the schema.org guidelines for this by using the website schema.org and looking for, “schema markup for cars”. 

automotive seo strategy

FAQs about SEO Strategies for Auto Dealerships:

  • Why should I use SEO for my car dealership?
  • Can I do SEO on my own?
  • What is Google My Business?
  • Do people read positive reviews?
  • Why should you make your website mobile friendly?

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