Automotive businesses cannot overlook the importance of a strong online presence during these digital times. Though the buyers of automotive products will want to check the vehicles personally before buying with a test drive, most customers do their research online first before visiting the shop. Every customer is interested to make a purchase from the right dealership, look up the cars they wish to invest in, and wish to discover the best deals. The extent of help and support they receive from you online will increase the chances of influencing their decision to buy from you. To achieve this goal, you must have a strong SEO marketing strategy. Especially you must focus on developing a well-structured local automotive SEO.
Understanding local automotive SEO
Customers in every locality search for businesses online before they drop in at the preferred dealer’s shop. The majority of customers do online research of the businesses before shortlisting a handful of dealers. You need to make the best use of your online presence to be able to attract customers in your locality. Since most customers will only choose a dealer in their proximity, you must be accessible to them through local automotive SEO and also compete effectively with third-party sites to ensure you stand out. The set of local automotive SEO strategies we discuss below are meant to increase your local online visibility and appeal among the targeted buyers.
Let Google recognize you
If you want your dealership to show up in the search results, Google has some excellent tools for that. Ensure you have a Google My Business Page which will provide a lot of information about your dealership also adding you to the map. Creating a Google business page is a sure way to figure in local search results. Local search results always bring up a map on top of the page and hence you have a fair chance of getting listed among the top few results. Further to having a Google Business Page, you must also take steps to optimize it. Give as much relevant information as possible about your business which must include your contact details and a good description. Photos and video are a good idea.
Getting your site to display among the featured snippets in the search results is a great idea. These are highlighted pages you will find on top of the search results that might include a list or table or a short answer to a question. The three main factors that will help you appear in featured snippets are security, domain authority, and social engagement. Google prefers tables, questions and answers, and lists to show up in this segment.
Develop local content and optimize your site
To perform well on local automotive SEO, it is necessary to work on your on-page SEO. Never underestimate the importance of your website as an important marketing tool. By using it in the right way, you can make local buyers find you. To optimize your website for local keywords, it is good to have a contact page that shows up your location and contact details. Regularly published content is a good idea. A good blog will help you in this. You can also add pages to your website. There are several ways to put locally targeted content on your site like static location pages to blog posts connected to the automotive industry. Create unique content for your blogs that can help your website stand out.
Creating as many citations and links are important
One another way to increase your online SEO is to create as many citations and links as possible. Links also help in strengthening your online presence. Explore the ways to increase the citations and listings and the mention of your brand in online directories and listing sites. Automotive businesses can benefit from sites like Yelp, online business sites, and the local chambers of commerce. Look for the right sites and add your own citations manually. Also, check for any existing citations and make sure all the information given there is correct. Getting all your business details listed in a consistent manner is a great way to strengthen your local automotive SEO. Tools like Moz Local can help push your business details to several listing sites and this is a quicker way than doing things manually. The other ways to increase your citations and listings are taking steps to get the local sites to link your website, let the bloggers recommend your site, and getting involved with community events. If they list your business on their site, request them to provide a link to your website.
Enhance your reputation
Enhancing your online reputation is a great way to enhance your local automotive SEO. It is very important to get good ratings and reviews. When your business appears in local search results, buyers will be first interested in checking how your previous customers have rated you. If you encourage positive reviews, you are creating ways to strengthen your online reputation. After dealing with the customers in person, you can gather their contact details and later mail them to post a review for you. It will also be useful to give some incentives to leave a review. Implement some giveaway, discount, or entry into a competition for posting positive reviews about your business. Announcing discounts and cashback to those that are referring more customers to your dealership is also a good idea.
How you respond to reviews is also very important like the reviews themselves. While searching for local businesses online, people will be able to see these reviews and how you have responded to them. From the reviews and your responses, they would like to develop an idea about your credibility. If you find any negative reviews, deal with them tactfully by delicately proving that the customer is wrong and also show them you are willing to work out any grievances. Providing an understanding answer to the negative reviews and also coming forward to talk to the reviewer can show that you are credible and reliable.
The more you work towards strengthening your local online presence through these proven strategies, the more are your chances of bringing in new customers.