Establishing a robust online presence is vital for businesses, and dealerships are no exception. In the latest episode of Inside Automotive, Greg Gifford, the Chief Operating Officer of SearchLab, joins us. Gifford dives deep into SEO for dealerships and an interesting Google Business Profile study.
Key Takeaways
1. The shift towards localized search results is a significant trend in SEO for dealerships. Google has been updating its algorithms to align with the change in user intent, emphasizing the importance for dealerships to optimize for local search to attract potential buyers who prefer to experience products in person before purchasing.
2. The conversation highlights the evolving nature of SEO, especially in response to changes brought about by events like the COVID pandemic. It underscores the necessity for dealerships to stay updated on SEO best practices and adapt their strategies to meet Google’s changing algorithms.
3. The two-year study on dealership Google Business Profiles illustrates these profiles’ critical role in a dealership’s online visibility. Key findings stress the importance of having separate and accurately nested profiles for different departments (sales, parts, service) and categorically selecting categories to improve search result relevance.
4. Customer reviews are extremely influential in improving a dealership’s online presence and performance in search results. Additionally, the study pointed out other vital SEO factors like website content quality, load speed, and external links, emphasizing a holistic approach to SEO beyond just the business profile.
5. The study Greg Gifford conducted provides empirical evidence supporting many commonly held SEO best practices, demonstrating their effectiveness in improving online visibility for dealerships. This approach encourages dealerships to adopt data-backed strategies to optimize their SEO efforts, ensuring they focus on tactics that offer the most significant impact.
"Every dealership has unique goals in different ways that they run their business, and the competitive landscape is different every time." - Greg Gifford
