Even if we had a crystal ball, predictions cannot be guaranteed. As a dealer, we want to let you know that the past strategies are not dead yet and are working fine.
In previous years we all have observed that Google changes their search algorithms 400 to 600 times. Some of these changes are minor, but these changes effect search results significantly. Employing companies that closely monitor the ever changing algorithms and SEO requirements will help you maintain the best advantage The combination of this knowledge should make dealerships seriously consider their ranking and online presence. Dealerships have to be ahead of the game and anticipate the changes in order to rank as high as possible in an online search.
With each new change Google makes to their algorithms, they are making search engines more user-friendly. By giving the user better and more targeted content, marketing companies like AutoJini.com and others aim to share your dealership’s website content with users more efficiently.
We will try to summarize everything in a single phrase: give more authority in your content. In the academic world, the phrase “publish or perish” became the motto. In 2018, your dealership needs to have top notch copywriting, for there is no game changing SEO without quality content. It is fast becoming all about the content; without it, your dealership may as well be a blank page. Google searches are looking for content. If your dealership provides car shoppers with the information they need, your website could become an authority in the auto industry. SEO management services are the most effective tool your dealership has in this fast-paced, changing world.
Google has announced that they are letting Artificial Intelligence (AI) run their searches. They have put RankBrain in charge of the AI algorithms. According to Moz.com, “RankBrain uses machine learning to determine the most relevant results to the search engine queries.” AI learns from data inputs after recognizing the words and phrases that are common among online users. Then, they use this knowledge to rank websites accordingly. Let’s suppose a vehicle shopper is looking for the safest pickup truck created in 1999. The first dealership site they click on shows the viewer some great pictures and gives them detailed lists of the engine and drivetrain for the trucks on the lot. However, there is no mention of any safety information, so they leave the site. Returning to the search results, the vehicle shopper clicks on the fourth dealership down because it gives five different trucks’ safety ratings. They spend more time on that fourth website than they did on the first this is because the content they are looking for is there. They might even chat with the dealership staff about a specific truck and ask questions. The AI algorithms will notice this and conclude that the fourth site fit the needs of the online visitor better, giving it a higher ranking than the first dealership’s site. The website of the first dealership will get penalized with a lower ranking for that search while the forth dealership website gets their rank boosted.
Next, your dealership has to look at organic searches as well. An organic search is a method of entering one or more search terms into a single data string. All it takes to demote your rankings is the information directing the online user to a competitor’s site instead of yours. When most of us think about organic ranking, we don’t think about living organisms, but maybe dealerships should. Organic ranking relies on data and variables that are always changing, so be sure to monitor it and try to improve your site constantly. One user seeing better content and value on another dealership’s website might cause them to leave your website to go look at it. There is nothing you can do about the writing style of your dealership’s competition; however, you can make sure that your dealership’s content is geared toward the user as much as possible.
With the rise in voice search options, there is a growing need for creating more conversational content than before. The creation of assistants like Siri and Alexa make it easier for users to use natural conversation phrases. Thus, it creates the need for content to be made more conversational and natural. The users of the voice searches are less likely to use non-conversational single words like “pickups” or “cars.” The voice search users are more likely to ask something like, “where is the best truck dealership near me?” Your dealership needs to be prepared to compensate for that.
Today, key word density still matters, but it’s not as important as it used to be. The bots are primarily looking for other things such as image ALT tags, keywords in the URL, H1 tags, meta descriptions, and more. Content is the most important. They look for words and phrases associated to certain keywords. The more content you post, the better you will rank. A 300-word article will not cut it.
Typically, your posts should be around 2000 words or more. This gives your dealership the space for content and a greater word count to effectively cover a topic. In turn, this will keep the user engaged on your page and lower your bounce rate. Being natural matters. Cover the topic in depth, but don’t go overboard.
With over 60% of searches done on mobile devices, you cannot ignore the mobile market. This percentage is increasing every day as the technology for mobile devices advance. Google has addressed this increase by using mobile first indexing. This means that your mobile site will be considered the reference point in your dealership’s ranking. While your optimized desktop version will appear you may be invisible to the mobile searches. Make sure your dealership sites and all articles on your site utilize a responsive design, making a seamless shift from one device to another. Do not use a lot of read more buttons in limited space because Google doesn’t see them. Make sure your dealership’s website is easy to use on all types of mobile devices.
The old adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” is still true. While there are a wide variety of changes in SEO, the principal stays the same. Better content and user-friendliness are still the keys. If your customers love the content on your dealership site, so will Google. Write content for real people instead of bots. Your customers will thank you, and your rankings will too.