Search engine optimization (otherwise known as SEO) has changed. In traditional SEO which has been around awhile, you’ll hear terms such as keywords, backlinks, title tags, Meta descriptions, and various other technical terms. SEO may also include content, alt tags, time spent on page, bounce rates, and load speed.
All of these features have always played, and continue to play, a role in the SEO of today either directly or indirectly. However, modern SEO (or as I call it, local search engine optimization) has changed the game.
A few years ago Google and other search engines following Google’s lead, decided that SEO for local businesses should be different. When you think about it, search engines should be geared toward and viewed from the consumer’s perspective. For example, when looking for a vehicle, the search should bring up choices and ideas that answer or speak to the buyer’s needs, not the needs of the dealership. First and foremost, a consumer is looking for information, not an unwanted commercial or irrelevant laundry list of goods and services.
So, you’re in the market for a new car. If you simply type in “trucks,” or “car dealerships,” you’ll probably get thousands of entries to weed through. Let’s face it, when listing or describing car dealerships, they pretty much all look about the same – like a list of common commodities. Consequently, the consumer has to look for something to separate one dealer from the next.
One logical distinguishing factor is geographic location: Which dealership is the closest and most convenient for the consumer? The consumer used to have to search for “car dealerships [my city].” Something like 80 percent of all purchases are made within a radius of five miles of the buyer’s home. However, the bigger the purchase, the wider the radius can become and a vehicle is one of the biggest purchases a person will make in his or her lifetime, other than a home. For some specialized dealers, such as Buy-Here Pay-Here, that radius tends to widen because there are less of them in a smaller geographic location.
The more traditional SEO has always been that a consumer can type in “used car dealer” and the search would generate the top-ranked used car dealers first, possibly a dealer with a location that the buyer would never have even considered purchasing from due to geography.
The way in which a dealership gets ranked high in the search engines has changed just as the way people search for dealers has also changed. (The biggest change is due to being mobile, but we’ll get to that in a moment.) Some high-ranking factors include:
- Geographic location;
- Category choices; and
- Mentions, which are like a local form of a back link.
Keywords still play a role, but categories now take the place of keywords in local listings. Local listings now play a bigger role. Google decided that the best way to look at SEO and determine the future and direction of SEO is to determine what the consumer would want. Google wisely decided that whatever the consumer wants, that’s what Google wants. Google isn’t trying to trick the business owner. Google is trying to anticipate and act on the consumers’ needs and wants. If you think like a consumer first, you can get ahead of the game.
Google knows that the consumer wants to find a reputable car dealer. So, ask yourself this: What are signals to Google that may determine if your business is reputable?
Well, one clear signal is if a dealer is mentioned in many other places on the internet. There is buzz about you – Google might take that as a trust signal. Another trust signal is online reviews. If you have a large amount of online reviews, it could signal that your dealership has been around awhile and your customers talk about you. If you have been around long enough, you may have some bad reviews; but if good reviews outnumber the bad by a large percentage, it’s okay to have a bad review. Conversely, if you have no reviews, that’s a bad trust signal for Google and it could be hard to rank higher in the search engine.
Frequency and recency of online reviews is also important. If you earn 10 reviews in one week and nothing for three weeks…not good. If you earned 40 online reviews that came at a “normal” pace BUT inconsistently lately, that could affect your dealership. This is why you need a system to earn and collect frequent online reviews consistently over time.
Over the years, Google has gone back and forth on how they tabulate and then represent an online review score. Originally, it was with stars. Then Google paid $125 million to Zagat for rights to implement their review scoring system. After a period of using the Zagat method, Google went back to the star system. (A possible reason for this is that the Zagat system may have been too complicated for the average Google end-user. Zagat is still used for restaurants, but not for other industries.) Whatever the system, it can be difficult to get reviews and Google knows it, but you still have to get them.
One more thing about Google’s foray into the Zagat system: It’s important to note that even though Google went back to the star system rather than using Zagat, Google willingly paid $125 million to Zagat. Google obviously considers online reviews to be extremely important!
After a Google search your reviews are visible prior to clicking through to your website. People are more likely to click on your website if reviews are good. Once on your website, they are more likely to fill out a form if your reviews are good. They are more likely to trust you if your reviews are good. Get the picture?
Online reviews have always played at least an indirect role in your ranking even if they were not part of the ranking factors in Google’s algorithm. Think about this:
…continue to Part 2 – Dealer Search Engine Rankings