I've made people angry. They go to this blog, get some advice, and then they have to search around to find me and they can't! A good SEO, I am. A good self marketer, I am not. There is not a place on this site to contact me for a quote!
I am terrified by spam bots. They search the internet, looking for pages, finding emails, flooding them with spam. I hate spam. It makes reading emails a truly annoying sometimes. Nevertheless, reducing the annoyance level of potential clients is more important to me than avoiding a little spam, so here it is: jrucker@tkcarsites.com. If you prefer the good old-fashioned phone, 949-310-1727 - leave a message and I'll get back with you very quickly.
We do search engine optimization, search engine marketing, blog marketing, and social media marketing. Lots of marketing. Just tell me what you are wanting to accomplish and I will email you a proposal. No obligations, yadayadayada. Simple.
Talk to you soon!
jr
With so many automotive search engine optimization firms out there selling their products and with a lack of available knowledge about how automotive SEO really works, it has become very difficult for car dealers to know the difference between a true search engine optimization company and one that is selling a cheap product.
First off, let me say that price doesn't say a whole lot. Sometimes, the best services are inexpensive and the worthless ones are very expensive.
With that out of the way, let's discuss what accounts for arguably 80% of the real value, the true "juice" in search engine optimization. It's all about the links. There's no question. It's not even an argument.
Properly formatted links from automotive-related, well-established sites -- those are the real ticket to search engine success. For example, a link that says Used Cars New Hampshire is helping to rank the target site for that term. Sure, the content, tags, and linking structure internally have an effect, but that's the easy part. The things that are done on the site are set up and let go from the beginning with occasional tweaks. In the whole scheme of things, it only accounts for 20% of what search engines look for.
No, search engines want inbound links form outside sites. They want to see properly written content such as this:
"When you are in Connecticut, the place to go for your next Acura would be the local Acura Dealers in Hartford where price and good customer service breed success."
That, in its basic form, is a portion of an article that will have more effect on the search engine rankings for this dealer than anything else they do on the site. By posting relevant and unique stories to blogs, article sites, and press release providers, you stand the best chance of moving up.
Format is important. If you want to rank for your brand in a particular city, you will use an anchor tag format that highlights the keyword as the link itself. For example, using other members of the same auto group, you would put links in an automotive story that would contextually include Dodge Dealers in Hartford, Hartford Saturn Dealers, Kia Dealers in Hartford, and Hartford Nissan Dealers in the text of the article.
For dealer groups, they may want to include their splash page in the mix. "For the largest selection of new and pre-owned automobiles in the area, visit Hartford New Car Dealers and find out how we make things happen for our customers.
That's it. There is nothing to it. Of course, it's the work that has been done of the months and years that truly makes the difference. Creating a blog today and starting to post links will have minimal effect becaue they have no history or relevance. They are not trusted yet by the search engines. You have to find a company that already has established a strong web presence across the board. The better they maintain their own web properties, the easier it will be for them to optimize your site.
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Read more automotive SEO articles on this blog.
When car dealers ask how to improve their internet presence, they are normally looking for a simple answer. The simple answer is that there is no simple answer, that each dealership and market is completely different from the rest, and that the cost of marketing on the internet depends on so many factors, it cannot be generalized.
With that said, there are four points that should be considered when putting together an internet marketing campaign. Are there more? Of course! But the four listed below should be the primary methods that a car dealer uses to improve their internet sales.
Two things need to be assumed before continuing. First, the dealership's website needs to be top-notch. Second, they must be willing to spend money. Too often, I see dealers shell out tens of thousands of dollars a month, then balk at a couple of thousand to spend on internet marketing that will actually yield more sales. It could be an ego thing, or it may be just old-school prejudice against the internet, but either way, a successful car dealership that wants to continue to succeed into the next few years needs to loosen the straps on the cash bag (or simply redirect wasteful spending on traditional advertising) and put out a real internet product.
1) Advanced Search Engine Optimization -- People use the search engines to find information about cars and the dealers that sell them. It's that simple. While most automotive website providers offer SEO services, they often do not have a program that really works for their people. It used to work, but it's way to competitive out there to rest on that. Find a good company to help.
2) Search Engine Marketing -- Despite what many say, pay per click marketing is not a waste of money. Even dealers who are at the top of the organic listings still need a strong SEM campaign. Why? Because a good portion of people still click on whatever is at the top, regardless of whether it is sponsored or organic. Being at the top of both is the best way to ensure that clicks are not missed.
3) Email Marketing -- This is butchered by 95% or more of the dealerships and website providers out there. Internet marketing should be real people who want the emails (previous customers, sign-ups, etc.). Spam is not acceptable, especially from car dealers. Also, the emails should be basic. Multimedia emails never make it to the inbox. If it cannot make it past the spam filters, it's useless. Finally, emails should come from a trusted source. The vast majority of the emails used by dealers, whether through their CRM tool or the OEM, or even from their own domain, are completely worthless. If you aren't getting 80% or more of your emails through, you're missing out.
4) Microsites -- It's the buzz word. Why? Because it flat out works. Brielfy, microsites are what the third-party lead providers like Autobytel and Dealix use to get the leads that they sell to dealers. An unbranded dealer microsite will yield the same results, but the leads will be exclusive and much less expensive.
Car dealers, please investigate and learn these things. Ask for more details on Automotive Microsites or call Jim at 949-310-1727 with questions on these products.
