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Friends, I owe you all an apology. This blog, which according to analytics has had a nice amount of traffic over the last several months, has gone terribly inactive. With my workload expanding and new adventures starting helping others improve their status, I have simply had much less time than I would have liked to blog.
That will be changing.
Now.
With my old automotive SEO video desperately needing an update, that will be the first priority. I will shoot more of a tutorial rather than rely on the interview itself. We are rolling out a more comprehensive social media package for car dealers that will greatly increase the visibility for all involved.
Perhaps most importantly (to you) I will be dedicating myself to post at least one blog post a week to help those in the industry, whether automotive or search engine optimization, to learn and grow in this every-changing realm.
Come back soon!
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Read more about car dealer SEO on this blog.
Last month on Driving Sales, we discussed the recent changes that Google has made as well as some of the changes that they are planning on making in the near future. While the article was good from a generic perspective, the question still needs to be answered:
"How will these changes make a difference in Automotive SEO?"
There is more to it than that, though. Google's changes will affect the way people search and what they are offered for results, but the manufacturers are changing their policies as well. Many are starting to force dealers to stay within their market area by not including cities and other geographical locations within the content and meta-tags on their websites. For just about every website provider and automotive search engine optimization company out there, this will pose tremendous problems.
TK Carsites is ready to face the challenge.
We have analyzed both the data that we've received from Google and the specifications requirements listed by the manufacturers and we have a plan to be able to get our dealers the rankings that they want to be able to compete. People are willing to drive longer distances in today's world simply because the Internet allows them to browse a wider area. If their perfect vehicle at the perfect price is an hour away, the Internet allows them to do just about everything they need to do to secure it. What's an extra 30 minute drive if it will save someone a few hundred dollars or give them the exact vehicle that they want?
Because this is a blog that is visible to the public, we will not go into details here about our strategy. It isn't that it's difficult, but it does require a lot of effort. As a company that puts the majority of our effort into marketing our dealers' websites, we know that our techniques will be effective and they will yield results.
Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions: 949-310-1727 or jrucker@tkcarsites.com
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Read more about Automotive SEO on this blog.
Search engine optimization has been a thorn to many manufacturers. They want their stores to be ranked for generic searches such as New Car Dealers Springfield or New Trucks in Oklahoma City, but they don't want them to compete into each other's market area.
What has been pushed for a long time - competing with other dealers of the same make - may be coming to an end for some brands, particularly imports. Honda has started restricting what dealers can put on their websites. They don't want them straying away from their market areas. They don't mind a Honda dealership ranking well for Used Cars Shreveport or Used Cars Minneapolis, but when it comes to their brands, they want you to stay close to home.
It even goes into their other products such as service and parts. Toyota Service Minneapolis is a no-no as a keyword for a dealership outside of that market area. This makes it tough for dealers whose market area is lightly populated. Take Griffith Toyota, for example. They are in Oregon, but they are outside of the Portland Toyota Dealers market area and soon, it's possible that they won't be able to mention Portland on their website.
Same holds true for First Honda, who is 40 miles north of Los Angeles. It would be nice to rank for Los Angeles Honda Dealers where they would be able to pull thousands of visitors, but it is difficult with the current rules. Even someone to the south like Orange County Toyota Dealers would love to rank in LA. The question is - will they be allowed?
While all of this makes it harder for car dealers to get ahead of their competition, the manufacturers are seeing it as a negative. What they fail to realize is that, with record-low sales of new cars, competition is a good thing. Chances are strong that a dealership savvy enough to know the value of SEO and that is willing to invest in it is probably the type of dealer that should be getting the traffic. They are more likely to understand what it takes to sell a car in today's market.
Selling them short will be a big mistake.
Read more automotive SEO advice on this blog.
After speaking to Paul Rushing, Community Development Manager at Driving Sales, it's apparent that one aspect of the automotive social network is definitely heading in the right direction.
Giving the ability for people in the automotive industry to share their expertise with other interested people, specifically dealers, is one of the best things that has come out for the industry in a while. Car dealers are often a little behind the curve when it comes to what is fresh and new on the Internet. The automotive blogs at Driving Sales gives everyone a chance to get caught up.
"We're building a community, plain and simple," said Rushing. The goal is to offer a venue for dealers and vendors to exchange ideas and discuss what it will take to turn business around in the volatile market that we are in."
Whether you are looking for a Car Dealer SEO blog, a car sales advice blog, or a general car business blog, Driving Sales has expert advice for everyone in the industry.
Read more automotive SEO advice right here.
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.
Sometimes, finding the best resources to use for a given task is more challenging than performing the task itself. In the case of search engine optimization, especially for the automotive industry, this is ever so true.
First, here's a video that will describe what we do and how we do it in the realm of automotive seo:
Sometimes, the best advice is a quick read away. Here are some articles that will help you in your quest for the ultimate in search engine optimization for car dealers.
This "oldie but a goodie" from PromotionWorld was once the highlighted story on the front page. Since then, it has been viewed over 2500 times by people interested in the Myths Surrounding Automotive SEO. In it, you will learn some of the tactics that various vendors use to promote their products or downplay the products of others.
This, too, is an older one, but all of it still applies. Things can get ugly in car dealer SEO, and this article points out some of the things that make it bad sometimes. Don't worry - we only practice the good stuff here.
For a more basic overview, here are some automotive SEO FAQs. This is very basic stuff, but hey, you have to start somewhere.
Microsites are starting to pop up everywhere. This article that talks about SEO for Automotive Microsites is a quick but informative read.
Sometimes, it isn't how you optimize but for which keywords you optimize. When picking out automotive keywords, having a strong Car Dealer SEO keyword strategy can be the first step to driving the right traffic to your site.
Looking for more basics? Why not start with this article about automotive SEO basics? It just makes sense, right?
Sometimes, SEO is not the complete package. This article that goes into detail about general Automotive Internet Marketing talks about the other aspects beyond SEO that can drive visitors to site and help turn them into leads (and eventually sales).
There is so much more that needs to be said, but this is a good start. By the time you're done reading them, there will probably be more listed here. If not, check out the other articles on this automotive seo blog. See you around!
Everyone has an opinion. Which is better, SEO or SEM? Some say search engine optimization is the way to go, getting great rankings on the natural listings of searches. Others say being at the very top through the paid search sponsored results will get more leads.
The real answer is, “Yes”.
In today’s extremely competitive automotive internet marketing world, it pays to invest in both SEO and SEM. The ever-so-important factor is in finding the right company who understands the car business, understands the car buyers, understands the dealer’s website, and knows how to position both SEO and SEM properly.
They are not competing disciplines and should work in conjunction with each other. SEO takes time, so if a website isn’t optimized already, it is imperative with any launch to have some sort of search engine presence. PPC marketing is the best and fastest way to achieve this.
Once the website is found on the search engines, a lower budget for search marketing may be in order. Some dealers choose to never pull the SEM plug, as a lead through PPC marketing often costs under $10. Compared to 3rd party lead providers, this is dirt cheap, even less than half of what dealers pay for their 3rd party leads.
Just look at the lead providers themselves. How do they do it? They create sponsored ads, micro-sites, and portals to draw the customer in. Then, they start a PPC campaign. If they are paying $6-$10 per lead, it makes sense for them to charge the dealer over $20. Why? Because so many dealers will pay it.
So where does that leave SEO? If SEM will get cheap leads, what can SEO do? Optimizing a website to place at the top of the search engine results pages under the natural listings will get more leads for cheaper.
On average, 60% of internet shoppers and researchers will click on the natural listings if they are not looking for a specific website. While it takes longer to get ranked on the organic search, it can be more rewarding. Also, the investment is normally lower in the long run.
Many firms operate under the assumption that SEO and SEM are competing markets. It’s the few who do both (and do them well) that truly understand what making the most out of search engines really means.
UPDATE
There has been a disagreement recently between dealer.com and Paul Rushing over whether or not search engine optimization can be used for quick rankings. As a proof of concept, Rushing posted an article about Dealer.com Search Engine Optimization vs SEO. That was this morning. Within two hours, it was ranked #1 on Google for "Dealer.com Search Engine Marketing" as well as being ranked on the front page of Google for several other searches. While we respect both Dealer.com and Paul Rushing, this is one that can definitely be chalked up as a victory for Rushing.
For the past couple of years, TK Carsites has been emerging as one of the top Automotive SEO firms in the United States. Their standard SEO for car dealers has helped hundreds to sell more cars.
In August, 2007, TK is launching their new Advanced Internet Marketing service for clients and non-clients alike. Through a new, enhanced Marketing Department, recent hires of top SEO professionals, and integrated technologies and techniques, TK Carsites has a stand-alone service that will complement their current efforts and bring in auto dealers hungry for the increased rankings.
Search engine optimization for car dealers is possibly the most competitive and unique niche in the optimization field. There are challenges facing automotive websites that combine for an extremely difficult task. Most optimization companies, automotive or not, are not equipped to handle the upcoming changes in the search engine algorithms.
By combining optimization, pay-per-click marketing, and blog marketing, TK Carsites Marketing Specialist Jim Rucker has plans to lift dealers to the top and solidify their positions.
"We have put two solid months of research into this," Rucker said. "Reading Google patents, testing resources, building networks -- it has yielded a strategy that goes so far beyond what anyone else is offering."
Costs will range from a la carte services around $200 per month to complete campaigns over $2,000 per month.
"Car dealers who have been looking into it will hear different numbers," he continued. "Some companies have nearly worthless programs that they sell in the hundreds that will not stand up to the changes coming. Solo SEO firms may quote thousands per month, not knowing the complexities that face automotive marketing now and more importantly in the near future."
The complete campaigns will include onsite SEO, traditional link-building, social media optimization, pay per click marketing, article marketing, online press releases, microsites, automotive networks, social bookmarking, and blog channels.
"We are working with professional automotive blog companies to offer our clients channel marketing, as well as blog shielding."
A new website, separate from their auto website design homepage, is being built and will be up by mid-September. For more information now, contact Jim Rucker at jrucker@tkcarsites.com or call 714-937-1239.
Search Engine Optimization Automotive
