All Posts By

Greg Gifford

Google’s Recent Map Pack Update [VIDEO]

You’ve probably noticed the recent update to the map pack on Google’s local search results. We all had a collective freak-out when we saw that the traditional 7-pack had been replaced by the new 3-pack that doesn’t show addresses or phone numbers. Even worse, a click on a pack listing now leads to the new Local Finder page, where competitors are stacked right next to you.

Our latest Wednesday Workshop video outlines all the changes, so you’re up to speed on how the local pack works now. We also talk about getting your dealership into the pack, or skipping it altogether and focusing your efforts on dominating organic results.

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How To Do Barnacle SEO [VIDEO]

Have you ever noticed that a ton of directories and 3rd party sites show up in a lot of the automotive searches in your city? That’s one of the results of last summer’s Pigeon update. While all of your competitors are still sitting around whining about the fact that there are fewer spots on page one of Google than ever before, you can use Barnacle SEO to take advantage of the directory sites!

This week’s Wednesday Workshop video explains the concept of Barnacle SEO and then walks you through exactly how to do it. Learn how to target both types of barnacle opportunities – getting your listing on another site to rank well in searches, or getting your listing to show up well in internal searches on a site that shows up well.

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85 Gnarly Local SEO Tips for Auto Dealers [VIDEO]

 

In case you missed it yesterday, we wanted to share the recording of my epic SEO webinar yesterday. I share 85 Local SEO tips to help your dealership show up better in local searches in Google. You’ll learn about on site optimization, link building, citations, reviews, and social media. I also point out many common mistakes that car dealers tend to make on their websites, so you’ll know what NOT to do. For those of you have a vendor handle your SEO, I share a few tips to help you spot the shady guys who won’t really do anything to help.

Plus, since it’s a “Greg Gifford” presentation, it’s got a movie theme – and this time, the theme is movies released in the 1980s.

Kick back, grab some popcorn, and learn some awesome new SEO tips!

Want to download the slides? You can get the PDF here.[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Local SEO vs. Traditional SEO

Did you know that Google treats some businesses differently than others? In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we explain how Local SEO is different from Traditional SEO… using pizza. Watch the video and learn an incredibly simple way to demonstrate how Google serves up local search results, even if a city isn’t included in the search query. Since Google treats auto dealers as a local business, this is an incredibly important lesson for every car dealer to learn.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop with DealerOn! This week’s video is a lot shorter than last week’s epically long webinar recording… We’re going to chat a bit about the difference between “regular” SEO and Local SEO.

With “regular” SEO, you’re trying to get a website to rank high whenever someone does a Google search for the particular keywords you’re targeting. With Local SEO, you’re trying to get a website to rank high for users in a specific geographic area.

The best way to illustrate Local SEO is with pizza… stick with me for a minute and you’ll see what I mean. I just wrote a post about this over on Search Engine Land, so you can head over there and read it if you want a little backup to this video, or if you want to send it to someone.

So – if you were to pause this video and open another tab in your browser and type in “pizza delivery”, Google would return a list of pizza joints near your dealership – even though you didn’t include a city in your search query. If you go home and do the same search tonight, you’ll get a list of all the pizza places near your house – again, even without including a city in your search query.

Google knows that if you’re looking for a pizza delivery place, you need something local, so it shows you local results.

I’m not just talking about the map packs here either – that’s the little set of grouped results by the map. We used to have 7 packs, but Google just recently changed to a 3 pack. Even beyond the map pack, the standard organic listings will still be local results.

Google treats several business verticals like this – restaurants, bars, doctors, lawyers, plumbers… and car dealers too. When someone searches for car dealer related terms, Google will return local results, even if they don’t include a city in their search phrase.

Sure, “regular” SEO helps – it’s definitely better than doing nothing at all – but it’s nowhere near as helpful for your dealership as doing Local SEO. Local SEO includes several additional elements that don’t typically get included in traditional SEO. There’s a different spin on optimization, so that local signals are included. There’s additional work in linkbuilding, since a different type of links are necessary. Citations are also important to Local SEO, and they’re typically not a part of traditional SEO services.

If you want to give your dealership the best opportunity for showing up higher in local searches, you need to be doing Local SEO. If you’ve got someone at the dealership doing your SEO, make sure they understand Local SEO, and if you’re using an SEO provider, make sure they’re doing the extra things involved with Local.

Thanks for stopping by to check out this week’s DealerOn Wednesday Workshop. f you’ve got any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! Just pop down below and leave your questions in the comments section, and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can. Don’t forget to check back next week for another DealerOn Wednesday Workshop!

Presentation: Super Powered SEO Tips for Auto Dealers

I presented a webinar for Digital Dealer yesterday, and we wanted to share the recording here on our blog. Learn the latest tips to help get your dealership to rank higher in local searches, from on site optimization to off site links and citations.

Need help with SEO for your dealership? Let us know! We can help – even if you’re not using DealerOn for your website. Leave a comment down below and let us know what we can help with…

Download the slides

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Hey again – I’m back with another video… We’re still tossing segment names around, but we’re kinda leaning towards Wednesday Workshop – pop down to the comments and let us know what you think of it, or if you have an idea for something.

Most of these videos will just be a few minutes long, but today’s is a long one – don’t let that scare ya off. I did a webinar for Digital Dealer yesterday, and we wanted to share the presentation with you here on the DealerOn blog.

In fact, we’ll be sharing recordings of all of my presentations here after I give them. We know it’s tough to travel to conferences, and it’s rare that dealership personnel will get to more than one or two conferences a year.

I’m speaking at 8 events in the next two months – so make sure you check back and watch those presentations. I never re-use presentations, so each one will have fresh knowledge nuggets that will help your dealership be more awesome.

So anyway, back to today’s video… It’s about an hour long, so if you don’t have time to catch it all now, just remember to check back and watch later when you’ve got time. Enjoy!

Thanks for watching – I hope you learned a few things that can help your dealership! If you’ve got any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! Just pop down below and leave your questions in the comments section, and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can. Don’t forget to check back next week for another tentatively titled Wednesday Workshop video!

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