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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

In Dealership Websites, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Video

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!

In DealerOn, Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

DealerOn’s New Director of Search and Social

Hey, I’m Greg, the new Director of DealerOn’s SEO department. I’m a big fan of video, so we’ll be sharing lots of video content moving forward – and here’s our first video…

Important Links:

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Hey – I’m Greg Gifford, DealerOn’s new Director of Search and Social. They brought me on to run the new SEO department, and as part of my duties, I’m going to be sharing videos here on the blog to share tips that will help your dealership kick more butt online.

Yes, I’m dressed down a bit in my ComicCon shirt today – Yes, I went. and yes, it was even more amazing that you think – but that’s because I wanted to tie in to my recent post on Search Engine Land, where I write a monthly column about Local SEO. We just shared a teaser here on the blog recently, or you can click the link down below the video to go read it. Make sure you check it out, there are some great tips there that apply to dealerships.

I’m also going to be presenting a Digital Dealer Webinar in a few weeks on Tuesday the 18th. It’s gonna be an awesome presentation – I’m going to share some really awesome SEO tips, and I’m going to be doing a superhero movie theme, so it’ll be fun to watch, too. I dropped a link down below so you can go register.
I’m also going to be doing a DealerOn Webinar on Thursday the 27th. You definitely don’t want to miss that one – it’s going to be 80 Gnarly Local SEO Tips for Auto Dealers, and the theme is going to be 80s movies. Again, check the link below to go get registered.

Besides running DealerOn’s SEO department, I speak at a ton of conferences. I’m heading to Confluence in Oklahoma City in September, and then across the Atlantic to speak at Brighton SEO in the UK, and then hopping back across the pond to keynote the Internet Battle Plan conference in Detroit. In October, I’ll be speaking at Digital Dealer, Pubcon, and Driving Sales Executive Summit. So, if you’re going to be at any of those conferences, definitely come find me and say hi! I love to chat with dealers and offer free tips…
Make sure you keep an eye on the DealerOn blog – we’ll be posting at least one video a week, so check back for awesome knowledge nuggets sprinkled with a helping of goofy fun.

If you’ve got any questions, jump down to the comments section below and I’ll get back to you asap. Thanks for taking a few minutes to watch, and I’ll see ya again next week!

In Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

How Last Week’s Google Update Impacts Your Dealership

In an effort to further optimize local search results, Google has begun rolling out a new tweak to its algorithm that some in the SEO community have tentatively labeled Pigeon. Dealer’s need to be aware of these changes because the Pigeon update is designed to improve local search listings for businesses (like car dealers).

According to Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Land, Google told them that “the new local search algorithm ties deeper into their web search capabilities, including the hundreds of ranking signals they use in web search along with search features such as Knowledge Graph, spelling correction, synonyms and more”. In addition, Google said that this new algorithm “improves their distance and location ranking parameters.”

It is not clear exactly how all of these changes will impact each dealer, so you should probably Google some of your top traffic-driving organic search keywords, and check the customer experience for anyone searching with local terms like “Toyota dealers near me” or “Ford dealers in Baltimore, MD”.

You should also check your Google Analytics account and compare this last week’s Organic Search Traffic vs. your prior Organic Search traffic levels, so you can determine the impact on your traffic and leads. If you would like any help doing this for your dealership’s Google Analytics account, whether or not you’re a DealerOn customer, just submit your contact information on our site or email me back, and include a comment “Google Analytics Help”.

Many Google users have reported seeing more listings from local directories when making searches – for example, searching for a restaurant name is now more likely to give you results from Yelp, Urbanspoon, OpenTable, and TripAdvisor. This increased focus on aggregate sites may make local search that much more difficult for your dealership website if it carries over into the automotive vertical.

These changes mean it is even more important than ever to ensure your dealership’s business information is the same (and accurate) across the Internet. Google looks for the NAP (name, address, phone number) of local businesses across the Internet, and is more likely to serve up your listing if it is consistent across all sites. Are you using a consistent business name (CDJR vs. Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram)? Is your dealership using the same address across all local platforms? Your dealership website should be the main source for this type of information, so whatever you are using on your site (name, address, phone number) should be reflected throughout the Internet.

If your dealership is confused about where your business information is listed, consider using a tool like Yext. Yext scans local directories to identify and claim existing listings and reports your standings across hundreds of platforms. From there, you can manage your listings, correcting any errors you may find and help ensure that your dealership’s information is accurate where it matters most.

Need or want some assistance making sure your local directory listings are in order? Please contact me or DealerOn and we can help you through the process. It’s something our team routinely does as a part of our Client Results program, and would be more than happy to help your dealership stay on top of Google’s algorithm adjustments like the Pigeon update.

acacia.grant@dealeron.com'
In Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Google’s Panda Update Hits Press Release Effectiveness

Many small businesses, including car dealerships, use press releases as a way to add to their search engine optimization. In fact, 3 years ago, DealerOn even recommended dealerships use a press release strategy. However, with Google’s recent algorithm changes, press release sites no longer have the search engine benefits they once did, unless and until they are able to fix some pretty big flaws in their design.

press releaseDuring Google’s Panda update, the search engine giant used human reviewers to determine the quality of a set of websites. They took that data, plugged it into their patented machine learning technology, and used that to update their algorithm. Google provided these examples of questions their testers were answering about websites:

  • Would you trust the information presented in this article?
  • Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?
  • Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?
  • Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?
  • Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
  • Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
  • Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?
  • Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
  • How much quality control is done on content?
  • Does the article describe both sides of a story?
  • Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?
  • Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
  • Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
  • For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?
  • Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?
  • Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
  • Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
  • Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
  • Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
  • Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
  • Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
  • Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
  • Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

So how does this impact press release publishing sites? Search Engine Land and Seer Interactive both conducted studies showing major press release sites have seen a major dip in traffic following Panda. Moz.com recently dove into a couple of the biggest issues PR aggregators could be having with the “test” questions above:

Does This Site Contain Insightful Analytics?
Typically, users don’t go to a press release website to find information. Often times, press releases are considered a necessary evil for SEO purposes, so the content isn’t thoughtful or insightful. PR websites may struggle to combat this issue as part of their appeal is lack of editorial edits to content.

Do You Consider This Site an Authority?
Because PR aggregators have a lot of information about a lot of different things, it’s difficult for them to rank high for this question.

Would you Share or Bookmark This Site?
Chances are, unless your press release is exceptionally newsworthy, it’s unlikely to be shared or bookmarked. Consider the amount of non-newsworthy press releases gathered on PR portal sites, and you can see why they may not rank well for this question.

If your dealership or SEO agency continues to use press releases as a part of your SEO strategy, consider adding graphs, charts, and images to help increase the “insightfulness” of your content. Release information when it’s truly newsworthy, and provide information that people may want to share with their friends and colleagues. Also, industry specific press release portals may have less of a chance of being affected by this Panda update, and thus giving your content a better chance of ranking well on Google’s SERP.

Take a look through the questions provided by Google. How would your car dealership website do? Use these as a guideline to providing quality content to search engine users. This is the direction Google is headed.

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