BLOG

Knowledge, news, and more about Automotive SEO, SEM, and dealership websites
In Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

What Can You Do With Great Rankings, But Low Website Traffic?

Many dealerships focus their search engine optimization reporting on how well they are ranking for certain terms.  As long as they show up on Page 1 of Google’s search results, they are happy.  While search engine page ranking is an important part of every dealership’s online marketing efforts, what happens if your auto dealer website is showing up on page 1 for every keyword, but you aren’t seeing any traffic?

If you are seeing this happening at your dealership, here are some potential causes:

Optimizing for the Wrong Keywords: Your dealership can rank first for “blue widgets”, but that probably won’t help you with leads and sales for the cars on your lot.  Make sure you, your website provider, and your SEO provider are all on the same page when it comes to ranking for effective, relevant keywords.

Double Check Your SERP Listing: Your organic listing should have an informative title tag and meta-tag to help entice searchers to click onto your website.

The only way your dealership will know how much traffic, leads, and sales you are getting from your high ranking keywords is by tracking all of these metrics.  Make sure your website provider and/or SEO providers are measuring all of these stats and that you are double checking them with Google Analytics.

In Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Google Changes Algorithm; Affects Top-Heavy Ad Pages

While (I hope) most dealership websites won’t be affected by this, Google has recently announced they will begin penalizing websites that have too many ads at the top.  It’s being called the “page layout algorithm” and affects sites that “don’t have much content ‘above-the-fold'”, according to Google’s Inside Search blog.

We’ve all clicked onto a site only to have to scroll down through the ads to actually find the content we are looking for.  This algorithm change will penalize sites with little or no “non-ad” content visible above the scroll line, so that they appear less frequently and with less prominence in Google’s search results.

So how does Google tell what is an ad and what isn’t?  They have a “variety of signals that algorithmically determine what type of ad or content appears above the fold, but no further details to share.  It is completely algorithmic in its detection…”.  Not surprisingly, Google isn’t giving many details.

Double check your landing pages, micro-sites, and any sites your auto dealer website links out to, to ensure that none are so ad-heavy that users have to scroll down to see any content.  Keep in mind that the screen may appear smaller to those on an iPad or other tablet computer.

Google recommends using their Browser Size tool to see how much content and ads are visible under various screen resolutions.

In

Google+ Integrated in Your Search Results

In Google’s latest attempt to make Google+ the biggest social network, they’ve integrated it into your search results.

Of course, this hasn’t been done across all Google search results.  In order to see this integration, you must be logged into Google+ (though some have seen it simply logged into Google) and be using their secure search portal at https://www.google.com.  The company is calling this search update “Search Plus Your World” and allows users to “search across information that is private and only shared to you, not just the public web,” according to Jack Menzel, product management director of search.

Search results from non-“authoritative results” will be clearly marked, but relevant pictures, updates, and articles from those in your Circles will show directly on your search results page.

Here is an example from a search for “Ford Focus” when signed into Google+:

When searching for a person (and I would assume a brand name), Google assumes you are looking for someone in your Google+ Circles, if applicable.  So imagine a potential customer, connected to your dealership through Google+, uses Google search to find their next car.  Your dealership has another opportunity to connect with this car buyer (and your auto dealer website has another chance to rank on the search engine results page), but only if you have a presence on Google+ and use it to connect with buyers in your area.

Because Search Plus Your World will bring back results from “limited” shares on Google+ as well as privately shared photos from Picasa, there is the potential misconception that items appearing are public information, and the public sharing that could happen.  However, nothing will be shown that you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise.

What do you think?  Does this make you more or less likely to amp up the Google+ presence of your auto dealership?  Or do you think this move just removes a step from searching your Google+ Circles and using the search engine?

In Mobile

Majority of Mobile Visitors Can’t See Flash Websites

In a recent study from retail analysis firm, RichRelevance, iPads and iPhones make up over 90% of online purchases that don’t happen on a desktop device.  That means that 9 out of 10 mobile purchases come from an Apple product, a device that can’t read anything in Flash. This is up from 88% when RichRelevance conducted the same study just last April.

While many auto dealerships don’t make a ton of sales online (in the traditional, online store sense that this study refers to), this shows that the majority of those using their mobile phone for online shopping purposes are using these two devices.  If your dealership mobile website uses Flash technology, the majority of those coming to your site from a mobile device won’t be able to see it.  In fact, DealerOn customers typically see 2/3 of the traffic to their mobile website come from iPads and iPhones.  Can you imagine if only 1/3 of your website visitors could actually see the content on your site?

Studies like this one show how important it is to ensure your mobile website can be seen by everyone that wants to see it, and if it is built using Flash, 2/3 of your web visitors won’t be able to.  Check with your auto dealership website provider to find out how your mobile site is built, and if it’s in Flash, make sure they provide you with another option.  You could be losing out on 2/3 of your mobile website traffic.

In Best Practices

How to Hurt Your Google Places Listings

I’ve written multiple pieces on how to properly set up and maintain your Google Places listing and account, but haven’t touched on the mistakes you could be making, hurting your car dealership online marketing strategy.

Here are the places where you could really screw up your listing if you aren’t careful:

Don’t use a post office box. Even if this is where you get mail, make sure you use the actual address of your business.

Only enter the address into the address field.  That means no directions, no landmarks (turn left at the yellow building), and no descriptions.

Don’t hide your address.  Google gives you the option of hiding your physical address–don’t do it!  Google Places wants to be able to show users where you are located on a map, so let them.

Using a tracking number?  Stop.  Google has officially stated “Types of phone numbers that should not be included are: call tracking numbers and phone numbers that are not specific to a business location.”

Don’t ignore errors in your account, including a misplaced map pinpoint.  Google is notoriously difficult to get a hold of, but don’t let that deter you from reporting an error if and when you see it.

A well developed and maintained Google Places listing can be a huge asset for your dealership’s online marketing efforts.  If you need help with your Google Places account or other aspects of your Internet marketing program, feel free to contact DealerOn for help.

Call support
(877) 543-4200
Call Sales
(877) 543-6321