The highest quality visitors come from your organic search volume! (Google My Business)

The highest quality visitors come from your organic search volume! (SEO)

NOTE: Some dealers, unfortunately, are still buying their own name and paying Google and their ad agencies for the privilege of running those campaigns. If consumers are already searching for your business by name, why are you paying Google? This is just a personal observation of wasteful spending. How do you get more visitors through your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on your website? Optimize your Google My Business page. This free page offers so much information that is valuable to the consumer and can also direct them to the information they want AND where you want them to land. I am going to tell you how to make this Google page work harder for you. Perhaps you didn’t know that, as a car dealer, you can name 10 categories on the sales and service side. 

Categories

First let’s look at Service and how to maximize the opportunities that Google My Business offers. The majority of dealers make the most money in their service bays and, sadly, often pay this end of the business the least attention in terms of marketing. Here are the steps you should take within Google My Business: choose the category: Car company / Garage. Within this category, Google asks you if you provide the following services: Batteries, Air conditioning, Diagnostic check of engine light, Electrical hazard, Air and car ventilation filters, Oil change, Brakes, Steering / Suspension, Car Acceleration, A/C installation and repair, Repairing A/C in cars, General repairs and maintenance, Windshield services, Repairing car damage, Tires, Tire replacement, Interior vacuuming, Engine repair, Extensive cleaning, Exhaust pipes, Wheel alignment, MOT inspection, MOT. Google says these are all relevant services based on the category: Car company / Garage (category for service for a dealer, for example, not as the primary category).

Google has identified the above-listed sub-categories as those being searched by internet users. By utilizing them effectively, you can create additional pages for your website. These pages are not necessarily in the menu structure (but in the sitemap), and they can be easily found by Google.

Example

If I were a Subaru dealer in Arnhem, my website would be called: www.subaruarnhem.nl. 

The service department is www.subaruarnhem.nl/service and if I want to stimulate local SEO based on an optimized Google My Business page, then I also create a page for:

– www.subaruarnhem.nl/service/apk

– www.subaruarnhem.nl/service/wieluitlijning

– www.subaruarnhem.nl/service/olie-verversen/.

These are all search terms that Google recognizes. On this page, I have included two photos that are relevant to this topic. Don’t just let the photo name default to 223344.jpg but be descriptive: wheel alignment for your subaru.jpg. Then, create a text description of at least 350 words with relevant content about this topic. Do this with dozens of relevant topics and you will positively influence your turnover on a daily basis.

These pages are, as you will see, a piece of online real estate and can work for you indefinitely – although you should check them regularly to make any updates necessary. After a while, you will find search terms such as “air conditioning maintenance subaru” in your own area on the first page of Google. If the page is nicely laid out with the right text, good photo, and correct call to action, this piece of online real estate can generate appointments and sales that would otherwise go to a general service repair company. A page like “the 5 reasons why the dealer is cheaper and better than independent auto service companies” can also be a very effective SEO tool.

Expect results

Don’t expect overwhelming or immediate results. Local SEO takes time to build and is not a product that brings hundreds of visitors per month based on one page or keyword. It is the Long Tail containing keywords that are searched, but this does not happen in large numbers or locally. You most likely don’t need hundreds of visitors to fill your service department, for example. The good news is that you are consistently providing Google with relevant, well-written, and correct information about a variety of services you provide that customers are searching for. By taking time to optimize your Google My Business, you can score a win in the local SEO field.