When I’m online shopping, I want to be handed the solution that meets my needs as soon as possible.

Car shoppers are no different. In fact, I recently experienced the car shopping process first hand. There I was, scouring the Internet, trying to locate that perfect vehicle within my price range, preferably one with added room for a car seat, all while my toddler was tugging at my leg wanting another cookie.

The dealer websites that appeared at the top of the search results page captured my short attention span. I made in-person visits to the few that best helped me narrow my search, and eventually chose a dealership to purchase from.

I talk to dealers every day about the struggles of improving their online presence and the quest to reach shoppers at the right moment during the car buying journey. We know that each shopper has different wants and needs throughout his or her car shopping venture, so you may think it’s impossible to speak to everyone, right? Wrong.

Over the next few weeks, we will be releasing a series of blogs that will guide your dealership to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) success! Below are a few key concepts to get you started.

1. State What Makes You Great

At the very least, your homepage content should answer the following questions:

• Who are you?
• What do you do?
• Where are you located?
• What is your value proposition?
• What should a visitor do next?

It’s no different than when you greet someone in the showroom — your homepage content should make an impactful first impression and convey what makes your dealership stand out from the pack.

Thanks to advances in semantic search, pages now rank for related keywords — not just the ones you optimize for. This allows dealership marketers to write for the needs of their shoppers, rather than forcing copy to match a keyword string.

At Dominion Dealer Solutions, we truly believe in the power of quality content. Our SEO specialists work with dealers to ensure that a dynamic message is spread across all channels to drive continuous traffic to their sites.

2. The Right Technology Impacts Your Success

Without the proper technique, management, and evaluation, your SEO strategy may not bring you the results you were hoping for. While acquisition and conversion are important; the behavior and technology of your website are critical factors as well. A poor performing website translates to poor user experience, therefore potentially lowering your ranking.

3. Keep up with Industry Change to Stay Competitive

Do you still think SEO success comes from generating as many links back to your website as possible? If so this may lead to a major penalty. In the past, utilizing tactics like placing keywords in your business name, buying unnatural backlinks, or misreporting your business’ location – could positively influence your rankings. This is no longer the case. Local search results are now based on positive reviews from real customers, relevance, and shareable content.

Understanding how to move the needle isn’t easy; however, this four-part blog series will help paint a clearer picture of successful SEO strategies to implement in your dealership.

Shoppers seek a trusted source of information. Dominion can help you become that ideal resource for every car shopper. Learn how our SEO specialists can increase your rankings today! Call 877.421.1040.