This is a good question. After all, our industry has been built on relationships, hard work, and good service. However, the business world is changing. While relationships are still important, the way relationships are formed, developed, and maintained is radically different than it was 15 years ago.
Imagine conducting business without email. While the thought of not seeing hundreds of messages in your inbox does sound refreshing, the reality is that email provides an efficient, cost-effective way to communicate. It is now a fundamental part of every business.
Just as email is now an integral part of your communication strategy, your website also plays a vital role. People who used to crack open the yellow pages in the phonebook in years past are now opening their web browsers. In the same way that you used to be concerned about your yellow page ad, you now need to be concerned about how easy you are to find in search engines.
Prospects Use Search Engines to Find You... and Your Competitors
When prospective clients are looking for one of your competitors in a Google search, what do they find? Wouldn’t it be great if they also found your company on that same page? A properly configured search strategy can make that happen.
Customers Use Search Engines to Find You
Your clients are just as likely to open up Google to find your phone number as they are to open a phone book. When your customers search for your company, they need to be able to find it quickly. If they cannot find you easily, they may get frustrated and give up. Or, a listing from one of your competitors may distract their attention.
In an ideal world, your dealership will come up on the first page of Google and other search engines when people search for areas relevant to your business--and your competitors. So how do you get there?
Step 1: A Keyword Assessment
The first question: “What are people actually searching for relative to my business?” A solid search strategy begins with a keyword assessment. When our Google-certified professional does keyword assessments, he researches exactly what people are looking for in your specific market. These critical keywords become the foundation for your search strategy.
Step 2: Search Optimized Website Content
The next step is to make sure these keywords are placed strategically throughout the content on your site. Until recently, the trick was to put the keywords in the meta data (the behind-the-scenes information on your website, like keywords and page descriptions). However, Google now looks at the actual content on your site. You can’t fool them with a meta data strategy. So, it is critical that you have a lot of good content on the pages of your site that Google can index. This content needs to be relevant to your business while containing the keywords that users type into a Google search.
Step 3: Continually Update with Fresh Content
The third step is to keep your site updated with fresh content that contains these keywords. The easiest way to do this is with a blog. Posting several articles a week that include your keywords provides a continual stream of content for Google to index. This helps the search engine giant see your website as being relevant, boosting your rankings over sites with older content.
Search is important to your dealership. We can help you develop, implement, and maintain an effective search strategy. To learn more, contact us today.
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