Drive Your Dealership’s Sales with Local SEO

What is Local SEO?

Local search engine optimization is the process of optimizing your online presence to increase local traffic, visibility and brand awareness. Unlike traditional SEO which focus on ranking for keywords and phrases for a search term, local SEO focuses on ranking for city, state, region or local area keywords and phrases. These keywords and phrases are commonly searched when consumers are looking for local businesses on the internet.

Local SEO focuses on optimizing your business’ presence on the web so more and more people in your local area will be able to find you. It is also about making sure that your online content presents your business in the best light and makes it easy for local people and businesses to engage with you. When done properly local SEO can be a great way to reach out to more local customers.

What Does Local Search Look Like?

Local Search Results look a little different than regular search results. This is also sometimes referred to as the local pack, or the map pack when you are looking at your search rankings. When it comes to local search rankings, things like proximity matter. With 72% of consumers that perform a local search visiting a store within 5 miles of their current location, it is easy to see why you want to be easily found online.

How does Local Search Work?

When it comes to local searches, there are a few more layers in top of the regular algorithm. These are used to help the searcher find the best match for their query. 18% of local mobile searches lead to a sale within one day. With billions of search queries being entered every day, that’s a lot of sales!

Relevance: How closely related is the result to the words used when the searcher entered their query.

Distance: How far Google believes the searcher physically is when they perform the search.

Prominence: How important Google believes one business is over another similar business.

With that, you get 2 types of results for local searches. The local pack (which consists of Google Maps & Business Profiles) and Organic Results. One thing to remember, is that a user does not have to specifically imply locality, for Google to display local search results. Sometimes, Google believes that the locality is implied.

Where to locate Keywords for Local SEO

Local keyword research is essential for any business that wants to improve rank in search engines for local products or services. Targeting these keywords will result in more local traffic to your site and, ultimately, more customers.

To get started, you’ll need a short list of keywords that people can use to find your local business. Once you have your list, you can begin optimizing your website for those keywords to improve your chances of ranking in the search engines.

Check out your Competitor: One way to find keywords is to analyze the keywords that your competitors are ranking for, and work to gain some of that traffic. If your business is targeting the same keywords as your competitors, then you’re likely on the right track. These keywords are relevant to your business and will help you reach your target audience. You can add any new keywords you discover as you move through the different strategies.

Use Google Autocomplete: Utilize a variety of different local keywords and terms to see what works best for you and your business. With some trial and error, you’ll have a comprehensive list of keywords that will help bring local customers through your door. Google will automatically show you the most searched keywords for your given topic based on your location.

Optimize your Dealership for local SEO

Google Business Profile Optimization: is an important piece of the Local SEO puzzle. If you are not regularly updating and refreshing the information you provide Google, how do you expect to show up on Google Search. As previously mentioned, businesses with a GBP get preference when it comes to local search results. If you want to learn more about optimizing your Google Business Profile, read more here.

NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) Citations: It is important that your basic NAP (Name, Address and Phone Number) remain consistent and correct across the internet. Inconsistent Data can confuse Google and cause you to rank lower in the Search Engine Results Page. Submit your information to popular directories in your local area and industry as well as Google, Bing, Yelp and other popular business listing management services.

Online Reviews: It is important to manage and respond to businesses reviews that you receive online. This is part of brand reputation management. A lot of consumers use a businesses reviews (or lack therof) during the consideration stage of the sales funnel. Having a large amount of good reviews helps build credibility and gives you brand equity.

On-Page SEO: The rise in online shopping has led to a rise in search engines for local businesses and services. Though “local SEO” can be intimidating, there are some simple techniques and tips any company can use to succeed. When you are optimizing your website for local search, the most important thing to remember is to make sure your site is both relevant and detailed to your business. Whenever you’re listing your business address, make sure you have the correct address and use the city, state and zip code. Some people make the mistake of putting their address in their phone directory, but you may only be getting visitors from your area which means that you won’t get as many visitors as you could be getting.

Backlinks: Having a backlink strategy is crucial to any online marketing campaign. A backlink strategy is a specific blueprint used to manage the number and type of backlinks you are obtaining from sources that point to your website. Having a good backlink strategy will help you in the long run build an online reputation, increase your online presence, draw in more potential customers and generate more revenue.

Just One Piece of the Puzzle

There are a lot of pieces to each part of the marketing puzzle. By optimizing for your dealership, one channel at a time, it’s certain you will see an increase in sales. Are you too busy running your dealership to handle your search engine optimization, local or otherwise? We can help! Contact us for more information on how we can help direct traffic to your store! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news!