The arrival of COVID-19 has changed the entire landscape for tire dealers over the past year. Although the national closure of much of the economy of this past spring has ended, an emphasis on social distancing and other containment measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus have radically altered people’s daily routines.
Much of this can be seen in the massive migration to online shopping for virtually every need in their life and tires and repairs are no exception. As dealers work to remain relevant for their customers throughout this pandemic, maintaining a strong digital presence through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will be one of the most important steps your business can take. SEO is the process of increasing your site’s position and page rank organically through effective keywords. Hands down, SEO is the most effective way to increase traffic to your website and, since customers are increasingly turning to search for their purchasing options, your shop needs to be visible to these consumers.
SEO is critical for your business because there are over 180,000,000 registered websites worldwide today. As a result, people rely heavily on search engines to find exactly what they are looking for when it comes to shopping. Studies have shown that if they don’t find it on the first page of results, they simply adjust their search terms and start from scratch instead of continuing their initial search on subsequent results pages. What makes it even tougher is that over 94% of people who use Google not only limit their review to the first page of search results, but most click on one of the first three results at the top of the page. A staggering 83% of people worldwide use Google, but this concept applies to every search engine. That’s why you need to have an SEO strategy to make sure your website doesn’t appear on the 12th page of results instead of the first page!
People who are searching for the exact products what you offer and see your site on the first page of results are considered ideal visitors because they are the most likely to convert into customers. When it comes to finding a shop, 97% of online users perform a search to find local businesses. To compete in an ever-changing digital market, it’s crucial to build SEO into your marketing strategy with features such as:
High-Value, Targeted Keywords Unique, keyword-rich content increases site rankings in relevant searches. A keyword is an idea or topic that defines your content. In human speak, its what people type into search engines. But there are three different categories of keywords to consider:
Generic Keywords: Generics are just as they sound – they’re generic. So, this might be things like “tires” or “fix flats” or “auto repairs.” They are basic, which means a lot of folks will be searching for them and there will be a lot of competition, but they will also generate a lot of volume.
Broad keywords: These are the bread and butter of SEO because they narrow the competition. While “tire” or “repairs” are basic, adding specificity like “truck tires” or “Japanese auto repair” help you zone in on the specific searches your customers will be making without losing a lot of volume.
Long-Tail keywords: Long tail keywords are the sentences users type into Google when they’re really on the hunt. While their specificity may lower your overall traffic, the likelihood of conversion increases as the user making this search is looking for exactly what you’re offering. Examples of long-tail keywords might be things like “Goodyear light truck tires” or “Toyota auto repairs.”
Keyword Placement It’s no secret that you want to use a keyword a handful of times on your page, but you may not know that the location of your keywords also makes a difference. Specifically, you want to mention your main keyword at least once at the top of your page because Google’s rankings system puts more weight on terms that appear at the top of a webpage.
Title Tags Once you’ve got your keywords sorted out, title tags are one of the most important on-page SEO factors. The title tag tells search engines what the page is about and that the page on your website is relevant for that keyword or keyword phrase. Title tags should be unique for every page. In search results, search engines will highlight your keyword phrases if a user has searched for those terms. This increases visibility and click-through rate. Always use a dash in between your keyword phrases like this “tires-SUV-Goodyear” and be sure to avoid duplicate title tags. For best results, keep title tags at 55-characters (or less) including spaces.
Streamlined Business Listings Consistency across business listings – both online and in-store - helps customers find your dealership.
Updated Inventory Listings With stock levels tight and so many prospects shifting the research phase of any purchase to online-only searches, it’s more important than ever to have all of your inventory posted online and updated frequently for maximum accuracy.
While organic (non-paid) SEO is the foundation of your online marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is what can turbocharge it through paid search ads. Since paid search ads drive traffic to your website and directs visitors straight to your service and inventory pages, SEM dramatically improves visibility of your business online while boosting your lead conversion rate.
Beyond helping with your organic SEO on all the key search engines, SEM also allows you to extend your messaging and visibility across a variety of online platforms to create a 360-degrees of visibility to potential customers. Key SEM best practices include:
Pay-Per-Click Ads: Pay-per-click (PPC) has become one of the most popular and effective marketing channels. It offers a level playing field for all companies, regardless of their size to advertise to the world. If you have the budget, you can create a PPC marketing campaign to do anything from promoting specials, highlighting your COVID-readiness, to lead generation to drive more sales. PPC ads appear in the top search engine slots with paid ads and you pay for the space only when a user clicks thru to your site.
Geo Targeting: If you have a local business, another way to advertise online is by geo targeting. This means using location to help local searchers find you and many people are now adding a “near me” qualifier to their searches to narrow the results to local shops. For instance, if your business is in downtown Portland, Oregon, you might mention that fact, or perhaps say that your location is right by the Broadway Bridge in downtown Portland. You can also use geo location in paid advertising to serve up ads only to folks in your town or city.
Dynamic Remarketing Ads: Re-engage previous visitors as they browse across the web and bring them back to your site with ads that reflect past searches and areas of interest. Since there is so much comparison shopping going on and it’s such a key component of the tire buying process, it’s important to not lose new leads in the early stages of a prospect’s search. Sending out reminders who have already engaged through intriguing display ads is a great way to ensure no leads fall out of the funnel. Try showing them a deal or a specific offer to get them to connect with your sales team.
Remember, organic (non-paid search) SEO is always the most effective way of leveraging search, but it’s a “long-tail” strategy that takes months or years to build so it’s important to start now. In the meantime, you can also add SEM into the mix to help boost your visibility and sales.
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