Whether you're behind the wheel of a dealership, run a tire shop, or run any other type of auto business, mastering SEO will keep your marketing strategy in check even in 2024. It remains an essential element for success.
Today's automotive consumers are more connected and informed than ever before.
Additionally, the preference for organic search results over paid advertising remains strong, highlighting the importance of SEO in today's digital-first consumer environment.
However, staying up to date with Google's Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and algorithm changes requires great care.
To explain this further, consider the following insights.
- 88% of potential car buyers now use digital channels to gather information.
- Car buyers spend 14 hours and 39 minutes online researching and searching for the best car for their needs.
- 95% of car buyers checked social media platforms while buying a car.
- 81% of car buyers believe their online activity improves their overall buying experience, citing both time savings (93%) and price transparency (rated by 78%) as key benefits. Masu.
- Almost half (46%) of car dealers surveyed had at least 9% of their sales purchased entirely online.
With these insights, let's take a look at the top 7 automotive SEO strategies for 2024 designed to help your business lead and succeed.
1. Create engaging original content and leverage rich snippets
In SEO, content is still king. For automotive businesses, this means creating in-depth, informative content that engages and informs your audience.
We highlight valuable resources such as blog posts, buying guides, and vehicle reviews that combine informative details with engaging storytelling.
Below is a great example of detailed information content from a Miami dealer. She successfully incorporates her CTAs into the content that helps guide users towards their vehicle selection.
Individual car listing pages also have dealer notes added to add even more uniqueness to the page, so it's more than just a regurgitation of manufacturer information.
Rich snippets increase visibility in search results and provide a snapshot of the value of your content.
Implementing structured data markup helps search engines understand and display your content more effectively, increasing your chances of getting clicked.
Useful automotive-related schema resources:
read more: How to optimize for rich snippets: The complete guide
2. Boost your strategy with video SEO
Video content has become an essential tool for business. It provides a dynamic platform to showcase your vehicles, demonstrate features and share customer testimonials.
A recent study found that by leveraging video content, 86% of marketers experienced an increase in web traffic and 87% saw a direct increase in sales.
As a brand, you should take advantage of this opportunity to adopt video SEO to increase your visibility on search engines and social platforms.
Incorporate relevant keywords in your video's title, description, and tags to ensure your video matches search queries.
You can also use short, engaging videos that highlight your inventory's unique selling points to attract potential buyers and increase traffic to your site.
Check out this great example of how Mazda of North Miami uses video on its car listing page to introduce cars to potential customers.
Even better, you'll benefit from a listing page that marks up this page with structured data and displays video elements in the SERPs, which should further improve your organic CTR.
read more: How short videos and user-generated content can impact your marketing
3. Optimize for mobile-first indexing
The majority of online searches now take place on mobile devices, so a mobile-optimized website is essential for successful SEO.
Google's mobile-first indexing means that the mobile version of your site is the primary version that Google considers for ranking.
Make sure your website is responsive, mobile-friendly, and intuitive. This is very important for building a mobile audience.
This is a perfect example of how dealers should incorporate mobile-first design. They do a great job of displaying the most relevant information (photos, specs, prices, CTAs) for consumers to view.
read more: 14 Mobile Optimization Best Practices You Should Know
4. Increase your local presence
Local SEO is essential for auto businesses that want to attract customers in their local area.
Get and optimize your Google Business Profile.
Strategically include local keywords in your website content and participate in local community events to increase your visibility in local search results.
Testimonials and reviews also act as powerful social proof. In Automobile Digital He marketing, 82% of consumers refer to online he reviews of local businesses.
Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews about their experience so future buyers can feel confident in their choice.
read more: Local SEO Schema: The Complete Guide to Local Markup and Rich Results
5. Build authority through strategic link building
Backlinks tell search engines that your site is a reliable and trustworthy source of information.
Automotive businesses should aim to earn high-quality backlinks from reputable automotive blogs, local business directories, and industry publications.
These backlinks not only improve your site's SEO performance, but also drive targeted traffic and increase your online visibility and reputation within your industry.
This Miami dealership does a great job of leveraging sponsorships of local events to gain additional inbound links and increase their authority.
read more: How to get quality backlinks: 12 methods that really work
6. Prioritize technical SEO for a healthier website
Technical SEO helps search engines access and read your website and addresses issues that may hinder your site's performance.
By conducting regular technical audits, you can identify and fix issues like slow loading speeds, broken links, and duplicate content.
A technically sound website provides a solid foundation for your SEO efforts, allowing your content and keywords to be indexed and ranked effectively.
read more: How to do technical SEO for your e-commerce website
7. Improve user experience with EEAT principles
Google is increasingly focusing on experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EEAT) when rating websites.
For an automotive website, this means creating content that not only showcases knowledge about the automotive industry, but also provides users with valuable, authoritative information.
This may include detailed guides on choosing the right vehicle, practical tips for vehicle maintenance, and insights into the latest automotive technology.
Demonstrating first-hand experience and expertise with your content can greatly improve your site's authority and credibility in the eyes of both users and search engines.
See how Edmunds.com leverages authorship to further validate EEAT principles.
example: We'll be sharing a series of blog posts written by experienced mechanics about how to maintain your car seasonally and can provide you with practical car care advice. This demonstrates in-depth knowledge of the topic and positions your brand as a trusted source of information for your customers.
read more: What is user experience? How important is design for SEO?
summary
In 2024, the importance of a robust data-driven SEO strategy for your automotive business has never been clearer.
Take your organic presence to new heights by:
- Create high-quality content.
- Optimized for video.
- Adopts mobile-first design.
- Manage your local listings.
- Build a strong backlink profile.
- Maintain the technical health of the website.
- Focus on EEAT principles to provide a positive user experience.
Implementing these seven strategies will not only increase your visibility in search engine results, but also position you as a leader in the automotive industry.
Other resources:
Featured image: iQoncept/Shutterstock
Example of engaging content: Brannon Miami screenshot
Video SEO example: Mazda of North Miami screenshot
Screenshots of Google SERP and Ahrefs: Photographed by the author
EEAT Image: Screenshot from Edmunds.com