The last couple of years have transformed the buying journey and changed the way auto businesses need to connect with their shoppers.

Although daily life (and shopping) has since settled into a fairly normal routine, people’s shopping habits have been permanently altered to prioritize online search.

For instance, we’ve seen a massive migration to searching the internet for basically every need, whether someone intends to buy the product in a store or not – and auto services and tires are no exception. Auto businesses that want to remain relevant to their customers’ shopping habits will need to maintain a strong digital presence. This can be achieved through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

What is SEO?

SEO is a digital strategy to increase your website’s search engine results page (SERP) rank through organic means, such as keywords. It is by and far the most effective method to increase your brand visibility and drive more traffic to your site. With the majority of consumers turning to search engines to find their next purchase, your brand needs to be easily found.

Why does your website need a boost to be visible to shoppers? There are more than 1,970,000,000 – and counting – websites on the internet today¹. People rely on search engines to filter through this mammoth number and find the websites that fulfill their exact needs. Typically, if those websites aren’t listed on the first page of SERPs, a consumer will revise their search terms and start fresh rather than clicking to the next page of results. To make matters more complicated, more than a quarter of website clicks go to the very first organic search result alone². That’s why brands need an effective SEO strategy to rank prominently on the first page!

Leveraging SEO

When a shopper searches for the exact services and parts that you offer and finds your website on the first results page, they become an ideal lead because they’re likely to visit your site and convert into a customer. To help your website get in front of these shoppers, it’s crucial to build a strong SEO strategy using tools such as:

Targeted, High-Value Keywords

Keywords are, well, key to your SEO because they enrich your content and make your site more compatible with relevant search results. A keyword is a term or idea that people type into search engines to answer their burning questions. Keywords fall into three different categories.

• Generic: These are the general terms that encapsulate the theme or basic intent of the search. Think “engine repair” or “flat tire fix.” Because these terms are so basic, they generate a lot of search volume, but also a lot of competition with other auto shops.
• Broad: These narrow down the search results somewhat by adding specifics such as “truck tires” or “older car transmission repair” without losing search volume.
• Long-Tail: These can be terms or even full sentences users search for when they know exactly what they want. While long-tail keywords tend to have a lower search volume, they’re more likely to bring you qualified leads who are farther along the sales funnel. Examples include “Michelin all season tires” or “Toyota Camry brake pads.”

Prominent Keyword Placement

You may already know that a keyword should be used a few times on your page, but did you know that its placement also matters? Search engines place more value on keywords that are listed at least once at the top of the page as well as within the copy.

Title Tags

Once you’ve identified the right keywords, you can use them to boost the efficacy of your title tags. The title tag exists in the head section of each webpage and is one of the most important factors because it helps search engines understand the page’s contents.

Every page should have unique title tags, as these are the keyword phrases that will be highlighted in SERPs when those terms are searched. This is where individual content pages will greatly boost your website’s visibility because you can focus your title tags on a single topic. Keep tags to 70 characters or less to avoid them being truncated by search engines.

Up-to-Date Inventory Listings

With supply chains still uncertain and shoppers relying on online search to discover and research new purchases, it’s important to make sure all your current inventory is featured online and your listings reflect your in-store offerings. Boost the visibility of each listing by creating a header, product description and tags featuring relevant keywords.

What is SEM?

While SEO is the cornerstone of a good marketing strategy, SEM turbocharges your online presence by featuring prominent paid ads. SEM dramatically boosts your site’s conversion rate because the paid ads direct leads straight to specific service pages and inventory listings, where they can begin the shopping process in earnest.

In addition to making your brand more prominent in SERPs, SEM brings your message to multiple platforms to create a well-rounded marketing campaign and reach shoppers wherever they’re looking. Here are the prominent SEM ad types:

Pay-Per-Click Ads

Pay-per-click (PPC) are the paid ads featured in search results and are one of the most popular SEM tools. PPC gives businesses of all sizes the opportunity to reach a greater number of qualified leads with a targeted message, such as store promotions and new inventory arrivals. You can tailor your PPC ads to your budget by presetting your ad spend, and you only pay when a user clicks to your site.

Geo Targeting

As a local business (even if you run multiple stores), your brand can benefit from geo targeting. This SEM strategy targets a specified location to advertise to local searchers, especially those performing “near me” searches. You can also draw a digital circumference around a certain area if you want to reach consumers who are attending an auto show or shopping at a competing store.

Dynamic Remarketing Ads

Most shoppers won’t convert to a sale the first time they visit your website, especially if they’re still in the research phase. You can re-engage bounced leads by continuing to reach them on other areas of the internet as they continue their search. Show them ads based on their past inventory searches to direct them back to your website. Since leads undergo a lot of comparison shopping in the early stages of their search, remarketing ads will keep your brand top of mind until they’re ready to make a decision. You can include incentives such as special deals and encourage them to connect with your team to keep them in the sales funnel.

SEO (or unpaid search) is the foundation of maintaining an effective online presence, but it is a long-term strategy that grows richer over time, and you won’t see results right away. SEM (or paid search) makes your brand visible now so that you can connect with qualified leads and stay in front of them.

Ready to explore tailored digital marketing options? Connect with Net Driven today to review our auto industry marketing tactics.

¹InternetLiveStats.com

²Search Engine Journal