How to Think About Automotive Marketing
Automotive marketing has constantly changed and evolved over the years, moving with different innovations and trends to best suit the current needs of customers. However, despite the continuous pivots in strategy, key goals have stayed the same: dealerships are looking to sell cars to relevant customers and continue that relationship through service and maintenance centers. While certain strategies have faded in and out of style, some have remained relevant and dominant in the field, including search engine optimization, social media marketing, and content marketing. Dealerships are often concerned about missing out on the latest marketing trends in order to attract new customers, but sticking with the basics will help build a strong foundation for your efforts moving forward.
Some vendors may sell you on a bill of services that sounds nearly too good to be true. You might be promised unrealistic or unattainable results in too short a period of time. There’s a chance these vendors rely too much on short-lived trends and black-hat SEO tactics for quick results that won’t last and can even get your website penalized by Google, negatively affecting any positive work done on your site to date. When you work with Wikimotive, you’re working with a team that is well-versed in the mechanics of white-hat SEO and is constantly learning and training to follow the latest algorithm updates. Following trends will be helpful for short periods, but laying out a foundation for a more evergreen strategy will benefit your website for an extended period of time. Our team utilizes a number of different methods and strategies in order to get you the best results possible, including building both model-based and evergreen content and constructing relevant link-building strategies.
Why You Should Focus on Search Engine Optimization
The most effective way to make sure your dealership is always at the top of your customer’s minds is by making sure your business appears first when they perform online searches, whether they are just starting their research process or have a good idea of what they are looking for. Search engine optimization (SEO) is different from other forms of advertising because you’re not chasing the customer through ads, emails, or direct mail pieces. With SEO, the customer finds YOU; all you have to do is position your business as the best choice. SEO is a highly technical pursuit and involves tailoring the content on your website to target opportunities that align with what your customers are already searching for.
By focusing on SEO as a key marketing strategy for your business, you build authority and increase your website’s ranking for a variety of searches. While focusing on sales goals will always be a hallmark of your marketing strategy, figuring out the most effective way to reach your customers will help build a more enduring relationship. Whether your goal is to bring repeat customers to your dealership for test drives and purchases or entice customers to choose your service center for their regular maintenance, the continued focus on SEO will keep your rankings high, priming your business to effectively meet your customers’ needs.
Wikimotive clients receive the following services:
Website Audit & Re-Optimization
Once you sign up for our automotive marketing services, our team will perform a full audit of your website to establish a baseline and identify the top areas to focus on. Typically, this will include rewriting key pages of your website with keyword-rich content, reworking your meta titles to include key search terms and geolocations, and adding relevant internal links throughout the site. In addition to looking at the content throughout your website, our team will take a look at the full functionality of its back end, addressing any usability issues and working with your website vendor to collaborate on more complex fixes.
Content Creation & Optimization
After our team has performed the initial round of optimizations, we will begin adding content to your website, including blogs and landing pages. We perform keyword research in order to identify high-volume search opportunities with a focus on buyer intent and conversions (aka more sales!). This initial keyword research provides our team with the most effective early terms to increase both your website ranking and overall authority.
A common issue seen in the automotive SEO world is the use of duplicate or “spun” content—the utilization of very similar pages across multiple dealer sites—which causes Google to devalue your website. When you work with Wikimotive, you’ll get several pieces of original content written specifically for your business each month to best meet your goals. Our content is produced by Wikimotive staff and undergoes stringent editing and QA processes to make sure every piece meets our exceptional standards.
Local SEO & Google Business Profile Management
One of the most effective ways to boost your rankings and increase your local exposure is by ensuring that your online citations are synced with the correct data to match your business. If a previous business used to be located at your address, it is possible that some of their information is still active online, overriding your up-to-date listing. At Wikimotive, we work to maintain and update your existing citations while continuing to build new ones, ensuring consistency in your name, address, and phone number everywhere they are found. This can be a time-consuming and arduous process, one which our team will gladly take over for you.
Another important part of local SEO includes updating your Google Business Profile to reflect accurate and timely information, such as holiday hours and ongoing promotions. In addition to making it easier for customers to contact your business, a fully fleshed-out and up-to-date listing can help boost your GBP’s ranking in search results.
Social Media Syndication
Let’s face it: social media isn’t just a fad or a pastime anymore—it’s a way of life. Your potential customers are present on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and are actively engaging with content that resonates with them. Consistently posting high-quality content helps build trust, authority, and a sense of community around your brand as you connect with potential customers on a personal level, answering their questions, addressing concerns, and creating lasting relationships. This is why social media marketing is an indispensable part of Wikimotive’s services.
At Wikimotive, we understand that social media marketing doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s an integral part of your complete SEO strategy and a meaningful way to connect with car enthusiasts and your local community alike.
Unlike some copy-and-paste marketing agencies, we’re not here to fill your feed with generic posts, and we don’t believe in wasting time on flashy campaigns that don’t deliver results. Instead, we focus on reaching the local car buyers who matter most to you—those most likely to walk through your dealership’s doors. Drawing directly from the content written for your website, our social media experts craft high-quality, relevant content that resonates with your target audience. We syndicate our SEO-optimized content from your blog to your social platforms to drive engagement, increase your reach, and bring more organic traffic to your site.
Reputation Management
Online reviews wield incredible power in the perception of your dealership. What’s being said about your business online can either drive customers through your doors or send them running to the competition.
Unfortunately, even the best businesses sometimes encounter negative reviews. When handled properly, however, critical feedback can actually enhance your reputation and provide you with another opportunity to set yourself apart from the competition. Here’s how Wikimotive does it:
- Timely Response: It’s crucial to address negative reviews promptly. We’ll ensure that you respond to every review, positive or negative, in a timely and professional manner. This shows current and potential customers that you care about their concerns and are committed to providing excellent service.
- Constructive Engagement: We’ll work with you to craft responses that are not defensive but rather seek to resolve the issue at hand. Meaningful participation can often turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal advocate for your business.
- Big Picture: We leverage our expertise in SEO to ensure that positive reviews and content about your automotive business are highly visible in search results, overshadowing any potential negativity.
Remember, one or two negative reviews don’t have to define your automotive business. What matters the most is how you respond to them. With Wikimotive’s reputation management services, you can take control of your online reputation, strengthen your brand, and continue to thrive in the highly competitive automotive industry.
Contact Wikimotive to Supercharge Your Automotive Marketing
Wikimotive is here to answer your questions and help you discover ways to improve your dealership’s digital marketing. Our team is headed by automotive retail veterans with decades of experience, and we are passionate about helping dealers sell more cars.
When you join forces with Wikimotive, you’re never just another number. We work hard to find solutions to address your specific needs, and our staff will meet with you every month to review the work we’ve done and share its results. We believe it’s important for you to ask questions, receive insight into SEO, and provide us with information that can help us get you the best results possible. Our goal is to ensure that you understand how our work translates into tangible results for your dealership, giving all the context you need to truly evaluate your ROI.
It’s time to take your digital presence to the next level. You won’t find a more serious and hardworking team in automotive marketing, so give us a call at (888) 975-9454 or use the contact form below to introduce yourself!