Optimizing Your GBP
If you want to do well on search engines you need to answer questions, and your GBP is just another place for you to do that. Now, how far you want to go into answering questions on your GBP is up to you and how much you want to invest in terms of time and resources. Some dealerships want to go very hard on this, and it’s because they’re seeing their competitors do the same. Dealers in less competitive markets, however, may find they get good results with far less of an investment. The important thing is to be aware of what’s going on within your market, understanding how your efforts measure up against those of your competitors. Most importantly, that you’re not only matching them – but exceeding them.
Things to Consider
Split off your departments into individual GBP listings for your Sales, Parts, and Service departments as well as others, as they pertain to your dealership. Each represents a particular set of questions that might be asked by Google users. Other valuable opportunities include product descriptions and service descriptions..but there’s so much more.
As with anything, you can grab as much of the opportunity as you want and you will always benefit from grabbing more. That said, you might decide (in some cases) that the results you’re seeing fail to justify the investment of time and resources…and in all fairness, that’s a hard bit of math to do. What’s important to understand is that – if you decide to entrust an SEO partner to handle these tasks for you – the willingness to invest that time and resource should be your primary consideration. They need to be ready to dive in, look at all the patterns, share their assessments, provide a strategy, and one with clearly-stated deliverables within a set time-frame. They also need to have a strategy in place to adjust, and pivot as needed to ensure efficacy. Paying less for a cookie-cutter solution that promises the same results to everyone, ensures nothing more than you getting your money’s worth.
Recap
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) serves as another means of answering questions, and making those answers easily accessible to the local consumer. However, the extent of time and resources you invest in your GBP is likely to differ from those of other dealers. At minimum, you should be aware of how far your local competitors are going to optimize their profile and aim to exceed their efforts. At maximum? Well, there is none. However, a trusted third party provider can perform proper department splits, provide product and service descriptions, up-to-date contact information, hours of operation, and facilitate countless other optimizations to help distinguish your dealership from the cookie-cutter efforts of your competitors.
FAQ
Q1: What is GBP optimization?
A1: GBP optimization refers to the process of improving your Google Business Profile by answering questions and making the answers easily accessible to the local consumer. This can include providing product and service descriptions, up-to-date contact information, hours of operation, and countless other optimizations to help distinguish your dealership from the efforts of your competitors.
Q2: Why is it important to optimize my GBP?
A2: Optimizing your GBP is important because it serves as another means of answering questions and making those answers easily accessible to the local consumer. It helps your dealership stand out from your competitors and improves your visibility on search engines.
Q3: What are some things to consider when optimizing my GBP?
A3: Some things to consider when optimizing your GBP include splitting off your departments into individual GBP listings for your Sales, Parts, and Service departments, providing product and service descriptions, and understanding the level of investment required to exceed the efforts of your local competitors.
Q4: What should I look for in an SEO partner to handle my GBP optimization?
A4: When looking for an SEO partner to handle your GBP optimization, you should ensure that they are willing to invest the time and resources required to perform proper department splits, provide a strategy with clearly-stated deliverables within a set time-frame, and have a plan in place to adjust and pivot as needed to ensure efficacy.
Q5: What is the importance of exceeding the efforts of my local competitors in optimizing my GBP?
A5: Exceeding the efforts of your local competitors in optimizing your GBP is important because it helps your dealership stand out from the competition and improves your visibility on search engines. By providing better and more comprehensive information than your competitors, you are more likely to attract and retain customers.