Pirating Dealer Name Searches

I decided to start a new thread, in response to a question posted by Joe Orr from Dick Hannah Honda.  It was a new topic within the post about Facebook content, so I thought I would show Joe's question and then re-post my answer. 

Also, this Wednesday at 12:00 Noon EST, DrivingSales.com is hosting my co-hosted  live talk show with JD Rucker and Paul Rushing and this week's topic is this exact discussion: How to Dominate Google Page One For Your Dealership Name.

Joe Orr says:

My Response:

Dealer Name optimization is a very strategic part of any SEO plan. It’s important to own all variations of the franchise name but that still does not block disgruntled customers. By added a few words before or after a business name can still rank.

The law states that any person can purchase a domain name that includes your dealership name as long as the consumer is not let to believe that its your store. So it can’t have your logo or imagery that makes it look like a Honda store. Secondly, as long as the website is not making a profit selling something using your name, there is no recourse.

BMW Called

I had BMW attorney call me one day because I had a BMW SEO case study website up on http://www.bmwseo.com. They said that since I was in the business of making money from SEO, I can’t use the BMW in the domain even though it may help their dealers.

I brought up the point that user communities use the BMW phrase in their domains and make money by inserting Adwords campaigns. BMW said that since their overall purpose was non-commercial, they would not fight them right now.

So, someone can create a website www.dickhannahhondasucks.com and as long as it’s a site about their experience or other people’s reviews, you have no recourse. You have recourse if the website is selling cars which would cause public confusion.

Articles Can Rank - Not Just Domains

Aside from domains, well ranked websites can post an article that includes your dealership name in the Page Title and content and it can rank well on your name. This is unavoidable but there are ways to block most of these types of articles with better SEO.

Keep in mind, if Edmunds.com wrote a keyword optimized profile page on your Dealership, it will most likely stay on Page One forever. So, dominating Google Page One and/or Page Two needs aggressive SEO strategies.

Not everyone who calls themselves an SEO professional can implement Page One blocking strategies that can be easily picked off.

Since you allowed five third party review websites on your Google Page One search result for “Dick Hannah Honda” you are an easy pick-off candidate.