Voice search. It's that part of digital marketing at everyone talks about, but do you really know how to manage that information for your dealership? Current stat says that mobile voice-related searches are 3X more likely to be local-based than text-related searches. Those voice searches are the same customers who are likely to convert, and you need to be aware of what Alexa says when people ask.

At CDK, the new partnership between Amazon and Yext gave us a chance to test how fast we could get Alexa to give the correct information about a dealer. Head over to read the results and learn how your dealership can get a handle on this new part of local search.

A lot changed in 2017 and dealerships are having to make increasingly quick adjustments to their strategies to stay on top. With the continued rise of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media, businesses are finding new ways to leverage their capabilities to help them reach their goals. While there were too many updates across all of the channels to count, here are the three most significant changes that marked 2017 (and can have a major impact on your dealership).

Social as a Selling Tool

It’s no secret that Facebook is a giant – but it’s power goes beyond likes and shares. In the US, one in every five internet page views occur on Facebook. The social media giant is leveraging their powerful position by adding continued ways to monetize their business – and empower other businesses as well. Facebook advertising continues to grow.

They’ve also expanded their ability to sell by launching Facebook Marketplace. Though the marketplace itself was released in 2016, Facebook recently announced its extension into the automotive space. Now customers have the ability to browse inventories from Edmunds, Cars.com, Auction123, Social Dealer and CDK Global. Customers can see KBB prices for cars and even start messages with a dealership right from Facebook messenger. While others may make such claims, CDK Global is the only provider that integrates Facebook marketplace, inventory and chat functionality for dealerships. We’ve found that 42 percent of chats from Facebook Marketplace convert to leads, making the ability to leverage Marketplace a key differentiator for your dealership.1

Google My Business is Sharing

When Google Plus was first rolled out, they connected every Google business listing to a Google Plus page, which allowed a dealership to share relevant and local information right in their knowledge graph. But Google Plus never took off, so Google removed that sharing capability for businesses back in 2015. The function was gone but never forgotten, and this July, Google made posts available again to any business with a verified Google My Business listing. Now done through the listing dashboard, this allows a business to share timely information visible to any potential customers. In a CDK Study on Google posts this year, we saw the average dealer saw an increase of 222 views to the post by just posting once a week!

Questions Not Keywords

The biggest change to search in 2017 relates to how people are searching. With over half of all search happening on mobile, the intent behind a search is changing. Of all mobile search, 20 percent is voice search, and it’s thought that by 2020 over half of mobile search will be voice search. Given that nearly 50 percent of people are now using voice search when researching products, it’s not a stretch to consider customers are using Siri and Alexa as research tools in the car shopping process. Your content focus should shift from focusing on a single keyword to the types of questions people may have about models. If you build questions into your SEO strategy, it will establish your website as the local authority when that search happens.

These three changes had a major impact on the SEO and social world – and if you incorporate them into your 2018 strategy – they could have a major impact for your business.

1ActivEngage, 2017.

The only thing you can really count on in SEO is that it’s always going to change. As Google moved towards personalized search, the focus of SEO has necessarily changed. Rankings for a particular keyword or set of keywords don’t matter as much as the ability for your website to appear at the top of the search rankings page. As you start to switch your website content focus, there is a simple plan to help move your digital focus from keywords to search phrases.

Start with Search Type

Traditionally, organic searches fit into 3 categories; transactional, informational and navigational. Transactional searchers are searching for a website that allows them to complete a particular action, like buying or downloading something. As you can infer, informational searches constitute searches looking to learn more information. Navigational search includes searches where the user is looking for a particular site. For instance, a navigational search might occur when someone uses a search engine to look for “Freedom Honda” instead of simply “honda dealerships.” When you’re crafting the content for your website, think about which bucket it fits into.

Find Questions to Answer

Once you identify which type of search applies to you, the next step is to think about what type of questions the searcher may have. Answerthepublic.com is a tool that takes general keywords, like tires, and creates a series of questions and phrases around that keyword. After identifying those questions, create your content to answer those questions. For example, you might create an FAQ page, provide “best practice” content on your parts and service page, or create articles that address the top 10 ways to keep your car running great.

Link it Back

In order to make sure the content is found, you have to make sure the content is linked properly within your website. When I say that, don’t think “this needs to be in my navigation.” Rather, think of it as a chance to build out text links within your homepage. Take advantage of anchor text links: this is when existing words on a main website page, such as the homepage, link out to an internal website page. Those links serve as a strong signal to Google about page content, and can make the page more visible when someone searches.

While SEO algorithms are always changing, you also have the ability to change your website to match current search trends. By taking SEO by the reigns, you can ensure your website is appearing to your customers exactly when they need it to.  

Want to see more tips like this? Check out my recent webinar "Converting Your Dealership Goals to a Social and SEO Strategy".

In thinking of a mobile first world, Google has rolled out new site links to the search results on mobile search. 

Historically, Google would award "site links" to a domain, or the designation of 4-6 links to important interior pages of the site. This links would display under the main domain, and give a website more of the real estate in the organic search results. 

The new carousel format for site links has been confirmed this week with Google. Site links are now found in a single carousel format. Instead of scrolling down for links, the user can scroll left or right to access all of the site links.

Google continues to add new features and offerings to the Google My Business listing. First, it was adding in "busy times" to the knowledge graph, then location attributes, and most recently, bringing back a way to share timely information with "Google Posts". 

This week, Google announced they are rolling out the "chat with your customers" feature on Google My Business. Once activated, potential customers can message you right from the knowledge graph. 

There is a one time set up for this process. Sign into your Google My Business account, and look for the chat section titled "Message with Customers". You'll be asked to verify the phone number you will be responding from. After that, you will want to set your "welcome message" or the response every customer will receive. That is the same dashboard you will use to change the phone number or turn the chat feature off if no one will be responding. 

You've got to remember to be prompt in your responses. Nothing is worse than leaving a customer without the answer. As you respond back to more people, Google is keeping track of your average response time and will display that. 

Your online dealership reviews is the piece that can make or break a car sale. Research "discovered 54 percent of online buyers read online reviews before making a purchase". The first place potential shoppers will see those reviews is on your Google My Business listing. It's the first impression you are giving to every shopper.

It's commonly thought that the quantity of reviews you receive can help you rank higher in a local pack search. Google new update is a quality filter for the local pack. Now, when someone is searching for the "best car dealer in Los Angeles" or "great place to get my oil changed in Redondo Beach" the local pack will only feature business that have a 4 star rating or higher. Try any sort of positive adjective and you will see the same filter. Since this filter doesn't look at quantity of reviews, a dealership with a high review could be ranked above in the local pack from a dealership with more reviews.   

The new focus on review quality shows the importance of focusing on positive reviews for your dealership. Remember to always follow the Google Best Practices for Getting Reviews when asking for reviews. Those guidelines will  ensure you don't have reviews flagged.