For independent auto dealerships, being found by local consumers is essential—and that means an emphasis on localized SEO is non-negotiable. Generally speaking, this is something that requires time and dedication, yet there are a few simple ways you can improve your dealership’s local search presence right now.

Tip #1. Get a Listing on Google My Business

When it comes to building a local search presence, this is truly the ground floor. You can sign up for a Google My Business account for free, and input your company’s local address and phone number. This free tool from Google helps your company to show up in more retail-oriented searches, including Map searches.

Ensure that your profile is complete, and that you keep it up to date; for example, if your dealership’s hours of operation change, update your Google My Business page. Also ensure you display your NAP information (name, address, and phone number) consistently across your website, all social media profiles, and your Google My Business page.

Tip #2. Implement Scheme Markup

This one is a little more technical, and may require you to watch an online tutorial—or else just reach out to your website development team.

Schema markup is a bit of HTML code you can add to your site behind-the-scenes, allowing you to display important information—including ratings and reviews, price points, location, phone number, and more—within your Google search listings. This can be a huge boost to your localized SEO!

Tip #3. Add Geographically Specific Keywords

You don’t want to overdo it. Your website content should still read naturally. But, if you can organically weave geographic keywords into your content, that will certainly help. Be as specific as you can—citing your city or even a specific neighborhood works better than just listing your state.

There are plenty of places where you can add keywords, but some of the most effective ones include title tags, headers, meta descriptions, and your URLs. The effect of all this? It tells Google what the relevant geographies are for you and your customers, and helps Google classify your page accordingly.

Tip #4. Get Listed in Directories

Getting citations—that is, links from other reputable websites—is one of the best things you can do for your local SEO efforts. One place to start: Get listed in local directories.

You may have a lot of options here, just depending on your location. Your city or town’s Chambers of Commerce page, for example, may have a small business listing. Look for directories of other local automotive professionals, too, and apply for a citation there.

Time to Call in the Pros?

Already done all four of these things? Ready to take your SEO efforts to the next level? It’s time to call Get My Auto. Our automotive marketing professionals are here to help your dealership succeed, all by connecting you to local customers. Learn more by reaching out to Get My Auto today!

With more than 600 million active users, Instagram is not a platform that dealership marketers can ignore. In fact, Instagram is not only popular and influential, but it is uniquely suited to meet the branding needs of dealerships, its image- and video-focus lending itself to visually pleasing cars and trucks.

Before your dealership can find success on Instagram, though, you first need to know your way around it—a tall order for those who have never even used Instagram before. But not to worry. Here’s a starting guide for the Instagram novices out there!

First, Adopt the Right Mindset

Before you do anything else, get your mind right—and adjust to Instagram’s uniquely visual-driven approach.

Instagram is all about images and videos; yes, you can write captions, but that’s not what draws people to this platform. Plus, it is important to note that Instagram’s user base skews young and includes a lot of creative and artistically-minded folks. The bottom line? If you’re going to find success on Instagram, you’ve got to start thinking in terms of creative, attention-grabbing images.

Start Exploring

Next, we’d recommend simply signing up for a personal Instagram account and exploring some of the options. Play around. Consider it a test drive! There’s no better way to familiarize yourself with the platform’s features—or its potential.

As you do so, you might also try following some of the dealerships in your area. See how they use the platform—what works for them, what doesn’t, and what you might draw inspiration from. Take special note of these things:

1. Which of their posts seem to get the most likes? What are the commonalities between these posts?
2. Are there certain types of posts that don’t seem to get as many likes? Again, what are the trends?
3. How often are these dealerships posting?
4. Are there consistent themes in their images?
5. What hashtags do they use?
6. What information do they provide in their captions, if any?

Set the Right Goals

It’s always wise to set clear, measurable goals before you launch any new social media campaign—and Instagram marketing is no exception. Generally speaking, there are three basic goals that an auto dealership might set:

– Get more followers, increasing your Instagram audience and reach;
– Build local awareness for your dealership;
– Create excitement over your inventory—hopefully propelling buyers to call you or come down to your showroom.

Always be sure your goal is attainable, measurable, and relevant to your dealership’s big picture.

Get Help with Your Instagram Marketing

Once you set your goals, it’s time to put a strategy in place and start meeting them—and that’s where Get My Auto comes in. We’re seasoned automotive marketing pros, and we work with independent auto dealerships throughout California to improve their visibility and move their sales needle. We’d love to help you put an Instagram marketing strategy into place. Reach out to us directly to get the process started!

At Get My Auto, one of our key service offerings is dealership-centered software products. We are tech innovators, and as such we know full well what dealerships are looking for in their software packages. Good marketing, CRM, or Craigslist automation programs can save you hassle while improving your bottom line; bad technology is merely frustrating, and can even turn out to be a waste of money.

The question is, how can you make sure you’re getting the very best software to meet your dealership’s needs? Here are just a few things to look for as you consider your next auto dealer software purchase.

Key Characteristics of Dealership Technology

– Ease of use. There’s nothing more maddening than investing in software and finding that it’s difficult to navigate, or that it poses challenges as you seek to train your team. Always spend some time actually demoing a piece of software before you buy it, and make sure it’s intuitive and accessible.
– Flexibility. Ideally, you’ll be able to access your software from any number of locations and any number of devices—all while ensuring that your information is safe and secure.
– Real-time data. Batch updates are no longer acceptable; it’s 2017, and high time dealerships all had access to their data in real time.
– Integration. You need different programs to do different things, and it’s important that they all work together in tandem; for example, having marketing solutions that integrate with your CRM platform is key.
– A knowledgeable team. You may have questions about how best to use your new software; how to troubleshoot it; or how to get the best solutions for your dealership’s specific needs. Knowing that you can contact an informed and helpful customer service team is crucial.
– Proactive support. Along similar lines, look for a support team that offers ongoing maintenance and key updates for the product you’re using.
– Long-term fit. You don’t want to have to spring for a new piece of software in a year’s time, so make sure the one you buy can scale well, and grow with your dealership.
– Affordability. Obviously, you want something that provides maximum value—so pay attention to the price point, but also factor in what you’re getting for your money.

Seeking Software Solutions for Your Auto Dealership?

If you’re in the market for software solutions that check all of these boxes, we invite you to reach out to our team. Get My Auto works exclusively with independent auto dealerships, and we provide programs that will help you move the sales needle—period.

Learn more today. Reach out to the Get My Auto team directly.

More and more consumers are doing their used car research online before they go to an actual dealership showroom. What this means, most basically, is that your dealership needs to be discoverable in the search engine algorithms. There are many components to this, and one of the key ones is on-page SEO.

What does this term involve, exactly? Basically, it’s all the tweaks and enhancements you can make to your actual website to make it more competitive in online search rankings. (Things like backlinks and social media shares, meanwhile, would be off-page SEO functions—and that’s a post for another day!)

So what can independent auto dealerships do today to make their websites more likely to rank well in Google searches—positioning themselves to be found by interested, local buyers? Here is a checklist that can get you started, straight from the digital marketing experts at Get My Auto.

An SEO Checklist for Independent Car Dealerships

Title tag. Your title tag is the actual title of the page, as it appears in the Google search algorithms; it’s important to have one of your SEO keywords included in the title tag, as organically as possible.

Meta description. The meta description tells Google what your site is about, and it also provides a summary to search engine users. Make sure yours is 160 characters or less, includes a keyword, and ends in a call to action.

URL. The URL itself needs to be SEO-friendly; always shoot for something short and descriptive, not a random string of letters or numbers. Something like www.mydealership.com/cars/honda is a good example.

Headings. Section subheadings—also called H1, H2, and H3 tags—should be bold, or in a larger font than your other text; these are used to break your content into sections, and they are also good places to include keywords.

Body content. Your written content should include a few judiciously placed, organic keywords—including one within your first paragraph or so, if at all possible.

Responsive design. It’s imperative that your site be friendly and accommodating to mobile users; that’s what responsive design is really about.

Rich content. Videos and graphics go a long way toward keeping people on your site—and that helps with your rankings.

Links. If possible, include internal links to relevant pages within your site. Also include external links to good, relevant resources whenever you can.

Contact information. Make sure each page of your dealership website includes your dealership’s name, phone number, and address. This is vital for local search listings.

Call to action. End your online content by inviting the reader to take the next step—calling you on the phone, or simply visiting your dealership.

Develop a Dealer Website That Can Be Found

With this checklist, you’re well on your way to an easily discoverable dealership website—but if you need help implementing any of these strategies, we invite you to call us. Reach out to the dealership marketing experts at Get My Auto today!

Generally speaking, the fall season is a sluggish one for auto sales—at least compared with the brisk sales pace of summer. Most dealerships plan for their numbers to fall a bit once school’s back in session and the weather turns cold. As it turns out, that may not be the case this year—and in fact, early data suggests that the fall shopping season has been fairly favorable to dealerships.

According to Get My Auto’s internal data, there was indeed a slight dip in sales as summer transitioned into fall—as is expected. Already, though, it seems like sales are rebounding. In fact, traffic to dealership websites rose by three percent between September and October—a pretty good metric for overall interest in new vehicle purchases. And views of specific vehicle detail pages (VDP), another key indicator, are also on the rise.

That positive trend is welcome for dealerships, especially as they head into the final month of the year—a time when end-of-year sales and discounts tend to bring a lot more shoppers into showrooms.

Something else to consider is that Black Friday—often one of the top auto sales days of the year—is not encompassed by any of this data. Last year found new auto loan applications soaring in anticipation of Black Friday, and sales spiking accordingly. There is every reason to believe that this year’s Black Friday was similarly successful, even as we await the final numbers.

Still another important metric: Search advertising cost-per-click, or CPC, which is generally considered to be a signifier for consumer demand. Right now, that number is averaging more than $3.50 nationwide—a number that’s been rising for several months straight. Again, this is a meaningful sign that people are looking to buy in the not-so-distant future.

All of these facts and figures point to some great opportunities for auto dealerships, even before 2017 comes to a close—but to take advantage of those opportunities, it’s going to require a focused effort at generating and capturing leads. In other words, a robust marketing campaign, helping distinguish your dealership from the competition.

This might encompass a range of tactics; the essentials, in our estimation, are paid Facebook ads, Craigslist posts, and a general focus on local SEO. All of these elements should be united in a holistic marketing campaign—and that’s something Get My Auto can deliver.

People are looking to buy vehicles—so what is your dealership doing to connect with them? Now is the time to spring into action! Contact Get My Auto to begin putting an integrated digital marketing plan into place today.

Dealer marketing is ever-changing—and for a number of reasons. For one thing, dealer marketing technology is constantly advancing and improving. Additionally, consumer behaviors can ebb and flow. What’s critical for your dealership is knowing where things are headed—and preparing accordingly.

With that said, what can dealerships expect from 2018? What are some things you can do to prepare for 2018’s dealer marketing landscape? Here are a few suggestions from the Get My Auto team.

Responsive Web Design

Statistics show that the vast majority of auto consumers do plenty of online research before they ever visit a dealership; in fact, most buyers already know what car they wish to purchase when they first set foot in your showroom. And a great deal of online research is done from mobile devices—making it imperative for your dealership’s website to be mobile-friendly.

Try accessing your site on a variety of devices, including phones and tablets. Do you find it hard to navigate? Do you have to do a lot of scrolling or zooming just to see the content? If so, you need to invest in responsive Web design ASAP.

Video Marketing

Another important dealer marketing trend is video content. Simply put, video content is incredibly useful—and for a few different reasons:

– It retains viewers far more effectively than written content does.
– It also allows you to compress a lot of valuable information into an easily-digestible format.
– Details you share in a video are far easier for viewers to retain than anything they read on your site.

The best part is, video marketing is pretty easy to get into. In fact, a decent cellphone camera and some basic video editing software are all you need to make a strong first effort.

Targeted Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads not only allows for amazing reach, but also for amazing targeting. By tapping into Facebook’s rich trove of consumer information, you can display ads precisely to the people most likely to buy from you. When done right, Facebook Ads is a cost-effective way to expand your audience and boost your sales.

Craigslist

This last one might surprise you. After all, Craigslist strikes many dealers as a bit of an antique. The thing is, Craigslist remains one of the most powerful avenues for advertising inventory and for driving traffic to dealer website—and to physical showrooms. Get our Craigslist Wizard app to ensure your ads are fully optimized.

A new year brings with it plenty of new trends. Are you ready to keep up? Make sure your dealership is marketing as effectively as possible; get guidance from our team of pros. Reach out to Get My Auto to learn more about the next steps in your dealer marketing endeavors.

Where do your buyers come from? How do they make their purchasing decisions? And which online channels ultimately lead them to call or visit your dealership? These are important questions for your dealership to answer before you launch a digital marketing strategy.

Essentially, this all boils down to your sales funnel. At any given moment, you’ll have leads who are at different stages of their buying journey—some just beginning to research, others almost prepared to make their final purchase. Your marketing should address each of these different stages, nurturing those leads to the point of conversion.

To accomplish this, you’ll need to direct those marketing efforts in a few different places.

SEO

Data shows that a majority of consumers begin their used car purchasing journey by heading to the search engines—so it’s imperative that your dealership have a strong branded presence there. Local SEO is especially important, as you’ll obviously want to be found by consumers in your market.

PPC

SEO is just one way to canvas the search results page; it’s also important to have paid ads, which create brand awareness. In fact, research shows that many used car consumers actually place a lot of stock in PPC ads, so you’ll definitely want to make your dealership visible to consumers who are in the early research stages.

ORM

As consumers use the Web to determine which car to buy, they’ll also want to know where to buy from—and for your dealership to be chosen, good ratings and reviews are imperative. This is where online reputation management comes into play.

Content Marketing

One of the keys to nurturing leads is educating them—building trust by showing potential customers important points about buying their next vehicle. Blogs, social media, and press releases can all be impactful here.

User Experience

Your website itself will come into play once consumers start narrowing down their search. Make sure yours is mobile optimized, full of good information, and set up to capture lead information.

Retargeting

Once a potential buyer navigates away from your site, you can use retargeting—and in particular Facebook retargeting—to maintain awareness of your dealership.

The average buyer will use many different channels to research vehicles and dealerships—and for yours to stand out as the brand of choice, you’ll need to ensure a strong presence and a smooth experience at each step along this journey.

In other words, you’ll need an integrative marketing strategy. We can help you put one in place. Reach out to Get My Auto to begin the process today