Selecting an auto dealer website provider knowledgeable in
aut
omotive search engine optimization can give your automotive
dealership the competitive edge it needs to be successful
online. Many website providers choose to completely forego this
essential aspect of website creation because it requires
in-depth knowledge of the various search engines and their
proprietary algorithms. In addition, the process of properly
optimizing a site is ongoing and requires constant revision and
careful maintenance. The simple solution for many providers has
been to outsource this painstaking task. The question then
becomes
Should I go with a provider that out-sources SEO?
Should I use one that builds websites with SEO in mind?
The latter will always prove better results in the long run.
Simply put, a third party company will not be able to edit your
auto dealer website's framework as easily as your web site
provider and therefore is not as effective in giving your site
high placement in search engines.
These questions require careful consideration when choosing a
website provider. Below are a few ideas to help you make the
right decision.
Keyword Research
An immensely important part of the optimizing process is the
identification of relevant keywords and key phrases. An auto
dealer website provider should cultivate the right list for your
automotive dealership website in the setup process taking into
account your market and franchise. This is a highly specialized
and time consuming process requiring industry expertise. Once
your website provider has identified a good list of terms, they
should provide them to you for a review and update.
Site Review
This is an important consulting task where the site is evaluated
from a technical aspect. In order for an auto dealer website to
be given high placement in search results, the site needs to be
indexed and analyzed by the search engine. Search engines
accomplish this by sending out small computer programs, called
'Spiders' to compile this data about your website. The website
needs to be built in such a way that it can be easily accessed
by these spiders. For instance, search engine spiders do not
like flash, heavy graphics, and frames. The proper website
provider should use these elements as strategically as possible.
Manual Submission
It is important to manually submit to major search engines and
directories, as well as having a website provider that will send
you the submission confirmations. Submission alone does not
guarantee good positioning; it's the optimization of pages that
determines high rankings due to good content and properly coded
pages.
Paid Inclusion
These are fee based listings, available in various search
engines and directories. Overture's SiteMatch service will get
you listings in Yahoo!, AllTheWeb, AltaVista and other portals
for $10-$49 USD per URL. Another important paid inclusion for
commercial sites is the Yahoo! Express listing for $299 USD per
year.
Link Popularity Strategies
What's important here is to get high traffic sites to link to
you. This is not easy to do these days, and the proper website
provider knows how to get quality links without resorting to
unethical linking strategies.
Pay Per Click Options
Many times, a good balance between paid and organic search is
required to meet site goals, and a good auto dealer website
provider will utilize paid search and paid inclusion.
The main advantages of choosing a website provider with SEO
expertise is that you will get better results when experts do it
for you. SEO is a complex process that requires proficiency to
maintain long term results. SEO work requires a lot of trial and
error and has a steep learning curve because of ongoing changes
in search engine algorithms.
Reviewing the above information while interviewing a website
provider should help you choose an auto dealer website provider
that will make the most of your online marketing efforts with
effective automotive SEO and SEM.
About the author:
Bill Cook is the SEM Director for DealerOn, Inc - an
Automotive Dealer Website Design
Company providing
Online
Automotive Marketing Services to Auto Dealership
nationwide.
