Upcoming Automotive SEO Trends in 2020
Your automotive dealership relies heavily on online marketing to drive sales and to define its brand image. Simply creating online content is not an effective way to get the recognition that your auto business needs today. Content must be written specifically with effective SEO strategies in mind. This is a constantly changing landscape, so it is important to look forward in order to see what trends will influence your online marketing efforts in the coming year.
The Increased Prevalence of Snippets – SEO
According to Google, almost 55 percent of clicks from search engine results are driven by snippets. These are short answers to common questions. Google determines which snippets it will show based on a website’s relevance and authority, so your automotive business’s ability to have this coveted position can pay dividends.
Voice-Based Searches – 2020 SEO Factors
Approximately half of all search engine queries will be voice-based within the next year. This means that localized searches as well as long-tail keywords will become increasingly important to an auto dealership’s campaigns. Your search engine optimization strategy should take this trend into account in order to maximize search engine rankings and increase online exposure.
Improved Algorithms for Relevance, Distance and Prominence l SEO
If your online marketing strategy is based on buying reviews or comments, you may be wasting your money. Search engines are actively improving algorithms that weed these factors out of the equation and that focus on products or services in the local area that are legitimately based on customer satisfaction and relevance. With this in mind, it may make sense to focus on improving your customer satisfaction rating strategically rather than inflating your image artificially.
Continued Popularity of Videos – 2020
Live TV has been falling out of grace for years as consumers transition to online videos, and this is expected to continue. Many consumers would also rather watch videos to get information rather than to read reviews, blogs and more. However, SEO is essential when posting videos in order to improve their visibility with search engine results. For example, the video’s headline and description should be written around well-chosen keywords. Importance of Dwell Time and Click-Through Rates
Search engine algorithms take into account how many people click on your link and how long people spend on the page. This information is increasingly used by search engines to determine relevancy. Therefore, ensuring that your landing pages provide truly useful information and are well-designed with user-friendliness in mind are essential components of an online marketing campaign for your auto dealership.
Relevance of a Mobile Interface
Among consumers who are searching for local content online, 88 percent will use a smartphone. Google uses a mobile index rating to determine how user-friendly and relevant your mobile interface is. This is separate from other algorithms and metrics used for the desktop platforms. To benefit from superior mobile rankings, your mobile interface must be well-designed and feature useful information related to searches. This information should be easy to see because many users will not scour a website to find the information that they are looking for. Instead, they may quickly click off of a website in search of a website that offers the information readily.
New Engagement Metrics
Google is now taking into account how engaged consumers are with your business or website. For example, Google may analyze how many users look for your business’s location using Google Maps. It may also analyze how many users have saved your business’s phone number in their smartphone’s contact list. Metrics are also pulled from Gmail, Google Assistant, Chrome and other sources to gauge engagement.
User-Centric Content
Online content should be designed around a comprehensive SEO strategy, but it also should be written with users in mind. Content must help readers in some way, but it should not be overly salesy. Consumers are often inclined to block out information that has a strong sales-oriented slant. Instead, they frequently look for content that is delivered in an unbiased way. Keep in mind that longer content is often filled with more useful information to the consumer. In addition, longer content may increase dwell time. When longer, relevant articles or content is posted regularly, Google may reward your website with a higher ranking.
Keeping up with the changing trends in search engine optimization and online marketing is time-consuming and confusing at times. However, this is an area where your auto dealership must excel in order to thrive. Customer Scout provides effective search engine optimization services that are specifically customized to meet the unique needs of car dealerships. To learn more about our services, contact Customer Scout today.