SEO: What is it and why is it so important for my business?

At AutoVici we always want to fill our customers in on important factors that can effect how people find their business online. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is one of these factors and most dealerships will have heard of it but most may not have an in depth understanding of what is is and why it is so important to their dealership. 

We have put together some information below to help you understand everything you need to know about SEO.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for “search engine optimisation.” In simple terms, it means the process of improving your site to increase its visibility when people search for products or services related to your business in Google, Bing, and other search engines. The better visibility your pages have in search results, the more likely you are to garner attention and attract prospective and existing customers to your dealership.

We will detail out below why SEO is really important for your dealership and how important it is that your website moves up through the rankings on search engines.

Why is SEO important?

After the Covid pandemic, the need for SEO rose to an all-time high. As consumers shifted en masse to online, all businesses small and large realised that they need to accelerate the shift of their business to digital.

It is quite clear that currently we are in a new digital age where between 80-90% of consumers now do their research and buying decisions online. For dealerships this now means that peoples first opinion of your business is no longer determined by your forecourt, but is based mostly on your digital presence.

SEO is the most viable and cost-effective way to both understand and reach customers in key moments that matter and many businesses know that they need SEO to drive customers to their website, and the benefits they will get from the SEO work being implemented on their behalf.

Most businesses still think glamorous advertising on traditional media like television and radio is the most valuable but in this digital age having your website appearing on page one of Google is one of the most important aspects of driving potential customers to your business. 75% of people never scroll past the first page of Google so having you website there is highly important on driving traffic to your dealership. The more traffic your website receives then the more chance you will get enquiries and therefore the more chance of potential sales.

A recent study shows that the first three organic search ranking positions result in over 50% of all click-throughs, while up to 30% of all results on Page 1 and 2 don’t get clicked at all.

Most consumers are not likely to search for your brand or business directly so in order to really start driving your dealership significant inbound enquiries, you need to be ranking for keywords relating to car sales within your area. 

A fantastic tool for checking popular search terms on google in your area is Google Trends. Just type in search terms and the tool will show you interest over time and related keywords.

Our websites are all optimised for SEO and we constantly update our websites and content to keep up with new SEO guidelines. Contact us if you are interested in finding out more about our websites.

We will have a range of articles in future that go into the finer details of actions a dealership can take to stay on top of their SEO.

John is one of the Co-founders at AutoVici / Carlover. He has a wealth of experience gained over the past 20 years with a career ranging from software engineering through to managing large product development teams. He has always been dedicated to building the best products for all industries but as he has been brought up obsessed with cars he always dreamed of building apps and enhancing peoples experience of the automotive industry.