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Best SEO Company for 2020? And......go!

John V.

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Jan 15, 2015
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John
Over the past 12 - 18 months, I decided to break the mold and use a non-automotive vendor for SEO. Being that two of my stores are located in a vacation destination, I decided to use a local vendor who works with local hotels and injury lawyers because:
  1. They know my local market because they live here
  2. They offer a different perspective on SEO (local) than say DDC or the other Automotive specific vendors
  3. They are CHEAP! ($400/mo.)
The issue that I have run into is that since they are not automotive based, they really have no idea what to optimize for without extreme hand holding. Optimizing for discontinued models or putting "2020" terms on cars that are not out yet and getting dinged by compliance. etc. etc. They also do not build pages, they only optimize whatever i decide to build and then send over to them. They essentially just add tags, updated meta data/descriptions, and keywords. Not much but has helped and is about 1/4th of what everyone else charges.

Who has an vendor they work with that they actually like that they believe is worth the squeeze? After seeing what this company does and looking at how seemingly easy it is, I am contemplating taking it in-house but I just do not have the time to create content for 4 stores on a regular basis and actually do my job.

Recommendations....?
 
Last edited:
Over the past 12 - 18 months, I decided to break the mold and use a non-automotive vendor for SEO. Being that two of my stores are located in a vacation destination, I decided to use a local vendor who works with local hotels and injury lawyers because:
  1. They know my local market because they live here
  2. They offer a different perspective on SEO (local) than say DDC or the other Automotive specific vendors
  3. They are CHEAP! ($400/mo.)
The issue that I have run into is that since they are not automotive based, they really have no idea what to optimize for without extreme hand holding. Optimizing for discontinued models or putting "2020" terms on cars that are not out yet and getting dinged by compliance. etc. etc. They also do not build pages, they only optimize whatever i decide to build and then send over to them. They essentially just add tags, updated meta data/descriptions, and keywords. Not much but has helped and is about 1/4th of what everyone else charges.

Who has an vendor they work with that they actually like that they believe is worth the squeeze? After seeing what this company does and looking at how seemingly easy it is, I am contemplating taking it in-house but I just do not have the time to create content for 4 stores on a regular basis and actually do my job.

Recommendations....?

John,

I'll offer up my simple recipe for SEO success:
  • We all know that building quality content on a consistent basis is needed - however, it often becomes an exercise in futility.
    • Why is the content being created?
    • What is the primary topic, how is it being targeted & optimized?
    • Do the pages include any form of conversion optimization?
  • Is the page speed optimized?
  • How is the UX maximized?
  • Is the GMB experience also maximized & tracked?
  • Which structured data elements are being used to improve your chances of showing up for knowledge boxes and featured snippets.
  • How is the content managed & updated at scale for multiple rooftops? (process for accuracy & consistency?)
  • How does the entire effort integrate with an omnichannel approach?
I don't believe there is much value in a stand-alone SEO service considering the state of zero-click search, the need for high-quality, relevant content & the importance of distributing the content to your other marketing channels.

Happy to answer any other questions you have & share examples of the success with our platform.
 
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