Geo keyword stuffing? Local landing pages that work - getting rid of the gibberish

[atulpatel]

This is a great topic. I've been thinking about this from a different angle - the consequences of SEO on paid media retargeting.

1/ Wasted retargeting
Dealers may end up retargeting passer byers with more and more wasted retargeting dollars. For instance, FB retargeting still comes back to impression based cost structure, so it could waste a ton of money unless the retargeting campaigns are locked down on geo. They should be, but you can't be sure.

2/ Skewed analytics
All of a sudden SEO based traffic, which may not even convert could end up causing organic to look worse or provide paid models to look better relatively.

3/ Excessive stuffing
It's really important to choose the named geos selectively, because you could be getting traffic for buyers outside of the dealer's PMA. Google search's "near me" doesn't exactly equate to franchise areas.

I think dealers who play the SEO game simply need to ensure that there aren't these consequences. Use a DMP and not just GTM to manage retargeting pixels, etc.

 

[Prentice Parton]

This movement started more than a decade ago and is a result of dealer principals transitioning the “guy that knows how to hook up the computers” in the dealership to lead their digital strategy w/ the vendors & “internet sales” thinking that they know UX.

 

[digital_gangster]

This is a great topic. I've been thinking about this from a different angle - the consequences of SEO on paid media retargeting.

1/ Wasted retargeting
Dealers may end up retargeting passer byers with more and more wasted retargeting dollars. For instance, FB retargeting still comes back to impression based cost structure, so it could waste a ton of money unless the retargeting campaigns are locked down on geo. They should be, but you can't be sure.

2/ Skewed analytics
All of a sudden SEO based traffic, which may not even convert could end up causing organic to look worse or provide paid models to look better relatively.

3/ Excessive stuffing
It's really important to choose the named geos selectively, because you could be getting traffic for buyers outside of the dealer's PMA. Google search's "near me" doesn't exactly equate to franchise areas.

I think dealers who play the SEO game simply need to ensure that there aren't these consequences. Use a DMP and not just GTM to manage retargeting pixels, etc.

Atul, Hello!

You make really good points here. I also think that when it comes to SEO, or other content related changes that you make to a website, the fallout needs to be considered.

I wonder, with more customers willing to go a little further to buy, or dealers willing to ship cars a little further for a sale, do we have to lock down the GEO?

When I see users come in from a zip code that might not be close by, first I think of "brand awareness", then I think of social/display retargeting. They are in the "pool" and will get served for a specific amount of time. Maybe they come back, maybe they do not, but now they know the brand. Will they remember? That remains unknown and could be considered wasted dollars.

The stuffing of GEO's is really a concern, we have all seen that. I wonder about mocking the homepage design structure, which I am going to think about a little more before deciding if that makes sense.

All in all, nice to see you here. Hopefully you'll be back to spread more data nuggets for all of us

 

[digital_gangster]

Ultimately I want to know if the result is worth the work. if I spend 200 hours reworking content to be relevant, adjusting links, correcting analytics errors (can we talk about self referrals for a second), making sure our pages are serving user intent, answering questions, and providing value to our website users vs the bullshit that get placed there now...will it move the needle enough to justify the time invested?

This might be a tough one to prove. Even with analytics to back up your theory versus the co-op services, the "free" money is going to win in most cases. Unless you are talking to an exec with the same, forward thinking mindset, of course.

Then it comes down to proving that Google cares, which is even harder to do unless you are tracking all events that highlight the organic customer came from YOUR content and converted.

 

[NIOMARVIN83]

Hey Gerry! So, you're not happy with all those city names on websites just to catch Google's eye. You're after something that actually helps people. You wonder if there's a better way to do it, especially for car shops. You're looking for tips on making a website good for folks and Google, without cramming in city names. You're not alone in this. It'd be great to figure out a way that works for everyone.