SEO is Great but do you REALLY Know what Keywords Matter?

[Alex Jefferson]

Search Engine Optimization has been the "key phrase" for the online automotive marketplace for about the last 18 months. Whether you are using your website, BLOGS, Press Releases, or Videos to rank well in the search engines there are still some interesting questions to answer.

What keywords "REALLY MATTER" when it comes to turning your search results into $$$$$$.
There are many "stats" out there about this...and you all know how I feel about "STATS"

It seems like every piece of information you get there is always someone who comes out with a write-up on research they have done on the opposite train of thought.

For example:
Most of us know that the highest searched terms are usually make/Geo area ex. "Honda Dallas" or "Acura Miami" etc.

However, we are told by other "research" that long tail searches like "2009 Honda Accord Dallas" are what the "buyers" are typing. I know we are in the car business but do we know anyone who would ever type in that phrase when looking for a new or used car. It just doesn't seem logical, but I guess the way people search may not be logical.

What does your research tell you?

A few other questions
-What Search terms do you DOMINATE in your market?
-Do you use the google keyword tool?
-Do you use your own website statistics?
-Do you use wordtracker?

Just food for thought...Chime in and let me know what you think.

 

[mattwatson81]

Google has changed the game a little bit as well recently. Now when you search for just "honda dealer" it automatically includes LOCAL listings based on where the you are located at. I think searches like "honda dealer" and the dealership names are the most frequently searched for.

 

[Alex Jefferson]

Matt I think that is more of a myth than a reality at this point. I have been hearing about Google moving to this model for the last three months but haven't seen it come to fruition. For example, I tried several searches "Honda Dealer" "Acura Dealer" "Nissan Dealer" in my area and the only thing that showed up was a Honda Dealer Local business listing. The others did not even show that much.

 

[mattwatson81]

Matt I think that is more of a myth than a reality at this point. I have been hearing about Google moving to this model for the last three months but haven't seen it come to fruition. For example, I tried several searches "Honda Dealer" "Acura Dealer" "Nissan Dealer" in my area and the only thing that showed up was a Honda Dealer Local business listing. The others did not even show that much.

I see it when I do it. Shows different results from my house, my office, and I'm on the road now and I see different results.

Local business results for ford dealer near Fort Lauderdale, FL

- Change location - Back to resultsA.Maroone Ford Inc

- www.maroonetrucks.com - (954) 390-6418 - 1 review
B.Sawgrass Ford

- Browser Update Pageford.net - (954) 851-9000 - More
C.Plantation Ford: Parts

- Browser Update Pagefordonline.com - (954) 797-3750 - More
D.South Florida Ford Clearance Sale

- Browser Update Pageford.com - (954) 797-3785 - More
E.Ford Auto By Tel Maroone

- maps.google.com - (954) 390-6210 - More
F.Maroone Ford Inc: Heavy Truck Service

- maps.google.com - (954) 390-6553 - More
G.Powell Ford

- maps.google.com - (561) 368-2445 - More
H.Ford Dealers

- maps.google.com - (866) 661-3665 - More
I.Maroone Ford Inc: Used Truck Sales

- maps.google.com - (954) 390-6418 - More
J.South Florida Ford Dealers

- maps.google.com - (954) 423-1614 - More

 

[Alex Snyder]

Give this a try Alex http://adwords.google.com. There is tracking in there that can help you target specific keywords.

 

[todd.smith]

Alex,

Long tail keywords are definitely being used. One really cool thing that we monitor at ActivEngage is the keywords people use to navigate to the website and which of those keywords converted into an action. We then push that information back into Google Analytics for Cost/Conversion PPC measurement. I have given you a list here as an example. You can see how many are 3,4 or more terms. This really validates that people are using longer more specific terms to find what they want. This data is actual I have only removed proprietary keywords or ones that I felt give them competitive advantage. But you can see how many of the terms being searched are pretty long in length.

Honda Pilot
Honda Civic
Honda Insight
Honda Ridgeline
Honda Accord
Honda Odyssey
Honda Crv
Honda West New York
West New York Honda
Honda North Bergen
honda.com
Honda Deals
Honda Dealers Nj
Honda Express Service
Honda Cars
Honda Pilot 2009
Honda Nj
Honda Dealer
crv
2009 Honda Accord
Honda North Bergen Nj
Honda Pilot 2008
Honda Dealers In Nj
Honda Dealer Nj
Honda Lease Deals
Honda West New York Nj
2009 Honda Pilot
Honda Accord 2009
Honda Fit 2008
Used Cars For Sale
New York Honda Dealers
Nj Honda Dealers
Used Honda
Honda Odyssey 2009
Honda Dealers Ny
Honda Civic 2009
Honda Dealer New York
2008 Honda Accord
2008 Honda Pilot
Honda Dealers In Ny
Honda Dealerships In Ny
Used Hondas
Honda Dealers In New York
Honda Accord 2008
North Bergen Honda
Honda Specials
Honda Civics
Honda Dealer Ny
Honda Dealerships Ny
Honda Lease
Honda Lease Specials
Honda Dealerships In New York
Honda Dealers In Nyc
Honda Civic Si
Honda Dealer Jersey City
Honda Dealers Nyc
Honda Dealers New York
Honda Element
Honda Lease Deals Nj
Honda Jersey City
Honda Odyssey For Sale
Ny Honda Dealers
Honda Oem Parts
Honda Odyssey 2008
Honda Dealer Nyc
Honda Dealer In Jersey City
2009 Honda Crv
Honda Fit
New Jersey Honda Dealers
Used Honda Odyssey
Nyc Honda Dealers
2008 Honda Crv
Honda Cr-v
Honda Civic 2008
Honda Dealerships
Honda Dealerships New York
Jersey City Honda
New York Honda Dealerships
hondacrv
hondas
Honda New Jersey
Honda Dealerships Nyc
Honda Dealerships In Manhattan
Honda Dealer In Nyc
Honda Dealer In New York
Honda Dealer In Nj
Honda Care Extended Warranty
Honda Dealer West New York
Honda Dealers In The Bronx
Honda In North Bergen
Honda Ridgeline 2008
Honda Service Express
Used Honda Crv
Nyc Honda Dealership
Hundson Honda
Manhattan Honda
Lease A Honda
Hudson Nissan
Ny Honda Dealerships
Used Honda Cars
Route 22 Honda
Honda Of West New York Nj
Honda Pilot Deals
Honda Lease Specials Nj
"Honda North Bergen, Nj"
Honda Odessy
2009 Honda Accord Coupe
Honda Dealers Jersey City
Honda Dealership In Jersey City
Honda Dealership West New York
Honda Fit Deals
Honda Extended Warranty
Honda Dealerships In Nj
Honda Dealerships In Nyc
Honda Dealership Jersey City
Honda Dealership Nyc
Honda Dealers In Jersey City Nj
Honda Dealer North Bergen
Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda Crv 2008
Honda 07093
Honda 2008 Clearance
Express Service Honda
Honda Minivan
Honda New Jersey Dealers
Honda New York
Honda Odyssey 2010
Honda Nyc

 

[Indie Results]

I will tell you the method we use to determine what keywords matter for our dealership clients, the process is quite easy.

1.Make sure you are tracking goal conversion

(this means tracking KW's people use every time they submit a lead on your website and following that lead to the sale)

unless you are getting a significant number of leads and sales everyday this will take some time to gather significant data but in time you will have your list of "money keywords" this will make your dealership deadly effective in the future.

2. I typically use PPC advertising to help speed up the process, and when the dealership's budget allows it use "Glenn Livingstons 80/20 Survey" method to find out EXACTLY what is motivating the dealerships online shoppers

3. Once I have the KW's and understand the potential clients motivation, it is time to strike with an aggressive SEO and PPC campaign centered around the most valuable keywords.

 

[terrencegordon]

Alex -

This is a great post. I have 6 years of automotive keyword search data in my hard drive, and what the data tells us is that the short-tail phrases have historically produced the most traffic. They don't necessarily produce the highest conversions, which I'll leave off subject for now. But user behavior is changing towards more long-tail phrases across all industries.

I tend to believe search behavior is driven by search results - a chicken or the egg scenario. If you search for a specific vehicle on Google, you probably won't be greeted with the most relevant/recent results. So shorter and more generic terms are what people are more comfortable with. They then do the vehicle searching on the dealer's website, which is how the automotive industry caters to online visitors.

My company optimizes for vehicle-specific terms in addition to the generic terms. Regardless, I believe everyone needs to prepare themselves for the more "logical" online user.


Terrence Gordon
VP Search & Media
ecarlist
Dealership Website Design and SEO || Pricing Tool || Inventory Listing Management with eBay Motors, Cars.com, craigslist, Auto Trader

 

[mattwatson81]

I think most people use search engines to find websites that have vehicle classified listings, dealer websites, vehicle specs, or vehicle reviews . They don't use search engine queries directly to find specific cars for sale. I hope the difference there makes sense.

If you search for "kansas city 2008 ford escape xlt" right now one of our customer's sites comes up #2 on that long tail search due to how we optimize the detail pages... but I just don't think people search like that very often.

 

[Alex Jefferson]

Matt I think you came closer to my point on your last post. I am familiar with the different tools available online to determine search traffic which most of us are.

Todd - I think Matt came closer to the point I was making. I didn't see anything that raised eyebrows in the list you showed. Most of the searches were make/city/dealer variations and the first 7 you listed would apply to SEM instead of SEO.

If you search for "kansas city 2008 ford escape xlt" right now one of our customer's sites comes up #2 on that long tail search due to how we optimize the detail pages... but I just don't think people search like that very often.

I agree Matt...

Could it be that some SEO practices that companies sell dealers on is a waist of time? Mr. Dealer I gotcha at #1 for" 2009 Green Honda Accord Sedan EXL."

You guys may think this is a joke but a vendor actual "pitched" me on something very similiar.
Just food for thought...(Todd this is not directed at you)

What if dealers spent more time optimizing for a few key terms, expanded out to competing cities for these terms and then repeated against competing brands.

Does anyone work using this model or do you spend more time focusing on dominating your market for every keyword phrase for your brand? There seems to be a point of diminishing returns.

Give me your feedback guys and gals.