Most car dealerships are at a disadvantage when it comes to automotive SEO. Many dealers use a website platform such as Ansira (now Sincro), Sincro, Apollo, or Dealer.com by Cox Automotive and use the bundled SEO that comes with it. The typical SEO package includes some blog articles, some social media management, and a few other things. Unfortunately, that doesn’t give them the ranking power that they need to get better traffic to their website and more car buyers in this store. In this automotive SEO guide for car dealerships, we are going to lay out the perfect SEO strategy for car dealerships.
The Four Pillars of Content for Automotive SEO
Car dealerships primarily offer four different “products” for their customers. These include buying new/used vehicles, financing new/used vehicles, vehicle service, and parts/accessories. Here is the content that car dealerships should have on their website beyond their inventory:
- Car education: These content pieces include new/used vehicle buying guides, vehicle comparison guides, feature guides, trim guides, and leasing.
- Financing education: These content pieces include everything from how to improve your credit score to making a downpayment or a trade in to lower your monthly payment.
- Service education: These article pages educate people on how often they need to service their vehicle, service plans, and anything that a service side of a dealership does.
- Parts/accessories education: Any parts and accessories that a car dealership sells.
Here is how we built out this strategy for a Honda car dealership:
We started work on this website in September 2023. We are so confident of the SEO strategy that we are willing to share the specific article types and categorization that we used as their pillars.
The Important Piece of Success: Backlinks for Automotive SEO
Backlinks are the most important piece of the automotive SEO strategy beyond content. When this Honda dealer started working with us, they had a DA 14 website. In order to double traffic and rankings, we needed to focus on the following for backlinks:
- Backlinks from automotive-niche websites.
- Anchor texts that related to the brand and the make/trim; the service, or the focus keyword of the article.
- A focus on sites with a DA or DR higher than OUR website.
- A focus on sites that actually have a measurable amount of traffic.
Technical SEO: Another Important Piece of the Ideal Automotive SEO Strategy
Technical SEO is a must for car dealerships. We’re not just talking about title tags and meta descriptions. We’re talking about schema for your car inventory, business schema, and other markup for your dealership. This includes:
- Making sure that each car in your inventory has the correct car dealership inventory schema markup.
- Making sure that your website has “local business” schema markup.
- Making sure that your dealership also has review markup where appropriate.
Ultimately, the idea behind schema is to convey the meaning of each page on your website to Google and ultimately helps you with your overall positioning and ranking.
How Should You Deploy Pages On Your Car Dealership Website?
For the pillars of content that are mentioned above, it’s really important to get the internal linking and deployment right. First and foremost:
- Do not publish these as blog posts.
- Publish these as pages with an appropriate URL, such as /honda-financing.
- Make sure to internally link your pages correctly.
Here is an example with the vehicle buying guides page:
This is the landing page for the new vehicle buying guides. Each vehicle is featured on the page and has an internal link to the article about the individual vehicle.
For each vehicle comparison page, it is internally linked from the buying guide article.
Each “silo” or pillar of content should be accessible within one click of the homepage. You could consider adding a resources library as a link in the main nav with the drop downs of “Financing” “Vehicle Guides,” “Service” and “Parts & Accessories.”
What is the Lowdown on the Automotive SEO Providers?
There are several automotive SEO providers. Here, we will give you the lowdown on each one and whether they are any good.
Key: 🤷= Not Sure, 👍 = Good, 👎= Don’t Bother
We compared this to the package that we did for the Honda Dealership, which paid $3k per month. Deliverables included 20 pages of content and 20 DA40+ backlinks
DealerOn 👎
DealerOn is reportedly the top dealer SEO provider online. They have three packages:
- Base: $1499
- Core: $1999
- Elite: $2999
Should You Use Them?
No. We do not recommend DealerOn because you do not get monthly content at a pace that grows your dealership.
Their Base package includes 2 monthly blog posts, 1 comparison page per year. Their core package includes 2 monthly blog posts and 2 comparison pages per year. Their Elite package includes 4 monthly blog posts and 2 comparison pages per year. Each package has a model research page that they set up for you once and update over time.
Dealer.com (by Cox Automotive) 🤷
Dealer.com does not mention automotive SEO prices on their website, but they appear to focus heavily on SEO. They do not mention content creation, service pages, or model/comparison pages.
Should You Use Them?
It’s uncertain what you get with each of their services. They offer a Google Business Profile optimization which can be a good starter package. There are some reviews available about their platform and SEO, but none mention their service offerings or pricing.
Loopex Digital 🤷
Loopex Digital is a growth-driven SEO agency offering personalized strategies tailored to each client's needs. Their services include local and international SEO, technical SEO, link building, digital PR, e-commerce SEO, and SEO consulting. They emphasize transparency, providing detailed weekly reporting calls to discuss website performance metrics.
Pricing:
Loopex Digital charges between $30 - $70 per hour, with the average minimum project size costing $3,500. Their monthly retainers start around $1,159.89 for basic packages, which typically include 10–15 hours of work.
Should You Use Them?
Yes. Loopex Digital is recommended for dealerships seeking customized SEO strategies with transparent reporting. Their comprehensive range of services and commitment to client success make them a strong choice for enhancing your dealership's online presence.
Promodo 🤷
Promodo is a leading digital marketing agency specializing in automotive SEO and e-commerce. They offer services such as SEO audits, on-site optimization, link building, and organic market research. With over 19 years of experience and more than 3,500 successful projects, their notable clients include BMW, Mini, and 1010 Tires.
Pricing:
Promodo's monthly SEO services start at $1,200 for their small package, which includes optimization for up to 200 keywords and up to 10 pages. Their medium package is priced at $2,000 per month, covering up to 1,000 keywords and 30 pages, while the large package is $4,000 per month, accommodating up to 2,000 keywords and 60 pages.
Should You Use Them?
Yes. Promodo's extensive experience and tailored SEO packages make them a solid choice for dealerships aiming to improve their online visibility and search engine rankings.
SEOProfy 🤷
SEOProfy is a digital marketing agency focusing on advanced data-driven SEO approaches. They provide services such as on-site optimization, link building, and local SEO, assigning full-time experts to each project to ensure personalized attention and impactful results.
Pricing:
SEOProfy charges between $100 - $149 per hour. Specific package details and pricing are customized based on client needs and project scope.
Should You Use Them?
Uncertain. SEOProfy's data-driven strategies and dedicated project management make them a valuable partner for dealerships seeking in-depth SEO optimization.
OuterBox 👍
OuterBox is a leading digital marketing agency offering services in SEO, paid media, and Google Ads. With over 250 experts, they are recognized as a top e-commerce SEO provider, creating custom campaigns for clients across various industries.
Pricing:
OuterBox's pricing is customized based on the specific needs and goals of each client. They offer tailored SEO strategies, and interested dealerships are encouraged to contact them directly for a personalized quote.
Should You Use Them?
Yes. OuterBox's expertise in e-commerce and custom campaign development makes them a strong candidate for dealerships looking to enhance their online marketing efforts.
Digital Nomads HQ 🤷
Digital Nomads HQ is a digital marketing agency specializing in SEO and content marketing. Their experienced team offers custom strategies targeting client goals and industry needs, aiming to build long-term marketing partnerships through data-driven insights.
Pricing:
Pricing details for Digital Nomads HQ are not explicitly listed. It's recommended to contact them directly to discuss your dealership's specific needs and obtain a customized quote.
Should You Use Them?
Uncertain. Digital Nomads HQ's focus on tailored strategies and long-term partnerships makes them a valuable option for dealerships aiming to improve their digital marketing performance. However, they do not mention specific details or pricing on their website.
