Ten Tips for Better Search Engine Results

[ISM]

Visit your competitor's websites and mystery shop the high volume successful Internet Departments you read about in Industry Publications. Utilize your browser's "View Source" to see the HTML code behind the page. You'll be able to do keyword searches with various search engines then view the code of the sites listed highest on the page. Note the keywords, descriptions and title information at the top of the source code.
Make the most of < META > tags. Meta tags are HTML words and descriptions that the user doesn't see, but search engines use to categorize your site. For example: < META name="keywords" content="Toyota, new Toyota, used Toyota, Corolla, Camry" > and < META name="description" content="Springfield Toyota is a New, Certified Preowned, and Used Toyota dealer serving (towns where your competitors are located) offering Toyota Camry, Corolla, Prius, (etc.) and wide range of used cars, trucks, and Certified vehicles.">
Keywords are KEY to your success and one of your most important assets. Do not repeat keywords, phrases or word combinations immediately following each other. Some search engines will penalize, or disqualify your website from their search results. Learn more about keywords at the free Keyword Academy (http://affiliate.wordtracker.com/r/699/a/155619/l/m31hz0).
Limit the number of keywords and the length of your description. If you need more than 30 keywords, assign the most important or descriptive words at the beginning. If the search engine ignores your list after a certain number of characters, the most important keywords will be indexed in their database.
Make certain that you use a descriptive < TITLE > tag. Instead of < TITLE > Your Dealership Name < /TITLE > For example, use: < TITLE >Your Dealership Name - New Toyota, Certified Toyota, Preowned Toyota, and Used Toyota, Camry, Corolla, Prius, (etc.) < /TITLE >. Search engines look for matches to keyword searches in the title of the home page.
Use < ALT > tags for photos and graphics. ALT tags provide text for browsers to search the name of a graphic as it loads and for those visiting your site with their Auto Load Images option turned off. Search engines will scan the ALT tags for search term matches. Example: < IMG SRC="/images/c1.jpg" ALT="Picture of Toyota Camry">.
Avoid the use frames in the design of your site. Web page source for a framed site generally provides no useful information for the search engine to index. Until recently, search engines have dealt with frames similar to links on the page. Your main page is indexed first, but the search engine later returns to index your secondary pages as if they were external links. Confirm that your main page (index.htm or default.htm) has descriptive text between the < NOFRAMES > and < /NOFRAMES > tag. Ideally, the descriptive text contains your most important keywords.
Check your website's ranking at least quarterly using your keywords to make certain that your site hasn't been dropped or disqualified by search engines. Go to the primary search engines and search your dealership name. If your site isn't being indexed, analyze your < META > tags, keyword density, and site structure as a start to finding out why your site is not listed.
Get listed in Yahoo! It can be well worth the effort. Select the best category for your site then use the "Suggest a Site" link at the bottom of the page to submit your URL. You can be listed in more than one category, but Yahoo! will let you suggest only one category each time.
Search Engines have “Been There, Done That.” Do NOT try to outsmart them by such trivia as "hiding" keywords to fool them. Search engines calculate keyword density (number of times they appear on a page) and may penalize your keywords exceed 3% of total words on the page.

[CarGuy1]

I don't know HTML, but I think I need to learn a little about it. Until then, I am adding some images to my site and need a better explanation about this ALT Tag stuff in #6.

[ISM SEO]

First, congratulations on your interest in advancing your knowledge. When I was working as an Internet Sales Manager I tried to take a little time out of every workday to do the same. I now have more work than I can possibly handle optimizing websites. An excellent place to begin learning the basics of HTML can be found at W3Schools Online Web Tutorials (http://www.w3schools.com/).

As to the ALT Tags in the example, the keyword is Toyota Camry and its safe to assume the graphic is a picture of that car: < IMG SRC="/images/c1.jpg" ALT="Toyota Camry">. The IMG SRC is where the image resides; for example photobucket.com (http://photobucket.com/). For a more detailed explanation, see HTML <IMG> TAG Definition and Usage (http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_img.asp).

After becoming a little more familiar with HTML, come back here and review what follows for a perfectly optimized image as defined below:

<td>Keyword<br>
<p><img src=”images/keyword.jpg” alt=”keyword” />
keyword</p>
</td>

Top Optimization Factors

Keyword in same table cell as image.
Keyword below or above image in DIV or floating DIV.
Keyword in ALT tag.
Keyword in image name and image meta file summary.
Keyword in same paragraph as image.


Acceptable Code

<div style=”float:right”><img s rc=”image/keyword.jpg” /><br>keyword in more than 4 words and less than 10.</div>
<p>text blah blah</p>

Factors in Order Of Importance

Factors 2 and 5 equal
Factor 1
Factor 4
Factor 3

[michaelj]

Don't you think some of this is getting "above our pay grade?" I would think we have to depend on our web site providers to do this for us.

[ISM]

Don't you think some of this is getting "above our pay grade?" I would think we have to depend on our web site providers to do this for us.

A competent Internet Sales Manager has a vested interest in participating in superior SEO results and knows enough about SEO to research and ask intelligent questions when evaluating SEO performance for the dealership’s website.

There are many sides to selling vehicles, websites and Search Engine Optimization. Putting blind faith in your website provider to produce great search engine results is like trusting your salespeople to make sure every customer gets a fair deal. All sides are very opinionated and it’s rare that they choose the same path to the same end.

Website providers like salespeople have many customers and some continue to develop relationships better than others after the sale. You know the salesperson you would refer a friend or relative to and you should know the website provider you’ll refer your dealer to.

Just taking the following 3 steps will go a long way to improving your dealerships Search Engine Optimization:


Type your dealership’s name into your browser

a. Leave out the www and the .com in your search, typing only your dealership name.
b. Count the number of times your dealership’s URL is listed in the first 10 organic results.
c. Disregard the paid search results and don’t confuse links to Edmunds, Yahoo!, DealerRater, SuperPages, and others that are hijacking your dealership URL with links to their sites.
d. Without exception your dealership should be listed first with a direct link to your site. If you are not listed first in the organic results, begin your search for a new website provider immediately.
e. Your goal is to occupy the first 10 listings – every listing on page one of a Google search.
Contact your website provider to develop a plan to do so.

a. If your website provider is not receptive to working with you to occupy the first 10 listings on page one, find a new website provider.
Repeat every 30 days.


There's a tremendous amount of behind the scenes work required to occupy the first 10 positions in a Google search for your dealership. There's no simple way to accomplish this so you can rest assured that your website provider has developed a strategy and is tactically competent when there is consistent progress in occupying more positions as each month passes. Accept the fact that this will take some time. Be patient, but measure results and demand improvement every month.

While your website provider is doing their part, be prepared to participate in getting your own results. There are two primary ways that an Internet Sales Manager can personally make contributions to benefit organic SEO results as well as your dealership. If you haven't already done so:




Implement a social media program for your dealership by creating a Facebook page and a blog.
Create a structured approach to manage positive customer reviews.

[Chris]

Create a structured approach to manage positive customer reviews.


And here is an excellent post on how to do just that! (http://www.dealerinternetups.com/entry.php?13-Dealer-Reputation-Management)