Category Archives: SEO

Google announced a few days ago via Matt Cutts Twitter that they are rolling another Panda update.

This is significant because we tend to react to big events but not to small roll outs and Google (Panda updates started in 2011). In this article from last year you can see some time perspective and also a good video from Matt Cutts explaining what to do if you were affected by the changes.

How does Panda affect my dealership?

We believe that Panda will affect long tail searches right away and different dealers need to look at slightly different strategies depending on their situation.

Some easy to see gains are searches like this one 2014 toyota corolla everett.

For dealers like Tom Matson in Auburn where they have heavy PPC competition plus Google bringing “other” Auburn’s across the US into the SERP local content was very important (notice usually Auburn Dodge Indiana in the SERP).

May 20^th, Google released yet another update to their search algorithm.  This update primarily targeted duplicate content, thin content, and low quality content.  This update is estimated to effect approximately 7.5% of search results.  Everyday Google is working on ways to improve their search results, trying to serve up the best possible search results.

What is duplicate content, thin content, and low quality content?

Duplicate content is when one website steals or borrows content from another website.  For example an article from one blog is copy and pasted into another blog.  Google gives very little value to content it recognizes as duplicate than original / unique content.

Thin content is when a webpage or website has very little content on the page or site.  Google doesn’t give a number of words it likes to see on every page, but if a webpage has less then 50 or 100 words on it, there is a chance Google won’t value it very highly.

Low quality content is a mixture of duplicated content, spammy content, bad spelling, and grammatical errors.  If a webpage’s content is copy and pasted from another site and then only reworded slightly, that could be seen as low quality content.

What does this mean for dealerships?

With every update Google releases the importance of high quality and unique content increases.  Content Motive offers a variety of SEO and content marketing products that focus on producing high quality unique content.  Not only does the content Content Motive produces index well in Google search results, the content is also invaluable to car shoppers looking for information on the cars and services they are interested in.  Let our professional writers help boost your dealership’s content marketing strategy.

The old adage goes, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. That saying holds very true for the bidding war that is PPC. Knowing what your competition is doing is key in coming on top of paid and organic search results. A tool that should be in every search engine marketers arsenal of tricks is SpyFu. SpyFu is a free tool, though you can subscribe for even more features, that is great for keyword research and competitive analysis.

A quick search in SpyFu reveals a treasure trove of intel. Key metrics such as search volume, CPC, CTR, and ranking difficulty are great for performing keyword research. However, it should be noted that the data is not real-time. SpyFu obtains the data via web-scraping and it is refreshed on a monthly basis. As a result, the data is better used as a guide to track larger trends in SEM/SEO rather than a real-time keyword tracker.

As the name implies, SpyFu also reveals valuable information on your competitors PPC ad copy, projected monthly budget, and ad position. For SEO purposes, SpyFu reveals what domains dominate a search term with information such as the domain strength and estimated monthly clicks. Knowing what you’re up against is vital in determining your overall PPC and SEO strategy.

Let us figure out your strategy for your dealership.  Here at Integrated PPC and at Content Motive we have a cohesive strategy that leads the automotive industry.

Like Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippen, peanut butter & jelly, and under appreciated R&B 70′s duo Herbs & Peaches – reunited and it feels so good – SEO & PPC together is greater than the sum of its parts.

Some people may disagree with that statement and make this analogy, “Why should I pay for the milk (PPC) when I have a cow that will give it away for free (SEO)”. This argument might be valid if we’re talking about bovines and dairy products. However, we’re not talking about free milk; we’re talking clicks and conversions. Those who treat SEO and PPC as two mutually exclusive online marketing tactics will be missing out on tremendous digital marketing opportunities.

Here are some reasons why you should be utilizing both SEO and PPC in your digital marketing campaign.
 
The Rules of Real Estate
Think of the SERP (search engine results page) as valuable real estate. Any screen space above the fold can be considered valuable waterfront property. Screen space below the fold on the first page is a rather nice neighborhood with a few gated communities and a Whole Foods. While anything on the second page and beyond is the wrong side of the tracks. Just as in real estate, getting clicks and impressions is all about location location location. Having top positions in both SEO and PPC greatly increases the chance that your home page or landing page will become a popular destination.

Shared Keyword Data
Running an SEO and PPC campaign gives you double the data to analyze. Determine which organic and paid keywords have the highest conversion rate, and use that data to optimize your overall strategy.

Greater Authority Figure On a Subject
Studies have shown that when businesses hold top spots in both SEO and PPC they are seen as a more trusted authority figure on a subject. So when Joe Car Repair holds top positions in both organic and paid search, he is going to be viewed as a much more competent mechanic than Gary Car Repair – yelp reviews withstanding – and much more likely to be clicked on.

Test Organic Keywords with PPC
Using PPC is a great way to refine your organic keyword strategy. As you evolve your long term keyword strategy, you can test the conversion rate of words that you want to rank for with PPC ads. You’ll get immediate feedback on the success, or failure, of organic keywords you’d like to rank for.

Greater than the sum of its parts – Content Motive and Integrated PPC when used together will help maximize your dealership’s leads and sales potential.

Online content marketing is any marketing done online that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers.  This information can be presented in a variety of formats, including custom websites, custom webpages, blogs, review sites, social media, how-to guides, question and answer articles, photos, etc.

So basically, online content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and potential customers without selling.  It is a non-confrontational form of marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer smarter and increasing their interest in the product. The essence an online content strategy is the belief that if we deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward you with their business and returning loyalty.

 How does online content marketing create website traffic?

Traffic is received through search engines and social media.  Our content is written in a way that utilizes keywords that customers search for.  Most of our keywords are also accompanied with local cities and places near your potential customers.  Example: some one lives near Everett, WA and they are searching for a new Honda Fit.  Naturally that person may search for “New Honda Fit in Everett” or “New Honda Fit for Sale near Everett”.  If the correct keywords and locations are used, then your website traffic will increase. Along with these keywords, we also up-sell and educate your readers with our professionally written articles. Our articles are accompanied with call to action buttons and links, to retain the customer and keep them on your site. This leads to conversions and increased sales.

What are our content goals?

• Brand / Dealership Awareness
• Lead Conversion
• Customer Conversion
• Customer Service / Education
• Retention / Loyalty
• Up-Sell

Want to learn more about how Content Motive can help your dealership retain and get new customers? Click here for a free web presence evaluation.

Online content marketing is any marketing done online that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers.  This information can be presented in a variety of formats, including custom websites, custom webpages, blogs, review sites, social media, how-to guides, question and answer articles, photos, etc.

So basically, online content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and potential customers without selling.  It is a non-confrontational form of marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer smarter and increasing their interest in the product. The essence an online content strategy is the belief that if we deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward you with their business and returning loyalty.

 How does online content marketing create website traffic?

Traffic is received through search engines and social media.  Our content is written in a way that utilizes keywords that customers search for.  Most of our keywords are also accompanied with local cities and places near your potential customers.  Example: some one lives near Everett, WA and they are searching for a new Honda Fit.  Naturally that person may search for “New Honda Fit in Everett” or “New Honda Fit for Sale near Everett”.  If the correct keywords and locations are used, then your website traffic will increase. Along with these keywords, we also up-sell and educate your readers with our professionally written articles. Our articles are accompanied with call to action buttons and links, to retain the customer and keep them on your site. This leads to conversions and increased sales.

What are our content goals?

• Brand / Dealership Awareness
• Lead Conversion
• Customer Conversion
• Customer Service / Education
• Retention / Loyalty
• Up-Sell

Want to learn more about how Content Motive can help your dealership retain and get new customers? Click here for a free web presence evaluation.

Adding Google+ Authorship to your custom pages is becoming a vital process for search engine results. This simple process, which adds a simple line of code to your pages (much like a byline on any article), creates a “rich snippet” in Google’s search results that comes complete with the contributor/writer’s name and photo.

Google Authorship is important for several reasons. The first is that these “rich snippets” pop visually next to untagged search results. With a photo and accreditation, these search results stand out from the crowd in a search and generate more visits as a result. Another reason G+ Authorship has been gaining traction in search results is that these “rich snippets” also allow browsers to search for more pages by a listed author.

Having Google Authorship integrated into your pages is a first step toward verified identity and helps establish what Google has termed “Author Rank” (which is not a replacement for page ranking, but a separate system with ties into page rankings).

Because Google Authorship is based on the Author’s validity and reputation, along with deep ties into general page ranking, “rich snippet” author tags may not show up in search results on every single page they’re integrated into, but instead those that Google deems the most authoritative. But they do give a page added validity with the search engine and if the content is unique enough, having an author tag also lends itself to the reputation of the tagged author as well.

Looking for help with your dealership’s search engine marketing and content marketing?  Content Motive has a wide variety of products to improve your websites visits and leads.

When Google generates search results for your keywords, you’ll see a description below the page title, this is called the “Snippet.” The snippet can be an important section to optimize for driving traffic, so what can you do to optimize for that? First, let’s understand where Google looks to create your snippet.

First and foremost, Google will try to find the parts of the page content that best match the keywords you searched for, and will show snippets surrounding those parts. In this case there’s nothing you can optimize other than just having compelling content on your dealer website. Otherwise, Google will use the meta description for the snippet. In the rare case that Google is unable to crawl the page, the snippet may be pulled from the “Open Directory Project.”

This is why it’s important to have good meta descriptions on your pages. The SEO value of the meta-description is very minimal compared to a couple years ago in regard to pagerank. However, by catching the user’s eye with a compelling description, you will drive more traffic to your site.

It’s important to note that Google will also use algorithms to try to provide additional information after the snippet. For example, you may have seen organic search results that have sitelinks. These sitelinks don’t cost anything extra, they’re just pulled directly from your site. Google will also try to pull useful information from your website like the street address to add after the snippet. If your website is the official site of a publicly traded company, the stock ticker will show up.

Could your dealership be being more click throughs from SERP’s, let us optimize your results and get you more leads.  Content Motive is your online dealership marketing experts.

To Your Success,

Kevin Drongowski
PGI Auto
[email protected]

SEO and PPC have very different costs and results. For PPC/search advertising, your ROI is pretty clear. You spent X dollars, you got Y clicks, of which Z people converted. However, when it comes to SEO and content development, the results are much less clear.

When you put the time or money into writing quality content, you might not see any benefits in the first 30 or even 60 days. Over time, though, the more high quality articles you publish, the more your traffic will improve and the more it will benefit your search ranking.

This can make SEO very discouraging to pursue, but the results are far more sustainable. With PPC, you buy a click, and boom, it’s over. You either made a sale or you didn’t. With SEO, you are building authority and relevance, which will continue to drive traffic for months or even years. This makes it hard to convince someone just starting out that it’s worth the time and money, but when it comes to long term results, a strong SEO effort will pay dividends.

To Your Success,

Kevin Drongowski
PPC Manager
PGI Auto
[email protected]

First, let’s review what’s happened in 2013. Matt Cutts released several videos talking about how guest posts for the sake of link building has become a more and more spammy practice. As a result, must websites that would actually benefit you to have links on them (the non-spammy sites) are most likely going to put “nofollow”s on your links, meaning they won’t affect your pageRank. Additionally, Google has updated their webmaster guidelines stating that any large-scale link networks or article repositories will result in penalties as well.

Ultimately, the trend is toward high quality content, and fewer links from higher quality sites instead of hundreds of low quality links. Going forward the best strategy is going to be around building your brand, and promoting as if the search engines didn’t exist. Here are some good tips to determine if a link is going to look good to Google. Taken from http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2259674/Penguin-2.0-Forewarning-The-Google-Perspective-on-Links

Would you build the link if Google and Bing did not exist?

If you have 2 minutes with a customer, and the law required that you show a random sampling of your links to customer prospects, would you happily show the link to a target customer? Or would it embarrass you?

Did the person giving you the link intend it as a genuine endorsement? This is where widget and infographic links fail.

Do you have to make an argument to justify that it’s a good link? Still my favorite – truly good links require no justification.

Google still takes links into account for determining your pageRank. However, if you aren’t picking those links carefully, you could end up getting hurt by it.

Is you dealership looking to boost your search engine results and rise above the competition?  Content Motive has a variety of services that will boost your dealership’s content quality and referral links.

I’ve noticed a few rumors on the web that Facebook can help your SEO, or that having more likes will boost your Google pagerank. These are (currently) inaccurate, but that doesn’t mean Facebook isn’t a legitimate way to generate traffic and leads.

Facebook falls under the “Content Marketing” strategy. Content marketing is all about putting relevant content out there for customers to find. Where Facebook comes into this strategy is providing content for the customers that have already connected with you in the hopes that they will spread the word.

The best content strategy for Facebook tends to be 1 offer/promotion to every 4 posts of useful content. The goal is to provide value to your followers so that they tell their friends, and as your reach increases, you send the offers that convince them to come to your website and convert. For each new follower, that’s another free impression you have on all future content, because your new posts will show up in their feed.
Facebook advertising can accelerate the process by putting your content in front of the people you want to target, in the hope of getting them to like your Facebook page so they’re part of your audience for future content. Alternatively, you can just have your ads take the user directly to your website.

If your dealership is interested in a Facebook posting service, click here to learn more.

When you hear about a change to a Google algorithm, the knee-jerk reaction is usually “how will this affect my SEO?” Every day, this reaction is becoming more backwards. SEO, as a product, has been inflated by digital marketers over the past 5 years. The reason is that it’s easy to sell a magic bullet that gets you on the top of the Google results for keywords related to your business.

SEO means Search Engine Optimization, so it’s safe to say that the service should be focused on making your site the first choice when a user searches for something relevant to your site. So an SEO expert should be able to make changes to your site, and take action around the web to take advantage of Google’s search algorithms. Google has changed their search algorithms twice a day on average in 2013. So how can you possibly expect to be consistently “optimized” for them.

As the algorithms evolve, and Google cracks down on link building scams, their focus is more and more on providing relevant content for the searcher. This means that the end goal for Google isn’t to pick the site with the most backlinks, or the site with the best metadata keywords. The searcher has a question, and Google wants to answer it with the site that best covers the topic. This is primarily what the Hummingbird update aimed to do: Give searchers relevant answers.

This is where content marketing comes in. Each topic, relevant to your business, that you can cover is essentially another Google query, you’re prepared for no matter what animal Google names their next update after. Sure, keywords will still be important, but I challenge you to write an article on “replacing spark plugs” without ever saying “spark plug.” Google’s bots have gotten smarter as well, they can better understand the message of a single sentence so you don’t need to inject a ridiculous keyword string to make sure all of your bases are covered.

The future of “SEO” will still include doing the essential steps like submitting a sitemap to webmaster tools, and setting up a GooglePlus account for authorship, but the greater focus will be on having content that is useful for searchers. Having great content that you spread across your entire web presence has a much more powerful effect than just showing up at the top of Google’s search results. Great content gets shared. When your content really helps someone, they’ll pass it along to their network, which gives your content extra credibility. Now you have motivated visitors that didn’t even need to perform a search to arrive on your page.

Want to learn more about how your dealership can benefit from having high quality content?  Content Motive has a variety of products that can build your web presence.