Car buying is a very much evolved process than a few decades ago. It used to be, you went into the Yellow Pages or your rolodex and found a car dealer that offered the brand of vehicle you wanted. Or you had a buddy or acquaintance who sold cars and you went to them. Now, relationships are still ultra important for any business and buying from people we trust will trump just about any other reason to buy.

We live in a time with tools like Autotrade, TruCar and KBB where we have so many more options to find cars.  You can buy cars on Ebay sight unseen and get them shipped to you. So where in the world should a potential car buyer actually purchase their next vehicle?

Get Found Where Car Buyers Are Looking-On Google

Potential car buyers are looking on Google to find “cheap cars” or “cars near me” search results. Here is what a
“cars dealerships near me” result returns from my location:

This Result Shows The Top Of the Search Results Page from my iPhone. As you can see there are PPC or Paid Ads at the top.

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The second image below, shows the Map Rankings- ie the Click To Call With the business listing. And then underneath that is the Organic Rankings.

How To Rank In Google Maps For Car Dealerships

So, if your business does not show up in the top results for Google Ads, Map Rankings or Organic Results… what are you doing exactly for marketing online?

SEO For Car Dealers– Push Vs Pull Marketing

Push Vs Pull marketing is quite simple. Most marketing you do on TV, and radio is “pushing a message” to the audience. The audience is not actively looking for it or “reaching for it”. When someone is looking to buy something ie a car, they “Pull Information” to help them make a buying decision.  We all know that we want to be where the buyers are.  Well those buyers are typically looking for information on where to buy the best car, at the best price on Google.

There are a myriad of other Internet Marketing options including Facebook ads, running native ads, content marketing (part of SEO) that your business can choose to invest in. Make sure you spend your ad dollars wisely.