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aftermarket automotive ad agency

SEO for Auto Parts Websites

6 December 2020 By Matt Leave a Comment

So, you know there’s this thing called SEO for auto parts websites, but you have no idea where to start. Let’s talk about it and get a basic understanding before we get into the really tricky stuff.

Definition: SEO is an acronym that means search engine optimization. Essentially, it is the skill of developing your website in a way that moves it up on the search page in the unpaid section. (Most people call this unpaid section “organic” listings).

Simply put, you are adding key phrases and optimizing your content to show up (rank) for certain google searches. Let’s say you sell Subaru related performance parts. If your SEO is just things like “car performance parts” or “turbo upgrades,” you may show up on the first page of Google, but if someone clicks and realizes you are a Subaru-based company and they have a Honda, they are not going to stay. Other factors to consider are organic competition and paid search results for those same keywords. You have to find that middle ground: specific, but not too specific.

In this same example, you could consider doing something like “Subaru turbo upgrades” or get even “2004 Subaru WRX turbo upgrade” to get the right people, but SEO is MUCH more then just adding a targeted phrase. SEO for auto parts websites is about telling Google that your page is what the searchers are looking for by not only using that phrase but reinforcing that phrase in your meta description, slug, title, alt tags, and other content, without going overboard (Google calls this “stuffing” and they will punish you if they think you’re doing it). The point is: you want not too much and not too little.

Knowing Your Competitors

Everyone has a competitor or three. Sometimes you’re at the top of that food chain and sometimes you are just starting out. The issue here is to make buyers find you first. Sure, you can spend $1,000 on ads and pay-per-click to get to the top, but you also have to make sure those ads are hitting the right marks, and the more competition there is, the more expensive it gets. And even at $20+ a click, you’re probably not getting the return on investment you’d want.

“Fight the enemy where they aren’t.” ~ Sun Tzu

With keyword research, we can figure where the competition is weak and where they are strong. This allows us to pick battles we can either win or match.

The searcher must be able to find what they were searching for immediately when they get to your site or they will just click back. This works against you by increasing the “bounce rate” of your site. If it happens often, Google will assume that the page is less relevant and start to push it down in the rankings. This is why you can’t spam every keyword you think will work on every product, and every page. You have use targeted strategies to be effective.

In short, good SEO can’t be done by programs, can’t be done quickly, and can’t be done effectively by someone who has no experience. It also CANNOT be done by someone who doesn’t know your market. If you sell auto parts, hiring a general marketing agency for your SEO with people who don’t know the first thing about cars (other than driving their own) will only lead you to despair. You want the highest return on your investment, so avoid the budget SEO professionals who won’t do what we can and will do for you.

SEO isn’t the only ingredient in marketing your business. It is one of many. For more, see our post on “The Case for Having a Knowledge Base” and feel free to reach out anytime with any questions regarding SEO for auto parts websites.

We know SEO… after all, you did find us, right?

Automotive social media influencers: good for a quick boost, but not always helpful long-term.

26 November 2020 By Matt Leave a Comment

Thinking of working with automotive social media influencers? Sounds great, doesn’t it? Lots of followers, views, and puts your name out there right? Yes, but it’s important to stop and consider all angles.

Influencers are not always worth the cost.

Big automotive social media influencers sometimes want expensive parts for free or huge sums of money to represent your company. It’s important to look at the cost compared to what you’re receiving. Your contract should be very clear about how often your company is mentioned, the quality and type of mentions, whether re-shares count, whether they can rep a competitor in the future, and so much more.

Look at the stats.

Someone can have a huge following, but if they only post once a month, they’re not going to have great engagement, and they’re not going to be effective for you. Are their followers mirrors for your ideal customer? Are their followers after products or services like yours, or are they following for other reasons?

For instance, there are a lot of female car enthusiasts on Instagram. The most popular tend to have certain physical attributes, which begs the questions: who is here for her technical insight and racing, and how many are following just for eye candy? Look at their content. Where are your eyes drawn to? If it’s her and not the car or products being promoted, that’s probably also true for at least some of her audience.

There are also popular influencers that seem tempting, but who are hard to work with. More than once, we’ve seen an influencer who doesn’t get their way throw an online fit. Negative attention with an influencer is difficult to manage. They tend to have fans who love to get involved, which often means a deluge of social media comments, messages, reviews and emails that can overwhelm your staff and drown out your message.

Because race car!

Putting your name on a race car feels good. One of our clients is a race car driver and our logo is on their car. How much business we have gotten from it? Zero.

This might be an unfair comparison since we’re a marketing firm and not a parts company, but most people don’t associate race cars with their own car. It used to be that a famous driver could spur motivation to buy, but the increased content available online has caused a disconnect in this area. There are more choices than there have ever been. Very few companies are the only one in their market and big sponsorships require big money. It may be worth it in your particular situation, but it may not. (Good news: we’re experts in helping companies decide this!)

Get the right help.

Be smart with your marketing budget. Don’t throw money at problems and hope for the best. Instead, work with the best. Our team at McWilliams Ink can help guide you through social media marketing, ads, SEO and all your digital marketing needs. We can also protect you from the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to automotive social media influencers.

For more information, questions, comments, and concerns please reach out to use via our contact form https://mcwilliamsink.com/contact-us/

Have a fantastic day!

The Case for Having a Knowledge Base

25 June 2020 By Kelie Leave a Comment

A knowledge base is a collection of data that is useful to your customers. It can include things like: a glossary of terms, walkthroughs, instructional manuals, brochures, a community forum, and much more. It specifically aims to educate people on why what you’re selling is superior to your competitor’s.

Who Needs a Knowledge Base

Whether your site needs a knowledge library depends on what your site is meant to do for your audience. If you are frequently using industry-specific vernacular (commonly known as “lingo” or “jargon”), a glossary or dictionary on your site could prove useful to your customers. Chances are that they are not going to be familiar with the terms your industry uses. In addition to providing basic information, you present your company as a subject matter expert.

For example, I once heard Matt ask a customer who called him about a car project: “Do you know what your AFRs are?” The customer stuttered, and then said, “Uhm. What’s an AFR?”

If you don’t define terms for your audience, it’s likely you’ll lose them. Why? Because most people are uncomfortable being expected to know terminology they’ve never used and aren’t familiar with. Having a glossary available to them makes your company approachable, your website friendly, builds authority, demonstrates expertise, and helps your customer save face.

Can’t I Just Blog Instead?

Not really. A knowledge base is a separate portion of your website. Your blog is a type of knowledge base, because you’re presenting information to your audience that is (hopefully) useful to them. A separate library of information however, is a curated collection that is more like a manual or reference guide, primarily because it does not appear in chronological order.

What Will a Knowledge Base Do to my Website’s SEO?

When done correctly, a knowledge base will increase your SEO by leaps and bounds. First, it will increase the number of pages present on your website. Content is king when it comes to SEO—and quality matters. What else can a knowledge base do for your SEO?

  • It gives you the opportunity to increase the internal links on your website. In some cases, it may also allow you to create some external links.
  • It builds brand authority, which turns into trust and loyalty from your customers, making them more likely to buy from you.
  • It gives you more searchable content, making your audience want to stay longer and engage more.
  • It puts keywords together in ways that make search engines recognize their relevance in searches.

In brief, we recommend that our clients include a knowledge base if they frequently rely on industry-specific language or abbreviations. As always, if you have questions or would like to discuss creating a information database for your site, we’d love to chat with you about it!

See more information about knowledge base statistics here: 15 Knowledge base statistics for 2020

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