7 Automotive SEO Best Practices For Driving Business In 2024

Whether you’re behind the wheel of a dealership, running a tire shop, or any other type of automotive business, mastering SEO is an indispensable component of a successful marketing strategy in 2024.

Today’s 7 Automotive SEO consumers are more connected and informed than ever before.

Additionally, the preference for organic search results over paid advertising remains strong, highlighting the critical importance of SEO in today’s digital-first consumer landscape.

However, staying up-to-date on Google’s search engine results page (SERP) and algorithm changes requires diligence.

To further illustrate this, consider these insights:

88% of potential car buyers now turn to digital channels to gather information.
Car buyers spend 14 hours and 39 minutes online researching and finding the best car for their needs.
95% of car buyers check out social media platforms during their car shopping journey.
81% of car buyers feel that online activities improve their overall shopping experience, with both time savings (93%) and price transparency (78%) as key benefits. has been told.
Almost half (46%) of the car dealers surveyed made at least 9% of their sales entirely through online purchases.

Armed with these insights, let’s explore the top seven automotive SEO strategies for 2024, designed to boost your business and drive it to success.

1. Craft great, original materials and rich pieces that benefit

In SEO, content is still king. For automotive businesses, this means creating in-depth, informative content that engages and informs your audience.Focus on valuable resources like blog posts, buying guides, and vehicle reviews that combine informative details with engaging storytelling.

Here’s a great example of more informational content from a dealership in Miami. They do a great job of including CTAs in helpful content to drive customers towards their vehicle choices:

On individual car listing pages, they even add Dealer Notes to further add more uniqueness to their pages so it isn’t just a regurgitation of the manufacturer’s information:

Rich snippets enhance your visibility in search results, providing a snapshot of your content’s value.

Implementing structured data markup also helps search engines understand and display your content more effectively, increasing the likelihood of clicks.

Helpful automotive-related schema resources:

• Google Search Central Documentation.
• Schema.org.

2. Elevate Your Strategy With Video SEO

Video content has become an indispensable tool for businesses. It provides a dynamic platform to showcase vehicles, showcase features, and share customer testimonials.

A recent survey showed that, by leveraging video content, 86% of marketers experienced an increase in web traffic, and 87% saw a direct increase in sales.

As a brand, you should use this opportunity to embrace video SEO and increase your visibility on search engines and social platforms.

Include relevant keywords in video titles, descriptions and tags to ensure your video is relevant to search queries.

You can also use short, engaging videos that highlight the unique selling points of your inventory to captivate potential buyers and drive traffic to your site.

Check out this great example of Mazda of North Miami leveraging video on its car listing pages to showcase a car to potential customers:

Even better, they marked up this page using structured data and are now taking advantage of their listing page showing a video element in the SERPs which should further improve their organic CTR:

3. Optimize for mobile-first indexing

Now that most online searches are done on mobile devices, a mobile-friendly website is essential to SEO success.

Google’s mobile-first indexing means that the mobile version of your site is the primary version that Google considers for ranking.

Make sure your website is responsive, mobile friendly and intuitive. This is crucial to capture the mobile audience.

This is a perfect example of how dealerships should incorporate mobile-first design. They do a great job of showing the most relevant information for users to browse (images, specs, price, CTAs).

4. Promote your local presence.

Local SEO is vital for automotive businesses looking to attract nearby customers.

Claim and improve your Google Business Profile.

Strategically incorporate local keywords into your website content and engage with local community events to increase your visibility in local search results.

Also, testimonials and reviews serve as powerful social proof. In automotive digital marketing, 82% of consumers turn to online reviews for local businesses.

To help future buyers feel confident in their choice, encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews about their experience.

5. Build Authority Through Strategic Link Building

Backlinks signal to search engines that your site is a credible and authoritative source of information.

7 Automotive SEO businesses should aim to acquire high-quality backlinks from reputable automotive blogs, local business directories, and industry publications.

These backlinks not only improve your site’s 7 Automotive SEO performance but also drive targeted traffic, enhancing your online visibility and reputation within the industry.

This dealership in Miami does a great job of leveraging sponsorships to local events in their community to capture additional inbound links to improve their authority:

Read more: How To Get Quality Backlinks: 12 Ways That Really Work

6. Prioritize Technical SEO For A Healthier Website

Technical SEO ensures your website is accessible and readable by search engines, addressing issues that could hinder your site’s performance.

By conducting regular technical audits, you can identify and rectify problems such as slow loading speeds, broken links, and duplicate content.

A technically sound website provides a solid foundation for your SEO efforts, ensuring your content and keywords can be effectively indexed and ranked.

7. Enhance User Experience With E-E-A-T Principles

Google has placed increasing emphasis on experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) when evaluating websites.

For 7 Automotive SEO websites, this means creating content that not only showcases your knowledge of the automotive industry but also provides users with valuable, trustworthy information.

This could include detailed guides on choosing the right vehicle, practical tips for car maintenance, or insights into the latest automotive technology.

By demonstrating firsthand experience and expertise in your content, you can significantly improve your site’s authority and trustworthiness in the eyes of both users and search engines.

Look at how Edmunds.com leverages authorship to further validate EEAT principles:

Example: You could share a series of blog posts written by your experienced mechanics on how to maintain vehicles during different seasons, offering practical car care advice. This would demonstrate your in-depth knowledge of the topic and position your brand as a reliable source for your customers.

Summary

In 2024, the importance of a robust, data-driven SEO strategy for 7 Automotive SEO has never been clearer.

Drive your organic presence to new heights by:

• Creating high-quality content.
• Optimizing for video.
• Adopting a mobile-first design.
• Managing your local listings.
• Building a strong backlink profile.
• Maintaining your website’s technical health.
•  Focusing on E-E-A-T principles to provide a positive user experience.

Implementing these seven strategies will not only enhance your visibility in search engine results but also position your business as a leader within the automotive industry.

More resources:

• Google Introduces New Vehicle Ads Format
• Creating Content That Satisfies Search Intent & Meets Customer Needs
• SEO Strategy: A Full Year Blueprint (+Template)