When it comes to marketing your used car dealership, nothing’s more central than your website—your online showroom, your virtual billboard, the first impression potential buyers will have of your business.
Dealer websites are so important, in fact, that we recommend taking the time to audit your site once every year or so—simply making sure it’s doing what it should, and making any revisions that are needed.
But what should you be looking for as you audit your site? Here is a not-too-technical checklist your dealership can implement today!
What to Look for When Auditing Your Site
- Contact information. We recommend having full NAP (name, address, and phone number) information consistently displayed on every page of your dealership website. Ideally, use a local phone number with area code, not an 800 number.
- Call to action. Similarly, every page of your dealership website should have a simple but clear call to action, inviting the reader to take the next step of calling you or visiting your lot.
- Meta data. Ensure that each page of your dealership website has a meta title and a meta description. Whenever possible, use these fields to include some SEO keywords, including geographically-specific ones.
- SEO keywords. Along the same lines, audit each page of your content for naturally-placed keywords. You don’t want to oversaturate the content, but do include keywords in the first and last paragraph of each page, in section subheadings, and in titles.
- Original content. Avoid any kind of duplicate content, which is a major SEO no-no.
- Clear navigation. Is it easy for the site user to quickly find the information they are looking for?
- Good links. If you have any broken links anywhere in your content, they need to be either fixed or simply removed altogether.
- Loading time. Ideally, your site will load in three seconds or less. Check it on all browser and device types.
- Trust signs. Does your website instill trust in potential buyers? Some ways you can ensure it are to include testimonials, a link to your Google reviews, warranty/guarantee information, and any awards or accolades you have won.
- Value proposition. Why should people buy from your dealership as opposed to your competition? As simply and as cleanly as possible, lay out your argument.
- Rich content. Video and images can help make your site far more engaging and easy to read. Just be sure you don’t overdo it, at the expense of loading time.
- Readability. Finally, make sure your site is easy to skim and to read—including short paragraphs, bulleted lists, section subheadings, and plenty of white space.
If you audit your dealership website and don’t like what you see, don’t panic! It’s not too late to revamp your online presence—and Get My Auto can help! We have a lot of experience helping used car dealerships establish vibrant online marketing. Reach out to our team today to learn more about what we can offer.