Car shopping has changed, and your automotive SEO needs to follow suit.

The salesman isn’t the expert any more. Armed with all the information on the Internet, everyone is their own “expert.” They don’t go to the car dealer to shop for a car. By the time most customers are on the lot, they’re nearing the end of their buyer’s journey. It’s safe to presume that your visitors already know what they want and where they’re going to get it. They just want to close the deal.

Your customers aren’t just looking for you or your cars online. They’re looking for answers.

Instead of coming directly to you, they’re turning to the Internet with their questions so they can make an informed decision on their own. This isn’t edging you out, however. It gives you a great opportunity to be the one who answers those questions, and for more people than you could ever hope to talk to one on one.

But how do you make sure they find you?

It’s really quite simple: You answer their questions before they ask them and make sure they can find them when they’re searching.

Automotive SEO Is About Content, Not Just Keywords

If you’re searching the Internet for advice on search engine optimization, you still may find some old articles about keyword density, or keyword stuffing. Don’t waste your time on these outdated tactics—they actually work against your search engine ranking.

If you’re still keyword stuffing… stop it already; it’s not 2001 anymore! Our analytics show that people searching the Internet use natural language to ask questions, and search engines use natural language to answer those questions.

Google wants people to use their service, and nobody would use a search engine that just showed the pages with the most keywords but didn’t unearth any valuable information. This is great news for us marketers.

Search engines had to get smarter, and reward natural language over black hat automotive SEO tactics. If you want to improve your on page SEO, focus on enhancing your visitor’s experience. The rest will follow.

So Keywords Don’t Matter Anymore?

Wrong. Keywords are still critical to your automotive SEO strategy. They are ultimately how search engines will categorize your site and users will find them. The key is using them to create great content.

This doesn’t mean putting every keyword you want to rank for on every page of your site. The best way for you to improve your SEO is to create valuable content—lots of it. You want people shopping for cars to find you? Write for people asking questions about cars. The more content you create, and the more valuable it is to your audience, the better you’ll rank for the keywords in your content.

How To Write Valuable Content For SEO

To create valuable content, you still need to identify keywords to focus on. Use tools like Google’s Search Queries Report within Search Console or the Hubspot Keyword Grader to research valuable keywords for your business. Identify keywords with moderate to high search volume and lower difficulty for best results.

With your keywords in mind, identify your target audience and write for them. You’re not writing for every customer every time you post. Each piece of content should have a specific audience, and your content should be written with them in mind.

Diversify your keywords and the content of your blog by writing lots of valuable, topic-focused content. While you educate your customers, you’re building trust and awareness of your brand. If you’re creating content people want to read, they’ll also want to share it expanding your audience and improving your search ranking.

SEO Is Never Ending

If you only do one thing, create great content to educate people and you’ll be well rewarded. Nelson Mandela showed us: “Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world.” Compared to changing the world, sales is easy.

This is just the beginning; your search engine optimization will never be complete. A great SEO marketing plan takes a lot of time and planning. Learn more about in our complete Guide to SEO or let 9 Clouds help you create a successful digital marketing plan.