Dealerships all over the country are struggling with the high demands of used inventory. You’re doing what you can to get potential customers to sell their vehicles to you, but you aren’t seeing the results.

People know their used vehicles are worth more now, so how do you get them to sell to you?

Show, Don’t Tell

Make it simple for people to find where to go and what they can get for their vehicle is vital when looking to expand your used inventory.

One of our clients had that same concern, and our 9 Clouds team saw an opportunity right in front of us: the website’s main page navigation.

We’ve mentioned before that when people are on their car-buying journey, many of the touchpoints are digital. People are looking at Facebook reviews, watching your ads and most importantly, visiting your website.

A simple step you can take to improve your homepage SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is to include a “Sell Your Vehicle” button right on your main menu.

This way, when users reach your site they can see exactly where to go and easily decide to sell their vehicle to your dealership.

What We Discovered

Can just adding a “Sell Your Vehicle” button or link to your dealership’s page navigation really make a difference?

Here’s what we have seen so far:

After adding a clear button on the client’s main menu, their “Sell Your Vehicle” page saw a 56% increase in page views and a 49% increase in the average time a user spent on that page. These numbers are based on Google Analytics metrics, which we recommend as a tool to measure your site’s traffic.

While this may not directly translate into an increase in used inventory, more people are able to find that page and spend quality time learning about the process.

Want to read more about how we did this/what other results we saw? We wrote a case study about it!

[Case Study] One Website Change Increased Trade-In Form Submissions 173%

The Importance of Usability

Taking the steps to optimize your site to the customer experience is an effort that does not go unnoticed by users.

60% of consumers rate usability as an important design characteristic for an online shop. That’s more than half of users prioritizing easy page navigation on sites where they shop. This is no different for your site as a dealership.

Having a simple, visible option on the main menu of your site leading shoppers directly to your “Sell Your Vehicle” page is going to be easier for users already on your site to find.

In the past, we have shown that it’s worth more of your time to optimize for your customers rather than focusing on keyword stuffing for Google. While this specific post focuses on SEO strategy, the principles can be applied to automotive SEO and how to set up your homepage.

Don’t Keyword Stuff for Google — Optimize for Users Instead

Design Your Website For Users

So, what do these results mean?

For one, the results show how important it is to optimize your site for your users. Take a look at your website’s main navigation page or your homepage SEO efforts, and then ask yourself how easy it is to find vital pages — especially your “Sell Your Vehicle” page. You want the process to be as simple as possible to the user. Don’t forget to consider how it looks on mobile.

Taking this step to make your dealership’s site more straightforward to use can foster quality traffic and allow you to identify stronger leads and improve your bottom line. 

Want help improving your SEO and bringing in better leads? Let us give you a free marketing assessment so you can see where your SEO stands.

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