Many auto dealerships wish to appear in local search results of neighboring cities where they don’t have a physical address. When setting up your website, your provider likely asked you for a list of “nearby communities” or cities to populate your site in areas like title tags and headers. But, here’s the reality: randomly appending the names of nearby towns to your site pages doesn’t boost your rankings in those towns. It may even confuse visitors from your core geographic area. So, what’s the solution? City pages. City pages are location-specific landing pages that target communities where your dealership doesn’t have a physical presence.
Well-executed city pages can give you a competitive edge, making your auto dealership visible in local searches beyond your current location.
Understanding Local Search and City Pages
Local search optimization has become a crucial marketing strategy for businesses, including auto dealerships. If done correctly, it connects businesses with customers right when they’re looking for local solutions. One effective tactic is the use of city pages.
Crafting an Exceptional City Page for Your Auto Dealership
On-Page Basics
The foundation of a great city page lies in the on-page elements, including title tags, meta descriptions, page name, and URL structure. For title tags, incorporate your top keywords, the target city, surrounding localities, and your dealership’s name. While SEO standards suggest a 50-60 character limit, a longer title tag can still drive relevance in search.
Your meta description should encapsulate what your business offers without keyword stuffing. Keep it to around 160 characters to avoid truncation in search results.
When determining your page name and URL structure, industry best practice suggests using your top keyword and city name. This strategy not only benefits your SEO but can also attract visitors. For example, a URL such as www.CompanyName.com/decatur-cars clearly states the focus of the page.
(Local) Content is King
Creating unique and engaging content for each city page can be a challenge, but it’s crucial. Start by painting a picture of your dealership – when it was established, how long it has been serving the community, its mission statement, and unique selling points. Discuss the services you offer to customers in that area and how they differ from the competition. Introduce any teams specifically serving the city and share their personal connections to the city.
Expand on your dealership’s story by drawing on customer experiences. Create FAQs specific to that city and showcase successful projects and services provided to clients in the target city. Include customer testimonials to build trust and provide unique, relevant content.
Building Trust
While customer testimonials are a start, there are additional ways to establish trust with prospective customers. Offering guarantees on your services or products provides peace of mind to the customer. Membership in industry associations or local business networks demonstrates your commitment to quality service. If your dealership has been featured in a local newspaper or blog post in the target city, make sure to include this on your landing page.
Finally, make your contact information visible, easy to read, and find. Provide all necessary contact numbers, a contact form, your hours of operation, accepted forms of payment, and when relevant, a map to your location.
Conclusion
To thrive in today’s competitive auto dealership market, leveraging local search through effective city pages is crucial. By focusing on on-page elements, unique and engaging content, and trust-building measures, you can optimize your visibility in neighboring cities. It’s an investment worth making to drive traffic and leads without having to open a physical location in these cities. Contact us today to let the experts at The Automotive Advertising Agency help create your city pages.
