One of the most common theories in automotive search engine marketing is the idea that a high keyword density results in better search engine results. But is it true? Does the highest possible keyword density really result in great rankings?

No. Well, maybe. OK, a little bit. Let’s explore.

First off, what is keyword density?

Keyword density is the percentage of your text that is made up of your keyword. If your page has 100 words and your keyword occurs once, you have a keyword density of one percent. If your keyword occurs ten times, you have a keyword density of ten percent.

Does keyword density give you high search engine rankings?

This is where things get complicated. Keyword density does certainly contribute to your search engine rankings, but not nearly as much as many people think it does.

When the internet was younger, search engine ranking algorithms were far more simple than they are now. It was assumed to be true that if someone enters the phrase “blue widgets” into a search engine, they want their results to show something that is highly focused on blue widgets and only blue widgets. Search engines used to believe that the more times “blue widgets” showed up in your text, the more relevant your page was to what they’re looking for.

Unfortunately, too many people got ahold of that information and started abusing the system. They stuffed pages and pages full of the same search term over and over. They were trying to game the system, and the search engines caught on. They changed the system so it couldn’t be gamed that way anymore.

The key with modern search engines is human relevance. Use your keyword frequently, but not so much that it wouldn’t make sense if read aloud. If it would look ridiculous to a human reader, it looks ridiculous to the search engines. Don’t eliminate your keyword entirely, but use common sense. Sprinkle it through the text, but do so sparingly.

If you build your site for search engines and visitors equally, you’ll have a head start on all the rest.

A lot of people seem to think that search engine marketing is the most difficult thing in the world. Automotive dealership website and blog owners think are under the impression that there is great mystery surrounding search engine success, and that it’s more luck of the draw than anything else.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

When planning your online automotive search marketing strategy, the important thing to remember is that you’re not out to beat the search engines. You’re out to beat your competitors. The fastest way to beat your competitors is to stop competing for the same terms.

But how can you do that when you’re all trying to secure the same competitors?

Change the game.

Nobody can guarantee you that you’ll rank for this term or that term in the search engines. Nobody can promise you that you’ll get the perfect search term. What they can do, though, is give you the tools to rank for numerous “long tail” keywords that in the end will add up to the same results as one first tier keyword.

Here’s an example. If you’re trying to rank for “used cars Pennsylvania”, you’re going up against every other used car dealership in the state. You’re probably also going up against places that aren’t even dealerships. People selling cars on online auction sites, newspapers, automotive publications, the whole works.

But what if you were to try to rank for something completely different? Something more attainable? How about titling a blog post “Where can I find the best used car deal in Pittsburgh?” The chances of the rest of your competitors having the same title are pretty slim.

These longer search terms are called “long tail” keywords because instead of allowing you to achieve a major spike in success in the short term, they allow you to achieve long term success. On a graph, the long tail is what comes after the spike. Master the long tail and you’ll master the search engines.

We all hope for world peace. We hope for an end to hunger and famine. But what we really, really want is to be number one in Google.

Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not that hard to be number one in Google. It’s not a difficult process and it’s not as mysterious as a lot of people make it out to be. In fact, if you have a website, the odds are pretty good that your website comes up number one in search engines for something or other. But what?

The trick to doing well in automotive search engine marketing is to know what people are searching for and ranking for that. The most competitive search terms are often not what you want to be number one for.

What you really want to be number one for is the most common search phrase your customers type into a search engine when looking for something you sell. That’s it. That’s the secret to success.

For example, someone who lives in Brooklyn and wants to buy a new Nissan is not typing “cars” into their search engine of choice. They’re not typing “new cars” or “new car” or “Nissan”, either. So what are they searching for?

They’re searching for “Nissan dealership Brooklyn”. Or “where can I buy a Nissan in Brooklyn?”. Or “new Nissan Murano Brooklyn dealer website”.

Compared to “cars”, those are pretty easy search terms to rank for, don’t you think? There probably aren’t a whole lot of people who want to rank for “Nissan dealership Brooklyn”. That means almost all you have to do is try to rank for it and you’ve got a fairly good chance of success.

Remember that the key to success here isn’t being the top of the biggest pile in the world. All you have to do is be at the top of your own little pile and you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.

With all the talk of online automotive marketing these days, it’s easy to get the impression that when you communicate with your customers online, you’re doing so in a vacuum. Online customers become a crowd full of strangers without faces or names or personalities. They don’t seem like the same real live human beings that come into your dealership and buy vehicles.

Consistency is arguably the most important aspect of branding, and that doesn’t just apply to your website. Yes, you want every page on your site to give the same impression. But you also want to give the same impression on the website as you do in the dealership, in your emails, and in any offline media advertising you purchase. Here are some things to think about.

Does your website scream “cheap”? if a customer comes to your website, is the first thing they see a huge flashing banner telling them about a sale or a discount? There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but is that the same impression they’ll get when they come into the dealership? If they go to the website and see huge yellow flashing discount signs and show up at the dealership and find somber salespeople in suits, you’re not giving a consistent message and you’re bound to make people uncomfortable.

On the other hand, is your site too serious? If you run a dealership that focuses on great pricing and your website gives no such impression, you could be leaving money on the table by turning off your ideal customers when they show up at your website.

Do your emails give the same impression as your website and your dealership? Emails are a great way to communicate your brand. Give your outbound emails an audit. Do your signatures promote the same values that your site promotes? Would somebody receiving your email be surprised when they walk in the door?

One of the best ways to get answers to these questions is to find someone impartial and objective to give your impressions about your different media types. Ask them what they think — you might just be surprised by their answers.

Let’s say for a moment that one of your potential customers desperately wants to buy one of your cars. They’ve come into some money, or they’ve been saving up for years, and all they want to do is buy one of the cars that you sell. Is your website helping or hurting them?

When a web savvy customer is in the market for a new car, the normal first step in their process is to head over to the OEM website to check for statistics, pricing, and model details. Unfortunately, most manufacturer websites are sadly lacking in what these customers are looking for. They’ve got lots of sexy videos and flash introductions, but not much in the way of hand holding or explanation.

In many cases, when a customer doesn’t already know the model they’re looking for, the OEM site doesn’t help them. They’re often forced to search by model at the very least, sometimes even having to input the GT or LS or 123 at the end. Does every single one of your customers know that?

While this is bad news for the OEM, it can be very good news for your auto dealership’s sales.

What many car dealerships seem to forget when designing their website is that people don’t always actively plan to come in. They list their hours and their location and maybe their specials and assume that the information they’re providing is compelling enough to make the customer drop everything and stop on by. Not so.

Take the opportunity to differentiate yourself. Take a good look at your local competitors and your OEM’s site and see what’s missing. Find someone you know who knows nothing about cars — what do they think? What do they recommend? What would they like to see?

If you plan out your automotive internet marketing based on what your customers need — and not what you think they need — you can stop leaving money on the table and make the sale before the customer even leaves their desk.

If you’re a regular reader of this publication, you’ll hear a whole lot about online auto marketing. You’ll hear about email campaigns and blogs and social media. You’ll hear about website design and website functions. You’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about selling cars online.

With all this online selling, where does that leave the salesperson? Does the person selling the car even matter anymore? Does the customer even care?

Yes, yes, and yes.

It’s easy to forget about the role the salesperson plays in the sales process, especially in an age when it seems like every possible transaction is secured online. But the role of the salesperson has never been more important than it is today, and that won’t be changing any time soon.

In “the old days”, the role of the salesperson was broader. They informed the customer about their choices, they educated them, and they held their hand throughout the entire process. The salesperson told the customer what they needed to know.

Nowadays, the salesperson no longer holds a position of power. They are not the only member of the relationship with a knowledge of the inner workings of their cars. Customers have access to online forums, OEM websites, the dealer’s own websites, and more. They can read blogs and media publications about your cars and your dealerships. They know as much or more than the salesperson about the specs of the vehicle.

So what is the salesperson’s role in the process now?

The modern car salesperson has a great responsibility. They are directly and intimately involved with the most important part of any sales process. They have the sole power to make or break the deal.

The salesperson is responsible for the close, and for that they can never be replaced. Find good salespeople and keep them, or it doesn’t matter how pretty your website is — nobody will buy.

The internet operates in an attention based economy. Instead of your website visitors giving you money, they’re giving you their time. Of course you’ll eventually want them to give you their money, right now you want to maximize how much time they’re giving you. How do you get them to give more? You have to give more back.

Think about what you can give your web visitors.

Your automotive dealership’s website visitors aren’t there for the good of their health. They’re at your website because they want something. In the case of a business website like yours, they’re looking for information. Give them information and they’ll stay.

Think about what kind of information they want.

There’s a whole variety of information that you can provide for your customers. The spectrum of information varies from simple maps and contact phone numbers to resource guides, maintenance advice, blogs, communities and more. What do you think your customers and potential customers want to know?

Think about how to provide the information.

Perhaps the most important part of the information equation is your delivery method. Certain types of delivery are more conducive to increased visits than others. You want to maximize the number of visits to maximize your brand’s exposure and increase the likelihood that they’ll make a purchase.

For example, let’s say you’re providing a maintenance article. You could put that on one long page or several shorter pages with a hyperlink reading “continued on next page”. If you get them to click, you get them used to clicking. They might just visit your sales page while they’re at it.

You could also publish your maintenance article as a downloadable PDF. You can provide for free if they subscribe to your newsletter. They get the value, and you get a way to contact them in the future.

There are lots of ways to retain the attention of your customers. You just have to get in their shoes, think about what they want, and then give it to them. Isn’t that easy?

The internet has changed everybody, including tire kickers. Tens of millions of people are researching their purchases online before they buy, and that certainly includes car buyers. So how are you supposed to turn these lookers into buyers? How do you convert mildly interested people into enthusiastic customers? Here are some ways to convert search traffic into real life buyers.

Make it easy for buyers to contact you.

Put your phone number — or one of your phone numbers — on every single page of your website. Eliminate any possible reason for customers to leave your website or your page. The internet may be taking over the world, but a large volume of people still want to pick up the phone and call. Make it easy for them.

Make it easy for you to contact your buyers.

The easiest way for you to get into direct contact with your website visitors is email, so find a way to get their email addresses. The best way to do this is to create some kind of good reason or incentive for them to give up their address — give a bonus or promise updates on your specials and sales. Then follow up and send them something right away.

Make it easy for buyers to find you.

Just because you know where your dealership is doesn’t mean anybody else does. Let’s face it, if your customers drove by your dealership on their way to work every day they probably would’ve stopped by instead of checking you out online. Put a map in your sidebar or put directions on a prominent page on your site.

Remember, people’s thoughts follow established neural pathways. If they start their relationship with your dealership thinking it’s an easy and pleasant experience, then that impression will remain throughout your relationship. Help by planting the easy seeds at the beginning and reap the rewards now and in the future.

According to a recent article in the London Turkish Gazette, London police have started to target street gangs who are selling their cars from the street itself. Apparently local residents are feeling intimidated and can’t find a place to park, leading authorities to crack down on the illegal automobile trade.

What does this have to do with your dealership?

When it comes to any kind of illegal activity, street gangs and organized crime are not known for targeting unprofitable niches. They’re getting their cars — their “dealerships”, as it were — right in people’s faces and hawking their wares for all to see.

Can your auto dealership learn from this?

Think about it. How many people in your surrounding area really know what you sell? Granted, they know you sell cars. Maybe they even know you sell Ford trucks. But do they know the benefits of your vehicles? Do they know your price points? Are you really exhausting all of the possible sales opportunities from your area customers, or are you relying on traditional methods of automobile marketing and advertising to do your work for you?

While nobody would advocate intimidating the neighbors and taking away places to park, it is worth taking some time to think about what you could be doing to get yourself, your salespeople, and your dealership on the front lines of the marketplace.

Some things to think about:

Are you asking for the sale?

Are you making it crystal clear what you sell and what it costs?

Are you carrying your business cards with you at all times?

Are you carrying your virtual business cards? Are you capitalizing on online sales and networking opportunities as a part of your brand strategy?

Fortunately for London residents, these particular salespeople are on their way to prison. But maybe we can all learn a lesson from what they were trying to do.

People are more likely to buy what they know and the fastest way to get to know a car is to drive one. Based on this idea, the auto rental company Avis did a study to find out the impact of automobile rentals on future car purchases.

Turns out if they rent the car, they’re more likely to buy the car.

The UK operations of Avis sent a survey to over 2,500 auto renters in the UK and Europe to find out what kind of an impact the rental experience and rental car had on future purchases. They found that 105 of the survey responders had already gone out and purchased the model of vehicle they’d rented at some point in the past. 44 percent of the UK drivers who participated in the survey were “slightly or much more likely” to add the model they’d rented to their short list of cars to consider.

When you consider that 48 percent of the respondents were set to buy a new vehicle in the next year, those are very big numbers.

What does this mean to auto manufacturers?

Well, despite the fact that the rental sector is deemed to be unprofitable in the short term, car manufacturers might be better off considering the lucrative “long tail” market. If you can create an enjoyable rental experience and potentially long term consumer loyalty, the cost of entering the rental market could be offset many times over.

The director of the Avis fleet says that the results of the survey were very positive. “We understand manufacturers have to control rental volumes more carefully, but this proves they could lose out on future sales, many to drivers who have never experienced their brand, if they do not keep up a presence in the rental arena.”