Automotive Reputation Management For Dealerships

Last Updated on March 21, 2024

Google knows that customer reviews influence people more than marketing and ad promotions and why automotive reputation management is so important in 2024.

Customers value online reviews as much as they would personal recommendations. Having a strong online presence and good reviews is vital.

After reading this blog post, you’ll learn important tips to manage your automotive reputation. We’ll teach you how to use SEO tactics and ways to handle reviews to make sure your dealership shines online.

What is Automotive Reputation Management?

Automotive internet reputation management is the process of monitoring your automotive company’s online presence. This is an often overlooked category of local marketing and advertising. Online reputation management focuses on proven organic search results. This can include:

• Suppressing negative content
• Investigating false information or fake reviews about you online
• Promoting your business on the internet
• Using SEO to improve your business’s search results and Google ranking
• Maintaining your overall business reputation in the long-term

Why Is Automotive Reputation Management Important?

When potential customers are thinking about investing in your products or services, they want to know they can trust you. These days, it’s common for people to find information about you online to build that trust. Customers will take into consideration:

• Positive online reviews
• Negative reviews
• Business listings
• Business social media profiles

Especially when someone is looking to buy a car, they won’t go with just anyone. Cars are a huge investment, so customers want to work with someone who has a trustworthy reputation. This means you need to have good reviews, positive business listings, and a well-kept social media presence. 

The difference between you and your competition is where you show up in your Google search results. The better your online presence, the better your chances are of landing in a top ranking, organically. Having an organic ranking is crucial because most people will not click on paid advertisements.

How SEO Can Help Your Car Dealership’s Overall Sales 

Using local SEO is the best way for your local business to stand out among the competition. It is one of the most important factors of a solid digital marketing strategy. This will help you improve your organic search results, create a strong brand image, and drastically improve sales.

What is SEO for Car Dealerships?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of optimizing your online content in order to rank highly in search results. You can optimize your website, social media profiles, and any listings your business is on in order to improve organic traffic. This way, you won’t have to spend unnecessary amounts of money on paid advertising that doesn’t get your business conversions.

SEO also includes the optimization of the content on your website, including:

…and more! All of this allows Google to recognize the relevancy of your website and other online profiles. The more helpful, insightful, and useful your content is for your target audience, the higher it will rank on Google.

How To Improve Your Automotive SEO Strategy

Even if you have a beautiful website, car buyers still may not be able to find you in local searches. Use these tips to enhance your automotive SEO:

• Set up a Google My Business profile for your local dealership
• List your business on dealership-specific sites like Cars.com, Edmunds, CarGurus, and DealerRater
• Create an easy-to-navigate website for your dealership that will load on mobile devices
• Conduct keyword research into relevant topics that you can rank on search results for
• Write blog posts about automotive industry news, your business, and other relevant topics optimized for those target keywords
• Write meta descriptions for each of your web pages, blog posts, etc
• Set up social media profiles for your business so you can share your blog posts, updates, promotions, and more
• Stay informed about Google algorithm updates so you know what you need to do to rank in search results

Improving Car Dealership Reviews

Online reviews are crucial for car dealerships. Similar to SEO, online reviews are another organic approach to improving sales for your business. It also boosts your brand image at the same time.

By cleaning up your review sites and improving your online reputation, your automotive business can gain even more positive reviews. This will help mitigate the effects of any negative reviews you may have.

Even the most successful companies can get a bad review from time to time. It is true that bad reviews can lead to a loss in revenue. However, there are things you can do to deal with negative reviews.  

9 Tips for Handling Reviews as a Car Dealership

• Ask customers to leave reviews, and make it as easy as possible for them to do so.

• Add a link to your review page on your website that is easy to find.

• Thank your customers for leaving reviews.

• Share positive reviews on your website and social media pages.

• Never ignore bad reviews because this will only make customers trust you less. Instead, respond in a timely manner.

• Determine if the review is genuine. If you suspect a fake review, go through the reporting process on the review site.

• If the review is genuine, investigate the situation to find out what went wrong.

• Respond to bad reviews empathetically, professionally, and honestly. Try to understand where the customer is coming from. Use this as a chance to demonstrate your commitment to the customer experience.

• If necessary, offer up the business’s contact information so you can talk it over offline and come to a resolution

Conclusion

Automotive reputation management should be a crucial part of your marketing strategy. By using these tips, you can improve your online reviews, your organic traffic, and your sales! We can help your business create a unique brand image in the automotive industry with our business reputation management services.

About The Author

William DiAntonio

William DiAntonio is the Founder & CEO of Reputation911, a reputation management firm he founded in 2010 that has earned the trust of its clients for over a decade by helping individuals, businesses and brands control their online search results.