In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, we’re talking about a scary subject People aren’t using Google the way they used to. Customers simply don’t browse websites anymore – most comparison is done on the actual search results page.

Your Google My Business listing is your new home page. There’s a wealth of information listed, and in many cases, potential customers don’t even need to go to your site. Watch this week’s video for more information – and to learn what you need to be doing. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car. This week, we’re talking about something that’s a little scary…

The way your customers are using Google is changing. They’re not searching the same way they used to, and they’re not browsing sites like they used to. Google is showing more information than ever before.

As Google continues to show more on search results pages, users have less reason to click through to websites. Gone are the days when people would jump from site to site simply to compare businesses – now, that comparison happens on the search results page.

So here’s the scary thing – your dealership’s Google My Business listing is your new home page. There’s so much info in your GMB listing now that many times, there’s no reason to click through to your site at all.

Need the phone number for the dealership? It’s on your GMB.

Need to know when the dealership opens? That’s there too.

Got a question about oil changes? Oh look, someone already asked that in the Q&A section.

Not sure if you want to buy at a dealership? There are tons of reviews to read.

And I can get all of that without ever going to the dealership’s site.

Now, I’m not here to preach doom and gloom… But far too many dealers pay zero attention to their GMB listings – and they’re losing out because of it.

You can no longer assume that your website is the front line – that if they get to your site, that’s where you can convince them to come to the dealership. You’ve got to change your thought process and make sure you’re absolutely killing your Google My Business game.

Make your dealership name is correct. Make sure your address is correct, and the map pin is placed in the right spot. Make sure you’ve got the right phone number listed (it’s ok if it’s a tracking number, we’ll talk more about that in next week’s video) Make sure your correct hours are listed. Make sure you’ve got a ton of awesome photos uploaded, and make sure you’re changing them out often. Make sure you’ve got an awesome review score – at least a 4.5 Make sure you’ve got more reviews than your competitors have Make sure you’re using Google Posts to share specials and promos – this will make your GMB listing more eye-catching. Make sure that you’re monitoring Q&A – answer new questions quickly, and make sure your answers are upvoted so they’re shown as the definitive answer to each question. Ask your own questions and answer them so that common questions are there for anyone to see.

TL:DR version – just pay attention and make sure your first impression in Google is awesome.

That’s all the time I’ve got for today. As always, if you’ve got questions or comments, leave ‘em down below and we’ll get back to you shortly. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you again next week with another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car.

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Greg Gifford is the Vice President of Search at Happy Hao Car. He has over 16 years of online marketing and web design experience, and has specialized in automotive SEO for the last 8 years, helping hundreds of auto dealers thrive while the industry has struggled during the recession. Greg speaks internationally at both automotive and SEO conferences, teaching thousands of small business owners and marketers how to get their sites to show up higher in local search rankings. Greg also spends his spare time doing freelance website design and SEO for local businesses. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BA in Cinema and Communications, and has an obscure movie quote for just about any situation.

Join the discussion 3 Comments

• Stephanie Ewen says: August 9, 2018 at 8:13 am Great video, we have a locksmith business and we spend more time looking at what we can share on that listing than anywhere else. I am convinced it affects our call volume. Thanks for the confirmation and info. Can’t wait for next week. Reply
• Stephen Hall says: October 10, 2019 at 11:52 pm Is Google my Business an automatic first page ranking? Steve Hall 774-392-4248 Reply Kelcey Drapp says: October 23, 2019 at 2:48 pm Your GMB listing, if it ranks at all, will only rank on the 1st page. Your listing will typically always rank for branded searches, and if you’re doing SEO right, it’ll also rank for some non-branded searches. Let me know if I misunderstood or need to clarify further! Reply

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