AI has taken over a lot, and search engine results pages (SERPs) are certainly no exception. With Google utilizing AI on its SERPs with AI Overviews and now the new ‘AI Mode’, getting your dealership’s website ranking on the top of the page is more important than ever before. Unique, satisfying content is even more essential so your potential customers can find your dealership, and at the same time, so that SERPs that are AI-oriented will rank you higher (among a number of other criteria, which we’ll get into). This is done through creating easily-digestible, structured content that answers search queries straight away before going into further detail, along with your expertise in the subject matter that shows you are the expert in the field and are therefore trustworthy. Backlinks and internal links are still important as well, as it’s always beneficial to link users to other worthwhile pages to show Google you have a network of related content, and to have quality websites linking back to said page. Through this all, your brand, and in turn your dealership, should always be present in your quality content so that potential customers get a feel for how you do business and can trust in your expertise and authority. Read on as we outline all of the top ways to have your dealership rank in Google’s SERP AI features.
Structure Your Content Wisely
Having content that’s easy to read is always important, as the more difficult it is the less likely potential customers are to interact with it, and the harder it is for crawlers and bots to understand and easily parse to display in AI Overviews. Having clear sections using H1 and H2 headings, bulleted and numbered lists, and even tables help provide a structure that makes content easier to digest. It allows the content to be sectioned off into short blurbs, which are easy to consume for potential customers, and for Google to grab and showcase in an AI Overview. Clear headings, in particular, also help make it easier for search engines to crawl through your content, which in turn can make them show up more on SERPs.
Use Your Traditional SEO Strategies for Better Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (EEAT)
Google’s AI is specifically looking for unique, quality content, that focuses on fulfilling the need, or search, of your potential customers. This kind of content can be created by using the tried-and-true SEO strategies that have been around now for ages: using Local SEO keywords throughout the content, answering niche-relevant questions with high quality content that’s well-structured, and showing your experience, expertise, authority, and trust, a model that Google uses frequently in its Search Quality Raters guidelines. Your content should depict both your expertise and experience in the automotive industry, as well as the fact that your content is trustworthy and makes you an authority on the subject. This can also be achieved when people link to your content often, as it shows this EEAT model well that others cite you as a good source of knowledge. In a world that’s become bogged down with AI content, having high-quality content that keeps EEAT in mind that is deeply researched and unique allows for your dealership to stand out and deliver that authority, which better helps you rank in SERPs, as it becomes content with value that can’t be found elsewhere.
Cross-Platform, Especially with Video Content
Making sure your online presence reaches far across the web so that potential customers can find you is done easily with cross-platforming your content. Start with the same core content, such as a short video that shows one of the latest models to enter your inventory, and then put it up on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even TikTok to cover all of the available platforms. Some re-purposing is all it takes to transform content for cross-platforming, and allows you to find different types of customers based off which media platform they prefer to use. Cross-platforming also lets you build more trust with potential customers, as they can see how active you are online and your availability when it comes to helping them find their perfect vehicle.
If you’ve taken a look at the AI Overviews on Google as well, you’ve likely noticed that one of the most pulled-from platforms is YouTube. As such, when you’re thinking about creating content, especially if you’re cross-platforming, YouTube is definitely worth a closer look. It allows you to use different shortform and longform videos to get your content out to potential customers, and is a great way to showcase your brand and personality. You can also combine content and video easily by writing content in a blog or landing page like we mentioned in the above sections, coupled with a high quality video on the same topic, which will give you even more ammunition to show in AI Overviews.
Keep Tabs on Your Online Reputation
Remember, your business online doesn’t just exist solely through your website, but across the web, from social media, listing sites, your Google Business Profile, Reddit, and so much more. Getting shown in AI Overviews, as well as Large Language Models (LLMs), takes a large part from your all-encompassing online reputation, including reviews and brand mentions. A Reddit thread that skewers your dealership, for example, can do a lot of online damage, eroding trust online. This means you need to ensure you’re doing the best PR job you can for your brand online by replying to reviews and instilling a positive reputation, as AI will showcase brands it knows people trust, so it’s best to make yours one!
Pepper in Internal Links & Work Toward Getting Backlinks
Internal links help keep potential customers on your website, along with crawlers to further understand the connectedness of your website. Have 3 to 5 quality links on one page for a good balance, as you don’t want to overload the page with too many links and have it look spammy.
On the other side of the coin, backlinks, as always, are incredibly important to have pointed toward your content, them being a link to your website from another. While this isn’t something you can always control (our strategies in the above paragraphs will help make content people actually want to link to), there are a number of ways to get links to your content out there in the wild on the web, including connecting with community partners online, getting listed on relevant online auto directories, and more.
Take Schema Into Consideration
Properly implemented schema on your landing page or blog post can help search engines and AI models more accurately understand your content with its vital information, and improve its chances of being pulled into AI Overviews. Just like we stressed the structure of your content above, schema markup is vital to add clarity to your content, meaning it’s never good enough to just throw some text on a page and call it good as you also need to mold it into a form that is more easily parsed by online systems. This such content with schema elements is then more likely to be cited for improved visibility in AI tools.
As Always, Put Your Brand, and Voice, First
Always keep your brand and brand voice in the front of your mind when creating content. Let your potential customers learn about you through your content—what your values are, where your knowledge comes from, and how you can help them in ways that other dealerships might not be able to—so that they can better choose to interact with you in the near future. Show off your expertise and real world value with information that users can’t get anywhere else online but with you.
We Can Help Your Dealership Rank with Our SEO Services at EDealer
Our expert content creators at EDealer are here to help you create the content you need to rank in Google’s new AI-oriented SERPs! With our SEO Services, you can connect to potential customers that much easier while maintaining your focus on selling your inventory. Let us create your content for you, we’re ready to help! Reach out to us and get started today.