Google My Business manages to be both incredibly useful and free. Using it is one of the easiest choices you will make as a dealership. The only difficulty arises in how to use it effectively. Today, we’re going to walk you through the basic steps of setting up GMB for your dealership.
Information needs to be accurate and consistent
Your name, address, phone number, email and all other information should appear in GMB exactly as it does on your storefront, website, and any other directories. The address has to be to the physical location of your store; a PO Box doesn’t cut it. The phone number should also be to your location, as opposed to a call center. The goal is to have information that applies to the actual store.
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In other articles in our archives as well as Wednesday Workshops, we stress the importance of consistent and accurate information. It’s not just to ensure your customers go to the right place. It’s also a vital part of SEO, so it’s no surprise that Google would value it here as well.
To get the most out of GMB, you will need to select the right categories for your dealership.
Additional listings can help
The first listing you create should be for your dealership. On the dashboard, you will be prompted for additional listings. These are for departments within your dealership, such as sales, parts, and service. All of which can help customers find not only you, but the specific part of your dealership that meets their needs.
Choosing the correct categories
To get the most out of GMB, you will need to select the right categories for your dealership. We have a list of categories, with the most important ones to grab at the top and the least important ones at the bottom. Do not add more than these.
Your primary category should be “[brand] dealer.” If you sell Fords, that’s “Ford dealer.” Hondas? “Honda dealer.” And so forth and so on. If you sell multiple brands, pick the one that moves the most inventory and list the others in different category slots.
The others are, in order, Used Car Dealer, Car Dealer, Truck Dealer (assuming you sell pickups), Used Truck Dealer (same caveat as before), Auto repair shop, Auto parts store, Auto body shop, and lastly Car Detailing Service (if you offer that).
The intent is that this will show all the services your business offers, and in the general order of the likelihood that a customer will search for them.
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