Auto Dealerships Should Utilise Reviews for Big Digital Benefits

There are many factors to consider when choosing an automotive dealership, with 53% of customers saying that price determines which dealership they choose, followed by location.

Let’s not dismiss the fact that 23% of customers take into consideration the online reviews of the sellers, favouring those with a positive online customer experience. Here’s why reviews really matter and ways you can use them to your advantage to spread the word about your online business and outrank competitors.

Reviews in SERPS

When a consumer searches for a business or product online, review ratings and stars appear in the SERP next to organic search results. SERP reviews include the average rating, the total number of reviews, and some customer review examples. These reviews come from various sources, such as Google My Business, TripAdvisor, and Yelp.

In our Q1 report for auto dealerships, we assessed the digital footprint of 12 of some of the largest national dealerships and examined how each brand's customer reviews helped it it rank in SERPs. Our findings revealed that only two of the 12 auto dealerships reported an appearance for ‘reviews’.

This was a missed opportunity for 10 of the dealerships we assessed, as online reviews can showcase how consumers view your products and trust your brand, which Google tracks and values in SERPs.

Incorporating genuine reviews can also help to increase your social reach and can even boost lead conversion rates, as people are more likely to purchase from a brand other consumers had a positive experience with.

Obtaining reviews

Reviews can often have a prominent impact on your domain authority, which is a key ranking factor and an important part of our Automotive Dealerships League Table.

Now that you know the importance and reasoning behind having a review strategy, let’s look at how you can obtain them in the first place.

1. Set up a Google Business Profile to collect online reviews.

2. Add your business profiles on business listing sites, such as Yellow Pages and Yelp, so people can leave reviews.

3. Incorporate a review integration on your website for customers to leave review stars, which may appear next to your search results.

4. Set-up a strategy surrounding obtaining reviews - for example utilising Email Marketing.

Get a full 70-page report on Auto Dealerships

Obtain the full report on the digital footfall of the 12 auto dealerships to see how else these dealerships performed in SERPs.

If you need support with any or all of your digital marketing needs, get in touch with us today to discuss our available services that can help enhance your digital presence — no matter what sector your business lies in.