When you run an automotive services business, the type of online traffic you want is from local customers. If someone two states away finds your business, it does you little good because that customer is unlikely to hire your auto services company. Thus, finding people searching with local intent is important. Yet searchers do not always put in the terms that drive local search traffic, so you need to understand local search intent optimization and how to apply it to your online marketing efforts.
What Is Local Search Intent?
The algorithms Google and other search engines use are highly sophisticated, and they have developed technology that lets the engines assess the motivation of a searcher beyond their specific search terms. There are six main categories of intent, which are:
- Navigational – This searcher is looking to find a particular website, and the search terms will be branded terms specific to that site.
- Commercial – This searcher is looking to research a product in order to make a purchase decision, or they may be ready to buy something.
- Informational – These searchers want to learn information about something.
- Transactional – These users want to do something, such as make a recipe, build a website, or fix their car.
- Local – This type of search is for someone looking for information specific to their area, such as hours for a particular location, directions to an auto repair shop, or contact information for a local business.
- Free – These searchers are focused on finding free services or information.
For the auto services business, the local search intent is the most valuable. These are the customers who need help with the specific type of service you offer.
Understanding local search intent for auto services businesses is essential if you are going to reach local customers. Local search intent refers to the intent of the searcher to find a service provider near their geographic location. For automotive care, this can often be a highly specific location, especially if the person has a non-functioning vehicle. Aligning your SEO efforts with the needs of local searchers will help you reach the people who need your services.
Why Local Search Intent Matters
Why does it matter to focus on local search intent for automotive service providers? Frankly, because if you do not, your site won’t rank. The algorithms are excellent at guessing search intent and showing businesses that meet the needs of the searcher. While Google has over 200 parameters it looks at to determine rank, local signals make up many of those, and you must be locally relevant to rank well.
How to Perform Local Search Intent Optimization
Now that you understand local search intent, it’s time to make sure your site will rank well. There are several strategies to use that will help you rank well for your local searchers.
1. Use Local Intent Keywords
Local intent keywords are keywords that use local terms or terms like “near me.” Weave these into your site and your tags on the site to signal to Google that you are a reliable website. In addition, use local terms, like your city or zip code, throughout your content, even if it is not paired with an auto services keyword. These signals will indicate your geographic area and help Google send the right people to you.
Once you have a basic list of keywords, use a keyword analysis tool to see if they rank well and how competitive they are. Use tools like Surefire Local’s GeoJuice to ensure your site is sending the right signals. Remember that the long-tail keywords you find when looking for local keywords often have less competition than shorter keywords, so you can use more of them as you seek that traffic.
2. Optimize the Site for a Good User Experience
Your website needs to be easy for visitors to navigate. If it is not, then they will click away. Google and the other search engines can tell if people don’t love a search result, and when that happens, it moves down in rank. Even if those people who land on your page are in your geographic area, if they can’t find what they need quickly, it will hurt your rank. Some tools that will help you make your site user-friendly include:
- Fill the site with subheadings so people can find information quickly.
- Make the navigation bar easy to use.
- Use images and video.
- Study your Google Analytics to determine if any pages are performing poorly, and adjust those.
As you optimize the site for a good user experience, make sure it works well on both mobile and desktop. Responsive site design is essential for this.
3. Get the Right Info on Google
It’s not just the information on your site that signals to Google that you are a good choice for people searching for automotive services with local search intent. The information on Google itself is also important.
Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile, ensuring that the name, address, and phone match those on your website. Then, make sure you request Google reviews from satisfied automotive customers. Surefire Local has tools to do this automatically so you can build the positive image Google sees from your local audience.
As you optimize your Google Business Profile, be sure to add attributes and services. Do you specialize in fast oil changes or transmission work? Put these in the profile. Doing so will help draw targeted searchers to your page, and it will increase the likelihood that you will rank high for local searches.
As you work on building reviews, remember that your review score is important, but so is your responsiveness. Because responsiveness factors into the search results, negative reviews do not necessarily derail you. As long as you respond promptly and in a caring manner, they can still help your results.
4. Build Local Backlinks
Local backlinks are links from local businesses and commercial sites to your website. These are yet another signal the search engines look for when determining which sites to rank for local intent search for automotive services. Look for linking opportunities with complementary businesses. Place links on directories and in your local chamber of commerce website to add more opportunities.
5. Publish Local Content
Use your website to publish local content when possible. Highlight local events on your blog, create landing pages for each of your locations that are highly localized in their content, and weave local content into your social media pages. In addition, if you have multiple locations, make sure their address, including zip code, is somewhere on your website, whether on a landing page or on your contact page.
6. Pay Attention to Meta Tags
As you build your local content, make sure you put your location in the meta tags, including titles and image tags. Adding this mention will show the searchers where you are located, and it will also give the search engines another signal that you are relevant to those with local search intent.
7. Consider Voice Search
Searchers with local search intent in the auto services industry often use voice search because they are out and about when looking for information. In fact, as many as 22% of voice queries have local search intent, which is why your site should be optimized for these searches. Consider the most commonly asked questions, like “Where is the nearest automotive shop?” and consider how your site can answer these well. FAQs at the bottom of some of your pages can be a great way to deliver optimized content that answers voice search queries.
Use Surefire Local to Optimize for Local Search Intent
As you look at the best tools to add to your arsenal as you optimize your site for local search intent, take a look at Surefire Local. This all-in-one marketing platform has a specific focus on small businesses and local search optimization. It has all of the tools you need to build keywords, publish content, request and monitor reviews, and analyze your results in one place with a convenient dashboard. It also offers AI insights that will make suggestions to improve your ranking for local search intent.
Local search intent for automotive services businesses is essential to understand. Surefire Local makes it easier to implement. Request a demo today to see this tool for yourself.