Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 36

MARKETING & ADVERTISING

SEO/SEM

By
Greg Gifford
Vice President of Search,
SearchLab

>

One of the biggest Google
updates in the last few years has

slipped past, completely under
the radar - and it's an update that
rolled out specifically for auto dealers. But unless your in-house SEO person
or your SEO vendor was paying attention
to an obscure Twitter stream a few weeks
ago, you likely missed it too.
The Twitter conversation started on January 31, when Mike Yem, the SEO specialist
for the Rydell Auto Group, tweeted a question to me about setting up GMB department listings for OEMs that sell multiple
brands. After a few back-and-forth tweets,
the Google My Business support team answered (see their response on Chart 1).
This set off furious discussions among

36

[ d i g i t a l d e a l e r. c o m ]

the top experts in Local SEO since it was
in direct opposition to the established
rules. In the past, to qualify for a Google
My Business listing, a business had to have
a separate entrance, separate signage, and
separate staff members there full time.
For example, let's look at an FCA dealer.
In the vast majority of cases, an FCA dealer
sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and RAM. It's
one building, one real-world entity - but
it sells multiple brands. That dealer would
qualify for a single Google listing.

The rules have changed
For some reason, Google has updated the
rules and now allows separate Google My
Business listings for each brand - even if
they're all housed in one building and are

one real-world entity.
So, now that FCA dealer is allowed to
have a GMB listing for the dealership AND
one for each individual brand:
„ Joe Mama Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
„ Joe Mama Chrysler
„ Joe Mama Dodge
„ Joe Mama Jeep
„ Joe Mama Ram
Crazy, right? You can see the updated
Google help document online (https://
support.google.com/business/
answer/9074301).

Here's where things get
complicated
Remember the "phantom listings" that
Google created a few years ago for most

April 2020

PHOTO ABOVE BY ALEKSEI - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Google Changes the Google My
Business Rules for Car Dealers


http://STOCK.ADOBE.COM https://support.google.com/business/answer/9074301 https://support.google.com/business/answer/9074301 https://support.google.com/business/answer/9074301 http://www.digitaldealer.com

Digital Dealer - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - April 2020

Digital Dealer - April 2020
Up To Speed|Tech, Dealer News, & People On The Move
Direct From Facebook |Q&A With Facebook
Fixed Operations Fundamentals That Drive Critical Service Customer Retention
Succession Planning Estate Taxes - Still A Problem For Succession
Buy/Sell The 2019 Buy/Sell Market In Review And Expectations For 2020
Branding Sorry, Your Customers Aren't Buying It
Analysis What’s Next In Tier 2 Advertising? Making The Case For “Direct-To- Dealer”
Process & Performance Why Sales Efficiency Needs To Be Your Mantra In 2020
Branding When Dealership Leads Aren’t Enough To Make Your Month
Customer Retention Turbocharge Your Owner Retention Program (Orp) Marketing
Website Less Is More: Optimizing Websites Through Design
Seo/Sem Google Changes The Google My Business Rules For Car Dealers
Digital Retail Lessons From Amazon: How Dealers Can Avoid Becoming The Next Blockbuster
Industry Happenings |Nada 2020 - A Quick Look Recap
Fixed Operations Trading Dollars For Service And Trading Service For Dollars
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - CT1
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - CT2
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Digital Dealer - April 2020
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Cover2
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 1
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 2
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 3
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 4
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 5
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Up To Speed|Tech, Dealer News, & People On The Move
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 7
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Direct From Facebook |Q&A With Facebook
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 9
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Fixed Operations Fundamentals That Drive Critical Service Customer Retention
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 11
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Succession Planning Estate Taxes - Still A Problem For Succession
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 13
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Buy/Sell The 2019 Buy/Sell Market In Review And Expectations For 2020
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 15
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 16
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 17
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 18
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 19
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 20
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 21
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 22
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 23
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Branding Sorry, Your Customers Aren't Buying It
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 25
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Analysis What’s Next In Tier 2 Advertising? Making The Case For “Direct-To- Dealer”
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 27
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Process & Performance Why Sales Efficiency Needs To Be Your Mantra In 2020
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 29
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Branding When Dealership Leads Aren’t Enough To Make Your Month
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 31
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Customer Retention Turbocharge Your Owner Retention Program (Orp) Marketing
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 33
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Website Less Is More: Optimizing Websites Through Design
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 35
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Seo/Sem Google Changes The Google My Business Rules For Car Dealers
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 37
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Digital Retail Lessons From Amazon: How Dealers Can Avoid Becoming The Next Blockbuster
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 39
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Industry Happenings |Nada 2020 - A Quick Look Recap
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - 41
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Fixed Operations Trading Dollars For Service And Trading Service For Dollars
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Cover3
Digital Dealer - April 2020 - Cover4
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