Voice Search for Your Dealership

Digital Assistants

On a given day you or someone you know is likely asking Siri or Alexa to remind them to take their car in for an oil change. Virtual assistants like these are just two examples of voice search. Home devices like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomePodare widely spreading into more and more households and are making everyone’s lives easier. They’re a more convenient and user-friendly way to search that doesn’t require people to manually Google their question. The responses are given back in mere seconds and people have immediate gratification and satisfaction.

How Your Customers Use Voice Search

Customers are always looking for the most convenient way to look up information, set reminders and make their lives easier. With voice search, they’re able to have Google or Alexa set reminders to take their car to the car wash on a specific day, or find them the closest Chevrolet dealer. They don’t have to interrupt what they’re doing to find out these answers. According to Forbes, people are searching with three types of intents in mind: informational, navigational or transactional. While the more common intent is informational, that’s not necessarily going to help your dealer bring in new customers. It will help customers find you through articles on your website or your blog, but it may not motivate them to go to your showroom and check out your inventory. On the other hand, navigational and transactional intent will help drive more customers to you because they’ll be searching for the closest dealership to them and may search for the price of the new 2019 car that was just released.

Think Like Your Customers

Now how can your dealer incorporate voice search into your digital marketing plan? It all starts with getting into the minds of your customers. No matter whether you’re doing small-scale SEO for used car dealers or a large-scale operation for an entire Auto Group, you’ll want to research questions they’re asking and plan your content around answering their inquiries. Also, think about broad or frequently asked questions you would have as someone looking to buy a car. After you’re able to think like your customers, start marketing to them as if you’re meeting with them in person. Ditch the stuffy, overly formal language and write your content using conversational language. You want your customers to feel like they can relate to what you’re offering them.

When a customer asks, “Ok Google, how often does my car need an oil change?” You want your article about car maintenance to be the result Google pulls and shares with the customer. “According to YourDealer.com, you should change your car’s oil every 3,000 miles or three months.” The next time they have a question about their car, they may remember your site and decide to check out your blog for more questions to their answers.

Wording your content is very important. Make sure to word your articles and content in a way that matches the voice search phrases likely asked by your customers. Doing so will help your ranking on Google. This can be beneficial for you because you can use more informal language on your website and in your content, instead of trying to be formal and eloquent all the time, unless that type of language matches with your dealer’s brand. Write as if you’re having a personal conversation with your customers. When you relate to your customers on a more personal level, they’ll feel less like another customer and more like a valued one.

The Future is Voice

The future of voice is now and it’s important that your dealer stays with the changing times in technology. Start with the content you have and experiment with a few popular articles. Start rephrasing and revamping your content and see how your website hits change with the updates to language. It may take some trial and error, but soon you’ll have another tool in your marketing arsenal to reach new customers.