s with all online businesses, Search Engine Optimization is critical to the success of online sellers in the automotive aftermarket industry. With an increasingly competitive landscape, a solid SEO strategy lets the sellers better rank (or not) among all search engine results, enhance the traffic volume, and extend your reach to countless potential buyers.
But, the automotive aftermarket has specific search patterns that are unique to the industry. So, if you are an automotive aftermarket seller and are interested in boosting your selling, then you are in the right place.
A solid SEO strategy can effectively improve your website's visibility in the search engine results, boosting the volume of website traffic. It is essential to remember that SEO ranking is related to your company's appearance on automotive accessories search and how you appear on a specific user query.
According to Hedges and Co, there are six main ways consumers search for automotive parts and accessories.
1. Part TypeSearch
2. PartNumbers
3. PartFunction
4. BrandSearch
5. Symptoms
6. InformationalSearch
So, how do these consumer search patterns impact your business? Have a look at all of the search patterns to improve your aftermarket eCommerce:
Many consumers specifically search for auto parts like lift kits, mufflers, fender flares, or pistons.
But remember that it is not an easy job, as most shoppers usually bring some modifications in the part type search to get the part that is perfectly fit for the vehicle. For example, they can search for the year, model, and type of transmission, engine cylinder, displacement, and drive type. A 6-inch lift kit for a 2004 FordRanger or w218 Sprint Booster are examples of this type of search pattern. Throw in some jargon terms and misspellings; that's a lot of variables in a single search.
Hence the complexity of optimization. It's for this reason that it's difficult for industry outsiders to thrive. So take a moment to research, brainstorm, and document search patterns for your specific customers, especially for your hottest selling items. If you do, it won't take you long before you begin to see a HUGE ROI for your company as you begin to stand out among your competitors.
It might be surprising that Part Number search is not that typical. However, it is crucial because most people that search for the manufacture part number (MPN) are ready to make a purchase. People who search with a part number are educated, as they are looking for the exact product they would require for a vehicle. Therefore, it becomes essential for you to optimize your website for this search behavior to improve site visibility among search results.
In other words, by optimizing your website for the part number, you could get more customers instead of just visitors. This high purchase intent also makes MPN an essential component of your paid search campaigns.
Some sellers focus on driving traffic not just by the part itself but by the function of the car for a vehicle. This may be queries asking about braking system, drive train, or fuel injection. All of these are examples of the part function search queries.
While people searching for about part function are not always potential buyers, it can still be a helpful way to get in front of consumers in the DIY market if this is part of your target demographic. However, success in part function search relies on strong content overall, which may or may not be part of your overall strategy. Therefore, it's up to you and your marketing team to determine if you want to double down (or not) on part function queries.
In addition to the above-described search patterns, people often search for brands or with the manufacturer's name. So, it is also essential to make sure that your website updates the search patterns in this scenario. Reviews for (Brand) or Brand X vs. Brand Y are examples of this type of search pattern. Keep in mind that these search behaviors are critical specifically if you are interested in click-through rates, paid ads, or organic listings. And as with the part function, conversions heavily reliant on robust website content.
In a very few cases, people search to know about some of their specific problems. These search queries included different symptoms. The shoppers are intended to know the best possible solution with some specific symptoms.
These search queries or patterns are slightly different or complicated as they include the model number, year, and specific symptoms. The SEO in this category will help you if no one has optimized their website for this search pattern.
Most of the time, people do search different queries to get technical information regarding different auto parts. They can also do so as they are having an issue and want to get the solution.
Mostly these queries start with why, how, or what. For example, one can search for how to install the sidesteps on a Ram 1500? Or how one can replace the Honda key fob battery? Therefore, it is essential to search these queries. So that you can provide them the required information for which they have been searching.
Do not forget these search queries hold a great potential to rank your site among the search results. So, this way, you can grab an excellent opportunity to get more traffic. Thus it becomes crucial to optimizing paid campaigns, or you can also show all of the search queries for search engine optimization.
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