Google’s recent algorithm changes targeting search engine spam has got to have a few automotive SEO vendors worried. Not only has Google changed the algorithm to penalize poor content quality sites, they are providing a Google Chrome browser extension that allows anyone to flag sites they feel are not relevant or obviously promoted via black hat seo techniques.  This is a game changer as it allows individuals to police the content in ways that search engines cannot.  It also invites a host of other potential problems, doesn’t it?

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SEO Analysis

Google has been making lots of changes lately. Are you paying attention to your code?

Anytime I visit a website, it’s a reflex, I put on my SEO hat. I don’t even read the content anymore or look at the visuals, I hit {ctrl-u}.  (View Source Code on Firefox.  IE has no shortcut, its > View > Source on the pulldown menu)

This is my version of a first impression.  I simply scan for a few key SEO conventions.  re. Is the Title Tag at the top of the Header?, etc.

And I always look to see how vendors handle tracking on their dealer websites.  Why would I look for web analytics software installed in car dealer website when there are other more important items on the SEO checklist?  Because it shows a dedication to building SEO-ready websites. Only 7% of websites are truly search optimized!  Also, installing analytic is so darn easy vs the benefits, why wouldn’t you? (if a vendor claims to do any automotive SEO that is)

Installing internet traffic tracking software is a fundamental step in setting up a website.  It should be the first step actually.  A dealer would have to be completely indifferent to not care about those statistics. (OK, there are a few of them out there and they are not going to be reading this article about car dealer website SEO)

As a website vendor, what are you providing for your customer if you are not building-in those basic SEO features every dealer needs? You don’t provide an inventory module? OK, you truly only design websites.  (and you too, won’t be reading this article about car dealer website SEO)

Google Analytics is free, so why wouldn’t you at least install it?  I won’t even mention the implications of not using Googel Analytics while using Google Adwords (Vendors who offer PPC and don’t install Google Analytics…That’s a double penalty!). And I also wont go into why you don’t use Google Webmaster site verification.

Part II : Google has been making lots of changes lately. Is the tracking code up-to-date?  One of my pet peeves is that a dealer pays a hefty monthly fee. So I would expect those websites to be kept up-to-date rather than have to wait for a contract renewal to get the latest BASIC infrastructure.

Google stopped supporting Urchin in 2007 simply warning that it may not report accurately. Decommissioning Urchin means it will stop working altogether, but no deadline exists and Google had said it will be sure to warn when it does. With Google introducing a third generation of tracking methods, Asynchronous Tracking, it seems to me that using Urchin is not the way to impress your SEO peers.

If a vendor is still using the old Urchin tracking code, I think that reflects poorly on their SEO reputation.  Two years is plenty of time to change a snippet of code. 

http://royal.pingdom.com/2009/04/08/40-still-use-old-google-analytics-script/

I setup Google Alerts so anytime someone writes something about automotive SEO or automotive internet marketing, I read it.  The more often I read the same broadcast, the closer I look. Today I got this in the alerts for the 10th time:

http://www.paschconsulting.com/automotive/automotive-digital-marketing.html

(Brain, you do an amazing job of blogging everyday and propagating them across dozens of other sites.  That makes you an SEO Blogging God.  But it also why you’re up.)

So I ran a quick SEO check of the car dealer websites listed there.  Of the 11 representative sites, only 1 is setup with current Google Analytics code.  Four (4) of the sites use the old Urchin code.  Three (3) of the sites have no tracking installed.  And bmwgeorgia 404′d! Ouch!  bmwcarsnc is parked, ouch!  losangeleshonda.org is an almost blank wordpress installation, ouch!

Every vendor knows its the biggest job to maintain their many car dealer websites, let alone upgrading to the latest technologies.  Its a big job for an SEO just to maintain a dozen or so websites for just one dealer.  But as mentioned, 2 years should be enough time to upgrade.

Installing the cornucopia of Webmaster and Analytics Codes on a car dealer website should be considered a best practice. These things preemptively inoculate a website (and an SEO) from a host of problems that one can encounter.  Upgrading Google Urchin to Google Analytics might be reaching the critical stage before Google Urchin is decommissioned.

***Google stopped supporting Urchin in 2007 simply warning that it may not report accurately. Decommissioning Urchin means it will stop working altogether, but no deadline exists and Google had said it will be sure to warn when it does. With Google introducing a third generation of tracking methods, Asynchronous Tracking.

This Car Dealer Website Vendor list was posted in December 2009. It may still be useful, but for a more up-to-date list you may want to go over here Directory of Automotive SEO and Dealer Website Vendors. The list and its purpose have changed because few of these vendors offered Automotive SEO services at the time.

Due to the time required to complete SEO Analysis Reports, time does not permit regularly scheduled releases.  Please feel free to contact me if you require a specific car dealer website SEO report.