Getting Started With SEO: Lincoln Businesses
Running a car dealership in Lincoln comes with its own set of challenges, including ensuring your online presence is solid and effective. As the digital landscape evolves, so do the tactics businesses need to employ to stay ahead. For car dealerships in Lincoln, having a website optimised for search engines can make all the difference. Making sure your site is in tip-top technical shape isn’t just a box-ticking exercise anymore; it’s about improving your visibility and attracting more local customers.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in the game for a while, understanding technical SEO is crucial. This blog post will guide you through the essentials you need to know. If you’re keen to delve even further, have a look at more in-depth information on SEO. Let’s dive into the practical steps you can take to make sure your website performs well in search engine results, particularly in and around Lincoln.
Focus on Mobile Friendliness
Most of your potential customers are likely accessing your site from a mobile device. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning they predominantly use the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking. This shift happened back in 2018 and continues to be significant today. Ensuring that your website is responsive, loads quickly, and displays all the vital info on a smartphone or tablet is key. Test your site using tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see where improvements can be made.
Improve Page Speed
We all know that feeling of frustration when a page takes too long to load. Page speed affects both user experience and your SEO rankings. If you’re targeting customers around Lincoln, optimising your website’s performance ensures they don’t bounce off due to slow-loading pages. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to identify areas for improvement, such as compressing images or leveraging browser caching.
Ensure Secure Website Communications (HTTPS)
If your website still uses HTTP, it’s past time to make the switch to HTTPS. This not only secures the communication between your site and its visitors but also provides a slight ranking boost in search results. Since 2014, Google has been using HTTPS as a ranking signal, and it’s more important than ever to secure your users’ data, particularly if you’re handling personal or financial information.
Optimise for Local Search
Your Lincoln-based dealership will benefit significantly from a strong local SEO strategy. Make sure your business info is consistent across all online platforms, including Google My Business. Such consistency helps potential customers find you easily and ensures your details appear in local search queries. Also, encourage happy customers to leave reviews. Positive feedback will bolster your online presence and help build trust with prospective clients.
Fix Crawl Errors
To improve your site’s visibility, ensure search engines can effectively crawl and index your pages. Sometimes, there are barriers that prevent this from happening, like broken links or 404 errors. Use tools like Google Search Console to identify and fix crawl errors. It’s a straightforward process and crucial for maintaining your site’s health and improving your SEO performance.
Schema Markup
If you haven’t implemented schema markup, you’re missing out on an easy way to help search engines understand your site’s content. This markup can improve your visibility in search results and increase the chances of your listings showing as rich snippets. For example, you can use it to highlight local business info, customer reviews, and special offers on your cars, making your site standout in search results.
Inspect Your Internal Linking Structure
Internal links help search engines understand the hierarchy and importance of your web pages. By organising your internal links properly, you guide both users and search engines to your most valuable content. Make sure each page serves a purpose and links logically to other relevant pages on your site. There’s a delicate balance between helpful internal linking and spammy behaviour, so be mindful to keep user experience at the forefront.
Conclusion
Maintaining a website optimised for search engines is not just a nice-to-have but a vital necessity for car dealerships in Lincoln. While it can seem daunting, starting with the essentials can make a significant impact. Remember, regularly reviewing and updating your site ensures it continues to meet the current best practices. If you need help navigating the world of technical SEO, Wired Media is here to assist.
For ongoing support and development, find out more about our SEO Management in Lincoln. Let’s make your dealership the go-to choice for local customers.
