
In today’s world, an online presense is a must for every business. This is especially true in the crowded car wash market where multiple brands and businesses are competing for the same local customer base. According to a recent survey, more than 75% of consumers will first research a business online before visiting the storefront in person. The simple fact is if your car wash doesn’t have a robust online presence, many customers may simply go elsewhere.
How to Boost Your Local Search Engine Rankings
This is where carwash SEO comes into play. If you want your car wash to stand out from the crowd, you’ll need to master the fundamentals of local search engine optimization so prospective customers in your area can easily discover your business online.
Luckily, carwash SEO is fairly straightforward, and there are several simple ways to boost your local search engine rankings. This brief guide will walk you through the basics of local SEO for car washes, including deploying effective keywords, creating backlinks and creating localized content for your website.
Optimize Google My Business Profiles
If you haven’t already, be sure to set up or claim your Google Business Profile by either searching for your car wash name or adding it manually to the local map. Verify that all the information is up-to-date, including address, phone number, hours of operation, and a brief description of the services you provide.
Don’t forget to upload some good photos of your carwash as well so customers can get an idea of what to expect before they show up.
Manage Local Citations and Directories
Google My Business isn’t the only tool that will drive local customers to your carwash. Facebook, Yelp, Bing, MapQuest and the Better Business Bureau are other common local citation sources that you’ll want to update with accurate NAP (name, address, and phone number).
Making your carwash discoverable on all these directories will improve the relevance and authority of your business when customers perform local search queries on Google. In return, your carwash will have a much higher chance of ranking at the top of search results, driving more traffic to your business.
Local citation sources are also invaluable in acquiring public customer reviews that will boost your company’s reputation. Consider replying to positive reviews with a quick note appreciating their business to demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction. If you receive a negative review, use it as an opportunity to improve and reply with an apology or explanation of how you’re addressing the issue.
Make Sure Your Site Is Mobile Friendly
Not all customers will search for your business on a laptop or PC. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, customers may be greeted with a poorly formatted landing page that’s nearly impossible to navigate. Out of frustration, they are likely to seek out a different carwash in the area. To fix this, make sure your website uses responsive design and isn’t full of unnecessary text or images that can increase loading times on smartphones.
Master Keyword Research for Car Wash Services
It’s important to spend some time determining which keywords will be most effective at driving local traffic to your business. For a car wash in Detroit, for instance, keywords like “interior detailing in Detroit” or “Detroit car wax” may be a few search terms you’ll want to include in your directories and web pages.
To find out which keywords to use for higher rankings on SERPs (search engine result pages), a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner can be invaluable. This tool will suggest relevant keywords to deploy in your content and will also provide you with estimated search volumes for various keywords you already use.
Part of the SEO keyword process is determining what likely search terms your customers will use to look for you. In addition to the Google (or other) keyword planner, use your own judgement to imagine how you’d search yourself. Phrases like “best automatic car wash near me” or “nearest full service car wash” are great examples, but there are many more.
Once you have a list of keywords, you are ready to sprinkle them into the content on your site.
Create Location-Specific Content and Landing Pages
Another major aspect of improving SEO for car wash businesses involves creating informative, well-written content and landing pages that contain phrases and keywords associated with your geographic area. For example, if your car wash is located in Dallas, you’ll likely want some blog content and webpages discussing “car wash services in DFW” or “best car wash in Dallas”.
If you have multiple locations, you should consider building location-specific landing pages for each geographic area. Then, you create localized blog content that links back to your local landing page. This SEO strategy is referred to as building local content silos and can be very effective at garnering web traffic from multiple specific locations.
Build Good-Quality Backlinks
When a trusted, authoritative website links back to your business website, this is called a backlink and can be extremely helpful in boosting your rank on search engine result pages. One of the easiest ways to earn backlinks is to create useful and informative content related to your industry that other web pages will reference. This content could include a well-researched article discussing the history of car wash tunnels, new developments in car wash automation, or an expert guide on how to start a car wash business from scratch.
Any articles providing information or tips to your likely audience of carwash customers can draw web search traffic to your site. Blog content is usually not overtly sales-oriented, but it can include content that subtly promotes your services and steers a reader toward your business.
Track and Analyze SEO Performance
You’ll want to monitor how your SEO efforts are performing over time and make adjustments as needed. Tools like Google Analytics are very helpful for this, providing you with insightful data related to your keyword rankings, traffic earned from organic search queries, and which engagement channels are most effective at attracting potential customers.
To maintain your high ranking on search engines, just remember to occasionally check on your SEO performance to identify potential issues that could be holding you back, like broken links, slow loading times, or irrelevant keywords. Before long, you’ll build the strong online presence your car wash business needs to grow and thrive.
Enhancing Your Car Wash Business With SEO
In short, no car wash marketing plan will prove effective without putting SEO front and center. Investing time and energy into local search engine optimization is one of the most effective ways to help your car wash stand out from competitors in the area.
By following these simple tips, you can drastically improve the visibility of your car wash online, which can have a profound impact on your customer traffic, sales, brand recognition, and reputation in the community.