SEO for Car Dealers: Why Your Google Business Profile Matters

Did you know customers conduct more than half of local search queries using mobile devices and tablets? Additionally, voice searches for "car dealerships near me" have increased by 200% over the past two years, and 76% of consumers who search for “near me” visit a business within a day.

If in-market shoppers are finding you through virtual assistants, map listings, social media and consumer review apps, it's safe to say search engine optimization (SEO) for local queries is a critical need for auto dealers. And while efforts like localizing website content are important, one of the quickest, easiest ways to show up across these mobile tools of choice is to optimize business listings that appear in local search results.  

While this is a free tool that any business can create, our SEO team has helps ZeroSum clients optimize and maintain their listings through the Google Business Profile platform. 

Your dealership profile in maps and search 

While most dealerships have claimed their listings on Google Business Profile, many don't realize how effective a complete and well-maintained listing can be — both for building up your brand’s reputation as an authoritative and trustworthy local business, and for providing an excellent customer experience that brings online viewers into your store. 

Google operates the most popular business listing platform by far, with a 92% global search market share. Its listings are fully integrated with Google Maps and search results, providing a comprehensive overview of your business directly in the apps customers are using to navigate and get information. Creating a strong Google Business Profile helps your business connect the dots of your locally focused digital presence and establish a positive reputation in your market area.   

Of course, dealerships can (and often do) use other platforms, including consumer review sites, such as Yelp and TripAdvisor, social media platforms, including Meta for Business (Facebook and Instagram), YouTube, and LinkedIn and Bing Places for Business. While these tools might allow you to sync information from Google; for example, you can easily import Google Business Profile data into Bing Places, we recommend prioritizing your Google listing and then making use of other platforms and syncing tools to amplify its reach.  

How to optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP) 

For the best results, our SEO experts approach Google Business Profile optimization in three phases: setup, maintenance and enhancement.  

Step 1: Setup The initial goal is to create an accurate and detailed record of your business, operations, location, and contact information. 

For basic setup: 

• Claim and verify your listing (if you haven’t already) following the steps at business.google.com.
• Ensure accuracy. Check business name, address and phone number (you might see this referred to as “NAP”) and your business hours. 
• Be consistent. If your dealership uses an acronym for the brands you sell (e.g., “JCDR” for “Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram”) always list the initials in the same order.  
• Write a helpful and accurate business description. Don’t stuff the description with keywords; Google won’t reward this (and might even penalize your listing) and don’t use “near me” or similar unnatural-sounding phrases. Google already has your address, and it will automatically show your location to nearby searchers. 
• Choose categories and subcategories. Google allows one primary category (most likely, you’ll use “car dealer”) and up to nine secondary categories. Choose accurate subcategories, such as “car leasing” or “Subaru dealer” to help shoppers find you. 

For next-level setup there are several ways to supplement your basic listing information. Two features we always recommend are the department setup and vehicle listing tools. 

• Separate departments using nested profiles. Our team separates your parts department, service center and other departments from your main dealership location by creating multiple business profiles and nesting them together under your main profile. Doing so allows you to list separate contact information and hours for your different departments and to add relevant categories and content for each department separately. Google provides specific instructions for creating multiple business profiles for a car dealership, along with recommended categories: “car dealer” for sales, “car service” for maintenance, and “auto parts business” for parts. 
• Leverage Google Vehicle Listings. Google’s Vehicle Listings feature allows you to display your inventory within Google Maps and search results. We work with a developer to automate these listings by linking your inventory feed to your profile as an effective strategy. 

Step 2: Ongoing maintenance To be an effective tool that drives traffic for your business, GBP requires consistent updating to ensure accuracy and a seamless customer experience. 

• Monitor customer interactions. Read new reviews and respond quickly and kindly to any negative comments. Provide helpful answers to any questions customers post in your Q&A section. Our team always ensures customers are receiving timely feedback. 
• Update holiday hours as needed to avoid customer frustration and ensure you’re driving traffic to your business at the right time. 
• Confirm all of your profile information is accurate and consistent. Although it doesn’t happen often, listing details can change without any action on your part — usually because someone believes there’s an error (in your business hours, for example) and reports it to Google. Google may approve the change without notifying you. We ensure clients' information is verified at least once per month. 

Step 3: Content enhancement Your profile offers multiple ways to post and share content. Make use of these features to attract attention from searchers and to improve the quality of users’ interactions with your profile. 

• Add and organize dealership photos. Upload high-quality photos of your dealership and categorize them into albums. These can include interior and exterior photos, team photos, customer photos, and anything else you want users to see.
• Create a product carousel. Your product carousel functions as an online showroom, complete with inventory categories. The products, descriptions and photos you add will be visible from the search or maps view and linked to your website inventory.   
• Post updates to share information. Add updates within Google to inform searchers about dealership news, local events, specials, and holiday or weather closures. 

Optimize your digital marketing strategy 

An invincible digital marketing approach for auto dealers in 2025 absolutely must include strategic SEO choices in addition to your paid advertising strategies. If you’re ready to implement proven tactics for increasing market area search traffic, boosting foot traffic and increasing visibility, our SEO experts would love to show you how it’s done.  

Reach out to your Dealer Success Manager to request an SEO demonstration, or request a demo to see how our SEO services work.