By Keona Frasier, Boatmart.com
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) might seem overwhelming, but with more than 8.5 billion searches happening every day on Google in 2024, it’s vital for any digital marketing strategy. To help you navigate this evolving landscape, here are 7 essential SEO tips from the Boatmart team to help your marine dealership shine.
1. Your Website is Your Digital Storefront
SEO starts with your website – it’s your digital storefront and how the world perceives your business. So your website should do more than just showcase your inventory. It must rank well on search engines, making it easy for potential customers to find their dream boat.
2. Build a Targeted Content Strategy
A robust content strategy keeps users engaged and returning to your site. For instance, if your audience consists of lake lovers looking for weekends on the water, then create content around them and their lifestyle. Some simple ideas for SEO friendly blog posts for your dealership could include:
- Local boating meetups
- Upcoming marine events
- Maintenance and safety tips for boats
- In-depth boat and product reviews
Informative and long-form content ranks higher in search results, so aim for 700-1,200 words per blog post.
3. Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Setting up a Google Business Profile is still one of the fastest ways to improve your visibility in local search results. Here are our top tips at Boatmart for optimizing your profile:
- Keep your Google Business listing updated with current contact information
- Leverage Google Posts to share special offers or new inventory
- Respond to customer reviews to boost engagement and trust
This will help your dealership show up prominently when users search for boats and services nearby and will ensure potential customers can easily find your contact info and inventory.
4. Enhance Your Website With Schema Markup
Schema markup, also known as structured data, helps search engines better understand your site’s content. For instance, if you sell boats, this code tells search engines that you are a dealership selling physical products, not just providing information.
Using rich snippets can increase your click-through rate and improve how search engines display your listing with additional information like reviews, inventory and business hours.
5. Build Citations to Boost Local SEO
Citations are mentions of your business’s name, address and phone number (NAP) across the web. They boost your online credibility and improve your local SEO rankings, ultimately helping more customers find you. Focus on listing your business in key directories like Google Business, Yelp, LinkedIn and local listings. And maintaining consistency across all platforms for NAP information.
6. Leverage Analytics to Understand Traffic
SEO isn’t just about attracting visitors to your dealer site – it’s about understanding their behavior. Regularly check your analytics to see where your traffic is coming from, which keywords are driving visits and how users engage with your site. Our Boatmart top tips? Use Google Analytics 4 to get deeper insights into customer behavior across devices and identify your top performing landing pages and referral sources so that you can fine-tune your content and campaigns.
7. Optimize for Mobile – It’s Non-Negotiable
With more than 60-65% of traffic now coming from mobile devices, your website needs to be mobile-optimized in both speed and design. Here are Boatmart’s top tips on optimizing your dealer site for mobile:
- Ensure fast loading times – use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to test performance.
- Use a responsive design that adapts seamlessly across all screen sizes.
- Make navigation simple and intuitive for mobile users to find inventory quickly.
Google’s mobile-first indexing means your mobile site is the primary version Google uses for ranking, making mobile optimization crucial and non-negotiable!
By integrating these simple SEO practices, you can take control of your digital marketing strategy in 2024 and increase visibility for your dealership across search engines. And don’t forget – platforms like Boatmart are also working hard behind the scenes to optimize your listings, giving you an added advantage without extra effort.
About the Author
Keona Frasier is a writer and editor at Boatmart, an MRAA Education Champion, bringing a background in mass communications and journalism to her work. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring art, culture and entertainment. For more marketing tools and tips visit the Boatmart Dealer Education site.
