Car dealerships have a unique situation when it comes to their websites. Since they are closely tied to a larger brand, some limitations are put on the way in which they can control and display products. In turn, their website content management system (CMS) is usually complicated to work with and customize.
What is a Content Management System?
The CMS is designed to be a user-friendly way for a website owner to interact with the technical details of their site. Much like an automatic transmission avoids the hassle of a manual one, it allows the website owner to communicate with their site without the need for website development skills.
But, just like there are good transmissions and bad transmissions, there are good and bad CMSs. Many car dealership websites have to deal with inadequate CMS systems because of the high-demand needs of their specific industry. Pages need to be updated quickly, new models come and go, and brand standards must be maintained at all costs.
SEO Gets Left Behind
Because car dealer websites are such high demand, many of the designers behind them cut corners on SEO related features. These cut corner techniques are because many essential SEO factors are hidden within the site’s code itself. Since it is harder to notice them, they are usually one of the first things forgotten about when building a CMS. While this shortcut approach may appear usable on the surface, it can lead to long-term issues with the ability of your website to attract the 81% of consumers who conduct online research before purchasing.
What are the Problems?
At V Digital Services, we are experienced in working with a huge array of car dealership CMSs. During our time, we have run into a laundry list SEO of issues with these platforms:
- No User Experience (UX) Design Customization: Limited, pre-designed templates dictate nearly all aspects of the website’s page design.
- Slow Page Speed: Dealership sites are often slow and bloated by old web design approaches. Due to their inherent lack of customization, there are usually no good options for improving site speed.
- No Ability to Edit Sitemap & Robots.txt: Due to the sensitive nature of these files, many dealership CMSs limit your ability to access and edit them. This means that more advanced SEO work is limited.
- Limited Metadata Editing: Metadata such as page titles and descriptions is one of the most critical factors for organic search engine optimization. But many car dealership CMSs do not allow for fully customizable meta editing.
- No Custom Code Integration: Whether you are looking to insert data tracking scripts or individualize the look of a particular page, flexibility with placing custom code is a must when it comes to maintaining a modern site.
- Lack Of URL Optimization: Dealership CMSs often do not allow for any URL customization. This means you are usually stuck with ugly URLs or less than optimal structures for the keywords you are targeting.
- Lack Of Access: Some CMS providers do not even let their customers make very simple changes to the site. You can often run into a situation where all essential changes must be forwarded to a developer. This wastes time and money.
What are your options?
At V Digital Services, our Website Design & Development team are experts at creating SEO-friendly car dealership websites with powerful and easy-to-use CMS. They have the knowledge and expertise to take you from a limited platform to one which gives you full control over your website’s look and feel. If you are tired of the limitations of your current CMS, we have a solution for you.
We also understand that a new website can be a significant investment, and many times it can be challenging to commit to such a substantial change. In cases like this, our Organic SEO team are experts in dealing with limited car dealership CMSs. You can count on them to find the best way to optimize your site (even in less than ideal conditions).
If you have any further questions regarding this article or would like more information regarding our services, please feel free to contact us today!