News

I often remark why it will be difficult to publish a traditional book on Automotive SEO when the rules pertaining to Google search results continue to change. On Friday August 20th, Google announced another change in how organic search results will be displayed in SERP’s.  The 10 organic listings shown on any search is called a Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

According to a post on Google’s Webmaster blog, large websites that have strong consumer interest, can now have more than two organic search results. This is a big change because if website can get four organic listings, they will dominate the top places where consumers click above the fold.

 In the example on the Google blog, a museum can have four organic listings at the top of a SERP:

This change would seem to apply to larger website that have a well organized website structure.   You can always tell a large, well organized website because it has Google Sitelinks.  Sitelinks are helpers to get consumers to popular inside pages on your website.

Car dealers who have a number of sitelinks already under their main page would most likely be a candidate.  In the graphic below, Google created Sitelinks for Checkered Flag’s main website because it is well organized and there are a number of brands that they sell:

Sitelinks can not be added by a dealer but once Google decides to add these links, you can delete any that you don’t want to show using Google Webmaster Tools.

Is This a Good Change?

The reactions on the Google Webmaster Blog are mixed but for car dealers I like this change.  This will definitely help with Google Page One Management when car dealers have lead collectors and distractions showing on Google Page One for their dealership name.  It may also drive more traffic to relevant inside pages to facilitate a better consumer experience.

So this brings up another reason why all pages on your website need to be optimized for the best user experience because Sitelinks and their new SERP feature will be driving consumers to popular inside pages. 

What are your thoughts on this change in how organic search results will be displayed?

Today I noticed something strange in a simple Google SERP. This may have been going on for some time but today it caught my attention.  I was in Google and searched using this phrase “Ford memorial day sale”.

On Google Page One , there were two listings that were very odd because of their syntax:

• http://2009-ford-memorial-day-sale.futuremark.us/
• http://fords-2009-memorial-day-sales.wohviesie.us/

and on Google page two there were these:

• http://ford-memorial-day-car-specials.valleywag.us/
• http://ford-memorial-day-incentive.upublish.us/
• http://ford-memorial-day-offer.ugqualitynet.us/
• http://2000-ford-memorial-day.blackmice.us/

Fake Google SERP Pages

When you click on these links you will see that there is an attempt to make the page look like a search result but when in fact, the entire page is a link farm and a Pay-Per-Click mess.  The scheme is using long tail keywords as a sub-domain to a main website that does not have any pages.

Now IF you type in a search phrase in this Faux Google search page and click the “search” button, you will notice that all the search results all change to include your search phrases. Wow, this is a bear trap.

I’m surprised that Google hasn’t picked up on this scheme which looks to confuse the public.  I just wanted to bring it you’re your attention so you don’t waste your time clicking on these pay-per-click or phishing scheme pages.

Are Long Tail Sub-Domains Viable?

The technique brings up some interesting thoughts about SEO strategies that include sub-domains with long tail search phrases.  If these pages were not a big scam, and a real Ford dealer, you wonder how much organic search traffic the pages would pull.

Should we test long tail sub-domains off our proven, highly ranked websites?  I don’t have an answer for this yet since all my sub-domains in the past have been one word.  Looks like I have another thing to test.

P.S.  I want to thank Stoneham Ford for having me check their Ford Memorial Day Sale page in Google, which set off this realization.