Websites that list cars for sale can help you sell your car or truck quickly. In step 4 of this series, "Sell Your Car Online: Step 4, Writing a Compelling Description of Your Automobile," you learned how to write a powerful description of your car that turns a browser into a buyer.
Making your ad easy for search engines to find is the fifth step in placing an ad. There needs to be a crash course in search engine optimization. "Search engine friendly" means that a website has all the right parts, both hidden and visible, that search engines look for. To be search engine friendly, a website must have the following:
- TITLE tag, which appears in the window's title bar (mine shows "Google - Microsoft Internet Explorer" when visiting Google.com).
- META DESCRIPTION tag, which can only be seen if the source code is viewed.
- HEADER tag, which makes text bigger than it is on the rest of the page (just like the headline in a printed newspaper).
- Hyperlinks, which are simple text links that let you move around on the internet.
- Text that is bold, italicised, or underlined to make it stand out.
- At least 200–250 words on the page of copywriting (with a minimum number of images).
- An ALT tag for the first three images on your page that shows up when the image can't be seen.
- Whether or not the page can be indexed by search engine spiders.
- A URL that doesn't change over time.
The keywords you use and where you put them on the page are the most important parts of search engine rankings. For search engine optimization to work, your keyword should be in the TITLE, the META DESCRIPTION, a HEADER, an ALT tag, a link, and a section of text that stands out. Also, your keyword should show up on your page two to three times for every 100 words (once per paragraph should do).
A search engine must be able to find your page. A spider or robot is a piece of code that search engines use to find web pages to "crawl" or "index." They follow links from one web page to the next to find as many web sites and pages as they can. After they crawl the site, they add the page to the search engine's database so it will show up in the search results. But there is something wrong. Some websites with classified ads for cars don't let search engines index their classified ads.
The URL must be fixed and not change. Pages that are driven by a database usually have dynamic URLs that include "?", "=", or "&" as part of the full address of the page (for example, www.someclassifiedsite.com/index.php?a=5&b=222). Search engine spiders have trouble indexing pages with dynamic URLs, but they are getting better at it all the time. Your page must have a static URL (like www.someclassifiedsite.com/category5-222.htm) so that it can be indexed properly.
What does this all mean for you? First, you should know that when you post an ad on an auto classified site, you only have control over 2-4 of the 9 criteria listed above. Because of this, it will be hard for you to give your listing an edge over similar listings on search engines. So let's look at the things you can do something about.
The right words should be used in the description you write. For instance, if you're selling a 1996 Pontiac Firebird Formula, you should say "1996 Pontiac Firebird Formula" once in each paragraph. Put the word close to the start of each paragraph. Also, the term should be highlighted in the first paragraph by making it bold, italic, or underlined, if the site lets you add HTML tags to your description. To make a word stand out, type "b" before it and "/b" after it. To make a word stand out, put a I before it and a "/i" after it. To make a word stand out, put a in front of it and a at the end.
Let's look at the sample description from the fourth step of this series again. In the first and last paragraphs, look at the HTML tags used around the word "1996 Pontiac Firebird Formula." It's important not to stress every single keyword. Only the first and last times you use the keyword in your description should be emphasised.
"This 1996 Pontiac Firebird Formula is in great shape. It has alloy wheels, air conditioning, power windows and locks, and a 6-disc changer. The T-shirts are a nice touch, especially when it's hot outside. Even though this Firebird is 10 years old, it looks like it should be on the showroom floor. The red paint on the outside is perfect, and the black inside is spotless. Only a year ago, a brand-new automatic transmission was put in. This transmission is still under warranty.
The engine in this 1996 Pontiac Firebird Formula is the best thing about it. It has a well-cared-for 5.7-liter HO V8 engine. It can go from 0 to 60 in 5.2 seconds, and its top speed is just under 160 MPH. When you speed up, you can hear all 305 horses coming out of the exhaust. Any person who likes sports cars would enjoy driving this one.
Don't miss this 1996 Pontiac Firebird Formula. It's a great car at a good price. Call today."
If the classifieds site you are advertising on lets you write the listing title, it is important to choose the right one. The title of your car should be short and tell only the most important things about it. Keywords that people would use to look for your car or truck should be in a good title. For example, "1996 Pontiac Firebird Formula" is a great title because it includes the year, the brand, and the model. If your car has a convertible top, you should put "Convertible" in the title.
Go to inventory.overture.com to see a list of real keywords that people search for on the Internet. Just type in the make of the car, and it will show you the most popular keyword combinations that include that keyword, as well as how many times they were searched for on the Yahoo! Network. This is a good way to find out what people are looking for.
So how do you find an auto classified site that lets search engines index their listings, shows static URLs, lets you control your TITLE tag, and lets you highlight text in the Description field? Simple, just go to your favourite search engine and look for a popular make and model of car that is for sale. Near the top of the search results, there should be a few classified ads. These classified sites work best with search engines, so they would be a great place to post your ad.
By putting these nine page elements in the right places, which are important for getting a high search engine ranking, your listings have a chance to be found by potential buyers who are searching the web. This is the last part of the "Sell Your Car Online" series. I hope you learned some new ways to advertise on the Internet. Try them out today to see how fast you can sell your car.
