The best way to make it to the top of search results as a shared mobility business is through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This blog will take you through everything you need to know about SEO for shared mobility business and how you can leverage it for your business.
What is SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is necessary for search engines to find and understand the content on your website so that they can rank in search results. One must note that optimising your content does not guarantee that it will be indexed or show up in Google results. However, following the best practices for SEO will definitely help Google crawl, index and understand your content.
Why is SEO important for Shared Mobility Business?
No matter what kind of business you own, there is a major importance of SEO for shared mobility businesses like - car rental companies, car subscription services and car sharing companies.
If you are a car rental company and not sure about how SEO can help you, here is a breakdown of some ways car rental companies can benefit from SEO:
Increased Visibility - SEO can help businesses rank higher and their websites will show up on the results page every time someone looks for keywords like “car hire near me” or “best car hire in London.”
Competitive Edge - Effective SEO strategies can outperform competitors in search rankings, attracting more customers and gaining market share.
Targeted Traffic - By targeting specific keywords, SEO attracts highly relevant traffic, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
More Credibility: If you make it to the top of the search results, it can make your car rental business more trustworthy and credible compared to businesses with less visibility.
Local SEO: Local SEO, a key part of SEO strategy, is also good for local businesses and can put you on the radar of customers looking for services in your area.
Improved User Experience: By optimising the structure of your website and the content, vehicle rental businesses can perform better in terms of customer satisfaction and retention.
Best Practices for Improving SEO Ranking
Here are some elements to focus on for the best SEO strategies for car rental services in 2024.
1. Understanding and Addressing Search Intent -
Every search online has an intent behind it. Search intent, also termed user intent, leads to a search query and the results that appear in the first few pages of Google make sure that content delivers what the users are looking for. Typically, there are four types of user intent:
Informational: Users seek to learn more about a topic. For example, clients often ask, “How much does a car rental cost?”
Navigational: Users search for a specific webpage or physical location. For instance, users can take to Google to find “cars on rent near me.”
Commercial: Users research before making a purchase. An example would be a client looking for “reviews of XY car rental company” before renting a car.
Transactional: Users intend to complete an action or purchase. To provide an example, clients would search for “car rental software pricing or van rental software pricing”
2. Strategic Use of Primary Keywords -
Primary keywords are basically target keywords that should be strategically placed on your vehicle rental website. These keywords are the primary keywords that are included in title tags, headers, introductions and URLs that help with ranking in Google.
For instance, when optimising for car and van rental services, identify popular keywords such as "car rental," "van rental," or "car-sharing." To find high-volume keywords for their car rental businesses, companies can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs.
3. On-Page Optimisation -
Ensure that each page on your website incorporates relevant keywords into title tags, meta descriptions, heading tags (H1, H2, H3) and image alt attributes. Maintain a natural incorporation of keywords while prioritising readability and relevance. For example, optimise title tags and meta descriptions with phrases like "Car Hire UK" or "Long-term business car hire" to enhance search visibility.
4. Content Marketing -
Car rental companies should also create a content marketing strategy that focuses on sharing information related to car rentals, best practices, safety tips and destination guides. Car rental businesses can do content marketing in the form of blog posts, articles, infographics and videos using targeted keywords.
5. Mobile Optimisation -
According to a study by the Pew Research Center in 2015, 86% of people in the US have a smartphone and prefer using it over their PCs and laptops. The number of users is bound to have increased since then, and given how prevalent mobile phones are now, almost every user uses their phones to look for services and queries. For this reason, it’s important to optimise your website in a way that is mobile and user-friendly so that it ranks on Google.
6. User-Generated Content and Reviews -
Encourage your customers to leave reviews and comments on your services. Organic and fresh reviews will help van rental companies optimise their visibility on search engine results pages.
7. Local SEO for Car Rental Businesses -
Improving your local presence begins with setting up your Google Business Profile properly. Make sure all your business info is there, so customers can find you easily. Ask happy customers to leave reviews because good reviews help you show up more in local searches and make people trust your mobility business more.
Also, it's important to list your business in local directories and keep your info consistent everywhere, like your business name, address, and phone number. This helps more people find you online.
8. Backlink Building -
When it comes to ranking on search results, Google always prioritises websites with good authority. To build the authority of your website, get other reputable sites to add quality backlinks to it. To break it down for car rental companies, if you have other reputable websites linking to yours, search engines will treat these links as recommendations for being trustworthy and important.
As a car rental company, you can look for quality backlinks from well-respected websites in domains such as transportation, travel, and urban mobility. Some ways in which you can increase backlinks are through guest postings and collaborations. However, it’s important to employ only proven and genuine strategies for SEO and avoid any black hat techniques.
9. Image Optimisation -
Optimise the picture that you add to your car rental website by compressing its size and reducing its loading size. Add alt texts to the images for SEO.
10. Page Loading Speed -
Improve your site's loading speed, especially on mobile devices, to enhance the user experience and SEO performance. Use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to improve and optimise loading times.
11. Regular Website Audits and Maintenance -
Regularly audit your website for issues like broken links, duplicate content, and slow loading times. Stay updated on search engine trends to adapt your website for better performance and competitiveness.
Step Up Your SEO Game with Coastr's SEO Starter Kit
In this blog, we explored why shared mobility businesses should opt for SEO and the ways they can improve their visibility on search engines. Looking for ways to improve your mobility business online presence with SEO to reach a wider audience? We have a starter kit tailored to walk you through the entire process.
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