Keyword Research for RV Dealerships

The Ultimate Keyword Research Guide

Welcome to the world of Keyword Research for RV dealerships. In today’s digital landscape, understanding how keywords work can make a significant difference in your online presence.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the fundamentals of keyword research and its role in boosting your dealership’s visibility. Whether you’re looking to enhance your website’s rankings, attract targeted traffic, or simply understand how your potential customers search for RVs, this guide has you covered.

Let’s dive in.

1. What is SEO Keyword Research?

Let’s start with the basics. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the art and science of making your website more appealing to search engines like Google. Keyword research is the foundation of SEO. It’s about finding the words and phrases (keywords) your potential customers use when searching for RVs and related services.

Imagine you’re a potential RV buyer. Your journey begins with a simple Google search: “Best RVs for family travel.” The words you type into that search bar are keywords. For RV dealers, understanding these keywords is like having a map to guide buyers straight to your dealership.

How To Do Keyword Research For SEO: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now, let’s outline the process of conducting effective keyword research. We’ll take you through each step, from brainstorming initial ideas to prioritizing keywords for your RV dealership.

Keyword Research for PPC Campaigns

You might wonder if keyword research for Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns follows a similar process. The answer is yes. Just like SEO, PPC campaigns benefit from well-researched keywords. To run successful PPC campaigns, you need optimized landing pages with relevant content, and that content starts with effective keyword research.

2. Search Intent: The RV Buyer’s Journey

To master keyword research, you need to grasp the RV buyer’s journey. This journey can be broken down into several stages, each requiring a different set of keywords:

1. Awareness Stage: At the start of their journey, buyers often use generic keywords like “RVs for sale”,  “RV dealers” or “Which RV is right for me.” They’re gathering information and may not be ready to make a purchase yet. They are likely weeks, if not months away from purchasing.
2. Consideration Stage: As buyers narrow down their options, they search for specific RV types like “travel trailers for sale” or “motorhomes.” Customers tend to be more active during this stage in the buying process, so RV shows and events also come into play at this stage. They are still a little ways off from purchasing in this stage.
3. Decision Stage: Now, buyers are getting serious. They search for brands like “Airstream” or “Coachmen.” They also look for particular models and deals, such as “2017 Lance 2185 for sale”, “RV financing”, “RV Storage” or even “how to backup an RV.” Customer who are searching for the specific year, make and model are really close to buying.
4. Current Customer Stage: Even after purchase, RV owners seek information. They might explore topics like “popular RV upgrades” or “RV Service” etc.

To effectively reach your audience, your keyword strategy must align with each stage of this journey. The keywords you target will differ depending on whether your goal is to raise awareness, encourage consideration, or drive a final decision.

3. Long-Tail Keyword Types for RV Dealers

Now that you understand the stages, let’s dive into the types of keywords that matter:

• Short-Tail Keywords: These are brief and generic, like “RV dealers.” While they may have high search volume, competition is fierce.
• Long-Tail Keywords: Longer and more specific, such as “family-friendly RVs for sale near Denver.” These are less competitive and often indicate higher buyer intent.
• LSI Keywords (Latent Semantic Indexing): These are semantically related keywords. For instance, if you’re targeting “RV camping,” LSI keywords might include “camping gear” or “campground reviews.”

4. Tools for Keyword Research

To embark on your keyword research journey, you’ll need the right tools. Some popular options include:

• Google Keyword Planner: It’s free and provides insights into search volume and competition for keywords.
• SEMrush: A comprehensive SEO tool that offers keyword research, competitive analysis, and more.
• Ahrefs: Known for its backlink analysis, Ahrefs also provides excellent keyword research capabilities.
• Ubersuggest: Has a great free version in order to get started in your research.

These tools will help you uncover valuable keywords specific to the RV industry, enabling you to tailor your content and website optimization accordingly.

5. Free Keyword Research Report

Additionally, if you’re looking for a hassle-free way to kickstart your keyword research, consider leveraging our free RV Dealer Keyword Research Report. This invaluable resource provides you with a comprehensive analysis of the most relevant keywords in the RV dealership industry.

With actionable insights and tailored recommendations, it’s a powerful tool to refine your SEO strategy. Best of all, it’s completely free, so you can start optimizing your online presence without any cost or commitment. Get your FREE RV Dealer Keyword Research Report today and supercharge your SEO efforts effortlessly: Get Your Free Report.

6. Building an RV-Specific Keyword List

Your goal here is to create a list of keywords relevant to your RV dealership. Start by brainstorming the keywords potential buyers might use at each stage of their journey. Then, use keyword research tools to expand your list.

As an RV dealer, location is essential. Incorporate location-based keywords, like “RV dealers in dallas.” These are particularly valuable for attracting local customers.

Prioritize your keywords based on search volume, competition, and relevance. Focus on long-tail keywords that align with the buyer’s journey.

Google Sheets

When it comes to building your RV-specific keyword list, organization is key. We highly recommend creating a dedicated Google spreadsheet to manage your keywords effectively. This approach offers the flexibility and collaboration tools your dealership needs for successful keyword management.

Here’s how you can structure your keyword list in the spreadsheet:

1. Keyword: In the first column, list the keywords or keyword phrases you’ve identified. Be sure to include variations and long-tail keywords to cover a wide range of search queries.
2. Priority: In the second column, assign a priority level to each keyword. Use a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest priority. This helps you focus on optimizing the most critical keywords first.
3. Stage: The third column should indicate the stage of the customer buying process associated with each keyword. Assign keywords to one of these stages: Awareness, Consideration, Decision, or Retention. This allows you to tailor your content and strategies to match where potential customers are in their journey.

By structuring your keyword list this way, you’ll have a clear roadmap for your SEO efforts. It helps you prioritize keywords, target specific stages of the buying process, and track your progress over time. Plus, with Google Sheets’ collaborative features, your team can work together seamlessly to optimize your RV dealership’s online presence.”

This addition provides a practical approach for RV dealerships to organize their keyword lists and highlights the benefits of using Google Sheets for this purpose.

7. Competitor Analysis

When it comes to keyword research, understanding what your competitors are doing is just as important as finding the right keywords for your RV dealership. This is where competition keyword analysis comes into play.

View the keyword report that we pulled from Vogt RV, you can see what keywords associated with their domain, their ranking, traffic to their site and overall keyword traffic. Obviously their are some brand keywords in the list however, the report will give you valuable insight into keyword that they have that you need to add to your keyword spreadsheet.

Why is Competition Keyword Analysis Important?

1. Identifying Competitor Strategies: By examining your competitors’ keyword choices, you can get a clearer picture of their content strategy and their target audience (ahem… and your audience). This knowledge can help you refine your own strategy and find opportunities they might have missed.
2. Discovering High-Performing Keywords: Competition analysis can uncover high-performing keywords that you may not have considered. If your competitors are consistently ranking well for certain keywords, it’s a strong indicator that these keywords are valuable in your industry.
3. Identifying Keyword Gaps: By comparing your keyword list with your competitors’, you can identify gaps in your content. These are keywords that your competitors are ranking for, but you’re not. Filling these gaps can be an effective way to capture more search traffic.

View this entire article on RV Dealer competition analysis:

Don’t overlook your competitors. Analyzing their keywords can provide invaluable insights. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs allow you to spy on your competitors and discover the keywords driving traffic to their websites.

By understanding what keywords your competitors are targeting, you can identify gaps in your strategy and areas where you can outperform them.

8. Implementing Keywords in Content

Once you’ve amassed your keyword arsenal, it’s time to deploy them strategically:

• On-Page SEO: Optimize your website’s pages with keywords in titles, headings, and content.
• Quality Content: Create informative, engaging, and user-friendly content that incorporates keywords naturally.
• User Experience: Ensure your website loads quickly and provides an excellent user experience.

9. Tracking and Measuring Success

The world of SEO is ever-evolving, so continuous monitoring and adjustments are vital. Use tracking tools to monitor keyword rankings and website traffic. If a keyword isn’t performing as expected, don’t hesitate to make changes to your strategy.

10. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Keyword Research

While keyword research can be a powerful tool for your RV business, there are common mistakes you should be aware of. Avoiding these pitfalls will save you thousands and help you get the most out of your SEO efforts.

1. Not understanding customer buying cycle
   • We’ve seen this a million times, ok not that much but a LOT, where a digital marketing company will do keyword research like we’ve outlined above and see the top level keywords in sections 1 and 2 and say “Perfect, those keywords get a ton of traffic, let’s create a PPC campaign around those!”
   • Then they spend 90% of the dealership’s ad budget on keywords where the buyer is 45-90 days from buying AND the agency had no way to capture the visitor and lead them down the buying process. Thus wasting 90% or more of the budget.
   • The goal should be to target the customers at the bottom of the buying cycle and work your way up until the budget runs out. BUT, have an avenue for capturing visitor information every step of the way.
2. Not Understanding User Intent
   • Keywords aren’t just about what people are searching for; they’re also about why they’re searching. Make sure you understand the intent behind the keywords you target. Here’s an example: User searches for Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB. What is their intent? Are they searching for reviews, renting, weight, specs or for sale? We don’t know, so it’s important to not waste your budget or automatically assume they are looking to buy. It’s a fast way to potentially increase traffic, but also your bounce rate.
3. Focusing Solely on Search Volume
   • It’s easy to get caught up in the search volume of a keyword, but remember that relevance, search intent and conversion potential are just as important.

Wrapping Up Keyword Research

In summary, keyword research is a critical component of SEO for RV dealerships. From understanding different types of keywords to avoiding common mistakes, this guide aims to provide you with a comprehensive look into the world of keyword research. By implementing these practices, you’ll be well on your way to boosting your online visibility and attracting more targeted traffic.

Next Steps

1. Get Your Free Keyword Report: Don’t miss out on our FREE RV Dealer Keyword Research Report. This report provides actionable insights and tailored recommendations to refine your SEO strategy.
2. Leave a Comment: Have questions or comments? Feel free to leave them below. We’re here to help!
3. Schedule a Demo: Want to take your RV dealership’s online presence to the next level? Schedule a demo for our web services today.

We’d Love to Hear From You

If you have any questions, comments, or would like to discuss any of the topics covered in this article, please comment below.