Automotive News - May 6, 2019 - Retail - 20

20 * MAY 6, 2019

Google's tweaks lift some auto shopping sites
Vince Bond Jr.
vbond@crain.com

The Google search wars aren't contested on a static battlefield.
The tech giant tweaks its search engine algorithm frequently to improve
the user experience. Some changes
are minor, but others can send waves
through various sectors, including
auto retailing.
One of the biggest waves in recent
memory arrived March 12 and immediately got the attention of
third-party shopping sites such as
Autotrader, Cars.com and Kelley
Blue Book. The sites say Google's al-

gorithm adjustment immediately affected the rankings of free listings
that appear below paid search ads.
And the sites soon discovered that
they benefited from the changes.
Their search traffic rose.
What exactly did Google's "March
2019 Core Update" do? The sites
don't know, but they're happy to
reap the benefits.
The episode highlights how digital
marketers have to keep pace in a
world where the playing field can
change at any time, sometimes without warning or explanation. Google
normally doesn't announce algo-

Protective-AutoNews-BenFranklin (4-19).pdf 1 4/1/2019 3:20:32 PM

dynamic, so as Web conrithm updates, but it did so
tent changes, its search reafter the March 12 changes.
sults may change to reflect
"No one knows in the inwhat is most relevant. A
dustry what it was looking
Google spokeswoman said
for, what it was impacting,"
the company changes its
David Greene, Cars.com's
algorithms thousands of
director of search engine
times per year to ensure
optimization, told Automothat they work as intended.
tive News. "The only thing Greene: Focus
Google tells us is that broad on the user
algorithm updates focus on
Relevant content
the user. Multiple industries have
After updates, the spokeswoman
been impacted."
said, some sites might perform betGreene believes Cars.com has ter and others worse. The updates
benefited by having engaging con- are a general reassessment of reletent, in the articles and research it vance, she said, adding that some
publishes, and a fast mobile site.
Web pages that may have been unGoogle says its search function is derrewarded for their relevant con-

EARN UP TO 20%*
MORE MONEY
WITH A DEALER
OWNED WARRANTY
COMPANY FROM
,

ITS INVENTOR.
C

CHOOSE PROTECTIVE'S F&I SOLUTION FOR
MORE CONTROL, TRANSPARENCY AND WEALTH.
It doesn't matter what dealer participation program you currently have.
When you choose the Protective DOWC™ program, you have the
potential to earn more money.
That's because a Protective DOWC program is specifically structured to
generate the greatest amount of income for dealers. You get to design
F&I solutions that provide the most value to your customers, while we
handle the demands of daily administration.

Visit protectivedowc.com
Or call 866 927 2915 to learn more

* Projections based on consistent, eligible product sales over a ten year period compared against traditional reinsurance programs. Earnings vary based on company performance. Protective and its
associated companies do not provide tax advice. Please consult your financial and tax advisor.

"Whenever Google
figures out it is getting
gamed by SEOs, that's
when an algorithm
update often occurs.
That's another reason
they stay vague about
that."

Changes improve placement in searches

Dave Pye, director of SEO
strategy for Autotrader and
Kelley Blue Book

tent could get higher rankings on
searches as a result.
Google says it provides webmaster
guidelines to help site owners create
high-quality content, and owners can
visit Google's webmaster forums for
support and guidance. The spokeswoman said improvements that webmasters make to their sites, such as
optimizing for mobile devices, are the
types of user-friendly changes that
can result in higher rankings.
"While there is no record of here's
what changed and why, Google is
very vocal about making sure it tells
everybody what best practices everybody should be following," said
Mary-Grace Wilson, SEO team lead
at Dealer Inspire, a company
Cars.com acquired last year that provides dealership websites, digital retailing products and a messaging
platform.
"We can't point to something and
say, 'Here is exactly what happened.'
You can go back to Google's quality
guidelines and say, 'What am I doing
right? Where am I just toeing the line
versus where am I trying to do what's
in the best interest for all of the users?' Unfortunately, there isn't a
clean answer to say this is exactly
what you need to do," Wilson said.

Wizard of Oz
Dave Pye, director of SEO strategy for
Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, said
he views the March 12 update as a reward for improvements his sites have
made over the past four quarters. Pye
said the sites "covered the gamut" with
enhancements to usability, site speed
and technical architecture.
He said Google may hint at what it
has changed, but any hints are typically vague. Details after a major update, he said, usually emerge from
educated guessing by the SEO community. Google is "like the Wizard of
Oz behind the curtain" when it
comes to SEO, Pye said.
He believes Google is tight-lipped
about its algorithm updates to protect
itself. Google has safeguarded its
search results through the years, Pye
said, citing a critical algorithm update
in 2003 called "Florida" that tried to
stop sites from taking advantage of
the search engine. Some are calling
the March 12 update "Florida 2."
"Before the first Florida update, it
was easy to manipulate the search
engine with a lot of dastardly tricks.
Florida started to put a stop to that.
Whenever Google figures out it is
getting gamed by SEOs, that's when
an algorithm update often occurs.
That's another reason they stay
vague about that," Pye said. "They
don't want people to know exactly
what they're doing because that's
their [intellectual property] and
that's how they protect their market
share." a

http://www.Cars.com http://www.Cars.com http://www.protectivedowc.com http://www.Cars.com

Automotive News - May 6, 2019 - Retail

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - May 6, 2019 - Retail