Top Searches for Construction Equipment Dealers on Google

If you haven’t tried Google’s Keyword Planner to see how potential customers search for dealers and equipment, it’s worth your time. Get ready to be surprised by what the numbers reveal.

For those who aren’t aware of this free tool, you select a designated geographic region such as U.S., state, or even a metro area such as Chicago, then type in keywords you believe your customers are searching for on Google. The results include a 12-month average number of searches using that exact term. This information is important because using the right keywords can help search engines find your website as well as paid search ads online. Google recently changed the tool to allow for fine tuning of the results for specific local markets – a big enhancement for all local dealers.

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More buyers search by dealer name than for generic terms

The top keyword searches weren’t generic searches for “construction equipment dealer ,”  “rental dealers ,” or even “John Deere dealers,” but rather for brand name dealers such as “James River Equipment” which was searched an average of 1,900 times per month or “Gregory Poole” which was searched an average of 1,300 times per month over the past 12 months. In contrast, a generic search using the keyword “construction equipment dealer” was only initiated an average of 10 times per month. Strong dealer brand marketing as well as machine population are likely to influence the number of searches by dealer name.

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Top Searches by Dealer Name

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Top Searches by Dealer Brand

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More buyers search by generic machine type than brand

When it comes to searches for equipment, more buyers searched by generic machine type than by brand in North Carolina. For example, there were 140 searches for the keyword “front end loader” compared to just 20 searches for “John Deere loader.” But beware of terminology. “Front end loader” proved to be a more popular search term than “wheel loader.” Often the language manufacturers use to describe equipment is different than the keywords end-users type in the search box. It pays to do the research.

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Comparison of Wheel Loader-Related Searches*

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Comparison of Excavator-Related Searches*

*This is not meant to be an exhaustive analysis of all search terms, but a sampling.

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Keyword Strategy

Once you identify desirable keywords, analyze who among your competitors is ranking for those keywords. Keep in mind that the search results on your own computer may be influenced by your social connections and other factors. Be sure to sign out of your Google account before entering the keyword in the search box. You can use a service such as Moz.com to track competitive rankings on an ongoing basis. Evaluate the difficulty of ranking on the first page of Google.  Organic (non-paid) rankings can take some time to achieve because it depends to a large degree on how authoritative your site is (as measured by inbound links, and relevant, new content). If organic rankings aren’t likely, you can consider paid advertising for immediate results.

The Google keywords tool offers dealers a tremendous amount of insight into how buyers navigate the web to find what they need. Check out the results for your local market to determine the best way to drive traffic to your dealership.

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