Case Study: How SEO Increased Traffic for a Local Car Garage Stedmans Garage

Introduction

Establishing a strong online presence is crucial for local businesses to thrive. Stedmans Garage, a reputable local car garage in Worthing, recognised the importance of improving their online visibility and engaged in a focused SEO campaign. This case study explores the SEO strategies implemented, the challenges faced, and the significant results achieved over the past year.

Background Information

Stedmans Garage has been serving the local community for several years, offering a range of automotive services including repairs, maintenance, and diagnostics. Despite their excellent reputation and customer satisfaction, the garage’s online presence was not reflecting its on-ground success. The website traffic was low, and they were not ranking well on search engines, which led to fewer inquiries and bookings through their online platform.

A strategic decision was made to optimise Stedmans Garage’s website for search engines, with the goal of increasing organic traffic, improving search engine rankings, and ultimately boosting online inquiries and bookings.

Why This Case Study?

This case study was undertaken to demonstrate the tangible impact that a well-planned and executed SEO strategy can have on a local business. By tracking key metrics such as clicks, impressions, click-through rates (CTR), and average position in search results, we aim to provide clear evidence of the effectiveness of SEO in driving online success for small businesses.

SEO Strategy Implementation

The SEO strategy for Stedmans Garage focused on several key areas:

1. Keyword Optimisation: Extensive research was conducted to identify relevant keywords that potential customers were using to search for services offered by Stedmans Garage. These keywords were then strategically integrated into the website’s content, meta tags, and headers.
2. Content Creation: Regularly updated content was created, including blog posts and service pages that addressed common automotive issues and provided valuable information to visitors. This not only helped in engaging visitors but also improved the website’s relevance for the targeted keywords.
3. Technical SEO: The website’s technical structure was optimised to ensure fast loading times, mobile responsiveness, and a user-friendly interface. This included improvements in the website’s code, image optimisation, and ensuring proper indexing by search engines.
4. Backlink Building: A link-building campaign was initiated to acquire high-quality backlinks from reputable websites in the automotive industry, further improving the site’s authority and search engine rankings.

Main Findings

Comparative Performance Analysis (2023 vs. 2024)

1. Clicks and Impressions Growth:
   • Throughout the whole of 2023, the website registered 447 clicks and 67.1K impressions from Google. 
   • By 2024, these numbers had significantly increased to 20.3K clicks and 836K impressions. This drastic improvement reflects the effectiveness of the SEO efforts, with the website becoming much more visible in search results.
2. Click-Through Rate (CTR) and Average Position:
   • The average CTR from Google increased from 0.7% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024, indicating that not only were more users seeing the website in search results, but they were also more likely to click through to the site.
   • The average position in Google search results improved remarkably, moving from 42.3 in 2023 to 20.9 in 2024. This upward trend demonstrates that the website was appearing higher in search results, leading to increased traffic.

The top queries from Google that led to the most traffic in July 2024 included:

1. “DSG gearbox problems” – Avg. position: 2.4, 70 clicks
2. “7 speed DSG gearbox problems” – Avg. position: 1.2, 53 clicks
3. “BMW timing chain” – Avg. position: 3.7, 45 clicks

Device Performance Analysis on Google (2024)

• Mobile Devices: The majority of clicks came from mobile devices, with 37,802 clicks and a CTR of 3.3%, emphasising the importance of mobile optimization in the SEO strategy.
• Desktop Devices: Desktop users accounted for 11,875 clicks, but with a lower CTR of 1.7%.
• Tablet Devices: Tablets brought in 1,424 clicks with the highest CTR of 4.5%.

Conclusion

The SEO campaign for Stedmans Garage has proven to be highly successful, resulting in a substantial increase in online visibility, website traffic, and user engagement. The garage now ranks prominently for several key search terms, leading to more inquiries and bookings through their website. This case study illustrates how local businesses can leverage SEO to enhance their online presence and achieve significant growth in a competitive digital landscape.

References

• Google Search Console Reports (Screenshots provided)
• Stedmans Garage Website
• Our Portfolio For Stedmans Garage