shipping a car - auto transport - nations auto transport - 877-331-3100
Auto Transport Nationwide - Nations Auto Transport, LLC
Getting the Best Results from Google When Searching for Car Shipping Companies
[pullquote align=”right”]Most people rarely go past the first page of the search results because they assume the best companies are listed first. [/pullquote]When most people need to transport a car, they go to the internet for a quick quote. When you search Google, for instance, for “car shipping companies”, there are 77,400,000 websites returned in your result. This doesn’t mean there are that many companies, its just the pages on the internet that reference that subject at some point, on any number of pages. Most people rarely go past the first page of the search results because they assume the best companies are listed first. Search results are manipulated however by paid advertising spots. These are the ads located at the top and right side bar of your search results page. Many of these companies listed are not even in the auto transport business, they are in the marketing business and the lead selling business.
Lead providers aka Lead Farms, will spend tens of thousands of dollars every month to show up in the premium spots on page 1 of the search engines. For example, if a lead provider wanted to capture all of the traffic for the words “car shipping companies” on Google, they would go to Google Adwords and bid for the top spots on page 1. You have the top dollar ads, those that appear in the slightly shaded area of page one, above the other results. These spots are pricey! Every time someone clicks on them…even if they purchase nothing, the advertiser is charged a “click”.
Here is an example of the search result, done on Google, January 23, 2014.
For this example I entered “Car Shipping Companies” as my search term.
- The ads that are in green cost approximately $24.00 per click.
- The ads that are in blue cost anywhere from $4.00 to $20.00 per click depending on the number of advertising competing for the same term.
The reason these ads cost so much, is because people click on them!
Let’s take a look at the results.
Some are carriers who own their own trucks and probably have been around a long time to get listed on page 1. Others are brokers who have earned page 1 ranking from organic search results and great reviews. But many of these links on page 1 are just marketers that want to sell your information to 5, 7, 10 different brokers. Their pages clearly state that you are agreeing to receive quotes from a number of brokers and by submitting the form you acknowledge this. Get ready for your inbox to fill up, your phone to start ringing and headaches begin.
SHADED ADS – Shown in Green in the Image Above
Position #1: $419 – Ship Car Across USA – Get 7 Free Quotes in Only 1 Minute (They are selling your info)
Position #2: $419 – USA Car Shipping – What’s Exact Cost to Ship Your Car – 8 Instant Car Quotes (They are selling your info)
Position #3: $419 – DAS Car Shipping – Lowest Rate to Ship Cars, From DAS (This is a broker who does a lot of business by spending thousands on advertising spots)
ORGANIC RESULTS
Position #4: Auto Transport DIRECTORY for Car Shipping, Car Moving (this is a directory of carriers that can be searched by state. They offer no transport services.)
Position #5: AutoStar Transport, Car Shipping, Auto Transport (this is an auto transport broker)
Position #6: Dependable Auto Shippers: Auto Transport Company | DAS (this is the same company that is listed in position #3. These paid ads have earned them organic traffic as well.)
Position #7: Auto Transport & Car Shipping Quotes | Vehicle Shippers & Movers (This is UShip which is a unmanned bidding system owned by and similar to eBay. UShip does nothing but connect consumers to carriers. Have you ever watched “Storage Wars”? UShip is featured in that show. Carriers, regardless of length of service, experience or customer review can bid on your transport. It is up to you to research the carrier before dispatching the vehicle. UShip is not held responsible for any loss or damage to your vehicle. You will also be charged a rather inflated fee for a non-human service.)
Position #8 Transport Reviews.com – Ratings and Reviews of Auto Transport (I have mixed feeling about this site)
Positives and Negatives of Transport Reviews (http://www.transportreviews.com)
The positive is that my business is listed here and currently holds a 5-Star customer satisfaction rating. Although there are not hundreds of reviews, they are much appreciated feedback from real customers.
The negative is that the reviews can me manipulated very easily.
Anyone can submit a review, anyone can ask their friends to submit a 5-star review, car shipping companies can offer drawings, discounts or incentives to their clients to write a review.
MOST PEOPLE NEVER MAKE IT THIS FAR DOWN THE LIST
By this time the consumer, that’s you, gets this far down the page, you’ve already clicked on at least 3 of the links. Most likely you’ve clicked on the ads or the first one or two organic listings. In this example, you have yet to reach a legitimate auto transport company that can answer all of your questions, arrange a carrier for you, include additional insurance coverage and convenient payment options.
Lets Not Forget Our Sidebar
A quick glance of the 8 ads listed on the sidebar, I can tell you that there is possibly one real broker listed in the blue ads. The remaining ads are all Lead Farms – Selling your information.
If I could offer some sincere advice:
- Look past page 1
- Don’t click on Ads
- Don’t fill out forms for multiple quotes
- Check out TransportReviews.com – be aware of “Compensated Reviews”
- Do not make any deposits upfront
- Do not book your transport without getting confirmation of insurance coverage both from the carrier and from the broker.
Nations Auto Transport, LLC
Open & Enclosed Car Shipping Services – Nationwide
No Upfront Deposit – Free Car Shipping Quotes
Secondary Insurance Included at no additional cost
Car Shipping Quotes | Our Transport Reviews
The post Finding Car Shipping Companies on Google [Infographic] appeared first on Auto Transport Nationwide - Nations Auto Transport, LLC.
