Article's Content
Article's Content
Let’s be honest
It’s much harder to gain buyer trust these days, especially with many competing solutions springing up daily. Buyers also struggle to find suitable solutions for their needs as more brands get smarter with their marketing copy.
As a result, many B2B and B2C buyers turn to the one place they can get unbiased reviews from real customers: third-party review sites.
Yelp, G2, and Capterra make a fortune by giving buyers the proof and validation they need to trust and purchase a product. So does CarGurus.
CarGurus is more than an online shopping platform for finding the best used car deals. Prospects mostly use the website to get unbiased car reviews from other real users to decide whether or not they should patronize a vendor.
As a result, CarGurus drives 12 million organic monthly traffic, making it one of the most visited car marketplaces in the US. CarGurus has also recorded other successes over the years:
- 1.6 billion market cap (Yahoo Finance)
- Over 30 thousand paying dealers (CarGurus’ 2021 Q2 Form 10-Q)
- 28.6 million monthly users (CarGurus’ 2021 Q4 and Full Year Report)
- Acquired car shopping platform Autolist in 2020 (GlobeNewswire)
This article breaks down the SEO strategy CarGurus uses to dominate the SERPs for tons of high-value keywords and become a reliable source of truth for car decision-makers.
Whether or not you’re in B2B SaaS or the world of vehicle SEO, this essay will help you better understand the strategies you need to gain user trust and drive growth.
Buckle up, and let’s dive in.
CarGurus SEO Moat: 5 Categories, $14M in Monthly Traffic Value
Online reviews, comparison pages, and how-to guides are a big part of the B2B and B2C buyer’s journey.
These acquisition channels offer review sites a way to outrank industry vendors for high-value Middle of the Funnel (MOFU) and Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU) keywords.
For example, Capterra built an SEO moat, outranking many SaaS companies for MOFU and BOFU keywords they should be ranking for. As a result, the platform has earned 7 million backlinks and drives 2 million monthly organic traffic.
Like Capterra, CarGurus dominates the SERPs for high-value BOFU keywords. See what its search scorecard looks like:
Most of CarGuru’s organic traffic comes from five category pages:
These category pages and the CarGurus home page drive around a fourth of its organic traffic, currently valued at $760,000 each month.
CarGurus has used these pages to build a solid acquisition channel that attracts car dealers, generating more subscription and advertising revenue.
People trust recommendations from those they are familiar with and strangers who have used a product or service.
You wouldn’t buy a new car just because the manufacturer’s website called out its features. Neither would you purchase a used car because the dealer said it’s in good condition unless the recommendation comes from someone you know and trust.
CarGurus category pages give ideal customers two things they truly desire during their buying process: value clarity and validation from past and existing customers. Prospects have sufficient information to compare cars and read reviews from past customers before making a decision. It’s no wonder CarGurus recorded a 124% year-over-year revenue growth in 2021.
Let’s see how CarGurus uses content to drive traffic.
How CarGurus Uses Content to Drive Traffic
CarGurus ranks on the SERPs for 2.5 million keywords. As a result, almost 95% of its traffic comes from direct and search marketing channels.
Most of its top keywords link to its category pages. See its top five:
Take the keyword “Cars For Sales Near Me.”
This keyword has a 253,000 monthly search volume. That’s a significant number of searches. It’s a good thing CarGurus is positioned at #3 to capture traffic:
The web page captures more than 50% of the keyword’s search volume, driving over 135,000 monthly organic traffic.
CarGurus also ranks #3 for the keyword variation “cheap used cars near me.” This page drives 37,000 monthly organic traffic.
Anyone looking for used or cheap used cars around their area can click on any of these results to get what they need faster.
Optimizing its web pages to rank for long-tail keywords is a brilliant move. These keywords amplify CarGurus’ core product offerings and attract people ready or near-ready to purchase.
Of course, staying at the #3 spot when there are other non-text ranking options isn’t such a great strategy for driving traffic, especially with Google looking for ways to give searchers what they need faster.
Cars.com not only ranks number 1 for text results. They are first in the shopping results tab—the first thing you see when you search for “cars for sale near me.”
Semrush’s zero-click study revealed that image and shopping ads now drive traffic faster than text. You want to ensure you are giving searchers maximum value. That means optimizing all content formats, so you’re one of the first options they see when they are looking to buy.
Despite not being number 1 on the list, the Used Cars page still drives 141,000 organic traffic every month, with good reason.
A look at the landing page shows CarGurus taking the Bottom line up front (BLUF) approach—placing the most valuable information first so that ideal customers can easily navigate the page and find what they need without scrolling too far.
Option one is the search tab that allows users to enter their specific requirements and get results immediately. This option is for users with a solid idea of what they are looking for.
The second option is for users who don’t have the specifics but have a fair idea of what they want. So letting them sort cars based on their appearance offers them a way to easily identify what they are looking for without having to revisit Google. CarGurus will lose prospects that way.
A key takeaway for SaaS companies is this:
Make it simple for users to find what they’re looking for on your website. You want to ensure that all the information that will lead to a purchase is organized logically.
Incorporate a visible search system in your website so prospects can find what they need faster. That way, you won’t lose ideal customers to competitors, and you’ll have a great website structure that improves user experience.
How CarGurus Uses Social Proof and FAQs
CarGurus also gives its users confidence using social proof.
Social proof is a great way to influence buyers’ decisions. For example, ShipBob uses a social proof formula that has gained the trust of over 5000 businesses.
CarGurus includes social proof in its category pages to give prospects the confidence they need to make decisions.
These logos and the body copy above it address a major pain point for the prospect: the prospect’s fear of purchasing a faulty car. That means a typical buyer doesn’t have to worry about buying a defective car; if they eventually get one, they won’t have to spend money to fix it.
But that’s not enough. Ideal buyers also look for additional information, such as user reviews, to validate their decision. CarGurus also offers this form of social proof:
Using testimonials and ratings helps ideal customers vet the dealer and the product to determine whether or not it’s a good buy.
Of course, SaaS companies can steal this strategy by reaching out to users for feedback, using the positive ones as social proof and the negatives as a building block for their next iteration.
CarGurus also includes frequently asked questions (FAQs) to answer all possible inquiries that might prevent the buyer from making a purchase and provide clarity:
Of course, FAQs are a greater way to improve user experience, boost their confidence in a product, and help you rank for long tail keywords on the SERPs.
Beyond CarGurus’ search-optimized FAQs, they also allow buyers to read questions and answers from past users and ask questions of their own:
Giving users a peek into real issues and their answers is another way to help them make an informed decision and ask more questions of their own as well. Allowing other users to answer these questions is another brilliant validation strategy CarGurus leverage, just like Amazon.
How Cargurus Uses Guides and Comparison Articles to Drive Growth
Beyond comparison pages and reviews, CarGurus also creates articles that help users make the right decisions. Its blog drives $185,000 worth of organic traffic.
Here’s what its search scorecard looks like:
CarGurus creates car-related articles to educate prospects and generate demand for its listed cars. Since CarGurus serves two audiences—the buyer and seller—the content pieces serve different purposes:
That means both buyers and sellers can find helpful tips to hit their goals.
The blog has other relevant sections like expert reviews, comparison articles, and how-to tips for maintaining the product.
Take this comparison page, the best hybrid SUVs of 2022, for example. It ranks for the keyword “hybrid SUV 2022,” which has a 23,000 monthly search volume. The page attracts almost 4000 visitors each month.
This page stands out for many reasons, especially its internal linking structure. First, it links to popular cars:
Buyers can decide to check out any of these cars if they see one that catches their interest. Of course, the strategy would be more effective if CarGurus let these links open in a new tab so the reader can always move between tabs to get the information they need while deciding.
Another thing is that for each car example, CarGurus links to additional information the reader will need:
Letting buyers access relevant information easily is a great way to keep them longer on the website consuming more valuable information. Of course, letting these pages open in a new tab would greatly improve the chances of making a sale.
Steal a page or more from CarGurus Playbook
There you have it, the SEO strategy CarGurus used to build a 12 million SEO moat.
Here are some key takeaways for your strategy:
- Use comparison pages, guides, and other content types to drive traffic and sales
- Leverage social proof to gain initial trust and influence buyer’s decisions
- Make it easy for users to find what they need on your website. Incorporate a visible search system so prospects can find what they need faster.
- Include FAQs in your blog posts and landing pages to improve user experience, boost their confidence, and rank for long tail keywords on the SERPs.
- Ensure internal links open in a new tab so buyers can easily switch back and forth without turning to Google for more answers.
- Make B2B review sites your ally
Do these, and you’ll show up at all the right places to capture qualified leads and turn them into happy customers whose reviews will attract new customers and improve your product.
