What Auto Accessories Are Your Customers Searching For on Google?

Courtesy of Insignia’s Guest Blogger: Author Jason Lancaster is an SEO consultant at Spork Marketing as well as the editor of TundraHeadquarters.com, a popular Toyota Tundra enthusiast website.

In the days before Google, when you wanted to find out what kind of auto accessories people might be interested in purchasing from your shop, you could:

• Survey your customers

• Rely upon sales data from suppliers and distributors

• Test different accessories and see what sells

All of these methods have value – especially testing – but the fact is that Google offers some excellent and free tools for figuring out what kinds of accessories your customer might want to buy. While I'll describe the tools in detail in my next post, lets start with some data.

Based on numbers from March 2012, the 5 most searched types of auto accessories in the United States are probably:

1. Interior accessories including floor mats and seat covers – There were nearly 50,000 searches for the term “car seat covers” last month.

2. Racks and carriers, such as roof racks, cargo carriers, bike racks, ski/snowboard racks, etc.

3. Performance parts, such as programmers and chips, air intakes, and exhaust systems, with exhaust systems being very popular.

4. License plate frames – There were more than 22,000 searches for this exact term in March, not including more specific searches for exact types of license plate frames

5. Custom wheels

Now I say that these are “probably” the 5 most searched types of auto accessories because different customers search for different accessories depending on what they drive. A compact car owner is more likely to search for cargo racks than a full-size truck owner, while a full-size truck owner is more likely to search for an exhaust system than a compact car owner.

Put another way, I say “probably” because this kind of search data doesn't really mean much until you can apply it to your customers. Fortunately, it's pretty simple to gather this kind of data on your own. To find out what accessories you can sell based on what people are searching for be sure to read Part II of this article next week!

Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.