Congratulations, Alex! Good to see your efforts getting the attention they deserve! I remember interviewing you for the profile we featured in DealerADvantage back in '09 (http://dealeradvantage.cars.com/da/2009/10/alex_jefferson/).

I met Alex for the 1st time at DD9 in an gathering in the hall. Hes one of those blessed people who's smile and warm personality makes you at ease.

Give your mom a big hug Alex, she done good.

There can only be on Ninja Alex. You'll have to come up with another.

Thanks for all the great comments everyone. Alex S. You are right. We need to come up with cool nicknames. What about DNA for your nickname. Digital Ninja Alex...

Alex, it's well deserved and I'm sorry I missed you at DD. Everything that has been posted about you so far is true, so I have only one more complement to throw at you... that tie is epic!

Congrats! I once made a comment that you (Alex) are the future however for you are now the present because of what you achieved and what you will continue to achieve. You dared to dream and dared to try. Congrats on the cover!

Now that you've hit it big you have to change your first name. There isn't enough room for the two of us

Congrats on you cover shot cover Alex, it couldn't have happened to a better guy! You need to give future DD cover shoot peeps a lesson in posing for a picture since nobody does it cooler than you. Matter of fact if you look up "Cool" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Alex.

While DD is a good start, GQ is still out there waiting for you.

Wow Alex, it seems like only yesterday that I met you at your first DD conference, and now fast-forward a few years and you are a superstar! Congrats Alex on the cover!

a blessing for believers , but all won't see till the opportunity is passed!
Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9SOU2WqTP4

@Joe Webb - LOL

Congrats! That is a GQish lookin pic. Big kudos and nice story!

Alex,

Congrats on the article. Keep up the great work.

Thanks Andrew and Joe!

@Jeff - I did manage to get a hand in a pocket but they edited out my picture with the point. wth...

Jeff/Alex Thanks for posting. Jeff it was a blast hanging with you (The Rock star) at DD9, and Alex look forward to kicking it in Orlando with ya. Brian a.k.a SEO czar - Thanks for being so open with sharing your knowledge of SEO. It has helped me a lot.

Hmmmm...I don't know how this happened. I think Kevin Frye tricked someone into getting me on that cover. I knew carrying his bags would pay off sooner or later. LOL!

Thanks Again Guys.

Congrats Alex, looking good! Can't wait to read the article.

Congratulations Alex. You deserve all the recognition as one of my most passionate clients. You really have a heart for understanding digital marketing and you are a fierce competitor. You are one of a kind and the best dressed man in the automotive community.

Alex, great post.

For over a decade we have seen the tremendous power of influence that user reviews have on online purchased decisions. The value of authentic user reviews of local businesses is even greater for consumers because the risk and cost are often much higher as is the case with purchasing a new or preowned vehicle. Google knows this better than most. Internet fads come and go but user reviews for auto dealers are hear for good. Dealers slow to move will be hurt.

Just noticed the user names dropped from google user reviews. No more clicking through to see if its real or fake! Is anybody else noticed this or am I seeing things?

A few people I know hate Google Instant. I love using it and absolutely love how it affects our SEO products. It'll work on mobile eventually I'm sure.

And we thought Google Instant was a game changer. This is much more important for local search.

@Paul

You bet it will. The gap between the "Digital Dealers" and the "Traditional Dealers" will widen even further.

Thankfully for our industry, more dealers are emerging and embracing digital. We had an excellent visit with a group on Friday that (1) Admitted that they hadn't paid enough attention to digital marketing, and (2) Were willing to do what it takes to correct that as quickly as possible. We're seeing these types of stories every day. It's refreshing.

This change will again allow dealers that are actively working diligently on refining and growing their digital marketing campaigns to move ahead even farther of those dealers that fail to understand the power and importance of a well planned out digital campaign.

@Ryan - Yep, all browsers are now reflecting the change. Mobile devices are next and I'm seeing tests on iOS and Android showing sporadically.

@Bryan - It's big. Huge. Until now it was possible to hide SEO deficiencies with a strong Local/PPC strategy. Now, that's more challenging as the algorithm driving Local results is tied in directly with organic SEO.

@alex - "I can’t stress enough how important it is to work on your customer reviews." No question. Reviews were often difficult to find in the old search as they only showed up in Places. Now, you can't really miss them. Also, GREAT observation on conversions. People use Google as the Yellow Pages now and having that important piece of data available without having to click may hurt traffic, increase conversion rates, and decrease "bad bounces" that occur when people click through just to get a phone number.

My bad. I tried some searches on Explorer today and same results!! Reviews are huuuuge!

Wonder how long until it will start showing on Explorer.