ChrisR said:

We put together a plan, fixed & variable, to pick up/drop off vehicles, do deals over the phone/online, and anything else we can do to assist people, and help them through this time.

Going over the symptoms, my wife is 99% certain her and our daughter had COVID19 in January, a lot of our friends in Vegas had the same symptoms, and everybody was baffled by this new "flu" that wasn't responding to traditional treatments. Now we all have to weather the slowdown, and work to keep things moving forward, until they are back to a steady volume.

On a comical side note, everybody hoarding TP, did you think 3 moves ahead?

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NSFW!

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DJIA below 20,000.

19,898.92
−1,338.46 (6.30%)

down 36%...Boeing was $300 4 weeks ago...$93 last I saw today. fuckers need broken up but they won't be. they'll get their $60B - but here's the rub...they've spent $43B in stock buybacks over the last several years instead of making planes that people will fly or putting some rainy day money aside...fuck'em.

Delta parked 600 plans today...

this puppy's gonna leave some scars...wonder which chika will be stupid enough to name her kid Corona? kinda rhymes with Sheniqua...

Alexander Lau said:

For your sake, I hope you're right and I'm being serious. I just don't see it. Call me a smart ass if you will, but it's tanking.

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Well of course it's tanking now -- when the tornado hits, people hunker down. When it passes, they come out of the basement.

AS said it well above: worse than the actual virus right now is the FEAR of the virus. That FEAR will not last - people will adjust to the new normal -- and they will adjust relatively quickly. Right now the tornado is swirling in the sky directly overhead.

While the actual virus numbers haven't yet peaked the actual friggin RHETORIC meter is off the charts -- the fear and panic far outweighs the actual consequences of the virus.

And let's be real: the political nature of the national narrative is in full swing -- one Leader is doing his/her best to outdo his/her neighbor leader, lest they be pegged/viewed/blasted "complacent" by the media. All the while, the doomsday profits who make a living drawing eyeballs for clicks are having a field day... there is a monetized, vested interest in panic. That "panic money model" is very real. Fucking morons like Bill Ackman stoking the flame, driving the panic, laughing all the while as he's Buying Low.

NOW is when we need to heed the immortal words of Aaron Rodgers:

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john.quinn said:

Smart people who recognize a deal and their sudden IMMENSE buying power.

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For your sake, I hope you're right and I'm being serious. I just don't see it. Call me a smart ass if you will, but it's tanking.

As the virus spreads, it will continue to have a negative impact on the auto industry, said Jeff Schuster, LMC president of global vehicle forecasts, adding, “volatility will remain with us until there is evidence of containment globally, and the lasting effect could spill into 2021.”

Alexander Lau said:

Just bored, plus you posted it, too damn easy... and that's optimistic - who the fuck is going to buy cars coming out of this thing when they're broke?

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Smart people who recognize a deal and their sudden IMMENSE buying power.

Alex Snyder said:

You 100% miss the point. And I don't feel like explaining it to you because you are hell-bent on being a total asshole. Many of the other automotive communities have asked us why we haven't banned you yet - the ones who have given you the boot. You're making it awfully tempting with your other posts today.

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Oh no... I got the point and don't really care. I'm pretty damn sure my credentials still work on the other forums. Chances are you'll find nothing but the elderly and noobs pestering those waters and no one in between with very little practical knowledge indeed. I'm entitled to my opinion on Pasch, etc. You talk shit on him and then act like he's worthy. Give me a break dude.

Alexander Lau said:

You posted it, too damn easy... and that's optimistic - who the fuck is going to buy cars coming out of this thing when they're broke?

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You 100% miss the point. And I don't feel like explaining it to you because you are hell-bent on being a total asshole. Many of the other automotive communities have asked us why we haven't banned you yet - the ones who have given you the boot. You're making it awfully tempting with your other posts today.

Alex Snyder said:

You are dying for attention today, huh @Alexander Lau?

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Just bored, plus you posted it, too damn easy... and that's optimistic - who the fuck is going to buy cars coming out of this thing when they're broke?

*Back to being bored, yeah this site is definitely boring... meh, outta' here.

You are dying for attention today, huh @Alexander Lau?

Coronavirus Wrecked China's Car Sales, and America Is Probably Next
How the pandemic's supply chain disruptions and chilling effect on car buyers could spell trouble for U.S. auto sales.

Buyers Staying Home
It may not matter, though, if customers stay home. Individual outbreaks and precautionary measures like bans on large gatherings across the country will keep potential car buyers out of showrooms. Dealers in affected areas are already reporting lower foot traffic. Even areas not yet touched by the coronavirus are seeing smaller crowds at dealerships as people avoid public areas and practice social distancing.

More than just a fear of catching the virus, many people are likely to put off a major purchase over economic uncertainty. After all, a car is the second-most expensive purchase the average person makes in their life behind a house. While the economy hasn't crashed as of this writing, Wall Street has had several of its worst days on record in just the past week and the cancellation of major festivals and sporting events will have a noticeable economic impact. With a great deal of uncertainty over the state of the economy, consumers are likely to keep their money in savings until things get better, just as they did during the Great Recession. If people start losing their jobs or the country falls into a serious recession, it will only exacerbate the downturn in car sales.

What does Google want? They want relevant, real content on the internet that people want to read and tell other people about. If Google doesn’t bring you the most relevant content when you search, they aren’t doing their job. So by definition, even the word Search Engine Optimization (SEO) means to “game” the Google search engines (and others) to get your valuable content ranked higher than it would be if left alone to the forces of the Web. The bottom line is that all external SEO efforts are counterfeit other than: writing, designing, recording, or videoing real and relevant content that benefits those who search, within a quality user experience.

We can sit around and act like we're not trying to take advantage of Google's algorithm (would be a lie), but the fact of the matter, they change it up because SEO groups get VERY GOOD at manipulating it for organic ranking purposes. Google (I was just out there) is quite happy fiddling with their algorithm for "best practice" reasons, but in reality, they just want to convolute the ranking equation process in order to get you to BUY more of their PAID AD space. Now that the space (itself) has been limited, it's even more competitive.

BTW, don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with fundamental SEO work and choosing quality web platforms (Dealer Inspire, Dealer Fire, DealerOn, DealerX, fusionZone, etc.). However, let's not lie to ourselves about the manner in which many SEO groups attempt to get ahead of competitors through gray and dark gray hat SEO techniques outside of core fundamental work and quality platform provisions. I am not saying anyone here does that, BTW.

Sorry... I'd rather be honest.

I agree with everything you said. Logic is sound. But unfortunately it is based on the assumption that sales agents will actually take initiative to call their customers back without being prompted to do so. That won't just stand around all day doing nothing waiting on the point for another up.

If you have met these almost mythical agents please tell me where to find them. Indeed ads are not working.

Nice Information! Eric.
Voice Search is the most trending in the digital marketing field that helps Content Marketers in their marketing strategies.

Eric Miltsch said:

Thanks! I haven’t seen any dealerships yet. Looks like big retailers, media outlets and celebrities are just getting on-board recently though. I’m sure we’ll start seeing some salespeople joining though.

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I see salespeople using it, but few with structure. The best is yet to come.

Here are a few hashtags related to our industry & their current view count:

#dealershiplife - 5.4 M views
#cardealershiplife - 273 K views
#dealership - 4 M views
#carsales - 8.5 M views
#carsalesman - 4.8 M views

Could be worse right?!

Solid list @Eric Miltsch ! Here’s one:

“Dealers will be reluctant to dedicate resources to Google My Business, until ROI reporting improves, showing results from efforts.”

We can’t just show them how to do it, we have to show payoff!

#9 technology startups will begin to shake up the stagnant innovation of the last decade

Well said Bill!

Thought provoking and challenging piece @BillPlayford. Nice Job.

Once upon a time, not that long ago, I uncovered duplicate front page, about us, financial app, etc. content on about 500+ Automotive Digital Marketing Solutions | Dealer.com websites. No joke!

Here's your best friend: Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Duplicate Content Detection Software (it's worth paying for their premium offering). Some SEO tools pull in their API.

craigh said:

In 2020, I would argue that almost all of SEO is simply best practices.
Google has become so good that the best way to succeed is to just play it smart - make content your visitors actually want to read and put it on your site.
If you want to make vehicle pages, put real content and unique images on them.

Website providers shouldn't be the ones doing SEO, but that doesn't mean they can't. We used to offer SEO packages that were quite effective (back when I felt that there were techniques that could genuinely move the needle in 90 days), but now we just audit the sites and provide suggestions to the client without it being an "SEO package". Their success is ultimately our success, so it would make no sense to help one succeed over another.

In my experience working with Automotive SEO vendors, 100% of them were either keyword stuffing, making useless blog content or stuffing backlinks to our site. We tracked everything in https://www.gshiftlabs.com and had to call them out on their seedy forum spam and offsite garbage that they didn't even tell the dealer they were doing.

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You and I discussed gShift (Canadian group) in length, I do believe. I used them for close to 7 years, exposing similar results. It was easy to do and pathetic on the part of what groups were promising and providing via "SEO." I still don't think anyone does it as well as them. @craigh

In 2020, I would argue that almost all of SEO is simply best practices.
Google has become so good that the best way to succeed is to just play it smart - make content your visitors actually want to read and put it on your site.
If you want to make vehicle pages, put real content and unique images on them.

Website providers shouldn't be the ones doing SEO, but that doesn't mean they can't. We used to offer SEO packages that were quite effective (back when I felt that there were techniques that could genuinely move the needle in 90 days), but now we just audit the sites and provide suggestions to the client without it being an "SEO package". Their success is ultimately our success, so it would make no sense to help one succeed over another.

In my experience working with Automotive SEO vendors, 100% of them were either keyword stuffing, making useless blog content or stuffing backlinks to our site. We tracked everything in https://www.gshiftlabs.com and had to call them out on their seedy forum spam and offsite garbage that they didn't even tell the dealer they were doing.

Steve Stauning said:

My advice to clients has never changed: NEVER BUY SEO FROM YOUR WEBSITE PROVIDER!!!

First, what did they tell you when they sold you your site? Was it something like "We provide the most search-friendly websites out of the box"??? Then, why are they now asking for $2,500 per month for their super-duper-premium SEO?

Second, you cannot serve multiple masters when it comes to real SEO. If your website provider is also providing SEO to 32 other sites in your market, how can they all be optimized for the important keywords?

Finally, the VAST MAJORITY of the premium "SEO" they do provide is absolute garbage (like the examples already provided on this string). Yes, MOST independent SEO companies also provide absolute garbage optimization, as well. The difference? I've still never seen good, honest, SEO from a website provider that was also cost-effective. I have seen this provided by a couple of independents.

Oh, and not every dealer even needs to pay for SEO. Google is pretty smart and most every dealer site built today is relatively search-friendly.

Queue the angry website companies to blast me here. (There's a reason they don't include me on their Christmas Gift Basket lists.) (BTW, I'm always happy to hop on a webinar with any website provider who wants to show me their premium SEO and why it's worth paying extra for.)

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Respectfully, I don't agree with the Never Buy SEO from Website Provider part.

Some can do targeted content that can help. The best are those who are including best practices as a part of their package while not selling SEO services on top of it. I believe it's the right way to do it, even if you seem to be leaving money on the table.

On the other hand, we could also say Never Buy SEO from SEO only providers because to this day, I think it's really hard to show a lift as strong as changing website providers from a sub-par to a high-end solution.

(msg me if you need names!)

Rather than creating a new thread I thought it best to try to jump in on this one for now.

Recently, our dealer group started a digital project group and decided to make it a permanent group who would help dealers with various avenues of the digital landscape.

One of the major points of focus right now is Google My Business. After reviewing ours, they recommended that I combine my GM and Toyota listings. Currently, I have three separate listings for GM sales, service, and parts and three for Toyota sales, service, and parts.

I made this change based on a recommendation by Pasch at a Toyota digital conference. I reached out to him via email to verify I was understanding his recommendation correctly. He was adamant that what I was doing was correct.

I am a fan of getting multiple perspectives before making decisions (especially when it's arguing with the parent group) and thought I would see what you guys thought.

Thanks in advance.

Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza (today), and Happy New Year. Now pass the egg nog.

Thanks for all you do for DR, Jeff & Alex! Merry Christmas & a very happy New Year too!

Your presence is your leverage, and let me elaborate on that a little more for you. We have the largest inventory in the are and often we'll have similar cars and they may have slightly different packages. Being that I know the inventory here better than anyone, not only will I find you the right car, but I'll also get it for you at the best price. Then sell your dealership!!!

Just giving out a price first without trying for an appointment is a recipe to get shopped. Of course as a last resort if I can't get the appointment, I'll give them an exact price, but not before I ask about the trade.

Believe it or not, but we track how many times customers ask, "What's the best price?" Currently it's less than 5% of customers who ask for the price over the phone. Most times is the sales rep who leads the customer to price.

You guys can chuckle all you want, but we have a handful of clients that set appointments as high as 90%. The clients who score on a scale of 4.5 or higher are setting appointments at 80% or better.

I'll take my skills to any dealership and we can have a little wager on who knows how to convert phone shoppers to appointments! Just make sure you bring 5K or more with you for our bet!