Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

• Poll

Automotive dealers shared their mobile website traffic metrics (ranging from 6% to 23% of overall traffic) and made predictions about mobile growth, with most forecasting a 15% increase by end of 2012. Key findings showed Apple devices dominated early mobile adoption, but Android was gaining share, and dealers using different mobile platforms (eBizAutos, Dealer.com, VinSolutions, custom solutions) reported varying engagement metrics. The thread revealed that mobile traffic was steadily increasing across the industry, with younger customers increasingly preferring smartphone access to dealership websites.

An internet manager transitioning from Toyota to Mercedes-Benz seeks advice on why his marketing strategies aren't translating to the luxury market, specifically questioning whether close ratios should differ and how to effectively use social media for highline buyers. Respondents emphasize that luxury buyers are "want" rather than "need" buyers who respond poorly to urgent direct-response messaging, require longer nurturing periods, and value their time and status over bargains—requiring dealers to adjust expectations, budget, and messaging rather than fundamentally change their marketing approach. The key insight is that while the foundational strategies remain similar, luxury marketing requires extended ROI assessment windows, emphasis on experience and brand prestige over features, and recognition that affluent customers convert differently and more slowly than mainstream buyers.

A Ford dealer considering adding Autobytel as a third-party lead provider receives mixed feedback from industry peers who question whether he needs more leads at all. Multiple respondents advise that with a 10% closing rate (versus his 15% goal), he should first optimize his existing lead sources—including Cars.com, his website, and KBB—through better marketing and follow-up before expanding, with some noting they've abandoned third-party providers like Autobytel and AutoUSA in favor of PPC and SEO. The consensus insight is that lead quantity is less important than lead quality and sales execution, with one veteran dealer claiming he achieves over 20% closing rates without purchasing third-party leads.

Dealers debate whether lead scoring systems (which rate incoming leads by purchase likelihood) effectively filter out low-quality third-party leads before purchase. While some participants confirm tools like Polk's lead scoring work well for identifying genuine buyers, others warn that scoring low-performing leads could become self-fulfilling prophecies and argue that all leads should receive equal sales effort regardless of score. The key insight is a tension between efficiency (buying only high-scoring leads to maximize ROI) and inclusivity (working all leads equally), with data showing third-party leads convert at only 3-6% compared to 15%+ for manufacturer and website leads.

This thread discusses Twitter's value for dealerships, with the original poster arguing that despite Twitter's character limitations, it's effective for customer service and listening to feedback. While replies highlight practical implementation challenges (building followers, competing with Facebook's larger user base), the consensus is that Twitter's worth depends on your target demographic and geographic market, and should be promoted across all dealership touchpoints to drive awareness and engagement.

A GM's proposal to issue iPads to all salespeople sparks debate about whether the devices are a genuine business necessity or just a luxury want. While skeptics argue laptops could serve the same function, experienced users demonstrate real value through sales apps like vAuto's RealDeal, eCarlist, and Cars.com tools that enable on-lot pricing comparisons, customer objections handling, and appraisals—though the consensus is that iPads work best for salespeople committed to using them regularly rather than as a blanket rollout.

Ryan Deemer argues that modern automotive marketing has become overly complicated with numerous channels and trends, causing dealers to lose sight of fundamental marketing principles: reaching the right customer at the right time with the right offer. Respondents agree that this core question should guide all marketing strategy, and while internet managers must experiment with various "triggers" to understand what resonates with customers, ultimately only actual sales determine whether the approach was correct. The thread emphasizes that successful marketing requires balancing trendy tactics with back-to-basics customer targeting fundamentals.

A user shares a productivity tip for dealership staff struggling to write vehicle comments: using speech recognition software instead of typing to generate descriptions faster and with minimal training required. The discussion remains light and brief, with community members jokingly offering to compensate the original poster for the helpful advice, and one mention of an alternative tool (Max 3.0) that offers automated descriptions.

Google Places removed third-party review sites (DealerRater, Edmunds, Yelp, etc.) from search results, displaying only Google-native reviews in the SERP snippet, which frustrated dealers who had invested heavily in building reviews across multiple platforms. Participants debate whether this is Google leveraging market dominance to force dealers toward its own tools and services, or a legitimate quality control measure, with most concluding that dealers must now diversify their review strategy across both Google and third-party sites rather than relying on any single platform.

Automotive dealers debate whether to adopt Facebook's new Timeline format for business pages, with opinions split between those warning of lost functionality and limited controls versus those advocating early adoption to maximize the new features. The thread highlights Coca-Cola's sophisticated timeline implementation as a model for brands willing to invest effort, while skeptics argue Facebook is restricting organic reach to force paid promotion. The key insight is that the decision depends on each dealership's current Facebook optimization level—those with minimal setup may benefit more from switching than those with existing investments.

Nathan Carr shares his dealership's PPC metrics (CPC: $1.38, CPL: $7-8, 18%+ conversion rate) and seeks benchmarking feedback from other dealers in the competitive Chicago market. Respondents from Dealer.com confirm his numbers are excellent and suggest optimization strategies like segmented campaigns by keyword volume/radius and Infiniti brand-specific targeting, while noting that his strong conversion rate may be inflated by heavy brand-name bidding. The key insight is that while Nathan's overall metrics are industry-leading, expansion beyond brand protection into more competitive long-tail and general keywords will likely increase costs but improve volume.

Automotive professionals discuss the unconventional and visually chaotic website of LingsCars, a UK-based car leasing business run by Ling, which became notable for winning a "Brian Pash website award" despite its busy design. Ling herself joins the conversation to clarify that she's generating significant business results—100,000 monthly visits, 300 proposals, and over 100 orders per month with commission income exceeding $80,000 monthly—demonstrating that effective automotive marketing doesn't require traditional web design principles.

A Nissan dealer inquires about DealerLink's special finance lead generation service as a potential addition to their existing BlueSky partnership, prompting another industry professional to provide a checklist of critical questions to evaluate any special finance lead provider, including contract terms, lender partnerships, CRM compatibility, lead processing frequency, and BDC requirements. The thread highlights that dealers should conduct thorough due diligence on pricing structure, operational flexibility, and transparency before committing to a new lead source in the competitive special finance market.

Facebook introduced a new "Auto Intender" targeting category that identifies users actively searching for a new vehicle, offering automotive dealers a more precise audience segment for advertising. The thread presents initial reactions from dealers and marketing professionals who express interest in testing this feature, though no substantive discussion or performance data emerges from participants. The key takeaway is that this represents a potentially valuable new targeting option for auto dealers, though its actual effectiveness remains to be determined through testing.

John Quinn questions whether Facebook will remain a viable long-term marketing platform for car dealers, drawing a comparison to fad products like Pet Rocks, while acknowledging its current advertising importance. Responses emphasize the need for marketers to stay adaptive across evolving digital channels rather than betting everything on one platform, with one commenter noting that predicting which platforms will succeed is inherently uncertain.

Automotive dealership professionals debated which leads should be counted in monthly performance reports, with disagreement between management (who wanted to count all leads) and sales staff (who wanted to exclude duplicates, bad contact info, and unresponsive leads). The consensus that emerged favors excluding only leads with truly invalid contact information, duplicates (counting the original), and known non-human submissions, while counting unresponsive leads to maintain accountability for follow-up quality and email effectiveness. The underlying issue driving the debate was the poor ROI of third-party lead sources and whether dealers should reallocate marketing spend toward higher-performing channels rather than simply chasing lead volume.

John Quinn questions whether dealerships can use retargeting pixels based on visitor engagement with their social media pages (Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Craigslist) as part of a broader digital marketing strategy, citing a Brian Pasch article. He's essentially asking if it's possible to create pixel pools from social page visitors and retarget them with ads, but receives no responses or insights in the thread.

A dealer asks whether print mailers still drive results for automotive sales and service, questioning common claims that they're wasteful. Responses indicate mailers can be effective, with one dealer reporting 10-20 sales per campaign through MUDD, while another emphasizes mailers' underrated value for brand awareness and guaranteed impressions, even when ROI is difficult to measure in the short term.

The thread introduces Haystack Digital Marketing Platform's "path-to-conversion" reporting feature, which tracks all search terms and display ads a customer interacts with before converting to a lead, providing deeper insight into customer intent beyond standard search marketing metrics. By placing cookies on user browsers, the tool maps the complete customer journey across multiple touchpoints, helping dealers understand which ads and keywords actually drive conversions rather than relying on last-click attribution alone. The key insight is that this multi-touch visibility enables dealers to optimize their search and display marketing spend more effectively by understanding the full path customers take to conversion.