Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Eley Duke asks about Facebook Places pages for his dealership—whether they're similar to Google Places, if they can be edited, and whether dealers should invest in managing them separately. The consensus from replies is that Facebook Places and business pages can and should be merged together into a single page, which provides better clarity for customers and gives dealers more control over business information like hours and phone numbers, though integration with Google and other location services remains limited.

Dealership professionals discuss Facebook's algorithm changes that prioritize content from close friends and highly-engaged pages, making it harder for car dealers' business pages to gain organic visibility unless they produce exceptionally engaging content. The consensus is that these changes make Facebook even less viable as an advertising channel for most dealerships, since they lack the resources to consistently create "amazing" content at scale and struggle to achieve positive ROI. The thread concludes that dealerships may need to either abandon Facebook ads entirely or develop custom applications to leverage Facebook's platform differently.

The thread discusses LinkedIn's effectiveness as a prospecting tool for car dealers, with mixed results reported across different use cases. While LinkedIn ads and paid placements performed poorly with minimal clicks and conversions, several respondents emphasized that organic prospecting and direct salespeople outreach on the platform could generate legitimate leads if executed consistently. The consensus suggests LinkedIn is better suited for recruitment and personal brand-building than paid advertising, but potentially valuable for individual salespeople engaging in direct relationship-building.

Dealers want more control over their website and marketing tools but often fail to utilize the features already available to them, raising the question of whether a true DIY solution would actually be used. The discussion reveals vendor reluctance to grant source code access due to proprietary concerns and the risk of dealers breaking their sites, while specific frustrations emerge around inflexible form requirements (like mandatory address fields) that reduce lead volume. A key insight is that dealers may be requesting control they won't actually exercise, and that any ideal DIY platform needs to balance advanced customization for "thought leaders" with simplicity for dealers wanting turnkey solutions—though both groups tend to underutilize the tools they already have.

This thread discusses the importance of article marketing and content creation as effective SEO strategies for automotive businesses operating on limited budgets. Contributors emphasize that regular, fresh, high-quality content—particularly through blogs and article syndication—helps improve search engine rankings, build backlinks, and establish website authority, with results accumulating over the long term rather than through short-term black hat tactics. The key insight is that consistent article marketing serves dual purposes: it naturally improves SEO metrics while building a loyal audience that drives ongoing traffic back to the dealership website.

The thread discusses a report showing Bing loses approximately $463,000 per hour, sparking debate about the search engine's viability and business model. While most participants react with skepticism and humor about Bing's profitability challenges, Eley Duke offers a practical counterpoint—noting that despite Bing's financial struggles, dealers can still achieve strong organic search rankings on the platform. The overall consensus is that Bing faces insurmountable competition from Google's dominant market position and brand strength, though some acknowledge it remains a viable secondary channel for automotive dealers.

A Ford salesman asks how to handle customer requests for lease payment quotes, noting that providing estimates causes prospects to disappear without visiting the dealership. Respondents suggest the solution is shifting from a price-focused approach to a consultative sales strategy that emphasizes rapport-building and "selling the appointment" rather than disclosing payment information upfront, with recommendations to explore resources from trainers like Joe Webb and Jerry Thibeau who specialize in appointment-setting processes.

A dealer shares positive feedback about attending Brian Pasch's PCG Pit Stop seminars, praising the quality of content and Pasch's personal attention to attendees' needs, and asks if others have attended similar small seminars. The thread confirms that multiple industry professionals have had valuable experiences at these workshops and appreciate Pasch's hands-on approach to helping dealers improve their marketing and business practices.

• Poll

Automotive dealers debate whether to purchase third-party leads containing only an email address without names or phone numbers. While opinions are divided, the consensus leans toward rejection due to poor data quality and low ROI—dealers report that OEM third-party leads have high bounce rates, fake contact information, and conversion rates as low as 2.5%, making them uneconomical compared to other marketing investments. One participant argues that email-only requirements might actually yield better-quality voluntary data, but most experienced dealers advocate for stricter contact information standards before purchasing leads.

A dealer asks whether V12 Software is worth using for Craigslist postings, prompting discussion about Craigslist's continued relevance for automotive traffic. While one participant questions Craigslist's viability, others report it still drives meaningful traffic—one dealer cites 6% of site visits—though results vary by region, with stronger performance on the West Coast. The thread suggests Craigslist remains a viable channel despite declining popularity, though dealers are also exploring alternative platforms like UsedEverywhere.

BillH inquires about Widestorm, an online price negotiation tool, and questions its practical value, prompting community members to share experiences with similar services that aggregate competitive dealer pricing. The key insight is that these platforms face a fundamental flaw: customers can simply take negotiated prices obtained through the service to their local dealership and request they match or beat them, undermining the tool's value proposition. The thread suggests such services have limited real-world effectiveness and references a history of failed automotive negotiation platforms.

The discussion centers on the average lifetime value (LTV) of a dealership customer, with estimates ranging from $250K-$300K to $500K depending on assumptions about purchase frequency and vehicle prices. Jerry Thibeau provides mathematical analysis suggesting that the $500K figure is unrealistic for average dealerships, requiring customers to purchase nearly 18 vehicles over their lifetime. The key insight is that while industry figures like $250K-$300K are commonly referenced, actual LTV varies significantly by dealership type and market, and should be viewed as a rough guideline rather than a precise metric for valuing individual customer relationships.

A dealer's e-commerce manager needed help merging a Facebook profile page (containing friends) with a fan page (containing apps and content). While one vendor provided a general Facebook Help Center link, the specific issue required merging a personal profile into a business fan page, which prompted a vendor specializing in automotive digital solutions to offer direct assistance for this common dealer problem.

Automotive industry professionals discuss failed automotive websites and services from the past decade, including MyRide.com, CarLocate.com, Greenlight.com, and My Live Offer, analyzing why they couldn't compete against market leaders. The consensus insight is that smaller automotive portals and third-party inventory aggregators have struggled because dealers and consumers increasingly gravitate toward established platforms (Cars.com, AutoTrader, AOL) and dealer websites directly, making it extremely difficult for new entrants to gain traction without a compelling differentiation or critical mass of participation.

The thread debates what a dealership's true 'product' is, sparked by Alex Snyder's assertion that the dealership itself — its culture, people, and processes — is the product, not just the vehicle. Commenters wrestle with the semantic tension between classical marketing definitions (cars as product, dealership as distribution channel) and a broader view that dealers are really selling confidence, experience, and brand culture. The emerging consensus is that while the car remains the tangible product, the dealership's environment and people are what differentiate it and drive profitability.

Dealers and vendors debate whether mobile websites or apps better serve automotive retail, with most contributors favoring mobile sites for their broader reach, easier updates, and natural search traffic. A few see value in apps for specific functions like service scheduling and push notifications, but note that most dealer apps offer little beyond what a mobile site already provides. The thread's clearest takeaway is that mobile traffic is growing fast and dealers must prioritize a quality mobile web presence above all else.

• Locked

A new user with a suspicious vendor-like username posted questions about dealer response times to internet leads, prompting immediate criticism from experienced community members who recognized it as a thinly-veiled sales pitch. The thread quickly shut down without substantive discussion, as moderators and active members made clear that DealerRefresh does not tolerate indirect marketing tactics and expects genuine community participation from contributors.

Dealers discuss the effectiveness of mobile apps versus mobile websites, with one dealer reporting modest success using MobileAppLoader (430 users, 22 service appointments booked in a month) but acknowledging difficulty measuring ROI. The consensus that emerges is that apps work best as post-purchase owner tools (service scheduling, maintenance tracking, owners manuals) rather than shopping tools, since customers won't download separate apps for each dealership; several participants warn that inventory-focused "apps" that are really just mobile websites rarely succeed unless priced cheaply.

Automotive professionals discuss Gary Vaynerchuk's "Thank You Economy" video and book, which emphasizes building long-term customer relationships through valuable social media content rather than short-term transactional approaches. The key insight is that while social media's "shopper looking for knowledge" dynamic aligns with Vaynerchuk's lifetime value philosophy, dealerships face a cultural barrier: their 30-day sales cycles and commission structures inherently conflict with the long-term relationship-building strategy he advocates. Multiple managers endorse the content as valuable and note that meaningful change would require dealerships to fundamentally restructure compensation plans and leadership priorities.

A dealer proposes a video creation tool that would automatically add tracking elements (unique phone extensions and lead capture forms) to dealer-uploaded car videos to measure performance and generate leads. Respondents quickly redirect the discussion by pointing out that existing solutions already provide these capabilities and more, with yagoparamo specifically recommending VideoCarLot and vSHOC as established vendors offering comprehensive video inventory and tracking features.

• Locked

A dealer group is seeking guidelines and internal documentation to evaluate their website needs across multiple brands before approaching vendors, with the goal of creating a roadmap that aligns all departments around shared requirements like SEO, video, and engagement tools. While one commenter provided helpful clarification that the dealer needs an internal assessment document to use as a RFP baseline for vendors, the thread devolved into vague observations about the original poster's company affiliation and was ultimately closed by a moderator, making it a low-value discussion for practical resources or solutions.

Dealers compare the performance of third-party lead providers (AutoUSA and Dealix) versus dealer website leads, with consensus that third-party leads close at 3-8% versus 10-20% for website-generated leads, though Dealix receives slightly more favorable reviews than AutoUSA for quality and customer service. Key issues discussed include duplicate leads across providers, dirty/unverified data, and ROI challenges, particularly with AutoTrader. The overarching insight is that while third-party leads are easier to scale, investing in owned channels and dealer website optimization typically delivers better returns.