Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Dealers debate the ROI of Costco's automobile program, with most reporting it as a money-losing venture due to high fees ($2,000/month), margin-crushing discounts, and loss of pricing control, while one dealer reveals significantly better results ($500/month, 60%+ close rate, $1k front-end gross) by refusing to quote prices over phone and requiring in-person Costco membership verification. The key insight is that program success depends heavily on proper lead handling—dealers who give away pricing and margins upfront fail, while those who maintain exclusivity and control the sales process through in-store visits see positive returns.

A dealer unable to locate the Total Control Dominator feature in Dealer.com's control panel discovers that the "Advertising" tab wasn't displaying in their interface due to a backend configuration issue that required Dealer.com support to fix. The thread reveals that Dealer.com occasionally has account setup and feature visibility problems, though one respondent notes the platform's strength is enabling multi-level access (single store and group level) through a unified login system. The key takeaway is that missing features or buttons in Dealer.com typically require contacting a Dealer.com representative to resolve, rather than being user-side issues.

Dealers debate whether outsourcing social media marketing is acceptable, with opinions split between those who believe it's necessary given dealers' lack of writing talent and time, and those who argue only in-house efforts can be authentic and credible with customers. The consensus leans toward outsourcing being viable if the right external partner is chosen—someone passionate about the dealership's brand who becomes a true partner rather than just a vendor, though some argue that free tools like Hootsuite enable dealers to manage it themselves. The thread reveals dealers struggle to view social media as a branding tool rather than a sales tool, creating a fundamental misunderstanding that outsourcing can help address.

The thread emphasizes the importance of using analytics tools like Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools to verify that website changes are performing as intended. The original poster illustrates this with an example of catching a confusing design element on a redesigned dealership homepage within 10 days by tracking user click behavior, demonstrating how data analysis can identify and fix issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.

A vendor seeking to market an online service to car dealers asks who typically holds decision-making authority for online marketing purchases and inventory distribution choices. Responses indicate that while General Managers (GMs) make the final purchasing decision, Internet Directors wield significant influence over the choice, suggesting a dual-stakeholder approach is necessary for sales success.

The thread examines whether social media is truly "free" for automotive businesses, arguing that while platforms like Facebook and Twitter have no monetary cost, they require a substantial time investment for effective management, including reading, listening, and engagement. The key insight is that companies often overlook the hidden labor costs of social media when calculating ROI, since internal time spent on these platforms isn't tracked the way paid advertising expenses are.

ContactAtOnce is recruiting 100 dealers for a pre-release beta test of their iPad application before launching it in the app store. The application is exclusive to existing ContactAtOnce users and interested dealers can sign up through a provided registration link. This represents a controlled rollout strategy where the vendor is gathering feedback from a limited dealer group prior to wider public release.

Dealership professionals discuss how social media is increasingly influencing vehicle purchase decisions, particularly among younger buyers, and debate what website elements most effectively convert walk-in traffic. The key insight is that dealership websites should prioritize easy inventory browsing and transparent pricing to appeal to customers who prefer to research without providing personal information upfront, as many consumers are reluctant to share data due to fears of aggressive follow-up sales tactics.

The thread discusses whether dealerships should expand their Contact-at-Once chat tool beyond sales to service, parts, and body shop departments. Responses reveal that service chats typically dominate (60-80% depending on dealership brand), and the key success factor is ensuring departments can actually handle and respond to their own chats in real-time—otherwise customers abandon the dealership for competitors when they can't schedule appointments or get answers to service questions.

The thread discusses the unethical practice of web service providers registering and withholding domain names to prevent dealers from switching to competitors, effectively holding them "hostage" for additional fees. While participants agree this practice is wrong, they note it stems from competitive pressure in the industry and recommend dealers protect themselves by registering domains in their own accounts (via GoDaddy or similar registrars) rather than letting providers maintain control. The key insight is that this exploitative practice, though common among larger players, can be easily prevented through proper domain ownership practices and customer education.

Automotive dealers discuss desired features for an integrated website dashboard that would consolidate key performance metrics and business intelligence into a single interface. Suggestions range from basic traffic analytics (page views, bounce rates, leads) to more sophisticated dealer-specific metrics like vehicle-level traffic segmentation, lead source tracking, ROI, and inventory aging, with one user proposing a centralized vendor login hub to streamline access to multiple backend systems. The emerging consensus is that dealers need analytics presented through a "car guy" lens—organized by make, model, segment, and price point—rather than generic web analyst terminology, while also integrating CRM data and centralizing vendor tool access for improved operational efficiency.

A used car photographer seeking to launch a photography service business asks DealerRefresh community members what price they would pay for professional vehicle photography services, which include washing/prepping, shooting approximately 27 photos per vehicle, and uploading to inventory systems with a 24-hour turnaround. The post showcases sample photos and lists additional offerings like watermarking and liability insurance to establish credibility.

The thread discusses strategies for encouraging dealership employees to adopt Facebook as a marketing tool, addressing concerns from dealers about implementation and liability. Key insights include leveraging negative customer feedback as opportunities to demonstrate responsiveness and problem-solving, and the broader argument that social media activity is essential for modern dealerships to reach online-shopping consumers. The original poster references a detailed 4-part blog series that provides structured guidance on employee Facebook adoption and its business benefits.

A dealer explores adding a local directory of competing dealers to their website as an SEO tactic, finding that it generates citations Google uses to verify business authority and surprisingly ranks well in searches. Responses are mixed: while one participant sees potential SEO benefits through citations, others warn of relationship risks with other dealers and question whether the effort is worthwhile, with one noting you'd essentially be directing customers to competitors. The thread ends without clear consensus on whether this strategy is effective or recommended for other dealers to implement.

A GM dealership owner seeks domain name recommendations to replace their Pontiac-specific domain with one that encompasses their full brand lineup (Buick, GMC, and Cadillac), with options including Preston-GM.com, PrestonGeneralMotors.com, GMofNewCastle.com, and prestonGMcars.com. The community strongly consensus against hyphenated domains, citing customer confusion and poor branding, with prestonbuickgmc.com emerging as the clear preference. One respondent suggests purchasing the hyphenated domain as a secondary SEO microsite, though others counter that hyphenated domains should be avoided for main customer-facing sites due to real-world usability issues.

Dealers are frequently failing to answer phones during business hours, and participants debate the best phone system solutions to prevent missed calls and customer inquiries. The thread identifies poor phone routing (dead-end transfers, lack of fallback options) and unresponsive communication practices as significant revenue-killers, with consensus emerging that modern phone systems should employ SimulCall or RingNext technology to ensure calls reach available staff rather than going to voicemail. Key insight: dealers losing sales aren't necessarily in slow markets—they're simply not answering phones or responding to inquiries promptly.

Katie asks DealerRefresh members to review her friend Brian's dealership website and provide one SEO tip each. The responses reveal critical issues including duplicate page URLs, slow site speed, excessive/non-unique meta tags, poor text contrast, and missing XML sitemaps, with members providing detailed actionable guidance on fixing these problems. The key insight is that Brian's website builder (Auto Search Technologies) had handled much of the SEO poorly, but the thread demonstrates how community feedback helps identify and prioritize fixes—particularly meta tag optimization, site structure/sitemaps, and technical implementation issues that require vendor follow-up.

Automotive dealers and marketers discuss the rapid rise in iPad and mobile traffic to their websites, with participants sharing analytics data showing iPad visits rivaling iPhone traffic. A critical concern emerges around Flash compatibility—iPad users cannot view Flash content, which is prevalent on most dealer websites, making mobile optimization an urgent priority. The thread concludes that dealers need to proactively monitor mobile device analytics and rebuild Flash-heavy sites to support mobile browsers, or risk losing significant traffic and experiencing high bounce rates.

A dealer asks whether to organize three types of testimonials (video, DealerRater, written letters) across separate pages or consolidate them on one page with sections. The discussion reveals two viable approaches: either create separate pages for SEO benefits and easier updates, or use a single consolidated page with distinct sections for each type, though consensus leans toward keeping the structure simple and treating the testimonial page(s) as conversion-focused landing pages with clear calls-to-action rather than purely showcase content.

A dealer using HomeNet inventory seeks recommendations for mobile website solutions and receives several vendor suggestions including Gumiyo, Zinadoo, Wirenode, Mofuse, iVision Mobile, DealerFire, and eCartLists. The thread showcases multiple mobile platform options with varying features like RSS feed integration, HomeNet compatibility, CarFax integration, and customization capabilities. The key insight is that mobile sites have become a priority for dealers, with preferences split between customizable solutions that maintain full functionality and streamlined, simplified mobile experiences tailored to small screens.

A dealer inquires whether Ford and Hyundai are offering financial incentives for faster lead response times. While Hyundai is actively pushing dealers to improve response times and has achieved significant reductions in unreturned leads, Jason confirms there are no monetary rewards—only competitive pressure and performance tracking, though ResponseLogix offers a certification workaround by "stopping the clock" when automated quotes are generated.