Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

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.

Dealers debate the ideal mix of OEM, first-party, and third-party leads, with the core argument being that first-party (dealer website) leads close at roughly double the rate of third-party leads. A dissenting voice cautions against putting all eggs in one basket, noting that millions of buyers still research on portals like KBB and Yahoo, making some third-party investment worthwhile. The thread also touches on a panelist's alleged vendor bias, which he and others dispute as unfounded.

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.

A dealer seeks stock video footage of current vehicle models for marketing purposes, and the community recommends contacting manufacturers' media/newsroom sites and internal asset portals as the primary resource. Key recommendations include checking manufacturer press sites (with direct links provided for GM, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler, Honda, and VW), exploring GM Asset Central for dealers, and reviewing international manufacturer websites for additional content. The thread highlights a significant awareness gap—many dealers don't realize these free, manufacturer-provided resources exist for marketing use, potentially allowing them to create professional content without hiring specialized designers.

A dealer asks about CarFax pricing and whether the service is worth adopting despite competitive pressure from their marketing to consumers. Responses recommend calculating monthly report volume to justify an unlimited monthly subscription and suggest leveraging CarFax's "1 Owner" branding as a marketing tool through local rep partnerships and promotional events. The consensus is that while CarFax's pricing has become contentious, their strong consumer brand presence makes their service a necessary investment for most dealers pulling high report volumes.

Dealers and vendors discuss the rapid rise of mobile and tablet traffic to automotive websites, with some reporting over 100% increases in just a few months. The conversation highlights the importance of tracking mobile analytics in Google Analytics and understanding device-specific user behavior, conversion rates, and click paths. Key takeaway: mobile traffic is growing fast enough to demand immediate attention, and optimizing sites for these visitors — including proper phone number placement and mobile-friendly design — can meaningfully impact conversions.

Dealers and industry professionals share experiences with Dealerskins (later acquired by Dominion Dealer Solutions), focusing heavily on SEO shortcomings such as hidden URLs, poor page indexing architecture, and flash-heavy designs that hurt load times and bounce rates. A recurring insight is that having many indexed pages means little without proper SEO engineering, and that external link-building and URL structure matter far more than page count alone. The thread also includes a few off-topic cancellation and pricing requests, reflecting the profile-and-reviews format of the post.

A dealer (defcon5) posted about challenges with running Facebook promotions without risking page deletion, though the original post was deleted before others could engage with specifics. The brief replies indicate frustration with Facebook's policies and suggest some dealers are proceeding with promotions despite compliance risks, while another user inquired about a specific auto group's makeover challenge campaign and offered potential sponsorship ideas.