Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

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.

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.

JoeC asks for resources to customize Spry menu bars in Dreamweaver CS5, noting that while insertion is straightforward, customization is difficult. Regal_Car_Sales responds with a practical tip about using copy-and-paste methods and directs him to Adobe's official support documentation on Menu Widgets as a starting resource. The thread provides a basic pointer to official documentation but appears to conclude without deeper solutions or discussion.

Multiple Dealer.com users report significant discrepancies between Google Analytics data and their platform's native reporting tools, with some seeing GA undercounting visitors by 30-40%. The discussion pivots to whether running multiple analytics scripts simultaneously (Google Analytics, Dealer.com, and Activengage) is causing the tracking issues and site slowdown, with experienced contributors recommending consolidating to a single analytics tool and placing tracking code in the footer to minimize performance impact.

A dealer reports a paradox: while website traffic and phone leads are increasing, form fill conversions are declining, prompting the community to explore potential causes. Respondents identify several interconnected issues—poor dealer follow-up historically damaging consumer trust, consumers increasingly preferring phone contact over forms, and the need for A/B testing form design elements like length, placement, and call-to-action messaging. The key insight is that form fill decline likely reflects both industry-wide shifts in consumer behavior (favoring direct phone contact) and dealers' reputational challenges with lead follow-up, rather than a technical website problem.

Members share that Google has added a playable Pac-Man game to its homepage, with some discovering an additional two-player mode featuring Ms. Pac-Man by clicking "Insert Coin" twice. The replies humorously acknowledge the distraction value of the easter egg, with one member joking about how it negatively impacts website bounce rates—a lighthearted jab at the irony of automotive professionals getting sidetracked from productivity.

A BMW dealership's Facebook "Like for Charity" campaign sparked discussion about using social media for community-focused marketing and brand awareness rather than direct sales. Participants highlighted various Facebook strategies including charity campaigns to build fan bases, user-generated content contests, and filtered inventory search features, with one marketing professional offering to write a guide on running Facebook promotions while complying with platform policies. The thread concluded with community members encouraging transparency in expertise sharing and suggesting that social media best practices could be documented for dealer education.

Google has expanded its Enhanced Local Listing feature to Atlanta and Washington DC, joining San Jose and Houston as available markets, with a $25 monthly cost to increase visibility in local search results. Participants note that Chicago may have also received the feature and emphasize the importance of optimizing these local pages with tracking numbers to measure performance and ROI. The key insight is that dealers should prioritize these enhanced local listings and track their effectiveness, as they reportedly drive significant traffic when properly optimized.

Elaine Harper is recruiting 14 volunteer dealerships (2 each from Honda, Subaru, BMW, Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, and Dodge brands) that don't currently use live chat to participate in a two-month case study examining how import and domestic brand buyers shop and how live chat impacts their behavior. Participants will receive free access to Client~ConneXion Live Web Chat software and onsite training in exchange for their participation.

Automotive dealers debate the optimal staffing model for live chat functions, with perspectives ranging from dedicated BDC departments to specialized salespeople to outsourced solutions. Key insights include that chat conversion rates depend heavily on trained, responsive personnel (as untrained staff often underperform), and that 24/7 coverage—either through internal staff or outsourcing—is critical since website visitors chat outside business hours. The consensus emphasizes that successful chat requires genuine commitment to responsiveness and qualified staff, as the medium's effectiveness ultimately depends on who's managing it and their willingness to engage customers.

Marc McGurren seeks advice on improving his dealership's parts and service e-commerce strategy and user experience, noting that fixed-ops often receives less marketing attention than sales. Replies indicate other dealers share this interest and are exploring tools like xTime for appointment scheduling, though concerns exist around long-term vendor commitments. The thread appears to be in its early stages with limited concrete solutions or best practices shared so far.

Dealership groups debate whether to combine inventory from multiple rooftops on individual dealer websites, weighing SEO and customer experience benefits against operational complications like lead routing and internal politics. Supporters argue that a unified, larger inventory pool improves search visibility, conversion rates, and the customer experience (citing NADA data that 90% of callers buy different vehicles than they inquired about), while skeptics point out that pay plan structures and CRM limitations often prevent effective implementation. The key insight is that combining inventory makes strategic sense if dealers "play nice" and have proper systems in place for routing leads to the correct location and dealership.

A dealer shares their strategy for capturing special finance business by creating a dedicated credit-focused website (carswithcredit.com) optimized for customers searching for loans rather than dealerships, then discusses design choices like excluding inventory and using a particular site template. The thread touches on SEO best practices, the pros/cons of inventory inclusion, and ends with the original poster asking for recommendations on third-party special finance lead providers—a question that remains unanswered throughout the discussion.

Dealers seeking to improve website conversion rates receive conflicting advice, prompting discussion about which homepage elements actually drive inquiries. Contributors largely agree that while homepage placement matters (following left-to-right, top-to-bottom reading patterns), Vehicle Detail Pages are the primary conversion drivers, and tactics like forced coupon overlays can generate 10-15+ leads daily with ~20% closing ratios despite potential bounce rate concerns.

A dealer asks whether to renew Cash for Clunkers domain names that are expiring, uncertain if they still have value. The consensus from experienced marketers is to keep the domains, citing three main benefits: they can be repurposed for SEO link-building, they'll provide a head start if the government repeats the program, and their age/longevity provides inherent SEO value that can be leveraged with updated messaging pointing to current inventory deals.

The user requested deletion of their post about domain name recommendations without providing any substantive discussion or context. No meaningful conversation or insights emerged from this thread.

Automotive professionals discuss practical applications of Google Alerts for dealership marketing and reputation management, with primary uses including monitoring brand mentions, competitor activity, and SEO performance across search results. Key insights include setting up alerts for store names, executive names, and target search queries to catch competitive threats early, while recognizing that alerts are only effective when paired with active marketing efforts that generate content worth monitoring. The overarching lesson is that Google Alerts serves as a monitoring tool rather than a solution itself—dealerships must continue creating buzz and quality content to have something worth tracking.

Automotive dealers and chat technology vendors discuss must-have features for dealership chat systems, with automatic presence detection (knowing when reps are available without manual toggles) emerging as the top priority. Other highly requested features include customer location/IP data, chat transfer capabilities, CRM integration, comprehensive reporting, and mobile chat access. A critical insight surfaces: aggressive chat pop-ups achieve high lead volume but create poor user experience for the 98% of visitors who ignore or repeatedly close them, suggesting the need for a "not right now, maybe later" option to better serve customers who aren't immediately ready to engage.

A dealer asks for recommendations on behavioral targeting networks, seeking vendor and peer feedback on which platforms deliver the best results for automotive marketing. The inquiry focuses on three key metrics: overall success rate, quality of customer service, and click-through rates. The thread appears to solicit comparative experiences to help dealers identify the most reliable behavioral targeting solution for their marketing efforts.