Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

A dealer asks whether KBB's advertising program is worth using as an alternative to struggling platforms like ATC and Cars.com. Responses are mixed: while one dealer reports strong results after implementing proper tracking across multiple systems (CRM, website analytics, phone tracking, and sales force data), another spent $1,200 with minimal returns despite working directly with KBB on tracking. The key insight is that success with KBB advertising heavily depends on having robust, integrated tracking infrastructure rather than relying solely on the vendor's reporting tools.

A dealer questions whether banner advertising is worth budgeting for, noting that while retargeting campaigns outperform geographic and behavioral targeting, he lacks evidence of direct sales lift. Responses suggest banner ads function more as brand-awareness and top-of-funnel tools (similar to TV advertising) rather than direct-response channels, with one dealer recommending Edmunds Premier as a cost-effective territorial lock-down option that drove incremental search traffic.

The thread asks automotive dealers to share specific products or services that measurably impacted their bottom line over the years. Responses highlight website/inventory platforms (Dealer.com, iMagicLab) and reputation management through customer reviews (DealerRater) as game-changers, with one contributor emphasizing that adopting review processes creates competitive differentiation since most dealers neglect this practice. The key insight is that sustainable sales improvements come from both digital infrastructure and customer-facing processes that require leadership commitment to implement effectively.

Automotive dealers debate whether asking customers about their purchase timeframe on lead capture forms is counterproductive, with the consensus being that it creates an excuse for salespeople to deprioritize leads and delays urgent follow-up. The thread identifies major lead sources like Edmunds and dealer websites as culprits for including this question, with participants arguing that any customer submitting an inquiry is already purchase-ready and should be treated with equal urgency regardless of their stated timeline.

A Honda dealer initiates discussion about new vehicles unveiled at the Detroit auto show, expressing enthusiasm for upcoming models like the CR-Z hybrid and Crosstour while noting general optimism about the industry's direction. Despite the automotive sales focus of the forum, the original poster expresses frustration that few members engage substantively about their dealership's products. The limited responses indicate modest interest in the topic, with one respondent sharing selective reactions to concept vehicles from various brands.

A dealer named Ryan announces he's purchased green screen equipment and professional video production gear to develop his skills as video content becomes increasingly important in automotive marketing. Community members share their own green screen experiences, including Mitch's DIY approach using construction paper and halogen lights with Adobe AfterEffects, while others emphasize the importance of practice and using chromakey effectively to enhance storytelling rather than as a gimmick. The key takeaway is that successful video production for dealers requires both technical setup and thoughtful creative execution, with one member highlighting data showing subtitles can dramatically improve video performance.

A dealer marketer seeks solutions to track completed appraisal submissions when their appraisal tool provider won't allow analytics tracking code on the confirmation page. While initial suggestions involve Google Analytics event tracking, the most practical solution presented is hosting a server-side image on the thank you page that logs when it's served—a workaround the tool provider is unlikely to refuse since it requires no code modifications on their end.

Chip Grueter complains that many dealer website providers redirect mobile users to the homepage rather than the mobile version of the specific page requested, forcing users to navigate through the site hierarchy to find what they originally clicked. While acknowledging mobile detection is standard practice, he argues that properly redirecting users to the corresponding mobile page requires only modest additional development effort but significantly improves user experience. Replies confirm the frustration and offer technical solutions, such as using CSS-based styling to serve mobile-optimized content without creating entirely separate page versions.

The thread discusses foundational SEO challenges for car dealerships, with participants identifying two major obstacles: dealers prioritizing aesthetics over SEO strategy due to lack of internet marketing expertise, and website providers failing to offer SEO customization tools or training. The discussion reveals widespread underutilization of Google Local Business features (photos, tracking numbers, accurate listings) and highlights the technical frustrations of managing multiple locations and phone numbers within Google's imperfect local search system.

A 2007 DealerRefresh thread sparked by the J.D. Power Roundtable debate over whether car dealers should embrace social networking, covering branding benefits, platform options like Facebook and Google OpenSocial, and the technical and cost challenges of building a branded dealer network. An automotive-specific social network called CarFolks.com was highlighted as a purpose-built solution, with commenters agreeing the bigger opportunity lies in helping individual salespeople build personal brands rather than forcing general platforms like MySpace or Facebook to fit dealership needs. The thread reflects early industry uncertainty about social media ROI and security, but a consensus emerged that proactive, customer-focused salespeople stood to gain the most.

Dealers debate the effectiveness of Twitter for car sales, with consensus that it functions as a branding and reputation-monitoring tool rather than a direct sales driver. Multiple respondents emphasize that Twitter's value lies in building relationships, engaging in conversations, and complementing broader marketing efforts, but caution that success requires full commitment and realistic expectations about ROI.

Brian Pasch solicited responses to an 11-question automotive digital marketing survey, requesting dealership employees (not vendors) to participate and share results with peers. The thread shows strong participation with multiple confirmations, but reveals a minor flaw: respondents noted the survey's job title options (like CMO) didn't align well with typical dealership organizational structures, forcing some to select "other" or IT-related fields.

This thread discusses link building strategies for dealer websites, establishing that quality content alone isn't enough for Google ranking—relevant inbound links are essential. Contributors debate practical link-building tactics including leveraging free platforms (YouTube, LinkedIn, this forum), managing multiple blog properties efficiently, and the importance of anchor text optimization, while also suggesting that automated tools could help dealers distribute content across multiple channels simultaneously. The key insight is that dealers need to balance content creation with active link acquisition, though the challenge lies in managing numerous platforms effectively without spreading resources too thin.

When acquiring other dealerships, dealers struggle with removing outdated location and branding information from search results and online directories. The consensus advice is to focus on aggressively promoting new dealership names and information across the internet rather than trying to erase old listings, since outdated data rarely disappears completely; key tactics include deleting (not modifying) old Google Maps listings to avoid inheriting negative reviews, setting up phone number forwarding, and locking down brand name registrations across multiple platforms.

A dealer inquires about performance metrics for Facebook Marketplace as a potential sales channel, seeking click-through rates and lead data. The only response suggests marketplace presence is relatively unknown in the automotive industry and recommends against investing time in it unless the process can be automated. The thread provides minimal insight, with no actual performance data or statistics shared.

Joe Pistell seeks feedback on his "My Garage" feature—a cookie-based vehicle-saving tool that offers paid upgrades for price drop alerts, sold notifications, and similar vehicle recommendations—because he suspects it's not effectively communicating its value to users. After Jerry Thibeau struggles with the user interface in initial testing, Joe provides detailed instructions for the correct workflow and asks specific questions about whether the upgrade offer is clear and compelling. The thread reveals that similar features exist in the market (like HomeNet's Virtual Garage), and Joe's core challenge is making the feature discoverable and the upgrade value proposition obvious to shoppers.

Dealers discuss SendOutCards, a direct mail service that automates sending personalized physical cards with photos and custom handwriting fonts, debating whether it's worth the setup cost despite its MLM business model. Multiple users confirm the service works well for sales campaigns and customer touchpoints, with one respondent revealing they're a company representative, raising questions about the legitimacy of endorsements in the thread. The consensus is that the product itself is solid for automotive professionals, though the upfront investment and network marketing structure warrant careful consideration before signing up.

Ford reissued a policy restricting dealers from using trademarked or geographic domain names (like "bostonford.com") to protect brand image and control online content. Dealers debated the policy's enforceability, with some arguing Ford's lead partners are pushing the restriction to prevent competition, while others proposed workarounds like owning non-trademarked domains or building content platforms that don't directly violate franchise agreements. The consensus suggested this policy would be difficult for Ford to enforce consistently and could ultimately benefit third-party lead generators at the expense of dealer marketing autonomy.

An Internet Director for a multi-store dealership group seeks recommendations on website providers to replace Cobalt, listing several options (Dealer.com, Dealerskins, Dealeron, Dealerfire, TK Carsites, BZ). The thread emphasizes the importance of establishing baseline performance metrics (traffic, leads, conversion rates) before switching providers, with one respondent noting that inventory size directly correlates to visitor engagement time. Dealeron emerges as a recommended alternative with strong SEO features and documented traffic/lead improvements, though the thread stresses that provider choice should be data-driven rather than assumption-based.

A dealer observes inefficiencies in competitors' PPC campaigns—namely using proxy sites, poor ad copy, homepage landing pages, and repetitive ads across different keywords—and argues that targeted landing pages (e.g., inventory filtered by price or make) deliver better ROI. While replies debate whether dealers or their vendors bear responsibility for these mistakes, the consensus is that dealers should actively manage their PPC providers by requesting specific landing page URLs, testing multiple ad variations, and leveraging vendor expertise rather than accepting generic campaign setups.

The thread discusses Google's incorporation of site speed as a ranking factor in search results, with ryanlucia outlining practical optimization strategies including minimizing video and analytics code, using CSS, reducing image count, avoiding Flash, and considering server quality. Community members share helpful resources like Google Webmaster Tools' load time feature and Google's Page Speed tool to monitor and improve performance. The key insight is that user experience directly impacts search rankings, making site speed optimization a critical component of SEO strategy for dealer websites.

A dealer asks what defines a well-designed website specifically for pure internet car sales (true eCommerce), and the discussion reveals a fundamental disagreement about whether such sites actually exist. Tordiway argues that 99% of dealer websites are merely "interactive adverts" rather than true eCommerce platforms because they cannot complete vehicle sales entirely online, while Joe Pistell counters that internet-enabled car sales should theoretically work like other disrupted industries, and challenges this premise by pointing to outlier dealers who appear to operate genuine eCommerce models.