Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

A Cars.com survey reveals that 66% of Americans expressed renewed interest in purchasing EVs after learning about President Biden's infrastructure investment plans, including $174 billion for EV market development and 500,000 charging stations by 2030. Despite this surge in interest, 81% of respondents cited remaining barriers to purchase, with industry analysts noting that mainstream EV adoption remains approximately a decade away despite growing consumer enthusiasm.

A dealer asks for recommendations on Craigslist posting software that allows custom title creation while automating the posting process, noting that manual posting has given them better control than older keyword-stuffing auto-posters. Respondents suggest several solutions including CL Autopilot (free, handles renewals and anti-flagging), Dominion Dealer Specialties (with analytics and call tracking), and others like Dice Services, LotVantage, and AutoFusion, with discussion centered on balancing automation with the analytics and backend tools needed to measure ROI. The key insight is that dealers value solutions offering both custom control over ad creation and robust analytics to track performance, rather than fully automated posting with generic descriptions.

Ford dealers discuss details of Ford's new two-tier CPO program (Blue and Gold) that certifies non-Ford vehicles at lower costs, with listings managed through AutoTrader and planned expansion to Cars.com, CarGurus, Carfax, and KBB. A critical issue emerges: Ford CPO inventory on Cars.com has not been tagged or searchable as "Certified" since November 2019 due to unresolved deal negotiations between Cars.com and Ford, causing dealers to miss cost-per-conversion benchmarks and some to cancel their Cars.com listings. Additionally, the new Ford Blue Advantage website (hosted by AutoTrader) is generating minimal organic search visibility and referral traffic to dealer sites, raising concerns about its ability to drive volume through Google search results.

Jake Hughes shares insights from Google's extensive research on behavioral science biases that influence consumer purchasing decisions, focusing on implications for local automotive marketers. He references a detailed 94-page report but distills the most actionable takeaways for dealers to apply in their marketing strategies. The thread explores how understanding psychological decision-making patterns can help dealerships better influence customer brand preferences and purchasing behavior.

Cars.com announced the appointment of Jenell Ross, an auto industry veteran with 28 years of experience and president of Bob Ross Auto Group (an Ohio-based Buick-GMC and Mercedes-Benz dealership), to its Board of Directors. Ross was recognized as one of 2020's 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry by Automotive News. The limited replies suggest strong industry support for the appointment, with recognition of her leadership qualities and community involvement.

A Ford dealer switching from Sincro to DealerOn discovered confusion about whether DealerOn automatically sends price-drop alert emails to customers, with DealerOn support initially telling them it doesn't, but another dealer reporting that DealerOn does send these emails when prices drop by at least 2%. The thread highlights a critical gap in communication from DealerOn about this feature and suggests dealers should test the functionality themselves and contact DealerOn directly to clarify capabilities rather than rely on inconsistent support responses.

Automotive marketing professionals debate the value of temporarily shutting down advertising channels to test their actual ROI, with mixed real-world results—some dealers found 50% of their channels were worthless, while others saw no sales impact after cutting major spend like TV. The consensus recommendation is to conduct scientifically-rigorous tests with proper baselines and multiple KPIs rather than relying on anecdotal success stories, since each dealer's market dynamics differ significantly.

The thread discusses Microsoft Advertising's new Automotive Ads product launch and debates the appropriate paid search budget allocation to Bing versus Google. While one expert recommended allocating 20% of paid search budget to Bing, the consensus view—supported by market data showing Bing/Yahoo/DuckDuckGo combined at ~11% search market share—is that budget allocation should be based on actual organic traffic sources and performance metrics by market rather than a fixed percentage.

A dealer seeks advice on transitioning from printed Reynolds inventory lists to a digital system in Google Sheets that sales staff can use as a reference tool for pre-selling and inventory knowledge. Responses suggest two main approaches: implementing regular in-person inventory walks to keep sales teams engaged with available units, and creating a digital inventory sheet with linked resources (VDPs, CarFax, videos, window stickers) or adopting a tool like AutoiPacket that centralizes this data with VIN scanning capabilities.

Jake Hughes argues that positive customer reviews are far more valuable than paid advertising for attracting dealership prospects and provides actionable tactics for systematically generating them, including asking every customer directly, using SMS for easy submission, and timing requests appropriately based on purchase context. The core insight is that dealers must actively solicit reviews rather than passively wait for them, as positive feedback requires deliberate effort while negative reviews occur naturally.

The thread examines CarMax and Carvana's contrasting approaches to online trade-in valuations—CarMax requires zero contact information while Carvana asks only for email—and explores how companies might measure the effectiveness of such low-friction strategies. The original poster notes that CarMax could theoretically track success by comparing VINs from valuations to cars actually acquired, while another commenter suggests larger enterprises may use sophisticated identity-matching technology (IP, device, email) to connect anonymous valuations to actual customers without requiring upfront data collection.

The thread warns dealership website owners that migrating to a new platform risks significant SEO ranking losses without proper planning, and provides a checklist and resources to mitigate those risks during the transfer. TabFlythe emphasizes critical steps like preserving essential codes and proper redirect setup, and alerts dealers to upcoming Google algorithm changes that will prioritize page experience and user engagement. The key insight is that careful planning during website migration—not the migration itself—is what determines whether a dealership maintains its search rankings.

A dealer seeks a direct VIN-based URL redirect structure for vehicle detail pages (VDPs) across three dealership website platforms (Dealer eProcess, DealerFire/DealerSocket, and Sokal), having found that Dealer.com offers this functionality. The only viable workaround identified is web scraping inventory search results using query parameters, as most vendors lack native VIN-to-VDP redirect solutions—a limitation the original poster hoped to avoid.

According to Cars.com research shared in this thread, spring break travel demand is surging post-pandemic, with 57% of Americans planning trips this spring—exceeding pre-pandemic levels—and 70% choosing road trips as their preferred travel method. The data highlights a significant shift in consumer behavior, with Americans viewing personal vehicles as both a safe transportation option and psychological escape, with over 40% citing the need to leave home as their primary motivation. For dealers, this signals strong pent-up demand for road-trip-ready vehicles during the spring season.

Automotive dealership professionals discuss email marketing providers and strategies to improve deliverability rates, with several citing concerns about emails landing in spam folders. Key insights include the importance of adding customer value in email content, optimizing emails for mobile devices and different platforms (using tools like Litmus), implementing double opt-in for better inbox placement, and using data-driven providers that track delivery metrics—with one contributor sharing real numbers showing 94% delivery rates across hundreds of thousands of emails. The thread reveals that while Naked Lime is widely used, some dealers are exploring alternatives due to cost increases, and the consensus emphasizes that compelling subject lines, clear calls-to-action, and mobile optimization are critical to driving engagement beyond just inbox placement.

Marc Lavoie asks dealership professionals to share which vendors and solutions are currently delivering strong results and making operations smoother at their dealerships, shifting focus from typical complaints to positive experiences. The post invites dealers to highlight their top-performing partners across various business functions. The thread serves as a crowdsourced recommendation board where industry peers can discover vetted solutions that are actively generating value in real dealership environments.

Apple Maps has launched native ratings functionality (thumbs up/thumbs down) as the third-most popular mapping app in the US with 23.3 million monthly users, moving away from reliance on third-party sources like Yelp and Foursquare. While forum participants acknowledge the current rating system is basic compared to full star ratings with text reviews, there's optimism that this represents a starting point for more robust native review features. The key insight is that dealers should pay attention to Apple Maps as an emerging local marketing channel that could rival Google and Yelp for customer reviews and visibility.

Dealers reported that DealerRater's Facebook integration was auto-posting customer reviews as clickbait, resulting in Facebook flagging the content and suppressing organic reach. While DealerRater's product manager acknowledged the issue and promised a fix, the broader consensus among dealers was that auto-posted reviews generate minimal engagement anyway, and the real value lies in authentic, community-focused content rather than automated promotional posts. The thread revealed that Facebook's algorithm actively penalizes low-engagement posts, making dealers reconsider whether automated review posting serves any meaningful purpose beyond checking OEM requirements.

TabFlythe from Dealer Authority posts about a free resource to help dealerships verify their domain in Facebook Business Manager, claiming the process can be completed in three quick steps using a provided cheat sheet and email template for website providers. The thread includes a video demonstration from their Director of Operations showing the verification process. The key insight is that dealership owners don't need to wait on their digital marketing providers to handle this task—they can independently manage domain verification themselves.

Dealers discuss strategies for using Facebook Catalogs to streamline vehicle advertising, with the main focus on setting up FTP feeds to automatically sync inventory data and images. A key recommendation emerges: rather than managing a dedicated in-house FTP server, dealers should use affordable third-party web hosting services like Dreamhost ($2.50/month) to avoid maintenance headaches and 24/7 uptime requirements. One user also asks for help troubleshooting catalog configuration for marketplace listings rather than ads, though this question goes largely unanswered in the thread.

Cars.com reported record engagement with 30 million shopper hours on its platform (up 9% year-over-year), driven by pandemic-related shifts toward car ownership, particularly among first-time and urban buyers moving away from public transportation. The data underscores a strategic imperative for dealerships: those adopting digital-first approaches and aligning with evolving consumer expectations will gain competitive advantage in the changing market.

The thread discusses Google's strategic UI changes to promote voice search adoption, specifically repositioning the microphone icon in Chrome to increase desktop voice search usage. However, forum participants—automotive industry professionals—largely dismiss voice search as impractical for car shopping, research, and service scheduling, with several posters distinguishing between voice-to-text input and full voice search functionality, ultimately questioning the relevance of this technology to their business.