Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Dealer Authority introduces Waze advertising as a low-cost digital marketing option for car dealerships, with several dealers reporting positive results at minimal daily spend ($2-$2.50). The discussion reveals that Waze works best for dealerships in metropolitan areas or near major highways with high traffic volume, while rural locations with limited Waze users may see less success. Key takeaway: Multiple dealers confirm Waze generates meaningful leads and foot traffic for a fraction of traditional advertising costs, making it worth testing for dealers in high-traffic areas.

Emily expresses frustration with automotive website vendors who lack SEO expertise and require dealers to educate them on basic implementations, sparking broader discussion about the industry's widespread problem of automated, template-based SEO solutions masquerading as real strategy. Contributors emphasize the importance of demanding monthly proof of work and performance metrics rather than trusting vendors' claims, and debate practical website improvements like real vehicle photography versus CGI. The key insight is that dealers must actively manage and verify vendor performance rather than passively accepting vendors' assurances that results will come with time.

Christopher Reggie reported what he believed was a GMB glitch allowing unauthorized ownership transfers, but responders clarified this is standard GMB functionality—not a bug. The thread's key takeaway is a security best practice: dealers should never grant third-party agencies or vendors owner-level permissions on Google My Business or other critical accounts, instead maintaining primary ownership themselves and assigning lower-level access only.

TabFlythe advocates for using third-party data to build targeted trade-in and buy-back campaigns rather than relying solely on Facebook advertising, arguing that diversified data sources are essential for dealers wanting to acquire specific inventory. The post emphasizes that Facebook data alone is insufficient for reaching the exact car owners a dealership needs, and directs readers to a full article on Dealer Authority for campaign strategy details.

This thread discusses how dealership marketing strategy has shifted from websites being a primary shopping destination to serving only as a final-funnel confirmation tool, forcing dealers to build customer relationships through multiple touchpoints across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google, and email rather than relying on third-party lead providers. While most participants advocate for an omnichannel approach requiring 8+ touchpoints to influence purchase decisions, one commenter challenges this logic, arguing that simply having more advertising exposures doesn't necessarily mean they're driving sales—a distinction between correlation and causation that goes unresolved in the thread.

A dealer reports a 33% month-over-month lead increase after switching to a three-month website update cycle instead of monthly changes, prompting discussion about the benefits of stability in digital marketing. Respondents agree that constant optimization and frequent campaign changes can be counterproductive, advocating instead for evergreen strategies with minimal modifications, though one commenter cautions that market conditions (pandemic recovery) may be the real driver of the lead spike and recommends controlled testing of single variables monthly to isolate what actually works.

George Nenni reports a significant shift in how car shoppers find dealerships: since March 2020, Google My Business page views in Google Search results have surpassed those from Google Maps, indicating consumers are increasingly discovering dealers through desktop/mobile browser searches rather than the Maps app. The thread emphasizes that this trend magnifies the importance of optimizing GMB profiles to win placement in Google's Local Pack (the three map results in search), with participants sharing data showing varying ratios of Map-to-Search traffic and confirming that dealers can track this metric in their GMB Insights dashboard.

Todd Smith proposes using Facebook Messenger as a free alternative to traditional live chat plugins for dealership websites, highlighting its dual benefit of providing customer communication while connecting to Facebook Marketplace for inventory display. The post begins outlining advantages of Messenger over standard live chat vendors in automotive, with personalization being the first key benefit discussed. The thread explores whether dealerships should shift from paid live chat solutions to leveraging Facebook's free messaging platform for customer engagement.

CarGurus suspended its free "Restricted" listing tier during COVID-19, a move that industry insiders suggest was prompted by dealers discovering they were actually receiving more leads and better closing rates on the free plan than on paid plans. The thread reveals frustration that CarGurus made this change specifically to protect its paid subscription revenue, with one commenter suggesting the company acted quickly after the strategy was publicly discussed on the forum.

A 20-year-old automotive photographer in Dallas seeks advice on landing an in-house photography role at a luxury dealer like Porsche or Mercedes, having created a portfolio website but unsure how to approach large dealerships. A respondent cautions against pursuing dealer inventory work, arguing that the pay ($5-10 per car for 20-30 shots) doesn't match his talent level and suggesting he explore higher-value niches like yacht or luxury automotive club photography instead. The key insight is a reality check on compensation and career fit—skilled automotive photography may be better monetized outside of traditional dealer inventory work.

Dealers seeking to implement email marketing ask whether platforms like Mailchimp or Constant Contact can integrate with DMS feeds for automated campaigns, with responses highlighting real-world setups using DealerSocket, myEmma, and Dealer.com CRM. The consensus emphasizes that platform selection matters less than message quality and audience targeting—dealers should test different customer-centric messages manually before scaling up, and avoid gimmicks like RVMs that risk compliance issues. Key insight: successful email marketing for dealers depends on strategic segmentation and compelling messaging rather than choosing the "right" tool.

Google distributed $340 million in ad credits to small and medium-sized businesses in 2020 to offset COVID-19 impacts, and automotive dealers who spent on Google Ads were eligible to receive them. The thread clarifies that credits are non-transferable and tied to specific Google Ads accounts, so dealers switching providers or accounts should coordinate with both their previous and current partners to locate and utilize their credits. A secondary discussion mentions the potential business opportunity in helping dealers recover losses from click fraud and invalid ad activity.

The thread discusses how mobile apps and fintech companies are modernizing the traditionally outdated car buying process, with startups like AutoGravity partnering with lenders to streamline shopping and financing. A user replied sharing their experience using Cars.com to research vehicles and Money Expert to secure affordable financing options (personal contract purchase and loans), demonstrating how these digital tools are making car ownership more accessible to consumers who might otherwise struggle with affordability.

Dealers discuss optimization strategies for thank you pages that appear after lead form submissions, sharing tactics like adding next-step CTAs (credit applications, reviews), internal links to inventory, and specials to improve customer experience and lead conversion. Best practices highlighted include Anthony G.'s approach of adding tagged internal links that generated an 18% click-through rate and 20%+ close rates on duplicated leads, though the discussion reveals important technical cautions about using UTM tags on internal links and recommendations to use Google Analytics goals instead.

TabFlythe from Dealer Authority raises the question of whether buy-back events are an effective inventory solution during tight market conditions, noting that success requires proper digital marketing strategy and highlighting both best practices and critical mistakes to avoid. The post references research findings from their analysis of current buy-back events but doesn't reveal the specific conclusions in the thread itself, instead directing readers to an external blog post for details.

Dealers discuss whether online credit applications are seeing increased first-time conversions, with consensus that most applications come after phone or email contact rather than as initial touchpoints. The thread evolves into a deeper debate about digital retailing (DR) solutions and the effectiveness of soft-pull credit processes, with experienced dealers arguing that the traditional workflow—soft pull to pre-qualify, then hard pull after deal structuring—remains superior and that many DR platforms are failing because they don't align with dealer processes rather than due to dealer shortcomings.

Alexander Lau alerts dealership professionals that Google is tightening its advertising policies on credit-based ads (similar to Facebook's recent crackdowns), which will likely increase costs, reduce lead acquisition performance, and force advertisers to expand geographic targeting to avoid discrimination accusations. He predicts these restrictions will push dealership advertising toward streaming and linear media as Google limits its targeting capabilities. The post references an official Google policy update on housing, employment, and credit advertising that will impact dealership marketing strategies.

Dealers discovered significant discrepancies in how CarGurus, Carfax, and Cars.com badge the same vehicle (one called it "Good," another "Fair"), prompting discussion about the validity and transparency of these valuation tools. Participants identified that all platforms use geographic market data but don't disclose their methodology, dataset size, similarity algorithms, or market radius, making it impossible to understand why their assessments differ. The key insight is that dealers are increasingly skeptical about chasing "deal badges" from third-party vendors without clear, transparent criteria for how valuations are determined.

A dealership is seeking recommendations for 360-degree vehicle photo capture vendors to use on their website. The discussion has just begun with a clarifying question about whether they need exterior, interior, or both types of captures. The thread appears to be in its early stages with no vendor recommendations or conclusions yet provided.

The thread discusses Google's replacement of Google+ with Currents for G Suite users (effective July 6, 2020) and its potential relevance to dealerships. The conversation quickly pivots to a broader critique of Google's product strategy, with participants debating Google's track record of launching and abandoning products, concerns about the company's corporate practices, and skepticism about adopting yet another Google platform. The key insight is that despite acknowledging Currents could be useful for dealerships, multiple participants express hesitation about investing in Google products due to Google's history of discontinuing services and broader ethical concerns about the company.

Joe Friedrichsen highlights Google's featured snippet update that now scrolls users directly to highlighted text on a webpage when clicking a snippet result. He argues this makes ranking for featured snippets more strategically valuable for dealerships, since car shoppers land precisely on the most relevant content, potentially improving engagement and conversion rates. The thread invites discussion on whether this targeted landing experience will meaningfully impact dealership website performance.

Ryan Thompson asks whether Facebook Custom Audiences using multiple interest targets (e.g., Chevrolet Silverado AND Boots and Hearts Festival) require users to like both interests or just one, with Marc Lavoie confirming it's an OR function—ads display to anyone matching at least one criterion. The thread also highlights that Canadian dealers don't currently need to use Facebook's Special Ads Category (unlike U.S. dealers), but should focus more on broad targeting with strong ad content and fresh inventory rather than heavy audience segmentation. The consensus key insight is that for automotive dealers, relevant ad creative and messaging matter far more than granular targeting precision.