Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Dealership professionals and vendors respond to a call to share their social media presence across Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms, with participants including individual dealers (Keene Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge, Checkered Flag Auto Group, Classic Chevrolet), industry figures, and service providers. The thread reveals that by this point in time, social media adoption among dealers was still emerging, with respondents showcasing multi-platform strategies including YouTube, blogs, LinkedIn, and Google Profiles alongside the primary networks. A key insight emerges that some vendors were capitalizing on this trend, with one respondent claiming to have identified 761 dealerships on Twitter and another offering to set up dealer profiles across 120+ Web 2.0 sites.

This thread addresses how car dealers can execute successful Memorial Day weekend sales events—historically a high-volume sales period—while managing COVID-19 safety concerns and shelter-in-place restrictions. The post outlines five preparatory measures dealers should implement to balance moving inventory during this critical 3-day selling window with protecting customer safety and comfort.

Automotive dealers and marketing professionals discuss concerns about Facebook's traffic authenticity, citing research suggesting 50% of Facebook traffic may be fake or bot-generated, with internal Facebook emails allegedly showing employees were aware the platform was overestimating advertiser reach. The conversation reveals growing skepticism about Facebook's value for advertising and speculation about alternative platforms like Instagram and TikTok gaining traction. The key takeaway is that dealers relying on Facebook metrics may be wasting budget on inflated impression and click numbers that don't represent genuine human engagement.

A DealerRefresh guest blog on workplace communication in the #MeToo era sparked a heated political debate, with one user dismissing the movement as hypocritical virtue signaling while others argued it has legitimately exposed misconduct despite imperfect outcomes. The discussion devolved into partisan attacks rather than substantive industry dialogue, with a moderator ultimately calling for more respectful discourse on what should be a legitimate workplace policy concern.

Dan Sayer reports receiving an email from CarGurus announcing a new vehicle SRP (Search Results Page) test, noting this is significant because CarGurus has historically focused on pre-owned vehicles and lacks separate reporting for new vs. pre-owned data in their dealer dashboard. He's seeking confirmation from other dealers about the email and expressing curiosity about whether CarGurus will expand their traffic potential for new vehicle shoppers.

A dealer discovered that a website vendor had deployed black hat SEO tactics on their client's site, including over 1,000 pages of automatically cloned content designed to manipulate search rankings. The thread confirms that unethical SEO practices remain common in the automotive industry, with vendors potentially putting dealership websites at risk of Google penalties. The exchange serves as a cautionary tale about vetting website service providers carefully.

Driven Data, an Indianapolis-based tech company, announced the launch of a marketing platform that connects dealership CRM and DMS first-party data to paid search and paid social campaigns automatically. The platform aims to reduce advertising costs by targeting prior customers for loyalty and suppressing them from new customer acquisition campaigns, addressing the industry's record $628 average cost per new vehicle sold. The thread's only reply is unrelated spam.

Dealers express widespread frustration with CDK's website support and technical capabilities, particularly around mathbox pricing issues and unexplained website changes that CDK support claims are unfixable but dealers can resolve themselves with basic coding. A CDK employee responds defensively suggesting dealers contact their Ford regional manager or account advocate, while the thread reveals a pattern of problems including dead links added without dealer approval. The overarching sentiment is that CDK provides poor technical support and documentation, leaving dealers to fix issues independently while still paying for the service.

A Los Angeles-area independent used car dealer seeks advice on renegotiating rates with third-party lead providers (CarGurus, Autotrader, cars.com) during COVID-19, given that sales and leads have dropped 50% while providers are scaling back initial 50% discounts to 20-30%. Responses confirm that California's stricter lockdowns justify rate negotiations, with other dealers in San Diego and Orange County corroborating the regional economic impact and recommending dealers use their performance data to justify lower rates to providers.

George Nenni argues that car dealers should create separate Google My Business listings for sales, service, parts, and body shop departments to win category-based local pack searches, not just branded searches. The discussion shifts to the practical challenge of getting these listings 'nested' under a main GMB profile, with participants sharing that Google controls this process and a support request can help speed it up. The key takeaway is that staying active across all department profiles and submitting a nesting request gives dealers the best shot at maximizing local visibility.

A dealer seeks recommendations for a reliable SEM company after experiencing poor performance with both Haystack and Showroom Logic, including high costs, account management issues, and technical problems. Responses recommend automotive-specialized vendors like Paul Potratz (ppadv.com), PCG Consulting, 435 Digital, and Netsertive, with strong emphasis that PPC services should specialize in the automotive industry to avoid costly mistakes. The thread reveals mixed experiences with Showroom Logic—some dealers report consistent success with their inventory-based approach and conversion tracking, while others cite problems with geographic radius creep and account management.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Google temporarily halted the publication of new reviews, review replies, and Q&A on business listings, causing confusion among dealers and their reputation management vendors. Multiple forum members confirmed experiencing delays in review posting, and Widewail later revealed that Google had withheld reviews from March 13 to April 9 before suddenly releasing them all at once, resulting in a backlog of both positive and negative reviews that needed responses. The key takeaway is that dealers should expect sudden influxes of reviews during system outages and prepare their reputation management teams accordingly.

Marc Lavoie shares a podcast appearance on Dealer Talk where he discusses strategies for crafting effective sales messages that work regardless of economic conditions or crises like pandemics. The post invites community feedback on his approach to messaging in challenging times. This appears to be a resource-sharing post rather than a discussion that generated substantive forum debate.

Dealers discuss a reported significant drop in CarGurus' organic search traffic due to recent Google algorithm changes, with CarGurus now competing at the level of AutoTrader and Cars.com—particularly problematic given their aggressive 30-60% rate increases to dealers. While some skepticism emerges about the data's accuracy (the CarFax report may only reflect top 20,000 keywords rather than CarGurus' full keyword portfolio), the key insight is that CarGurus' business model depends heavily on lead volume, making any organic traffic decline critical; dealers should expect the platform to compensate by increasing paid search spending if organic traffic doesn't recover.

A vendor announces they're waiving service fees for 60 days to support car dealer clients struggling with COVID-19 shutdowns, contrasting their approach with competitors they perceive as prioritizing profits over customer relationships. Community members affirm this decision as building long-term loyalty, with the implicit consensus that compassion during crisis creates lasting competitive advantage and customer retention that money-grabbing tactics cannot match.

Dealers discuss chat service providers for their websites, with Gubagoo emerging as a popular budget-friendly option, though some users report concerns about its answer quality and Google Analytics tracking reliability. The conversation reveals a key trade-off: managed chat services like Gubagoo maximize leads but may not align with dealer preferences, while in-house or premium outsourced solutions offer more control at higher cost. The thread emphasizes that dealers should first clarify their specific goals—whether prioritizing lead volume or customer service quality—before selecting a provider.

This thread discusses GM's Shop, Click Drive program, an online car buying platform allowing customers to purchase vehicles without visiting a dealership or test driving. Participants debate its viability by sharing past experiences with remote car sales (eBay Motors, online negotiation tools), with mixed results—some dealers achieved success selling hundreds of cars online, while others found ROI poor and struggled with customer conversion and geographic limitations. The key insight is that while online car buying has historical precedent and GM reported a 30% close rate on leads, dealers remain skeptical about whether removing the in-person experience actually drives significant sales volume compared to traditional dealership operations.

A dealer marketing professional shares a LinkedIn article about optimizing Google My Business profiles to improve visibility in Maps and search results, with tips for generating more clicks, calls, and leads. The thread generates minimal engagement, with one commenter unable to access the article and another asking about GMB's future service appointment features. No substantive discussion or conclusions about GMB optimization strategies actually develop in the thread.

A Honda dealer seeks advice on growing their Instagram following and asks whether Instelite.com, a third-party service, is a legitimate option for boosting engagement. The thread explores strategies for organic Instagram growth in an automotive context, with discussion around the trade-offs between authentic content creation and automated growth services.

Dealership professionals discuss real-time COVID-19 impact data on online traffic and consumer behavior, with Jon Berna's team providing daily automated reports tracking key metrics across dealer integrations. The consensus shows a significant drop in in-market shopper volume (lowest in 6+ years) but encouraging signs that digital engagement and quote requests remain stable, suggesting consumers are shifting to online channels rather than abandoning the market entirely. Key takeaway: while overall automotive shopping declined sharply in March 2020, dealers maintaining strong digital presence and online tools were capturing engaged prospects.

The thread tracks real-time dealership website and engagement metrics during the early weeks of COVID-19 (March–April 2020), with Jon Berna's Driven Data team providing nightly-updated reports and vendors sharing their own platform data. Contributors note regional variation, with Pennsylvania and California dealers experiencing steeper declines while overall engagement held steadier than expected. The key takeaway is that despite lockdowns, some digital engagement metrics—like quote tool interactions—remained encouraging, suggesting dealers should stay active online.

Ling from the UK shares unconventional car marketing strategies that rely on viral content and word-of-mouth rather than paid advertising platforms like Google Ads or Autotrader, claiming to spend virtually nothing on marketing while achieving strong results. The key insight is that creative, attention-grabbing content (including a letter that made it onto BBC1's "Have I Got News For You") can break through noise and generate organic reach, suggesting that personality and originality can be more effective than traditional dealer advertising spending.