Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

A user reports a known Google Ads bug where the ad preview tool incorrectly shows "no ads running" when an ad group contains only responsive text ads, despite proper setup. The workaround is to create a regular text ad alongside responsive ads, with the issue likely stemming from responsive ads' dynamic nature and complications from the AdWords-to-Google Ads platform transition. This is a practical troubleshooting tip for dealers experiencing preview tool display issues with responsive ad campaigns.

Ryan Everson reports receiving three months of low-quality referral traffic from Martin Advertising to his GM dealership websites, generating 5,903 visits with zero conversions. After investigation, he discovers Martin Advertising ran an email campaign for GM dealers in Florida, though the traffic source and purpose remain unclear. The thread explores whether this is unsolicited brand-building, paid traffic, or data collection for remarketing, with no definitive answer provided.

The thread discusses Amazon's launch of IMDb Freedive, an ad-supported streaming video service that represents the company's expansion into the digital advertising market beyond e-commerce. One participant speculates about Amazon's broader strategic intentions, noting the mysterious development of an "Amazon Vehicles" section on their platform that appears too comprehensive to be merely experimental, suggesting potential future automotive-related business ventures.

The thread argues that personalized shopping experiences are the game-changer for auto dealerships in 2019, with the key insight being that customers prioritize affordability above all else. Rather than relying on standard inventory browsing, dealers should leverage credit and financial qualification data upfront to show customers only vehicles and financing options they actually qualify for, thereby streamlining the purchase process and improving conversion rates.

Christopher Connor identifies a critical SEO flaw in Fox Dealer websites where URLs are canonicalized to non-trailing slash versions that then 301 redirect to trailing slash versions, creating indexability issues—a problem he recommends dealers demand be fixed before contracting with the vendor. The discussion evolves to critique Fox Dealer's marketing claims (Inc. 500 "fastest growing" status) and design choices, with participants sharing examples of poor website implementation and excessive header elements. The thread's key takeaway is skepticism about Fox Dealer's technical competency and credibility despite their rapid growth reputation.

Google rolled out a new feature allowing dealers to upload videos directly to their Google My Business listings under the Photos section, with Jason recommending business story videos as a starting point. The discussion reveals that Google actually offered this feature a decade ago, and participants share guidelines for video content compliance, though some users encountered bugs preventing videos from displaying on their listings. The thread underscores both the potential value of GMB video for local SEO and the importance of following Google's content criteria to ensure videos appear properly.

Dealers discuss GM's reported plan to open their website program to vendors beyond CDK, debating whether to switch providers and expressing frustration with OEM restrictions. While some see it as overdue flexibility, others worry GM will impose equally rigid requirements on new vendors, making CDK's familiarity with existing hoops a safer choice. The broader tension emerges between dealer autonomy and OEM control—opening options helps innovative dealers but may not substantially reduce the constraints that drove dissatisfaction in the first place.

A guest post walks dealers through building a direct Google Review link to make it easier for customers to leave feedback, emphasizing that simplicity drives review volume. Commenters share practical challenges with the URL setup and offer an alternative approach: using Reputation.com's app to text customers a review request post-sale or post-service, which lets them choose between Google, Facebook, or Cars.com and ties review solicitation to staff bonuses.

DealerOn experienced significant website downtime on a Saturday, prompting debate about whether vendors should be held accountable through refunds or demands. The thread reveals a divided perspective: some dealers argue that critical service providers need backup plans and financial compensation for lost revenue, while others emphasize that downtime is inevitable industry-wide and that maintaining constructive vendor relationships is more pragmatic than making demands. The consensus leans toward viewing this as a less systemic issue than Dealer.com's problems, with most agreeing dealers should communicate concerns professionally rather than escalate aggressively.

Dealers and marketing vendors are using identical syndicated OEM content across multiple Facebook pages, which undermines competitive differentiation in the market. While syndicated content is often tied to co-op advertising dollars from manufacturers, the debate centers on whether dealers should prioritize uniqueness or performance, with the key insight being that dealers can leverage OEM messaging effectively without simply duplicating it verbatim.

Ryan Everson outlines four common deceptive vendor practices in automotive digital marketing: using UTM tags on internal links to artificially inflate traffic attribution, implementing custom events to falsify bounce rates, structuring PPC campaigns inefficiently across vehicle models, and deploying broad keywords without negative keyword lists to waste ad spend. While Everson provides specific solutions and best practices for each issue, fellow community members highlight a systemic problem: most dealers lack internal expertise to identify or challenge these vendor tactics, and even when documentation exists, vendors often deny wrongdoing and exploit relationship-based trust.

Automotive dealers share their current traffic-generation strategies, with AdWords and PPC emerging as the most reliable and predictable methods based on user intent. Multiple users report disappointing results from third-party lead sources like CarCars.com and Cars.com, prompting shifts toward paid search spending. The discussion also touches on alternative channels like Roku streaming ads and content optimization techniques, though AdWords dominates as the consensus winner for dependable dealership website traffic.

Alexander Lau shares an article revealing that major tech companies overstate or fabricate internet traffic metrics, citing former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao's confirmation that "everything is fake"—particularly mobile user counts, which are inflated when users switch cell towers. Responses acknowledge the problem while debating whether dealers should rely solely on sales metrics or also examine intermediate marketing variables to optimize performance. The key insight is that automotive marketers should be skeptical of traffic and attribution data from digital platforms and focus instead on actual sales outcomes combined with diagnostic marketing metrics.

Rick Buffkin seeks best practices for structuring Google Ads conversions, specifically asking whether form leads, directions clicks, and call conversions should use conversion windows longer than 30 days and whether repeat conversion rates should exceed 1.0 for website actions versus direct ad clicks. The thread addresses technical configuration questions around attribution and conversion counting methodology that would impact campaign performance reporting and bidding optimization in Google Ads.

A dealer shared impressive social media performance gains (56% increase in click-through rate, 20% decrease in cost-per-click) after implementing third-party data via Oracle, but community members challenged the metrics by questioning whether proper split testing was conducted and emphasizing that vanity metrics like bounce rate and time-on-site are meaningless without conversion data. The thread's consensus is that dealers should focus on actionable ROI metrics—cost per lead, closing rates, and actual profit per source—rather than surface-level engagement numbers, as this approach has helped some dealers double their market share.

Dealer.com experienced widespread site outages that left dealers frustrated about lost leads and potential revenue, with one unverified claim suggesting the downtime was caused by a cyberattack. The incident sparked criticism of Dealer.com's technical reliability and marketing claims, with multiple users suggesting it was a sign dealers should consider switching to more reliable vendors. The thread highlights a critical vulnerability in dealer website platforms—extended downtime directly impacts lead capture and business operations.

Rick Buffkin warns that Google Analytics' unauthenticated Measurement Protocol API allows anyone with a website's tracking ID to manipulate analytics data, meaning dealers may be making financial decisions based on potentially fraudulent traffic numbers—a vulnerability that experienced agencies could have exploited for years. While more knowledgeable users acknowledge this is a known issue that's difficult to prevent entirely, the thread emphasizes that dealers need to understand their analytics data deeply rather than blindly trust the numbers, comparing it to reading an X-ray without proper expertise.

A DealerON user identified a critical SEO bug in the Enterprise Specials Manager where canonical link elements point to non-existent URLs, potentially preventing special offer pages from ranking organically and capturing long-tail search traffic for specific vehicle make/model deals. The issue was confirmed across multiple DealerON websites, suggesting a systemic problem that could impact dealers' ability to drive organic traffic to their promotional content.

Marketing manager Tabitha Flythe introduces Seth Godin's concept of "interrupting the pattern" to the automotive industry, sparking discussion about how dealers can differentiate themselves through unconventional marketing tactics. Contributors share examples of pattern interruption in practice, particularly highlighting post-purchase and customer service strategies as effective ways to stand out and keep customers engaged with their brand. The thread emphasizes that creating memorable customer experiences—rather than traditional sales tactics—is key to building repeat business and loyalty in automotive retail.

PureCars announced its acquisition of Showroom Logic in October 2017, with industry professionals commenting that the merger united two strong companies and gave PureCars valuable SEM expertise it previously lacked. The thread later pivoted to discussion of Campaign Precision, a startup founded by former Showroom Logic employees, with participants expressing skepticism about the company's broad service offerings and advocating for vendors that specialize in fewer, more focused solutions.

A vendor shared a Google Data Studio reporting template that consolidates paid advertising data from AdWords, Facebook, Twitter, and Bing into a single visual dashboard. A dealer implemented the template successfully and expressed interest in expanding it to include lead and sales attribution tracking with period-over-period comparisons, though she encountered a technical issue with consistent color coding across chart dimensions that was referred to the vendor's support team.

A South Carolina dealer seeks recommendations for new lead sources beyond Cars.com and Autotrader, specifically for new and used car leads. The thread explores various options including TrueCar, CarGurus, Dealix, Car Direct, and LotLinx, but the most prominent insight is a pushback against third-party lead providers altogether, with experienced professionals like Manny Luna and SeanKerr arguing that dealers should invest directly in PPC and SEO to build their own lead generation rather than paying middlemen who often source leads from the same channels.