Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Dealers and marketing professionals debate whether SEO as a standalone service actually drives car sales, with the consensus that traditional SEO (keyword rankings, citations, technical tags) is overrated and should instead be integrated into broader marketing strategies that address high-involvement purchase psychology. A key disagreement emerges about whether non-branded searches (like "used ford dealer columbus") versus branded searches (like "clock tower auto") represent real customer intent and drive meaningful traffic. The thread concludes that SEO's primary value is capturing initial customer interest for dealers to then answer trust and fit questions—but ranking high alone doesn't sell cars without the larger marketing and sales infrastructure behind it.

Dealers and consultants discuss whether DealerCarSearch.com is a viable alternative to Dealer.com for a group portal website, with nearly unanimous negative feedback citing limitations in platform sophistication, poor technical support knowledge (particularly around analytics tracking), weak backend CMS usability, limited add-ons/integrations, and aggressive/misleading sales tactics that have led clients to switch away. The consensus recommendation is to consider alternatives like Dealer Inspire or DealerFire instead.

Rick Buffkin asks whether Google compensates marketing agencies for higher ad spend, prompted by an agency offering him $2k in free ad credits plus an iPad to increase his budget by $5k despite paying a flat management fee. Respondents confirm that Google Partners do receive kickbacks based on volume and growth potential, but note these benefits vary widely—some high-spending accounts get little to nothing—and warn that Google Partner status is easily obtained and often used misleadingly by agencies to justify their competency. The thread reveals broader concerns about conflicts of interest in vendor relationships and the difficulty of trusting agency recommendations when financial incentives are hidden or misaligned with client interests.

Automotive professionals discuss typical dealership website bounce rates, with data showing averages around 27-32% across inventory search and homepage sections, though rates vary significantly by traffic source and page type. Key insights include segmenting analytics by geography (PMA users have lower bounce rates), understanding that Google changed bounce rate definitions in 2014 to exclude pages with tracked events, and recognizing that bounce rate alone is a poor conversion metric—particularly for paid search campaigns that intentionally direct users to specific vehicle pages. The most actionable recommendation is monitoring "Shopper's Return Rate" instead, as it better indicates serious buying intent.

Bing Ads is rolling out the ability for advertisers to target LinkedIn audiences, leveraging Microsoft's ownership of both platforms. The feature addresses a long-standing request from B2B advertisers seeking access to LinkedIn's professional audience data for more targeted campaigns. The announcement generated interest from the DealerRefresh community, with members noting this was an anticipated development.

Facebook's decision to shut down third-party data targeting (Oracle, Epsilon, Acxiom) within six months sparks dealer concern about ad performance and budget allocation, with participants debating whether this is genuine privacy reform or PR posturing. Most agree that larger agencies and advertisers will work around the restriction by purchasing data directly and uploading custom audiences, while smaller dealers will face higher barriers to entry and may be forced toward agency partnerships. The underlying sentiment is skepticism that Facebook's move will meaningfully impact major advertisers' targeting capabilities, suggesting the policy change prioritizes reputation management over substantive business impact.

Dealers discuss Google Adwords' Store Visit Conversions feature, which tracks how ad clicks influence physical store visits, with Rick Buffkin introducing the capability and others debating its practical value. The core disagreement centers on attribution modeling—while some see it as a useful additional metric for measuring paid search's contribution to showroom traffic, others caution that it oversimplifies the multi-touch customer journey by crediting a single ad click for a visit influenced by multiple marketing channels. The thread concludes that while Google's data is useful as one metric among many, dealers should employ more sophisticated statistical analysis methods (ANOVA, Bayesian models) rather than relying on single-click attribution to truly understand marketing lift.

Dave Novotny asks for real-world feedback on Dealer Inspire's Online Shopper product, and Todd Caputo from UsedCarKing.com provides a detailed endorsement, calling it his site's top lead generator while noting the leads require a softer sales approach and praising the Dealer Inspire team's support. Blake Arbogast announces he's signed up for the tool and commits to sharing ROI results, suggesting the product has gained credibility within the dealer community based on Todd's positive experience.

Dealers seeking feedback on Team Velocity's marketing services share mixed and cautious results, with one dealer reporting negative ROI across two markets and questionable attribution practices, while others suggest the service could work for smaller dealerships but recommend requesting references and carefully vetting their reporting methods. The consensus indicates Team Velocity's strategy isn't inherently flawed, but potential clients should be skeptical of their metrics and expect early "low-hanging fruit" gains that may not sustain long-term value.

Dealers discuss Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's new pricing policies requiring customers to submit personal information before viewing prices below MSRP/MAPP, with the OEMs claiming this protects dealer margins by preventing aggressive price competition. The conversation reveals tension between the stated goal of creating "fair playing fields" and frustration from proactive dealers who argue these restrictions actually hinder their ability to manage inventory strategically and compete transparently. A key insight emerges that OEM interference in retail operations may be counterproductive, as manufacturers should focus on building cars rather than controlling dealer pricing strategies.

The thread debates whether dealers should invest in third-party vehicle listing sites like Cars.com and AutoTrader versus building their own optimized dealer websites. While Jeff Kershner frames the discussion around which listing platforms will dominate next, several experienced dealers (Todd Caputo, Daniel Mondello, and others) argue that a well-optimized dealer website with strong SEO/SEM outperforms third-party listings and reduces costs, suggesting the future may favor dealer-controlled inventory distribution over established listing marketplaces.

Rick Buffkin seeks recommendations for VIN-specific payment calculators and credit apps to improve lead conversion on his dealership website, with participants discussing tools like AutoUSA's Payment Pro, DealerTrack, and Drive It Now. The discussion evolves to emphasize that tool selection matters less than proper A/B testing and staff understanding of how leads are generated, with several participants reporting better results from optimization tactics (form changes, button design) and alternative tools like Dealercentric than from the payment calculators alone. Joe Pistell from Dealer.com announces upcoming beta tests for new payment calculation and split-testing tools designed to address these gaps.

A dealership marketer shares his realization that younger consumers are smartphone-only users with no traditional computers, prompting a discussion about the critical importance of mobile-optimized websites in automotive retail. Participants highlight that 25% of car shoppers research vehicles exclusively on smartphones and identify common mobile site failures (poor video playback, non-functional forms, slow load times, illegible layouts), along with broader challenges like accidental clicks and varying mobile usage patterns. The consensus is clear: dealerships must prioritize mobile-first website design and functionality as consumer behavior has fundamentally shifted away from desktop computing.

Alexander Lau introduces UserWay, an accessibility plugin service that improves website compliance with standards like WCAG 2.0 and ADA without requiring code changes, and questions why such tools aren't standard on major automotive platforms. He argues that accessibility features benefit not just disabled individuals themselves, but also their family members and friends who may purchase vehicles on their behalf. The core insight is that the automotive industry appears to be overlooking an untapped market segment and potential legal compliance issue by not prioritizing website accessibility.

Dealers discuss the critical importance of optimizing used car inventory listings on third-party sites like Cars.com, where algorithmic sorting (rather than price-based defaults) now determines visibility, making complete and accurate data essential for ranking higher in search results. The conversation focuses on practical strategies for ensuring data accuracy, particularly the challenging task of correctly documenting options and packages for off-brand used vehicles, with dealers sharing specific tools and methods like window sticker research, VIN lookups, and services like AutoiPacket and Monroney Labels. The key insight is that dealers who invest time in filling out all available fields completely and accurately in their inventory feeds will see significantly better third-party site visibility and reach more potential buyers.

Alexander Lau shares research comparing the effectiveness of sponsored videos versus pre-roll/post-roll video ads, citing insights from Ogilvy's Head of Digital that highlight a disconnect between how consumers actually watch videos and how marketers measure advertising success. The key insight is that marketers' focus on individual asset metrics (views, completion rates, click-throughs) misses the broader picture of audience engagement within viewing sessions. The thread appears designed to prompt dealers to reconsider their video advertising strategy beyond traditional per-video performance tracking.

Dealers seeking to audit and remove unwanted tracking pixels from their websites discuss tools like Ghostery and Chrome DevTools to identify which vendors are harvesting visitor data, with particular concern about competitive-conquesting and leftover trackers from previous vendors. Participants acknowledge that while client-side tracking (pixels, scripts) can be detected and managed through these tools, much data collection happens invisibly through server-side tracking, mobile apps, and cross-device fingerprinting, making complete transparency and control difficult. The key takeaway is that dealers should at minimum audit and remove old vendor tracking codes from their sites, but should recognize that comprehensive data harvesting by major vendors and third-party data brokers extends far beyond what's visible or controllable at the website level.

Dealers discuss inventory video vendors (Unity, FlickFusion, Sister.tv) and debate whether video actually drives conversions, with mixed evidence presented: one Dealer.com employee cited a controlled A/B test showing video increased time on site and conversions, while others note the difficulty of isolating video's impact from other variables and emphasize that quality content matters more than video format alone. The consensus suggests video does increase engagement metrics and visitor interest (1.5-2% click-through rates observed), but measuring direct conversion impact remains challenging due to numerous confounding factors in automotive sales.

Following Google's removal of third-party reviews from Google Places, dealers discuss strategies for diversifying customer reviews across multiple platforms rather than relying on a single site like DealerRater. Key tactics include segmenting customers by email provider to direct Gmail users to Google Places reviews, creating dedicated dealership review websites, and embedding review links in follow-up emails to sold customers. The thread reveals that the most effective approach combines multiple channels—targeting customers where they're likely to research and asking them to review on sites where they discovered the dealership—while DealerRater implements new features to automate Gmail user routing.

Moe Bakhtiari outlines foundational SEO principles that dealerships should understand when developing their online strategy, emphasizing that SEO is a long-term investment that requires patience rather than delivering quick results. The thread positions SEO as essential for connecting used car dealerships with online buyers but cautions dealers against expecting immediate improvements. While the post appears to have been cut off before completing its full list of five points, it establishes that successful dealership SEO requires strategic planning and realistic expectations about timelines.

George Nenni shares his reaction to the 2017 NADA DATA report, highlighting a landmark shift in automotive dealer advertising: internet advertising has crossed the 50% threshold while TV and radio continue to lose ground. The thread centers on this milestone as confirmation of a two-decade trend Nenni watched unfold since the late 1990s, and he recommends the NADA DATA report as an essential resource for industry professionals tracking advertising spend.

A Honda dealer complaints that Autotrader is placing competing OEM (Toyota) banner ads above his dealership's contact information on vehicle detail pages, reducing visibility and likely conversion rates despite his substantial monthly payments. Respondents confirm this is a longstanding monetization issue where Autotrader profits by selling ad space to both dealers and their competitors, with no premium package available to prevent it—a practice that has plagued the industry for over a decade with no resolution in sight.