Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

A guest poster uses the metaphor of 'tainted wine' to call for industry-wide reform of third-party automotive lead generation, arguing the current system is fundamentally flawed and harmful to dealers. Joining with DealerRefresh founder Jeff Kershner, the author urges dealers to collectively demand higher lead quality standards and greater transparency from third-party providers. The thread serves as a rallying point, building on previous DealerRefresh discussions about lead quality and trust.

Dealership owners reported gaining unexpected administrative access to competitors' Yelp pages and subsequently losing access to their own listings in a widespread outage. The issue was traced to a system error involving backend access that CDK and Digital Airstrike had to dealership Yelp accounts; Yelp responded by de-claiming all affected listings and directing customers to contact support channels to restore individual access while they worked on restoring the provider integrations.

A dealer inquires about Sister Technologies' EZ360 photo solution, which automates vehicle photography using a turntable booth and uploads to cloud-based inventory management, with the goal of creating Carvana-style 360-degree photo displays on listings. One responder warns that Sister Technologies resells other products and suggests buying directly from the source, while another praises the lighting quality and interior shot capabilities of the example provided. The thread offers limited real-world user feedback but highlights that professional lighting setup is critical to achieving the desired results.

The thread examines the impact of Google's 'Mobilegeddon' mobile-friendly algorithm update on automotive dealer websites, exploring how the ranking changes affect dealership visibility in mobile search results. The original post breaks down the technical implications of the update and links to supporting research, framing it as a pivotal shift from desktop to mobile web access for car shoppers. The discussion is aimed at helping dealers understand whether their sites are compliant and what steps to take to maintain search rankings.

Jeff Kershner opens a debate on whether third-party lead quality can realistically be improved, acknowledging that duplicate, recycled, and fake leads are endemic to the industry. He advocates for lead scoring — citing positive experience with Polk/IHS data — as a viable but underadopted solution, and questions whether lead providers actually have financial incentive to clean up their inventory. The thread invites dealers and vendors to weigh in on trust, accountability, and practical fixes.

Clay seeks affordable email quote software that integrates with DealerSocket CRM while avoiding spam filters and offering customizable design templates, expressing distrust of built-in CRM email functionality. Respondents suggest exploring dedicated email service providers like Strongview or Jangomail that partner with major CRMs, and clarify technical limitations like video rendering in emails. The thread implies that third-party email providers may offer better deliverability than CRM-native solutions, though no definitive alternative to Response Logix is identified.

An Internet Sales/Marketing Manager seeks advice on restructuring his compensation plan to reflect his expanded responsibilities beyond BDC management, including budget oversight for marketing channels, SEO/SEM performance, and vehicle photography coordination. The limited responses suggest that compensation structures in this role typically combine base salary with per-deal bonuses tied to BDC/internet sales, though some dealerships use sales manager percentage models, with additional consideration for benefits and perks. The thread appears incomplete with no definitive resolution offered.

The thread discusses whether dealers should use Black Book Trade Value plugins on their websites, with the main concern being that many implementations aren't mobile-responsive or adaptive. While participants agree that Black Book *can* work well on mobile when implemented correctly (as shown by examples from Dealer.com and FordDirect sites), the core issue is that too many website providers fail to execute this properly, leading to poor user experiences on phones. The consensus is that dealers should audit their plugins for mobile functionality and either fix them or remove them until providers catch up with modern web standards.

A guest user sought feedback on their new Buy Here Pay Here financing website (1minuteapproval.com) designed for Florida dealers, prompting constructive criticism from community members. The main critique focused on critical mobile-friendliness failures, poor UX design choices (underlined non-link text, redundant navigation, missing security messaging on forms), and lack of customer inquiry capabilities, with ed.brooks emphasizing that 70% of BHPH shoppers use mobile devices and the site needed major redesign before launching a paid marketing campaign. The original poster defended their concept citing positive test results with three dealers and promised improvements for a June 2015 launch, though they dismissed some criticism as coming from competitors.

A CarStory study claiming that 9 photos per vehicle listing is optimal—generating 56% more leads than 20-photo listings—sparked debate about whether the finding was meaningful. Participants questioned whether lead volume (the study's metric) actually correlates with sales, whether the data from third-party marketplace sites like VAST applies to dealer sites, and whether the real issue is poor photo curation rather than quantity. The emerging consensus was that strategic photo selection matters more than total count, but dealers prioritizing lead generation over closing rates might benefit from limiting photos to 9.

A dealer raises concerns about differing SEO rankings between mobile and desktop versions of their recently redesigned website, particularly for long-tail keywords. The discussion reveals that Google was implementing major mobile-friendliness ranking algorithm changes and highlights the importance of building mobile strategy as a priority rather than a secondary desktop extension, with one contributor reporting significant improvements after redesigning mobile-specific elements like forms, photos, and maps. A separate issue also emerges where multiple dealers experienced a dramatic drop in iPhone traffic on September 13, 2014, suggesting a potential platform-specific algorithmic shift.

A dealer shares CarStory research revealing which vehicle features and options actually matter to used car shoppers, sparking discussion about how dealers should optimize their classified listings to match consumer priorities. Key insights include the need to highlight media connectivity features (Bluetooth, iPhone/Android compatibility) prominently with photos and bold text, avoid listing outdated standard features like power windows, and describe reconditioning work—all requiring dealers to invest time in individualized, consumer-focused descriptions rather than relying on generic comment generators.

Jeff Kershner shares CarStory research revealing that music and media connectivity is the single most in-demand feature among used car shoppers aged 18-65. The thread offers actionable merchandising tips, including taking close-up photos of Bluetooth icons, USB ports, and phone compatibility labels, and calling out these features prominently in vehicle descriptions to attract more buyers.

A dealer noticed unusual traffic spikes on April 21st and 28th and initially suspected Google's "Mobilegeddon" mobile-friendly algorithm update, but investigation revealed the bumps were actually from referral traffic originating from a regional Honda dealer ad association campaign. Participants debated whether Mobilegeddon would have significant immediate impact, with consensus suggesting the mobile-friendly shift would be gradual rather than disruptive, and that dealers didn't need to rush into responsive design overhauls.

A dealer seeking a group portal site asks whether DealerCarSearch.com compares favorably to Dealer.com (DDC), prompting responses about DealerCarSearch's template-based approach, outdated SEO practices, and limited customization options. The discussion reveals a critical concern for franchise dealers: smaller vendors risk becoming obsolete when OEMs mandate "preferred or certified" website vendors, potentially forcing dealers to rebuild their sites or manage multiple platforms. The consensus leans toward Dealer.com for franchise operations due to OEM approval and vendor stability, with warnings that smaller platforms lack the resources and vendor-mandated status that franchise dealers need long-term.

A guest contributor argues that automotive sales resumes are marketing documents designed to spin accomplishments and hide failures, and that most hiring mistakes can be caught during the resume review stage. The post walks dealers through red flags and evaluation techniques to separate genuine performers from candidates who simply interview well. The core insight is that treating resumes as factual records rather than persuasion tools is where many dealership hiring decisions go wrong.

Jeff Kershner shares a YouTube video demonstrating a method for promoting DealerRater reviews to boost dealer visibility and reputation management. Craig responds with an additional YouTube video, suggesting an alternative or complementary approach to the same topic. The thread appears to be a brief exchange of video-based tactics for leveraging review platforms as a marketing tool, though specific details about the methods are not provided in the text.

Rick Buffkin asks about CRM retargeting services that match dealership customer databases to browser cookies and device IDs to enable targeted advertising across 120+ platforms, claiming 30-55% match rates. Drew Ament recommends Facebook Custom Audiences and Google's similar tools as more cost-effective alternatives to third-party retargeting vendors, and suggests segmenting audiences by service lapse, lease expiration, and purchase timing rather than relying solely on sales data.

Dealers debated whether cost per lead is a meaningful marketing metric, with consensus emerging that it's an incomplete measure that can lead to poor decisions if used in isolation. The conversation evolved to highlight that cost per sale, conversion rates, time-to-close, and overall ROI are far more actionable metrics, with one participant suggesting that dealers should dig deeper into attribution across all traffic sources including walk-ins and non-converting website visitors rather than fixating on lead cost alone.

A dealer reported that Google Maps is displaying the OEM (Chevrolet.com) website link instead of their dealership URL when searching for "Chevy" alone, though the dealer link reappears when adding keywords. The consensus solution is to correct the listing through Google Map Maker, with one experienced dealer noting that Chevrolet may have created separate parts and service department listings that are blending with dealer listings and causing this issue—a correction that could be complicated.

A dealer warns that canceling a TrueCar agreement doesn't automatically stop data sharing, as dealers must separately contact DMI to halt the practice. The thread highlights a responsibility gap where TrueCar should handle this independently, and recommends dealers audit their data-sharing arrangements with both DMI and Authenticom to understand who has access to their information.