Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Dealers in this thread discuss Edmunds' new price guarantee service for online car shoppers, with skepticism about whether dealers should adopt it. The key concern raised is that Edmunds and similar third-party services are dictating dealer pricing while charging for the privilege, a practice the respondent argues is unique to the automotive industry and unfavorable to dealers compared to other industries where manufacturers don't similarly empower third parties to control pricing.

A dealer asks for recommendations on online training programs for BDC appointment setters, and multiple industry professionals endorse Phone Ninjas as a top resource in the automotive industry. The thread highlights that Phone Ninjas, run by Jerry Thibeau, is widely recognized as a solid and potentially the best phone training program available for dealership staff. The consensus suggests this is a proven solution worth considering for BDC phone training needs.

A dealer asks whether colleagues have opted into a combined Dataium and AutoTrader study that offers participating dealers early access to research findings before public release. Respondents indicate that Dataium has credibility from previous impactful research (including a Cars.com study), though one dealer notes the findings were largely ignored by vendor-heavy communities, and another confirms they enrolled months ago but haven't yet received any results from the year-long rollout.

A dealer recommends Jay Baer's "Youtility" book after seeing him present at Digital Dealer, praising the book's approach to digital reputation and social media strategy. The core insight emphasized is that customer-centric marketing should prioritize asking "How can I help?" rather than pushing sales messages. While acknowledging some concepts may seem obvious, the poster considers it essential reading for automotive professionals managing their digital presence.

Automotive dealers debate whether Search Engine Marketing (SEM/paid search) is an effective use of marketing budget, sparked by eBay's public conclusion that paid search ads don't work. While some argue eBay's findings don't apply to smaller businesses without national brand recognition, others point to studies from Cars.com and Dataium showing dealers waste significant ad spend on SEM—particularly bidding on keywords they already rank for organically—and suggest reallocating those dollars to organic search optimization and other channels with better ROI.

Aaron Wirtz documents his real-world experience transitioning Suzuki of Wichita to Subaru of Wichita on April 1, 2013, focusing specifically on managing Google listings, reviews, and local properties during a brand change. The thread surfaces a key resource from Mike Blumenthal's blog about Google's review troubleshooter for relocated or rebranded businesses, and highlights an important nuance: Google's official guidance frames reviews primarily as something to remove rather than preserve during transitions. The discussion reinforces that careful documentation and proactive management of Google properties are essential when a dealership undergoes a brand or name change.

The thread discusses search result positioning strategy, arguing that organic search results drive more clicks than paid ads, and that dominating multiple top positions across organic and paid search—especially when optimized with social proof like customer testimonial videos—can significantly increase dealership website traffic across multiple markets and vehicle searches. The key insight is that controlling multiple search placements (rather than relying on a single top position) creates a compounding effect on traffic, particularly when integrated with social media and customer testimonials.

The thread covers Facebook's efforts to monetize Graph Search by exploring keyword-targeted search ads, which would allow advertisers to target users based on specific search criteria rather than just demographic and behavioral data. The discussion highlights how lower-funnel keyword targeting could be significantly more valuable to advertisers than Facebook's existing ad methods. Key insight is that this shift could make Facebook a stronger competitor to Google in search advertising, with major implications for automotive dealers' digital marketing strategies.

Automotive dealers discuss the rollout of Google's Penguin 2.0 algorithm update, with reports of varying impacts ranging from dramatic ranking changes to minimal effects depending on the dealer's location and SEO practices. Key observations include that some dealerships disappeared from top rankings while others remained stable, and that link networks switched to branded links to avoid the update's spam-fighting mechanisms. The consensus suggests that legitimate dealers following proper SEO practices have little to worry about, though those relying on aggressive link-building tactics (particularly e-zine articles) should adjust their strategies.

A dealer questions why Sansone, a notoriously poor-performing NJ dealership, shows a 4.5 rating on DealerRater while receiving nearly unanimous negative reviews on Yelp and other platforms. Respondents explain that DealerRater only counts reviews from the last 24 months (creating a "reset" for poor performers), but more importantly, dealers actively solicit positive reviews from satisfied customers on DealerRater while avoiding asking dissatisfied customers to review there—a practice less common on mainstream platforms like Google and Yelp that consumers naturally use for all types of businesses. The thread concludes that DealerRater's lower visibility to the general public, combined with selective dealer promotion tactics, creates artificially inflated ratings compared to broader review platforms.

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Dealers report mixed results on lead volume, with some experiencing steep declines (60-80% down) despite increased website traffic, while others see growth of around 20%. The discussion reveals that lead quality and conversion issues often stem from operational factors like inventory changes, website form complexity, and the challenge of tracking metrics across multiple departments—with mobile traffic separation and lead-type analysis (phone vs. form submissions vs. text) emerging as critical diagnostic tools for understanding true performance.

Dealers discuss what potential customers actually see when they Google the dealership's business name, sharing screenshots of their search results to identify gaps between their marketing efforts and online visibility. The conversation reveals that search presence varies significantly—some dealers dominate page one for their name and location-based searches, while others struggle with Google Local/G+ listings, review scoring systems, and phone number accuracy. The key insight is that dealers should regularly audit their own Google search results from a customer perspective to ensure marketing investments are reflected in discoverable, accurate online information.

GrantG seeks advice on F&I presentation techniques and processes after being assigned to head up his dealership's Internet Department and serve as second chair finance, having limited hands-on F&I experience. The thread's key insights emphasize proper customer interviews before the F&I office visit to identify missing information and customer needs, using compliant menu-based presentations, maintaining sales staff accountability for paperwork quality, and leveraging F&I vendor resources and training rather than relying on aggressive "old school" tactics. Multiple respondents highlight that a structured, consultative approach—rather than hard-sell techniques—yields better compliance, customer satisfaction, and product penetration rates.

This 2010-era discussion explores why mobile devices represent the future of technology and advertising, sparked by analysis of Apple's iPhone 4 presentation and its multitasking capabilities. Participants debate whether Apple or Android will dominate the smartphone market, with some drawing parallels to Apple's past competition with Microsoft, while others highlight the emerging opportunity for mobile app advertising as a new engagement channel for businesses. The key insight is that mobile apps—not mobile websites—will be the future platform for user engagement and advertising, though the thread reveals significant uncertainty about which OS ecosystem would ultimately win market dominance.

The thread discusses Google's shift back to the industry-standard 5-star rating system, replacing a confusing 30-point scale in Google Maps/Places. The original poster praises this change along with other platform improvements since August 2012, particularly stricter Terms of Service that have reduced review manipulation. The brief exchange among forum members confirms general approval for the move toward a simpler, more standardized rating system.

Car dealers debate the legitimacy of Yelp's Revenue Estimate tool and express frustration with Yelp's review filtering practices, which they view as potentially unethical and designed to drive paid advertising sales. The consensus is skeptical: dealers note that Yelp revenue estimates measure gross sales rather than actual profit (which is razor-thin in dealerships), that filtered reviews artificially limit visibility, and that Yelp's aggressive sales tactics combined with questionable business practices raise red flags about the platform's true value to dealerships.

The thread discusses Matt Cutts' announcement of approximately ten upcoming Google algorithm changes, including Penguin updates, improved link analysis, and domain clustering in search results. Participants express particular interest in how tiered link building and high keyword density tactics will be penalized, with one noting that competitors using these methods may be negatively impacted. A secondary concern emerges around dealership sites targeting multiple cities, which may violate Google's link stuffing guidelines despite currently ranking well.

A dealer seeks design inspiration and strategy for launching a fixed operations website after acquiring a premium domain, asking the community for examples and best practices. Responses suggest starting with content-focused strategies (parts availability information) before investing in complex inventory systems, and recommend DealerOn as a turnkey solution provider. The thread concludes with a practical example of an implemented service site but doesn't resolve the original request for specific design templates or websites to benchmark against.

Automotive professionals discuss Google's upcoming Penguin 2.0 algorithm update and its potential impact on dealer websites, with particular focus on over-optimization, link spam, and duplicate content. The key debate centers on whether Penguin penalties will actually affect the automotive industry, with some arguing that Google's algorithm updates have historically missed the dealer sector because it's treated as a low-priority local business category with inherently duplicated franchise content. Practical recommendations include keeping keyword-rich links below 10% of total links, disavowing spammy backlinks, and moving toward branded/natural linking patterns.

This thread discusses how to properly interpret Google Analytics data, specifically addressing content analysis and bounce rate metrics on automotive dealer websites. A key debate emerges around using homepage popups to artificially improve bounce rate numbers: while popups technically reduce bounce rates by registering as additional page views, csabatka1 correctly points out this creates misleading metrics that don't reflect actual user behavior. The discussion highlights the importance of looking beyond vanity metrics like bounce rate and instead understanding genuine visitor engagement patterns.

Jeff Kershner shares a Matt Cutts video outlining ten upcoming Google algorithm changes, including a major Penguin update, stricter action on link spammers, a Panda softening, and improved webmaster communication. A commenter points dealers toward deeper analysis on Search Engine Land for those wanting more than a surface-level overview. The thread serves as an early-warning heads-up for dealers and SEO vendors to audit their link profiles and content strategies before the updates roll out.

This thread provides a practical guide to interpreting Google Analytics data, focusing on organic and paid traffic sources for automotive dealers. A key insight is that Google hides search keywords by default (showing as "not set" or "not provided"), and while linking Analytics to Google Webmaster Tools helps identify some keyword data, it won't fully explain the missing keyword information. The discussion emphasizes that dealers should look beyond basic metrics to understand bounce rate, time on site, and landing page performance—especially for paid campaigns, where linking to specific vehicle or content pages rather than homepages typically performs better.