Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Ryan Leslie shared an infographic breaking down Google's $100 million daily revenue, highlighting which sectors and advertisers contribute most to that figure, with a focus on the automotive industry. The post invites community members to review the data and react to who the top five advertisers are. The thread appears designed to give automotive dealers insight into Google's revenue sources and competitive advertising landscape within their industry.

A dealer technology developer seeks input from peers on what vehicle and customer information to require in an online appraisal tool designed to generate trade-in leads and pre-populate their in-store appraisal system. The original poster proposes collecting VIN, mileage, maintenance/accident history, and smoker status alongside basic contact info, asking the community what fields would be most valuable while remaining realistic about what customers will honestly disclose online.

Dealers debate website provider costs, ranging from $250/month to $3,000/month, with disagreement over whether high prices represent fair value or dealer overpayment. While one participant argues dealers are grossly overpaying, another counters that when accounting for hosting, inventory feeds, email, maintenance, and development costs, premium pricing is justified. The thread reveals significant price variation and tension between dealers seeking cheap solutions and providers defending higher costs as necessary for quality service.

A dealer seeking website provider recommendations receives suggestions for multiple platforms, with DealerOn emerging as the consensus favorite due to superior customization, responsive customer service, and easy content updates. Other recommended providers include Dealer.com, eBizAutos, TK Connect, Dealer eProcess, and DealerFire, each with specific strengths around inventory search UX and specials page functionality. The thread reveals that dealerships prioritize vendor responsiveness, customization flexibility, and seamless special page management over flashy features.

Kevin Frye opens by admitting some responsibility for Klout obsession in the auto industry after having promoted it at Digital Dealer 11, then questions whether the metric has any real value. Replies largely agree that Klout is superficial and narcissism-driven, with Eric Miltsch pointing out that the algorithm measures social activity rather than genuine expertise or influence — illustrated by the absurd example of Big Ben's Twitter account becoming 'influential' about bongs. The consensus is that Klout scores are gameable, algorithmically inconsistent, and a poor proxy for real-world authority.

The thread discusses how to convert online car shoppers into dealership visitors by addressing the primary concern driving customers to research multiple dealer websites: transparent, competitive pricing. The key insight is that dealers should prominently advertise market-based pricing and "what you see is what you pay" messaging across their website and marketing channels, as this transparency differentiates them in a market where customers spend 17-19 hours researching before visiting a dealership.

A Ford dealer (MidwestFord) inquires about services that enable customers to text a vehicle's stock number and automatically receive a link to that vehicle's detail page. Another forum member (yagoparamo) recommends contacting David Sawyer at Advanced Mobile, LLC, providing his contact information and website. The original poster indicates they will follow up on this lead.

A new member proposes offering dealers phone-verified internet leads (confirmed by human callers rather than automated systems) and seeks feedback on market viability. The discussion reveals skepticism about the concept, with dealers expressing concerns about customer experience friction from multiple handoffs, poor lead quality from comparable programs (like GM Handraisers), and the importance of pricing—ultimately concluding that such leads might only work in niche scenarios (like hard-money financing dealers) rather than mainstream dealership operations.

Dealers ask for recommendations on email marketing solutions, with MailChimp emerging as the top choice for self-administered campaigns due to its ease of use and ability to continuously add new customer lists. The discussion reveals that while generic platforms (MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber) offer solid functionality, industry-specific solutions like Dominion/AutoRevenue provide superior value through managed services, personalized campaigns, and detailed reporting tailored to dealership needs. The key insight is that success depends on choosing between self-service platforms for cost control or managed vendors for expertise and integration with DMS/CRM systems.

Dealers express frustration with Dealer.com's service limitations despite paying premium prices ($1,600+/month), particularly around unclear policies on whether basic content updates (photos, banners, text) are included in the "managed" service or require extra fees. While acknowledging the platform's strong performance and lead generation, users report consistently receiving "that's extra" responses when requesting rep-made changes and feel the service quality doesn't match the cost and the Dealer.com branding displayed on their sites. The key insight is that Dealer.com's pricing model appears disconnected from service expectations—dealers want basic update support included at this price point but aren't receiving clear answers or consistent support.

Marc McGurren sought recommendations for a single application that combines video conferencing with desktop sharing to present tracking reports to multiple dealerships simultaneously. Community members suggested several solutions including Procaster (LiveStream), TeamViewer, Skype's built-in screen sharing feature, Google Hangouts, and Rhubbcom, with Google Hangouts emerging as a particularly popular option despite having participant limits. The consensus was that multiple viable free and paid options exist, making it unnecessary to resort to purchasing Apple products to achieve this functionality.

Jeff Kershner announces he and Malinda Terreri will co-present a session called 'Secrets of the Inbox: The New Evolution of Email' at the DSES conference, arguing that email remains the top online marketing channel for dealerships—surpassing paid search, social, and SEO. A commenter validates the premise by noting they personally check email constantly but ignore most marketing messages, framing the session as essential for learning how to cut through inbox clutter. The thread is light on technical detail but serves as a promotional teaser for the conference session.

A dealer inquired about LEMACOM's Customer Acquisition Program, prompting multiple negative responses from community members who found the company's website vague, its sales presentation unconvincing (including an inability to name specific syndication partners), and its claims about distributing inventory to "1000+ websites" unsubstantiated. When LEMACOM's representative eventually responded nearly a year later, they clarified their actual service without directly addressing the skepticism, leaving the community consensus that the vendor appeared unprofessional and lacked transparency.

Multiple dealership marketers reported that their Google Review responses mysteriously disappeared, with some responses reappearing while others remained missing—a problem that appeared to correlate with Google's Places/Local/+ merger. No solution was identified in the thread, though participants confirmed the issue affected multiple dealers and expressed frustration about the lack of information on recovery options.

Marketing professionals discuss Facebook's alleged algorithm changes that dramatically reduced organic reach for business pages, with the original poster arguing that dealerships should prioritize building owned email lists rather than relying on unpredictable social media platforms. The thread highlights concerns from major advertising executives about Facebook's business model prioritizing paid advertising over organic content visibility. The key takeaway is that dealerships should treat social media as unstable and supplement it with direct marketing channels they fully control, like email newsletters.

Dealers discuss creative online contest ideas for driving customer engagement and foot traffic, with an initial focus on an Easter Egg Hunt concept that incorporates social media elements like hints, bonus entries behind "Like" gates, and off-hours lot access via Twitter. The thread emphasizes the importance of simplicity in gameplay and suggests leveraging charity partnerships (such as local nonprofits supporting breast cancer awareness) to increase viral sharing and social media reach.

A forum member shared Search Engine Land's "Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors," a visual guide organizing key SEO elements in an easy-to-reference format. The brief responses indicate it was well-received by the community as a practical, visual tool for understanding SEO strategy—valuable for dealership marketers looking to improve their website rankings.

Ryan Abbott seeks peer-to-peer Internet 20 Group recommendations and explicitly rejects vendor-led training seminars in favor of collaborative idea-sharing among dealers. Several responses surface existing options (Dealer Synergy/Dealer eTraining's Internet Sales 20 Group, NADA's INT2 group), but Ryan's preference for peer learning rather than expert instruction leads community members to propose a DealerRefresh meetup alternative, with Jeff Kershner hinting at something in development.

Automotive dealers discuss a major Facebook purge where fake likes were removed from pages (one competitor dropped from 48,000 to under 100 likes), revealing that buying likes is ineffective. While some view this as positive cleanup, others worry about declining organic reach and question whether Facebook's push toward paid promotion is worth the investment, with one marketer suggesting dealerships allocate $400-500/month from traditional media budgets to Facebook ads for impressions rather than relying on organic growth.

A dealer questions whether switching from Dealix to Recycler.com ($500/month) for used car listings would generate better results, citing concerns that Dealix hides dealer identity and inflates costs. A respondent advises that website performance varies significantly by market, recommends testing Recycler.com for at least 6 months at a negotiated rate, and cautions against expecting dramatic lead increases at such a low price point.

A dealer named Ryan seeks Facebook contest ideas to boost engagement and decides to run a Bills game ticket giveaway combined with a website scavenger hunt where participants unscramble letters across his dealership sites. After running the contest, Ryan reports positive results: 66 new page likes, 11 shares that extended his reach, and importantly, strong retention with no post-contest unfollows, suggesting that engagement-focused contests tied to dealership properties can drive both immediate metrics and sustained audience interest.