My New Adventure - Al West Nissan
- Thread starter BillVaughnAlWestNissan
- Start date
I agree!
I have our CRM set up to send review requests via emails/texts to customers after their purchase. I haven't had it set up very long, but so far I'm not seeing the response I prefer. Hmm, now I need to see if I can create a report to track those. I also personally ask for reviews whenever I can.
Some stores do actually integrate the review into the process somewhere. There always seems to be a "disconnect" as to where it should be done.
In most dealerships, the automatic answer for any of this type of thing is "Can't we have a form that we use in the Finance Office". That is absolutely the worst place to ask for a review.
I have given this a lot of thought Richie. Through my overthinking process, I decided that I do not want to automate reviews. There are a couple different reasons, but the most obvious is that if the process is automated then we will be asking for reviews from customers that potentially didn't have the best experience. Say they had a problem with an airbag light that came on 2 days after they purchased. Of course we are going to pay for that repair...but the airbag part is on backorder. In an effort to put this fire out as fast as we can, we decide to start calling around looking for this part at a salvage yard. Now the customer gets a review request.
If we REALLY want to boost our reviews, there is only one way that I know that actually works. When the customer is waiting with the salesperson before they go into the finance office, ask the customer to leave a review. That is the point in the journey that the customer actually wants to leave the review. They are excited about their new vehicle purchase, they are happy with everyone at the dealership, and they sitting there with nothing to do anyway.
I agree with you that automated requests can be slippery with unhappy customers. I considered that before I started to go automated, and came up with a template that I hoped would mitigate bad reviews and offer the customer an alternative to vent to me about a bad experience prior to giving the review. I can't say that this will work, but here is my template:
Thank you for choosing (insert dealership name) for the purchase of your ((Vehicle Type)).
I hope we provided you with great experience. If so, please visit this link and leave a Google review for us (insert google review link)
If we did not provide you with great experience, please let me know what we could have done differently to make your visit more pleasant.
If there is anything else that I can help you with, please let me know.
Thank you again. We appreciate your business and look forward to working with you again in the future.
(added my direct contact information)
I plan to give this automated message a run for a few months to see what happens, then go from there. If I am present at time of purchase, I do make an effort to personally ask for reviews before the customer leaves. This would be my preferred way, but I am not always nearby when the customer makes their purchase so I can't be consistent.
Pay your salespeople $25/review (or whatever), and they will darn sure get them!
Or, leave a review and get registered for a drawing where you can win a prepaid Visa Card for $250 (or whatever).
Please keep us posted on your automated review testing. I am interested in how you do!
Thanks Richie.
I mean no disrespect, but here are a few things to consider on the website:
Right now, your site takes 7.6 seconds for the first content paint, which means Google will limit how often and how deeply it crawls your pages. Even worse, your largest content paint takes 30.7 seconds, which results in a Google penalty and is costing you leads.
Your homepage title is too long and not optimized for SEO. Here’s why:
✅ "New & Used Nissan Cars for Sale in Rolla, MO | Al West Nissan"
Why This Works:
✅ "Looking for a great deal on a new or used Nissan in Rolla, MO? Al West Nissan offers top prices, easy financing & expert service. Visit us today!"
Why This Works:
I can point out more areas for improvement if you’d like, but I’ll stop here for now as I don't want to step on any toes. Let me know if you want more ideas to improve the site!
And keep in mind you can add blog post all day but if Google can't spider it they can't rank it and those load times are preventing Google from being able to spider it.
Right now, your site takes 7.6 seconds for the first content paint, which means Google will limit how often and how deeply it crawls your pages. Even worse, your largest content paint takes 30.7 seconds, which results in a Google penalty and is costing you leads.
Performance Fixes:
- Ditch the video – It disrupts user flow. A single still image with a strong CTA would work much better.
- ADA Compliance – The add-on you’re using slows the site down without actually making it ADA compliant. ADA is about providing an equal experience—not forcing users to click links and adjust settings.
Title Tag Issues:
Your homepage title is too long and not optimized for SEO. Here’s why:
- Too long – Google only shows the first 50-60 characters.
- Too generic – "is a Nissan dealer selling new and used cars" is wordy and lacks focus.
- Weak local targeting – "Rolla, MO" should appear earlier for better local SEO.
- Missed branding opportunity – "Al West Nissan" is important, but it shouldn’t dominate.
Better SEO Title:
✅ "New & Used Nissan Cars for Sale in Rolla, MO | Al West Nissan"
Why This Works:
- Main keywords first – Focuses on search intent.
- Stronger local SEO – "Rolla, MO" is in a prime position.
- Clear branding – "Al West Nissan" is still included but balanced.
Meta Description Issues:
Your current meta description is okay but not compelling. Here’s how to improve it:- Lacks urgency – Doesn’t grab attention.
- Too repetitive – "Nissan sales, service, parts, and financing" is generic.
- No CTA – A strong call to action improves click-through rates.
Better SEO Meta Description:
✅ "Looking for a great deal on a new or used Nissan in Rolla, MO? Al West Nissan offers top prices, easy financing & expert service. Visit us today!"
Why This Works:
- Starts with a question → Engages users.
- Adds urgency → "Great deal" and "top prices" create interest.
- Strong CTA → "Visit us today!" encourages action.
I can point out more areas for improvement if you’d like, but I’ll stop here for now as I don't want to step on any toes. Let me know if you want more ideas to improve the site!
And keep in mind you can add blog post all day but if Google can't spider it they can't rank it and those load times are preventing Google from being able to spider it.
You'll never hurt my feelings. The website is very important to me. And yes, the video needs to go. They promised it wouldn't slow down the site. I showed them the before and after and how bad it slowed the site down. Then my rep got canned.
I would use Google's own lighthouse tool for all my test, just because its Google's and it would make sense they would use it for ranking over other tools.
PageSpeed Insights
pagespeed.web.dev
When someone lands on the site they should be in a state of flow, the Nielsen Norman Group studied eye-tracking data and found 80.3% of people’s attention is spent above the fold.
A Notre Dame study showed sliders kill conversions and many studies since show that videos in headers also kill conversion.
Multiple case studies have shown that one big image sometimes called a Hero image, increases conversions. CrazyEgg said Dell, Saloman, and Kindercare all saw improvements after redesigning their sites to include hero images.
Conversion Fanatics, said they saw a 40% increase in leads just by setting up the top image correctly.
You’ve got milliseconds to convince someone that their life would be better, happier, and more productive if they just owned your car, in an area the size of a business card.
And recent studies have shown that user’s attention span’s on the decline.
So your hero image should focus on the main keyword of the page, clarify the offer, enhance the flow, nod at your CallToAction, show your benefits, answers some questions, and paint a picture that puts your customer in the center of it, playing the part of the hero, their problem as the villain, and you as their guide.
And studies have shown, when done correctly ... this can increase conversions by as much as 40%.
And it needs to be done for every page on the site and every image on the site needs to be optimized to rank, no one optimizes their images to rank, so ranking images will drive traffic and is pretty easy to do.
