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5 Reasons to Forget About Your SEO

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#11
@ Brian Pasch
Your Comment: "PCG is starting a free 8-week SEM study on February 15th to start educating dealers on how to setup, test, measure, and refine their PPC spending....."

Self promotion is all fine and swell but..those keywords are terrible... way to broad..often very expensive, and will drag down quality scores because they won't have a CTR above 1% (If you are lucky). Thus making a dealer pay even more per click for all other keywords in a campaign, even the ones that perform well. Again, dealers should get educated, read as much as they can, then hire a firm with a proven track record to manage their PPC. Here is a great book after they go through as much Adwords tutorials as they can take..
https://kindle.amazon.com/work/advanced-google-ad...
 
#12
Tim, you and Terrance brings up a VERY good point. PPC and SEO are interconnected on a budgeting basis.

SUMMARY:
As PPC costs rise, it also "drags up" the 'value' of SEO.

DETAILS:
Adwords is an auction based system. As more buyers that get involved, they place higher bid on keywords they want to own. This creates rising values on our "sea of keywords" connected to our market. We'd all agree that dealers -overall- don't really participate in adwords, but, with each new wave of dealers that are discovering adwords, it will simply raise the cost for every adwords buyer.

This PPC bidding system creates a rising tide on our "sea of keywords". This will raise the value of everyone's SEO efforts too. PPC or organic, the SERP* game is all about visibility. Getting PPC visibility is as easy as throwing a switch (and opening your wallet). Organic visibility on the other hand is a long and very complex road.

Simply put, dollars and time spent NOW in Organic SEO is like money in the bank. Not only can Organic SEO displace PPC dollars spent, but, with as our "sea of PPC keywords" rising month over month, year over year, your Organic SEO investment will pay dividends.. and pay you back WITH INTEREST!
 
#14
Brian, I'd like to challenge your premise. You write:

"...I would like to add that SEM is only effective if the clicks are taking consumers to proven landing pages that convert on the click. The automotive industry is just waking up to landing page conversion optimization...,"

May I challenge your observation? I am stuck in a conversion quandary, with great questions and no answers (yet).

I am exploring the consequence of optimizing for the "almighty conversion and nothing but the conversion" (as it applies to auto-dealer websites ONLY).

Is the submission of a form (aka conversion) our best measurement point to optimize against?

Can someone tell me or show me that THE seminal event prior to purchase is submitting a form? I'll ask another way... is there "A" singular seminal event that fuels the purchase? No?

If not, then if we optimize for "submitting a form", how do we guard against de-optimizing matters important to the "shopper who prefers stealth". We all know 98 of 100 shoppers never submit a form, yet, we optimize for it. Woa... don't rush to reply! Flip that observation over one more time. 85 out of 100 BUYERS were on your site prior to purchase. I'll say it again, 85 of 100 of your BUYERS were at your site yet, we're trying to up the count of a tool that converts at <20%? I wonder if we're aiming at the wrong target. See where I'm going?

It sure would be easier if the stealth auto shopper left us a big bright flag in the analytics that shows us the footprints of a "highly likely buyer". For example, how would you value a shopper that returns to your site for 2nd visit in 24 hours? I say... GAME ON! This shoppers on the hunt and you have what they want! I ask you, should that EXCELLENT METRIC have no weight? What if the highly optimized "squeeze page" blows up return visits?

Ecommerce has this single event called a "Checkout". This checkout has a 100% closing ratio. Lord knows, We are NOT ecommerce.

It goes deeper. We car guys don't have that clean, clear line in the sand like ecommerce. What good is more leads if they SUCK? Lead count could rise 30%, yet it may barely move the needle at the end of the month. Reps time with shoppers is part of the productivity/optimizing equation. It's entirely possible for reps to get tied up with the WRONG customers. Before you optimize for more leads you need a solid historical measure of the un-optimized closing ratio.

I do not have the answers (yet ;-) but, another issue that bothers me is WHO profits the most from optimizing pages for conversion? The HIPPO does. He sees more ROI (but can't visualize the downside because it's not measured). I've got no issues with the HIPPO, I'm paid the same way. We all here to get cars over the curb. I just WANT IT ALL ;-)

Lost and HUNGRY in Syracuse. ;-)

Background:
I've been following the conversion industry for a few years . As you know, if you step outside our vertical, page optimization is already in the 5th inning (while Larry Bruce is throwing the 1st pitch over the plate and no one's watching). And… like all things technical, we're a few years behind the Internet leaders. I’ve been following the brilliant work of Tim Ash of SiteTuners.com and the conversion rockstars at Conversion Rate Experts – Optimization for your website. There is an bunch of upside in conversion optimizing, but, it should be all about addressing the unanswered needs of the shopper 1st, then, the conversions should follow.
 
#15
Jeffery T,

We havent met, but, welcome aboard. We all welcome passion... Even VENDOR passion ;-)... But, IMO, you've made many errors.

Most importantly, You really need to FIX your numbers. You are presenting yourself as an authority. No.. your presenting yourself as the ONLY authority. Be careful, your numbers (AND your assumptions) from these numbers are wrong.

You wrote to Brian P:

"...those keywords are terrible... way to broad..often very expensive, and will drag down quality scores because they won't have a CTR above 1% (If you are lucky). Thus making a dealer pay even more per click for all other keywords in a campaign..."

Wow, are you off the mark.

I have 6000 keywords in play, 600 of them are generic keywords. The 600 entries are a mix of broad, phrase and exact match. They are broke out into 5 sub groups to improve Quality Score. The sub groups are Cars,Trucks,Vans, SUVs & Finance. They have an avg Click Thru rate of 1.47% and an avg quality score of 7/10. Of the 600 generics, less than 20 have a quality score < 6/10 and only 30 have a QS = 6/10

Ahhh... am I prefect? No. But your <1%? and it's relation to QS. You missed that so badly it makes me wonder why or how you missed it so bad. Not good.

Should you think I am "Cherry picking" the list to bend the numbers, lets look at the high volume entries. The top 10 generic phrases create 90% of the traffic (from all 600 entries in this group). The Top ten have an avg CTR of > 7%.

A few Examples are:

"used cars" = 7.9% CTR
"buy used cars" = 14.8% CTR
"used car for sale" = 19.05% CTR
buy used cars = 3.49% CTR
and on and on and on...

You need to evolve your vendor community voice. Your entire diatribe was all about you. You wrote:

"...Again, dealers should get educated, read as much as they can, then hire a firm with a proven track record to manage their PPC..."

Ouch. Like fingernails on a chalk board.

Jeffery, stop and re-read your replies. You forget where you are. This is very special community of extra-ordinary players that LEAD our industry higher. A water-cooler of higher learning. A community of uncommon fellows breaking new ground at every turn, both vendor and dealer. The dialogue here is not found on on daily dealer visits or the NADA show floor. Yes, there is an army of wanna-be readers, but even these players are very self motivated and hungry for thought provoking details. It just so happens these players got a late start and are just a few chapters back ;-)

Lastly,
Brian Pasch has single handedly pioneered dealer internet marketing education as his primary marketing effort. Sure, his education efforts drive other sales, but, isn't that why we're in Social Media? (yuk >:-] This is a common business model for consultants in many industries. Brian's openly transparent education is what he brings here every day. He's got thousands of hours invested in raising the bar for any dealer that wants to learn while they work the 'net.

So... before you drop bombs, earn up some community love from others. I am sure you have a lot of valuable insights. I'd love to read some of the jewels your view of the world has to our community.

A few examples:
Free Mystery Shopping http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f5/mystery-shop-ti...

Free Chat with strong rules with solid ROI stats (a bedrock field study in conversion rates IMO) http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/free-24-7-live...

How are your phone skills? http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f5/how-your-phone-...
 
#16
Hmmm... I'm a big boy and will simply say this...
I have been in the business for 9 Years, have well over 200 Accounts, Manage High 6-Figures in PPC spend every month and do ok....
That said, I'll take my time and address each of your points over the next few days. And finally, every hates a know it all... I am surely not one, but I see a few of them here, are you one?
 
#17
I have 6000 keywords in play, 600 of them are generic keywords.

Mistake 101.... 6000 Keywords in Play..Really?
Anyone who know PPC knows that anything more then a dozen or two keywords in a group is a waste and is not structured right...

The 600 entries are a mix of broad, phrase and exact match.

Broad, phrase and exact...Ok, Which do you bid more for? How about broad plus match, how about negative broad plus match... I can go all day...that statement is amateurish

They are broke out into 5 sub groups to improve Quality Score. The sub groups are Cars,Trucks,Vans, SUVs & Finance. They have an avg Click Thru rate of 1.47% and an avg quality score of 7/10.

Is 1.47% Good?
I can show you ad groups with 10 out of 10's across the board...

Of the 600 generics, less than 20 have a quality score < 6/10 and only 30 have a QS = 6/10

Generics....What does that mean? Do they tie out to a generic ad?

Ahhh... am I prefect? No. But your <1%? and it's relation to QS. You missed that so badly it makes me wonder why or how you missed it so bad. Not good.

Really? You proved the point with a 1.47% quality score across the board. If I had that for any of my clients I would retire...

So I'm confused...Not Good?...What's not good?

Should you think I am "Cherry picking" the list to bend the numbers, lets look at the high volume entries. The top 10 generic phrases create 90% of the traffic (from all 600 entries in this group). The Top ten have an avg CTR of > 7%.

A few Examples are:

"used cars" = 7.9% CTR - Send me a screenshot where you have a sustained CTR of 7.9% for more then 60 Days continually run with more then 100k in impressions....

"buy used cars" = 14.8% CTR "Same statement as above"
"used car for sale" = 19.05% CTR "Same statement as above"
buy used cars = 3.49% CTR
and on and on and on...

Let's make the banter have some worth.... I'll put my company's skills up against anyone and with odds, on my dime..Are you a taker?
 
#20
Joe

When I talk about conversion for car dealer PPC, I am not just speaking about just traditional Google form submission conversion code. When a dealer sends a click to a landing page, I believe it should be more of a dashboard of choices. We should not assume that people are ready for any single task.

A consumer may click on a 2011 Toyota Camry PPC ad to get a phone number to service their vehicle. They may think they want a 2011 Camry but when they see the payment terms on the landing page, they may want to compare what used Camry's cost. They may want to download a PDF brochure. So, why assume what the consumer wants.

Thus, testing designs that engage any action that is brand enhancing and part of the ultimate conversion funnel.

If you listen to calls associated with PPC tracking numbers, many people call to see if the car is in stock and to check on price. Of course, service calls are part of the mix.

So landing pages should encourage calls, and some data published by Dealer.com would say that they prefer to call then submit a lead.

Landing pages should have easy navigation to service, used cars, new cars, etc. A consumer dashboard that is clean and not too narrowly focused. This will reward your investment in the click.

While you are bringing up the point that consumers from a PPC action may be likely to return to your website, would you consider adding a few customer testimonial video links on a landing page to allow them to see how their peers were treated?
 

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