Autotrader to add Dealership Reviews

[ryan.leslie]

I doubt this will surprise anyone, but it is worth sharing. The writing on the wall is now in Sharpie...
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.d...der-will-add-dealership-reviews#axzz2cPwSTNzp

Here is a snippet from the article:

AutoTrader will likely blend ratings from multiple review sites to arrive at an aggregate star rating. "I feel we should be agnostic and have an open architecture where a number of ratings are used. I don't think we should be tied to just one," Schwartz said.

That is an interesting quote from AutoTrader Group President Sandy Schwartz, isn't it?

 

[VVAuto1]

Ryan, thanks for the heads up! Its nice to know where not going to have to add a review site to get customer reviews.....

Any insight on where the reviews will be pulling from?

 

[yagoparamo]

Was this necessary because the competitors had it (Cars.com) so we must keep up or because the reviews actually made Cars.com a more interesting website therefore driving better traffic?

 

[ewalraven]

Makes me wonder if the ratings will have any impact on how the search results are ranked.

 

[Alex Snyder]

Has anyone heard the reason for adding reviews? Until then I'm leaning on this reasoning:

 

[VVAuto1]

I think if autotrader/cars.com provided dealer reviews on the srp page I think reviews would have a stronger impact on consumer shopping patterns.

 

[yagoparamo]

I really would like to see a place to add reviews about Autotarder.com...

 

[Viracocha]

How is that going to work? I look at what we pay them every month, and if they had a negative review of our store listed I can guarantee that someone at Trader would be getting an earful until it got removed. I am not saying its right, but nothing speaks as loud as money.

 

[Ryan Everson]

How is that going to work? I look at what we pay them every month, and if they had a negative review of our store listed I can guarantee that someone at Trader would be getting an earful until it got removed. I am not saying its right, but nothing speaks as loud as money.

If you look at it inversely, this could be used as an incentive for dealers to sign up with AutoTrader if they are not currently already doing so. Sales Pitch: Have bad reviews on autotrader's review platform? Not currently an autotrader customer? Become a Premium Listing Dealer and gain the ability to "manage" your AutoTrader reviews!

 

[yagoparamo]

I think this could possibly turn the tide for Autotarder and make their website produce leads again.