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Kevin,
From SEO (Search Engine Optimization) perspective it is never a good idea to have two site with similar content. You just don't know how Google and other Search Engines will respond. You might see all you SEO points disappear from you primary site, only to see your "basic template" Cobalt site start showing in the search results.
I looked at GM site and it has a Google Page Rank of 8 out of 10. This means that a link from GM site is very valuable from SEO perspective and as a result Google just might give your "Cobalt" site a higher rank than your existing site. (Not sure if this is the desired effect you are looking for.)
I guess one thing you can do is put a link from the "Cobalt" site to your primary site to help and balance things out.
One thing to keep in mind is that SEO advice and opinions are like you (know what). Everyone has one and no one knows exactly how things will play out. If you stand to get a good amount to traffic from GM it could prove to be a worth while thing.
From SEO (Search Engine Optimization) perspective it is never a good idea to have two site with similar content. You just don't know how Google and other Search Engines will respond. You might see all you SEO points disappear from you primary site, only to see your "basic template" Cobalt site start showing in the search results.
I looked at GM site and it has a Google Page Rank of 8 out of 10. This means that a link from GM site is very valuable from SEO perspective and as a result Google just might give your "Cobalt" site a higher rank than your existing site. (Not sure if this is the desired effect you are looking for.)
I guess one thing you can do is put a link from the "Cobalt" site to your primary site to help and balance things out.
One thing to keep in mind is that SEO advice and opinions are like you (know what). Everyone has one and no one knows exactly how things will play out. If you stand to get a good amount to traffic from GM it could prove to be a worth while thing.
While there is validity in the idea of negating SEO efforts with sites mirroring the same content, this could obviously be overcome by not making the mistake of having the same content on both or all your sites. There is a benefit to having multiple sites but, as Alex suggests, make sure their content is unique. Actually, more importantly than the content being unique across each site is making sure it is not exactly the same. You can convey similar content and the same message (relevancy) without displaying redundant or recycled information.
Since the OEM site drives so much traffic, I would advise that you use that web presence for targeting new vehicle buyers that go there, but then set up sister sites elsewhere for other shoppers, including other new vehicle shoppers. Check out the AutoBurst program designed to give dealers the ultimate SEO experience of owning their local markets with guaranteed top organic search listings.
Since the OEM site drives so much traffic, I would advise that you use that web presence for targeting new vehicle buyers that go there, but then set up sister sites elsewhere for other shoppers, including other new vehicle shoppers. Check out the AutoBurst program designed to give dealers the ultimate SEO experience of owning their local markets with guaranteed top organic search listings.
Like many things in life, it all depends.
As far as SEO, it's really not an issue unless you make a concerted effort to cause problems, i.e. posting the same exact 500-word PR article on both sites.
To me, a bigger issue is the capability of that OEM-approved site. I worked for an OEM who promoted what was probably the most worthless site in all of the industry, and everything we wanted to do on that site warranted charges by tech support. I measured the cost of the site plus the support fees, and divided by the clicks it brought me from the OEM (clicks, not leads), and cost-per-click came out to roughly $11. You couldn't spend that much on an AdWords PPC campaign if you tried.
I've worked with many OEMs but never GM, and even then, the way the Internet works for GM on the coasts is very different from the way it works in the rest of America.
I've seen OEMs that drive next to nothing to my site, and I've seen OEMs that are responsible for 60% of my total site's traffic. My advice is trial and error. And measurement.
As far as SEO, it's really not an issue unless you make a concerted effort to cause problems, i.e. posting the same exact 500-word PR article on both sites.
To me, a bigger issue is the capability of that OEM-approved site. I worked for an OEM who promoted what was probably the most worthless site in all of the industry, and everything we wanted to do on that site warranted charges by tech support. I measured the cost of the site plus the support fees, and divided by the clicks it brought me from the OEM (clicks, not leads), and cost-per-click came out to roughly $11. You couldn't spend that much on an AdWords PPC campaign if you tried.
I've worked with many OEMs but never GM, and even then, the way the Internet works for GM on the coasts is very different from the way it works in the rest of America.
I've seen OEMs that drive next to nothing to my site, and I've seen OEMs that are responsible for 60% of my total site's traffic. My advice is trial and error. And measurement.
It has been stated a number of times in studies on automotive ecommerce; the origin of most leads are from the OEM Sites. People have a tendency to go there first and drill down through the other sites in their research.
However how much different is most of the information on new vehicles from the OEM site and the third party sites? Not much
The more efficient OEM Sites are done very well and have a wealth of information.
I laugh at the debate that some dealers have on placing their new inventory on line while you can go to some OEM sites and place your zip code in and see what is in the delivery pipeline to the dealership before the dealer knows.
GM has mandated the Cobalt scheme as well as working with One Source, LMT beginning 3rd quarter 2006. You can have your leads forwarded however you still pay for the system and if you forward the leads you will pay twice. If you do not use the Cobalt Web Solution you will not have the link from the dealer site which will cost you business if your competitor has the Cobalt Solution.
We may see the same thing with Ford Group when LSI and Salespoint complete their union 4th quarter this year.
One solution, maybe SalesForce.com this maybe modified to adapt as a tool with a little finesse and tweaking. They also have formed an alliance with Google and created Google Groups. There is a special on Sales Force now ($600.00 per year) which normally runs about a $1000.00 a year and if they see an opportunity with an Industry in need such as the Auto Industry they might be very aggressive in assisting.
This could be a boon to the smaller Boutique Dealers that have more flexibility to be creative.
However how much different is most of the information on new vehicles from the OEM site and the third party sites? Not much
The more efficient OEM Sites are done very well and have a wealth of information.
I laugh at the debate that some dealers have on placing their new inventory on line while you can go to some OEM sites and place your zip code in and see what is in the delivery pipeline to the dealership before the dealer knows.
GM has mandated the Cobalt scheme as well as working with One Source, LMT beginning 3rd quarter 2006. You can have your leads forwarded however you still pay for the system and if you forward the leads you will pay twice. If you do not use the Cobalt Web Solution you will not have the link from the dealer site which will cost you business if your competitor has the Cobalt Solution.
We may see the same thing with Ford Group when LSI and Salespoint complete their union 4th quarter this year.
One solution, maybe SalesForce.com this maybe modified to adapt as a tool with a little finesse and tweaking. They also have formed an alliance with Google and created Google Groups. There is a special on Sales Force now ($600.00 per year) which normally runs about a $1000.00 a year and if they see an opportunity with an Industry in need such as the Auto Industry they might be very aggressive in assisting.
This could be a boon to the smaller Boutique Dealers that have more flexibility to be creative.
Hmm... I don't think the page rank of GM will even pass to your OEM site. Google, Yahoo, MSN have no index of the dealer locater pages... if doing for SEO benefit then there is none. quick way to check if OEM passes any link love... link:www.OEMSiteDomain.com in any SE...
Most OEM dealer sites are exactly the same across dealerships... do a quick google search for fairway ford... all same... and only the home page indexed... so they have already been penalized.
Lao, I think the lead numbers that you are referring to are bit outdated... as numbers form AIADA june 2006 show number of leads from website to be higher then OEM site. 144 OEM 162 Website... (may be I'm reading that chart wrong). http://www.aiadalists.org/
Kevin, we have few GM dealers and none have bothered purchasing this link... it is so tiny on that page... why do it... plus you get the link to your site from the regional OEM sites...
Most OEM dealer sites are exactly the same across dealerships... do a quick google search for fairway ford... all same... and only the home page indexed... so they have already been penalized.
Lao, I think the lead numbers that you are referring to are bit outdated... as numbers form AIADA june 2006 show number of leads from website to be higher then OEM site. 144 OEM 162 Website... (may be I'm reading that chart wrong). http://www.aiadalists.org/
Kevin, we have few GM dealers and none have bothered purchasing this link... it is so tiny on that page... why do it... plus you get the link to your site from the regional OEM sites...
Statistics and data can be skewed depending on who is conducting the study, new or pre owned vehicles, companys with an agenda, magazines that have a huge ad budget from a source that needs to have their image/product/service buffered and promoted.
Media giants that own large groups of diverse businesses like an ADP and others, businesses that need to be marketed. There are many scenarios; Madison Ave. has played this game for how many years?
One thing that rings true is when Mr. Toyota comes in on a date and time stamp and then comes in on our site and then comes in on a KBB and then surfaces again on another 3rd party site so on and so on we will not pay for the duplicates, we will only pay for the first lead.
In most cases the lead to the dealer site will be directed to the dealer from the OEM site. If the dealers are not diligent in watching the tracking and business source they can be paying for leads 2-3-4 times which adds up in annual costs.
The beauty of ecommerce and Internet Marketing is the source can be tracked, tracked as never before. We have not even scratched the surface of what is possible in this area. Just look at what the candidates in the American Political process are doing and you can see the potential for innovation. Every election year we are seeing innovation develop and new ways to use the technology.
The growth of the "Blog Phenomena" is another example. This is an area of tremendous opportunity that the political campaigns are spending more of their ad budgets on because they are able to track right to the moment a contributor comes on board and how much that person contributes thereafter. If this is not possible they would not be increasing their spending in this area.
We will also see the more intelligent OEMs take this to the next level as Toyota is doing for example. The Internet gives the OEM an opportunity to research & study the clients and market their products with greater efficiency. I believe some of the OEMs will continue drifting towards a more centralized model in sales and distribution over the next few years.
As successful as Toyota is the company is not resting on their "Laurels". They are consistently striving to be better and more efficient and the Internet is one of the tools they will use to achieve this goal.
Media giants that own large groups of diverse businesses like an ADP and others, businesses that need to be marketed. There are many scenarios; Madison Ave. has played this game for how many years?
One thing that rings true is when Mr. Toyota comes in on a date and time stamp and then comes in on our site and then comes in on a KBB and then surfaces again on another 3rd party site so on and so on we will not pay for the duplicates, we will only pay for the first lead.
In most cases the lead to the dealer site will be directed to the dealer from the OEM site. If the dealers are not diligent in watching the tracking and business source they can be paying for leads 2-3-4 times which adds up in annual costs.
The beauty of ecommerce and Internet Marketing is the source can be tracked, tracked as never before. We have not even scratched the surface of what is possible in this area. Just look at what the candidates in the American Political process are doing and you can see the potential for innovation. Every election year we are seeing innovation develop and new ways to use the technology.
The growth of the "Blog Phenomena" is another example. This is an area of tremendous opportunity that the political campaigns are spending more of their ad budgets on because they are able to track right to the moment a contributor comes on board and how much that person contributes thereafter. If this is not possible they would not be increasing their spending in this area.
We will also see the more intelligent OEMs take this to the next level as Toyota is doing for example. The Internet gives the OEM an opportunity to research & study the clients and market their products with greater efficiency. I believe some of the OEMs will continue drifting towards a more centralized model in sales and distribution over the next few years.
As successful as Toyota is the company is not resting on their "Laurels". They are consistently striving to be better and more efficient and the Internet is one of the tools they will use to achieve this goal.
Kevin,
While the considerations over SEO, page rankings, etc. are all important, to me the most important question remains unanswered:
Does anyone have experience of how much more they made by having the GM/Cobalt site link vs. not having it?
If don't have that info, how about the following say for 3 months:
1) # leads dealership received from GM/OEM site
2) # delivered vehicles from those leads
3) Total front & back end gross on those sales
4) Cost of Cobalt site
In the above, duplicate leads + subsequent sales are attribued to the first source from which they are received.
Is the answer positive or negative?
It needs to be positive since other overhead factors need to be covered (sales compensation, CRM, BDC, etc.).
And not to be unfair to the GM/Cobalt structure, this should be done to all Internet efforts as any unprofitable efforts could be from things that could be fixed + have nothing to do with the Cobalt website.
I speak to Internet Managers all day long on such things. Here are some benchmarks:
1) Prospect : Sales ratio = 15-20%.... that's right for your own website leads & those from your OEM, the benchmark should be on par with what you are doing in the showroom. 3rd party leads will be 1/2 of that.
2) Front and back end grosses... Equal to your showroom grosses. Period. It's your process + talk tracks if you are not getting this. No difference for 3rd party leads.
Personally I like the plain vanilla dealership websites. I am on dealer websites every day so get to see the spectrum. Here's why I like them:
A dealer's website exists to make it convenient for a consumer to find, buy + communicate with you. And as a dealer, I only want you to find + communicate with me so you will buy from me.
So as a dealer, the goal of my website + what I do on the Internet is to get consumers to BUY service, parts & vehciles. The main problem I tend to see with sites that do more than what I call plain vanilla (research, inventory, about us, contact us) is the following:
1) Inquiring is NOT buying.
2) The sales psychology of websites designed to get the consumer to inquire is wrong / ineffective. For example, here's VIN decoder info on this new vehicle + its MSRP + maybe its price. Call or email. That would be ineffective in the showroom, why is that the implemented strategy on the Internet?
3) The above actually encourages those consumers willing to cough up their info this early to treat you like a commodity. Where is the bonding + rapport? Where is the sizzle to the new vehicle purchase?
4) And I don't mean add a bunch of gimmicks to the site, although those can be useful if they get the consumer communicating - what's my trade worth, live chat, etc.
But I digress... If your website is designed to get people to inquire so you can sell them an appointment + get them in to the showroom, then plain vanilla is just fine. Get the cheapest good one you can find (I actually like Cobalt's base package if that is the objective).
Shameless plug: If you want to add a member's only section with an eCommerce capability (verify email address to get in, but then get complete consumer facing desking + F+I experience, accurate prices, interest, rebates, etc.), again plain vanilla will do so the calls to action (BUY) don't get lost in the noise + navigation. Or at least that is what I recommend.
Best of Luck Kevin, and congratulations on asking the right questions.
While the considerations over SEO, page rankings, etc. are all important, to me the most important question remains unanswered:
Does anyone have experience of how much more they made by having the GM/Cobalt site link vs. not having it?
If don't have that info, how about the following say for 3 months:
1) # leads dealership received from GM/OEM site
2) # delivered vehicles from those leads
3) Total front & back end gross on those sales
4) Cost of Cobalt site
In the above, duplicate leads + subsequent sales are attribued to the first source from which they are received.
Is the answer positive or negative?
It needs to be positive since other overhead factors need to be covered (sales compensation, CRM, BDC, etc.).
And not to be unfair to the GM/Cobalt structure, this should be done to all Internet efforts as any unprofitable efforts could be from things that could be fixed + have nothing to do with the Cobalt website.
I speak to Internet Managers all day long on such things. Here are some benchmarks:
1) Prospect : Sales ratio = 15-20%.... that's right for your own website leads & those from your OEM, the benchmark should be on par with what you are doing in the showroom. 3rd party leads will be 1/2 of that.
2) Front and back end grosses... Equal to your showroom grosses. Period. It's your process + talk tracks if you are not getting this. No difference for 3rd party leads.
Personally I like the plain vanilla dealership websites. I am on dealer websites every day so get to see the spectrum. Here's why I like them:
A dealer's website exists to make it convenient for a consumer to find, buy + communicate with you. And as a dealer, I only want you to find + communicate with me so you will buy from me.
So as a dealer, the goal of my website + what I do on the Internet is to get consumers to BUY service, parts & vehciles. The main problem I tend to see with sites that do more than what I call plain vanilla (research, inventory, about us, contact us) is the following:
1) Inquiring is NOT buying.
2) The sales psychology of websites designed to get the consumer to inquire is wrong / ineffective. For example, here's VIN decoder info on this new vehicle + its MSRP + maybe its price. Call or email. That would be ineffective in the showroom, why is that the implemented strategy on the Internet?
3) The above actually encourages those consumers willing to cough up their info this early to treat you like a commodity. Where is the bonding + rapport? Where is the sizzle to the new vehicle purchase?
4) And I don't mean add a bunch of gimmicks to the site, although those can be useful if they get the consumer communicating - what's my trade worth, live chat, etc.
But I digress... If your website is designed to get people to inquire so you can sell them an appointment + get them in to the showroom, then plain vanilla is just fine. Get the cheapest good one you can find (I actually like Cobalt's base package if that is the objective).
Shameless plug: If you want to add a member's only section with an eCommerce capability (verify email address to get in, but then get complete consumer facing desking + F+I experience, accurate prices, interest, rebates, etc.), again plain vanilla will do so the calls to action (BUY) don't get lost in the noise + navigation. Or at least that is what I recommend.
Best of Luck Kevin, and congratulations on asking the right questions.
- May 23, 2010
- 2
- 0
- First Name
- Tom
For me, the value of having the link on the OEM listing comes from driving more potential customers to our site earlier in their research.
As I get leads in from GM, most have never been on our site. We spend allot of time and effort taking pictures of our new inventory as well as pre-owned. Enhancing the customers experience on our site. The information is we provide is robust and the lead generated from our site as opposed to GM's is more solid.
As I get leads in from GM, most have never been on our site. We spend allot of time and effort taking pictures of our new inventory as well as pre-owned. Enhancing the customers experience on our site. The information is we provide is robust and the lead generated from our site as opposed to GM's is more solid.
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www.fivestarchevy.com
Many thanks to all for our responses! Alex and Ryan - thanks for your advice regarding SEO issues, and making sure to take this into considideration. Mitch - I agree on your advice regarding measuring results, my reason in making this post was hoping that someone has already done this and could share their experience. Lao-Shi - I agree that the info on 3rd party sites is often very similar to the OEM sites. However, because of branding and ownership of the product line, the OEM is going to get more traffic, and will inherently have more credibility with their information as the direct manufacturer of the product. Umer - great insight regarding what you do with your GM locations, thanks. Brian - BINGO! You espoused exactly what I need, and what I am looking for. Has anyone been in this same position and measured the results of having this live link to see if it was worthwhile??? And finally, Tom - do you have a Cobalt website with GM to get the live link? Many thanks to all, Kevin Frye/eCommerce Director/Jeff Wyler Automotive Family
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