Lead Sources currently looking for a good one

[MannyLuna]

Manny, not here to defend LotLinx BUT I hardly doubt a screen shot of ones analytics gives any indication of actual performance.

Let's agree that there are too many variables here to consider: actual time frame, market demand of each vehicle, displayed pricing, overall merchandising, no phone call tracking, no SHOW tracking. Also - the bounce rate on a direct to VDP campaign should not be considered an indicator of failure or success.

Now lets get back to Randy's question...

Here are a few resources from the archives here on DR.
3rd Party Lead Provider vs. HookLogic
Carfax now competing with Cars.com & AutoTrader.com?
Autoybytel, Dealix, AutoUsa, all three?

Jeff,

Yes you're correct there's many variables we can look at. Having talked to the GM of two roof tops, and looking at some data, he's not seeing any good results.
You could be 100% correct, maybe it works in different markets, but I think it confuses the user. If the user wanted to go to a dealer website they will when they are ready.

We're here to help dealers and give them the best know facts and best practices.

Thanks

 

[joe.pistell]

Manny, I'm with JK on this.

That dealer has a 47% avg bounce rate. That makes me very suspicious of a larger problem. I'd suspect that somethings wrong (technical problems, design problems, no pics, no prices, etc). PM me if I can help.

 

[MannyLuna]

Manny, I'm with JK on this.

That dealer has a 47% avg bounce rate. That makes me very suspicious of a larger problem. I'd suspect that somethings wrong (technical problems, design problems, no pics, no prices, etc). PM me if I can help.

Thank you Joe!!!
I would love your help

 

[craigh]

Also - the bounce rate on a direct to VDP campaign should not be considered an indicator of failure or success.

It shouldn't, but when the number is that high and it's coupled with an average of 26 seconds on the page, it means it's definitely indicative of an issue. As Joe said, the 47% overall bounce rate is also an issue worth looking into, but that could be heavily skewed by a high PPC campaign or any other factors - always more information that needs to be seen to get the full picture.

I'd suspect that somethings wrong (technical problems, design problems, no pics, no prices, etc). PM me if I can help.

I would also lean towards technical problems or, which I see a fair bit, a very poorly executed PPC or other advertising campaign.
Paying for customers that have no interest in your website is a really quick way to skyrocket your bounce rate.

 

[dvMail]

I am surprised to see so many people pointing to bounce rate without asking or looking at the code to see if its been modified from the "standard" (which is 15 seconds iirc)

 

[craigh]

I am surprised to see so many people pointing to bounce rate without asking or looking at the code to see if its been modified from the "standard" (which is 15 seconds iirc)

Rarely do I see that changed in such a way that I believe it affects the results.

 

[dvMail]

I guess maybe because I don't just work in the consumer automotive space. Depending on the client, we have adjusted bounce rate to get a better idea of who really is not interested and who got what they wanted from the site. Beyond that...my experience with how content is delivered from car dealers... 15 seconds on a mobile device can be plenty depending on how your system stacks/layers the content. 15 seconds is enough time for me to see that there is nothing else of value on the site. Same pictures of the car, same info for the car... there is nothing else of value at this point for me. I got everything I needed from the cars.com site. I will contact the dealer when I see fit, submit a lead when I am ready. I don't like when people go "a-ha high bounce". Easy to make assumptions based on bounce.

 

[craigh]

It really depends on the site for sure.
If we have classifieds, we always make sure the VDPs they link to (more often than not they link to VLPs rather) have unique and new information. For some we even tried to setup redirect sniffers that would try and show the vehicle you were looking at, but it gets really tough.

I agree with your point though - it can be a thing if not monitored in the right context.
Because most classifieds link to generic VLPs though, your scenario tends to be less true because they have to find that vehicle all over again, which takes time. Often they get frustrated (I make an educated assumption) and bounce due to the fact that the referral was useless.

 

[stevepair]

I am curious, what is the average bounce rate for our industry?

 

[dvMail]

In my opinion, bounce rate depends on the pages content. Personally, I don't think this is a metric that can be generic for the industry. It might lead to bad changes based on assumptions.

People "bounce" all the time. It depends on where in the pathway to purchase they are. One of my clients, their customer averages 120 days! Thats a lot of opportunity for bounces on pages like their blog or specials

your scenario tends to be less true because they have to find that vehicle all over again, which takes time. Often they get frustrated (I make an educated assumption) and bounce due to the fact that the referral was useless.

This is true, It does depend on where they are being linked too and I did put my foot in my mouth regarding that. If it lands on the homepage and they bounce, you might have another problem which would be site related.