Very interesting conversation. As someone who doesn't directly work in day to day lead generation, I am surprised by some of the points you guys are making.
Here are my 5 worthless cents(hopefully on topic still):
1)
As a consumer, I use cars/autotrader as distance based inventory search tool. I don't have the time, or want to spend the time going to every dealers individual sites to find the cars I am looking for w/ the options I want. I'm a busy man trying to buy a car! "Ain't nobody got time for that"
2)
I could google search "manual 2014 ford focus st with no navigation in Chicago" and my results are gonna be less then helpful (outside those 3rd party listing sites).
•The SEM links will, 99% of the time, send me to a dealers homepage. I will then have to navigate my way to your inventory search to find what I am looking for. Hopefully you have it or it was a wasted click.
•If I don't click on the SEM ads, directly below them, 99% of the time, will be autotrader, cars and other 3rd party sites showing listings for cars I am actually looking for.
•After those sites, my p1 results might have a youtube video from a local dealer.
3)
I have said this before, but I feel like repeating it. When using cars/autotrader, I rarely submit leads. I rather show up at the dealer then get calls when I don't want them. I might be looking at cars while on my lunch break. I don't really want some salesman calling my cell phone an hour later while I am supposed to be "working". I'll handle my business when I want to handle my business. The times I have submitted leads and wrote in the comments "no call email only" or "call after 6", those requests are rarely respected.
4)
On occasion I will be searching and come across a dealer I have never seen on tv, heard on the radio or read in the newspaper.
5)
Sometimes I am searching cars/autotrader, found something I like or close to it. Rather then submit a lead, I will make a new tab, google the dealer and see what else they have. Now just looking at the analytics, it was google.com that delivered me to their site, but was it really? No.
