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Should mobile websites be free with your regular website?

Yes they should be free, it's not that expensive for the service provider to run. The amount of bandwidth is going to cost them nothing. The $ to get it coded with a template for everyone to use is going to cost a few hundred at the very most. After that all they have to do is just host the code, and setup the URL, etc. Paying anything more than $20/month for a mobile site is just the service provider making a huge mark-up. They should be free with any website setup.

kcar,

It seems by your profile that you are a dealer, so can I say that it cost you just a few hundred to buy a car at the auction, wash it, and sell it to me? Then you should make only lets say $500 profit? You know that if you only make $500 per car you go out of biz because there are other costs associated with running a biz.

Website companies are the same; office space (about $400/month per workstation), rent, taxes, triple net, insurance, HR, layer fees, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

I wish I could run websites for $20...

Now, no phun intended, but we all tend to understimate what others do and over stimate what we do (and I say WE ALL TEND TO). Let's learn from that since we are biz owners and see beyond the $100 bill--at the end of the day--either bring more car sales and ROI for what it cost or it doesn't matter wether is free or not.
 
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kcar,

I hope you are near me and you're my competitor. If you are, I'd like to thank you. I have a lovely new home, 2 new cars and 2 kids thru college because I am EATING YOUR LUNCH EVERY DAY.

Be careful kcar, your opinions reveal your lack of experiences. Your statement shows me that you've never "worked" a site's architecture, it's design or its content to improve its metrics.

How do I know that?
Because, if you EVER have logged a few hundred hours just to plot a site makeover AND seen it's results, then you'd NEVER EVER say what you just said.


Uncle Joe's gonna leave you with 2 thoughts for you. One is EXTERNAL to you. The other is INTERNAL to you.

EXTERNAL:
Car Dealers live in a "eat or be eaten" world. It's 100% Darwinian. If you wait to be served, someone will take your meal (i.e. your sale). You must think deeply about the reality of our world, it's mostly a zero sum game (doubly true if your store has abandoned traditional media) .


Zero Sum Game

  • A type of game wherein one player can gain only at the expense of another player.


INTERNAL:
If your in a position to FEED OTHERS in your pack (i.e. the owner/manager), be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Even if your not a manager (yet ;-), watch yourself, only you know if your opinion is driven from research and experiences, or from a myopic preconception.

You're assumptions are wrong. Who are you seriously? You're a old car dealer guy, you're so out of touch of what the internet is. I've got multiple sites that rank #1 for highly-competitive keywords. I collect checks from affiliate sources, adsense, amazon, etc. in excess of more than your house payment each month. You want to know how? I do the design work myself to convert, and because I'm a graphic designer.. I know more about SEO than anyone on here. You simply don't even know.. you're one of the older car guys who think they know everything there is to know, when in reality you haven't a clue. Want to know how effective I am? Within a week, I could you're dealership website pushed so far down in the SERPS it would lose all the traffic. You're main search keyword would be so full of negative review sites that would destroy your companies reputation. You're move? None, there's nothing you can do. So again don't come at me like that, you have no idea who I am, what I do, or what I know how to do.
 
YOU CAN SEE THE DAY WE LAUNCHED THE NEW UI.


Sales Phone traffic from mobile site.

2010JanFebMarAprilMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDec
Mobile Site6382526385946696251



BAM! Woo hoo! Nice Pop!

Right now, I am getting big upside in UI upgrades. Mobile site design is far more critical than is the main site because the real estate is so small. The big challenge lies in payamazadi's comments, where, when it's done right, it'll all be one homogeneous internet presence.


Now that I've seen Jeff Kerschner's awesome site, I have more work to do! ;-)

That's it? No offense but that's horrible traffic numbers for a mobile site. Also main site design is much more important, mobile sites don't need a top-notch design because they don't generate the same #'s as the main site. Main site design should always be paramount; keep the mobile site simple and easy to browse. That's all it will ever need.
 
kcar,

It seems by your profile that you are a dealer, so can I say that it cost you just a few hundred to buy a car at the auction, wash it, and sell it to me? Then you should make only lets say $500 profit? You know that if you only make $500 per car you go out of biz because there are other costs associated with running a biz.

Website companies are the same; office space (about $400/month per workstation), rent, taxes, triple net, insurance, HR, layer fees, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

I wish I could run websites for $20...

Now, no phun intended, but we all tend to understimate what others do and over stimate what we do (and I say WE ALL TEND TO). Let's learn from that since we are biz owners and see beyond the $100 bill--at the end of the day--either bring more car sales and ROI for what it cost or it doesn't matter wether is free or not.

I'm not saying they could charge $20, because there's a lot of overhead to pay for by itself.. I'm saying if the dealership chooses to with "x" company and is already paying $500+ for the website, mobile sites should be free since they cost next to nothing to operate. But to nickle and dime them, and say they want another $200-300+ to run an add-on that's costing them $0.04 a month for the bandwidth is just ridiculous.
 
You're assumptions are wrong. Who are you seriously? You're a old car dealer guy, you're so out of touch of what the internet is. I've got multiple sites that rank #1 for highly-competitive keywords. I collect checks from affiliate sources, adsense, amazon, etc. in excess of more than your house payment each month. You want to know how? I do the design work myself to convert, and because I'm a graphic designer.. I know more about SEO than anyone on here. You simply don't even know.. you're one of the older car guys who think they know everything there is to know, when in reality you haven't a clue. Want to know how effective I am? Within a week, I could you're dealership website pushed so far down in the SERPS it would lose all the traffic. You're main search keyword would be so full of negative review sites that would destroy your companies reputation. You're move? None, there's nothing you can do. So again don't come at me like that, you have no idea who I am, what I do, or what I know how to do.

kcar,

Words are FREE... they cost nothing. Watch me do it: "I AM THE GREATEST SEO IN THE WORLD... 'CUZ I SAID SO".


Why are you HIDING YOUR WORK?

Pick any profession, Music, Sports, Cooking, Business, what ever. Your work validates your authority.


YOU HAVE NO WORK?
 
I collect checks from affiliate sources, adsense, amazon, etc. in excess of more than your house payment each month.

Yawn... so do I. $40k annually. The size of the $$ is not as important as the product of your sweat. Where's your sweat and brain power?

I am ready to prove it, where as you can't prove it.

Is it because you have NO WORK? Please tell me you're not just a lot of hot air.



I challenge you right now kcar.

LETS COMPARE AFFILIATE SITES, right here, right now.

I want to see your work (and I am prepared to praise you if it's worthy).
 
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Last Nail in the Coffin

...and because I'm a graphic designer.. I know more about SEO than anyone on here.

kcar, your statement above is reveals flawed logic as the 2 fields are completely and totally unrelated.

Where's your work kcar?

The more I read, the more I know you will NEVER show our community your work.
 
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At the risk of invoking the the Blog Police for copying this from another string, seems even more appropriate here (sorry for the Bad Form).

Can't we all just get along?? LOL.

As a NEUTRAL observer here (I wouldn't know a WordPress from a bench press -- I do have a drill press -- anybody need a hole??), I will offer that there is one MAJOR difference in the banter above -- anonymity vs. public accountability.

Many of the above respondents (as well as a couple of other strings on the forum) have seemingly public profiles, and are offering some tangible intel based on actual usage. In other words, they are putting their money where their mouth is.

Beating your chest and making threatening remarks behind the veil of anonymity is kinda like a little kid flipping-off the other kids on the playground while holding-on to mommy's pant leg -- not real high on the Brave-O-Meter, know what I mean?

This is a pretty lively discussion, but not really valuable without equality. I would like to see introductions! This is the CAR business -- I think we skipped the meet-n-greet. "Hello, my name is John, and you are?" :)

Let's take the masks off! If we can't get that far, maybe time to pick another playground.
 
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