Website Vendors?

[AlexH]

Who did you use to build your website? A small independent agency or a larger templated solution like Dealer.com or dealercarsearch.com? If you were picking a new vendor now, what would you look for?

I've got about 25-30 vehicles in inventory and do not have a website now.

 

[Alex Snyder]

I could write a novel about this question. The summary to that novel would be: GET A WEBSITE!

 

[NickCybela]

Alex,

The two aren't mutually exclusive. We find the best success is actually a synergy between an agencies talents and a third party solution.

For example, BestBuy.com and Target.com both use Amazon.com's architecture-- because Amazon.com is a rockstar platform and they have designers to create an identity and presence that's uniquely theirs.

When you approach it from that perspective there honestly isn't that much of a price difference. Obviously having an agency build one from scratch is great but will be more expensive than is justified for a smaller dealership. Going with strictly templates ensures you'll have a decent site-- that's unfortunately just like all the other decent sites that exist right now.

Ultimately, it's all about conversions. Most sites from third parties convert at least 5%, many up to 12%.

 

[Shereef]

Who did you use to build your website? A small independent agency or a larger templated solution like Dealer.com or dealercarsearch.com? If you were picking a new vendor now, what would you look for?

I've got about 25-30 vehicles in inventory and do not have a website now.

Alex,

If you are a pre-owned dealer, and don't offer service or parts, you may want to consider using a service like ebizautos. They will build you a page header (Banner) and have a great structure to launch your inventory anywhere you want like Ebay, Auto Trader, etc. They already have a lot of traffic and will bring you leads right from the start. Here is a link to an example of what I am talking about New, Used Cars at Ferman Wholesale in Palm Harbor, FL, View All Inventory When I was with Ferman BMW we used them for ebay, but got a huge amount of leads just from putting our inventory on ebizautos. If you are planning on becoming a full service facility, you might want to talk to www.dealerserve.com they will build you a great site for free, and their monthly fees are lower than most.

Shereef

 

[Matt DoCampo]

We are an eBizAutos client. I am impressed with their product especially the clean site design and layout of inventory pages. Support is fairly good; system times and availability are good as well. Their search engine optimization efforts are also impressive and have paid off for us.

If I were an independent used car dealer looking to move to the internet, I would probably take a very close look at eCarList. Mainly because of the built in Black Book functions. But I would not hesitate to sign with eBizAutos. Your mileage may vary.

 

[automotiveseo]

I'll be publishing a study which reviews 34 website platforms for their ability to assist dealers with search marketing and SEO. I'll make sure I publish a link when the report is released in November.

 

[automotiveseo]

Shereef

The DealerServe websites fail on most SEO compliance issues so dealers who are looking for a website platform that will draw organic search results should look elsewhere. I don't know about pricing, as you imply, but from an SEO perspective, they rank near the bottom of the automotive industry vendors.

 

[joe.pistell]

Brian,

Plz repost your SEO web vendor report from last year.

thnx

 

[AlexH]

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback! This has been a tremendous help to us started thinking in the right direction. Brian I really look forward to seeing your study.

 

[terrencegordon]

The two aren't mutually exclusive. We find the best success is actually a synergy between an agencies talents and a third party solution.
.

Nick,

Respectfully, I disagree wholeheartedly with this. We work with many agencies - some of the largest for very well-known groups. These agencies are there because of large and lengthy contracts, and going through them is simply political.

We believe in integration. Our inventory management software powers our websites...from pricing to rebates/incentives to SEO to chat - something that an agency couldn't build or duplicate in 10 years.

From my experience in working with agencies, even the biggest/best know nothing about integration (for Tier 3 automotive). They know how to DESIGN a very nice website Functionality, integration and deliverable information are top priority.

Aesthetics is the easy part.

So AlexH, you shouldn't be looking for just a "website vendor". You should be looking for an "Integrated Solution".