Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

A dealer principal shares a Guy Kawasaki video about "enchantment" to argue that dealers fail at social media because their culture prioritizes short-term commissions over creating genuine value and trustworthiness. The thread explores the tension between dealers' transaction-focused mentality and what social media actually rewards—authentic engagement and culture—with participants debating whether early adoption matters and how social media's role in dealership strategy will evolve.

The thread examines how Tier 2 OEM ad agencies and third-party sites like Edmunds bid on dealership names in Google AdWords, effectively intercepting customers searching for specific dealers. Debate centers on whether Tier 2 agencies are deliberately targeting dealer names or simply failing to add negative keywords, with the consensus leaning toward negligence over malice. Practical advice includes trademarking your dealership name, sending attorney letters to offenders, and conducting weekly branded search audits to catch unauthorized bidding early.

A dealer seeks solutions for creating simple mobile landing pages with QR codes to promote vehicles, wanting to include videos, vehicle details, pricing, and conversion forms. The community recommends WordPress-based solutions, specifically WPTouch Pro for mobile optimization and Pretty Link Lite for QR code tracking and A/B testing. The key insight is that WordPress plugins offer flexible, cost-effective alternatives to dedicated mobile site builders for dealers looking to quickly launch mobile campaigns.

Dealers report extremely low chat engagement on Cars.com despite maintaining online availability, with one user noting only 2 abandoned chats from 545 "present impressions" in a week. The consensus diagnosis is that Cars.com's chat icon lacks prominent placement and clear call-to-action visibility on vehicle detail pages, compounded by the absence of proactive chat invitations (which competitors and third-party providers support but Cars.com chooses not to implement). A chat software provider representative confirms that platform implementation decisions are entirely up to Cars.com and AutoTrader, not technical limitations, suggesting dealers could see significant chat volume increases if these platforms prioritized visibility and proactive features.

Facebook enabled users to convert personal profiles to business pages, addressing a common problem where dealers were unknowingly using profiles instead of the proper page format for their businesses. Multiple forum members confirm they regularly fielded questions from dealers about this conversion and note that many dealerships had been operating with profiles rather than pages, though the practice was becoming less common by the time of the post.

A marketing professional shares a success story about Big Red Sports & Imports in Norman, OK, which increased car sales from 82 to 206 units in one year by investing exclusively in digital marketing (SEO, SEM, and AutoTrader) while completely avoiding traditional media like radio, print, and TV. The thread demonstrates that a smaller, strategic digital marketing budget can outperform competitors' significantly larger traditional media spending, with one commenter noting that SEM is both cheaper and more effective than television advertising.

A dealership seeks advice on responding to a false negative review where a customer claims they were promised new tires but received slashed ones. The consensus among industry professionals is to avoid defensive or confrontational replies—instead maintain professionalism, acknowledge the concern briefly, and focus on building a strong overall review base rather than engaging in debate with unreasonable customers. The key insight is that responses are written for potential customers, not the reviewer, and any defensiveness will backfire; if you have solid reviews overall, one false review matters little and shouldn't be "paid off" through appeasement.

A dealer seeks recommendations for a production company to create branded commercials for PrestonAuto.com with a humorous tone similar to CarMax ads. Respondents suggest sourcing locally through freelancers, LinkedIn, Twitter, and college film programs rather than traditional large agencies, with one expert recommending hiring a separate consultant to develop the creative concept before engaging a production house. The consensus emphasizes that quality creative work can be found locally at reasonable cost without needing a major advertising firm.

Dealers discuss optimal pricing strategies for Zag, a multi-dealer quoting platform, with particular focus on whether aggressive below-invoice pricing is sustainable. The consensus that emerges is that competitive (often below-invoice) pricing is necessary to generate sufficient Zag leads and sales volume, with the expectation that dealers will recover profits through back-end gross and finance charges rather than front-end margin. A key cautionary note: some manufacturers like Honda prohibit quoting below-invoice prices on Zag, viewing them as advertised prices that violate dealer agreements.

The thread announces Google Boost, a new paid advertising feature accessible through Google Places that allows car dealers to run location-based ads (15-20 mile radius) with customer ratings and review stars displayed. Users discuss setup requirements (needing both AdWords and Google Places accounts), mention a potential $100 promotional credit, and note that Boost is distinct from AdWords Ad Extensions, with results varying by industry. The key insight is that Google Boost represents a new hybrid advertising option combining local business listings with paid promotion and social proof elements like star ratings.

A dealer frustrated with cars.com's unresponsiveness after three days of unanswered calls and voicemails posts seeking direct contact information, prompting multiple cars.com representatives to respond directly on DealerRefresh with their contact details. The issue was ultimately resolved when the dealer's rep returned from vacation, but the thread demonstrates how the DealerRefresh community can quickly surface vendor contacts and escalate dealer concerns when normal channels fail. The thread highlights both a service gap at cars.com and the practical value of dealer forums for cutting through corporate bureaucracy.

Dealers discuss benchmarks for cost per internet sale, with consensus around $150-$250 excluding labor costs, though actual costs vary widely depending on ad spend and staffing. The thread reveals that there's no standardized way to calculate this metric—what counts as an "internet sale" and which expenses to include are subjective decisions that significantly impact the numbers. The key insight is that cost per sale comparisons between dealerships are less valuable than tracking individual sources, conversion rates at each stage (leads to appointments to sales), and understanding your own operational definitions.

A dealer inquires about switching to Dealer.com for website and inventory management, prompting recommendations for competing platforms like DealerFire and eBizAutos, though several experienced forum members caution against relying solely on opinions without understanding individual business needs. The thread evolves into a broader discussion about the limitations of vendor recommendations and the importance of conducting a thorough due diligence process, including demos, needs analysis, and direct conversations with existing customers and support teams. The key insight is that vendor selection should be driven by specific business requirements and post-sale support quality rather than forum recommendations alone.

A 2007 question about why dealers avoid social media resurfaces in 2009-2010, prompting debate about whether the real issue has shifted from adoption to proper execution. Commenters largely agree that by late 2009 most dealers had some social presence, but fear of doing it wrong, lack of training, and treating it as a sales channel rather than a relationship tool remained the core obstacles. The thread's clearest takeaway is that a poorly executed social media strategy—or a neglected dealership website—does more harm than doing nothing at all.

Justin Duff announces Google's new +1 feature implementation on dealer websites and asks for community feedback on its potential SEO benefits. Mitch Gallant replies skeptically, arguing that +1 likely won't provide meaningful SEO value in the near term and recommends dealers focus on more established, efficient marketing tactics first rather than rushing to adopt this bleeding-edge feature. The thread's key takeaway is that while +1 may eventually prove valuable, it's premature for dealers to prioritize it over proven optimization strategies.

Stefan promotes AutobookNow, an inventory lead capture system that aggregates dealer inventory to multiple search engines and ad platforms, claiming to use Facebook-trained programmers and offer territorial exclusivity. Two experienced dealers (Chris Cachor and Jake L) immediately dismiss it as a red flag, questioning whether the market needs another inventory aggregator and skeptically challenging the credibility of Stefan's claims about programmer credentials and the site's design quality. The thread highlights professional skepticism toward yet another inventory distribution service in an already-saturated market.

A creative, satirical post imagines a 2035 dealership where empowered smartphone-wielding customers have upended the traditional sales dynamic, sparking discussion about how dealers and sales consultants can adapt. Replies debate whether smartphones are a threat or an opportunity, with contributors suggesting tactics like QR codes in Autotrader listings, leveraging social media for relationship-building, and shifting to transparent, value-based selling. The core insight is that dealers who embrace mobile technology and lead with honesty can turn the information age to their advantage rather than fear it.

Joe Pistell writes an open letter to DealerTrack's CEO Mark O'Neil, arguing that DealerTrack sits on an untapped data marketing opportunity large enough to make Google a partner. The discussion quickly expands into observations about Google increasingly inserting its own commercial products into search results — flights, boutiques, pool tables — at the expense of organic SEO, with participants estimating the automotive advertising market alone at over $12 billion annually. The key takeaway is that Google's encroachment on high-revenue search verticals signals a major shift, and dealers and vendors who adapt their strategies early — favoring site architecture over link-building — will be better positioned.

A dealer named Loun seeks recommendations for magnetic number and letter kits (18-24 inches tall) to display on vehicle sides for lot marketing purposes, as standard Google searches keep returning large square magnetic signs instead of letter kits. He's considering having something custom-made at a local vinyl shop if pre-made options aren't readily available. The thread essentially crowdsources vendor recommendations for this specific product category from the dealer community.

The thread discusses where car dealer websites get their traffic, with stevenc317 sharing analytics data showing Google drives 67% of traffic to small used car dealership sites. A key debate emerges around Craigslist's unexpectedly high referral traffic compared to major platforms like AutoTrader and Cars.com, with tomwhitejr pointing out that while Craigslist sends significant traffic, the quality is poor (high bounce rates and low engagement) compared to other sources.

A DealerRefresh member shares Facebook data showing that implementing social plugins and likes can drive traffic to websites, sparking discussion about best practices among dealerships. Contributors highlight examples like Checkered Flag and Jeff Wyler dealerships as models of effective Facebook integration and suggest that search engines may adopt Facebook's algorithm—which surfaces content based on likes, comments, and shares—to rank web results more relevantly.