Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

This thread discusses Facebook's algorithmic and structural changes (Timeline, reduced organic reach, elimination of landing tabs) that are diminishing the effectiveness of free Facebook marketing for car dealers, forcing them toward paid advertising. While participants debate whether dealers were ever truly successful with organic Facebook efforts, the consensus is that Facebook engagement remains low and dealers must either invest in paid promotion or accept severely limited reach to their existing fan bases. The key insight is that Facebook is intentionally pushing businesses toward paid advertising, similar to how Google shifted emphasis from organic SEO to PPC, making free Facebook marketing increasingly unproductive.

GM dealers report that AutoTrader and GM/Cobalt are making unauthorized changes to their listings and local business pages without consent—such as redirecting the "BOB" button to Cobalt sites and creating duplicate Google Places listings that dealers cannot control. The thread reveals broader frustration with OEM-endorsed co-op packages that sacrifice dealer control over their digital presence, and highlights the importance of dealers maintaining direct control over their own domains, vendor accounts, and online listings rather than ceding authority to vendors or manufacturers.

Dealers discuss AutoTrader's new "BOB" (Big Orange Button) feature—a prominent call-to-action that directs consumers from AutoTrader vehicle listings to dealership websites—and share mixed results on its impact to their business metrics. The thread reveals that some dealers saw measurable improvements in website traffic after implementing BOB in early 2011, though others expressed reluctance to share detailed performance data, making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about ROI. The core insight is that BOB represents AutoTrader's strategic shift to compete with Craigslist by prioritizing lead quality (directing buyers to dealer websites) over keeping shoppers engaged on their own platform longer.

The thread centers on a post arguing that most dealership social media programs lack a true sales strategy and proposing a framework for turning social engagement into a measurable sales funnel. A tool vendor chimes in with a Twitter prospecting approach, while a skeptical commenter flatly asserts no social sales funnel exists for car dealerships — a claim the thread participants press them to explain but never receive a detailed answer on.

A dealer marketing professional seeks charts and studies on online auto shoppers to educate their dealership team about digital marketing channels (SEO, SEM, social media, etc.) before implementing new programs. While helpful resources are shared early on, the thread pivots when experienced e-commerce directors argue that data and presentations won't change dealer behavior—instead, success depends entirely on whether sales management is actively engaged, motivated, and coaching the sales floor. The key insight is that marketing can generate leads, but converting them into sales is a management and training problem, not a data literacy problem.

The thread examines whether social signals (tweets, retweets, likes, +1s) actually improve SEO rankings, with the consensus being that Google has deliberately reduced their algorithmic weight despite earlier effectiveness. While social bookmarking can still provide modest SEO benefits as part of a broader strategy, individual social engagement metrics like retweets and likes are no longer reliable ranking factors.

A Canadian dealer asks for advice on automating inventory uploads to Kijiji, currently doing the task manually and seeking a more efficient solution. Ryan Thompson from Strathcom responds offering feed integration services, and another user expresses interest in similar automation for eBay Classifieds. The key insight is that automated inventory feeds are available from Kijiji partners as an alternative to time-consuming manual uploads, though the thread doesn't provide detailed comparison of solutions or outcomes.

A dealer seeking to switch from MailChimp to a dedicated email marketing provider solicits recommendations and explains they need a fully managed solution (similar to OnStation) that handles list building, creative, sending, and reporting directly from their DMS. The thread discusses several options including Exact Target, DME's Red Rocket, Dealer.com, and AutoRevenue with Dominion, with the latter receiving the most specific endorsement for strong DMS integration and reporting capabilities.

Automotive dealers and marketing professionals debate Google's transition from Google Places to Google+ Local, viewing it as an anti-competitive power play designed to force businesses onto Google+ while funneling mobile advertising dollars to Google and away from competitors like Facebook. The consensus emerges that Google is leveraging its search dominance (96% of revenue from advertising) as a "castle" protected by various "moats"—including Maps, Android, and now Google+ Local—rather than genuinely serving local retailers' interests. Key frustrations include mandatory Google+ account requirements for customer reviews, reduced referral traffic to competitors, and Google's inability to effectively integrate automotive inventory data due to industry-specific challenges that vendors like dealers haven't yet solved through schema markup and standardized feeds.

Google has converted 80 million Google Places pages into Google+ Local pages, fundamentally shifting local search toward Google's social platform, though the rollout is gradual and inconsistent across regions. Dealers and marketing professionals are discussing the practical implications—including whether Google+ login will be required to access features, how this affects business visibility and customer engagement, and concerns that Google is prioritizing user discovery over business owner control. A key insight from participants is that Google appears focused on making it easier for users to find and share businesses rather than giving business owners better tools to interact with customers directly.

An eCommerce director and DealerRefresh contributors discuss the rapid growth of mobile traffic at dealerships, citing 200-300% increases over 12-18 months and referencing Google's Mobile Playbook. Commenters agree that most dealer mobile sites are merely restyled versions of desktop sites and fall short of what consumers need. The key takeaway is that dealers should prioritize mobile-specific experiences with prominent contact info, fast-loading content, and strong branding rather than treating mobile as an afterthought.

A dealer's Google Place Page was compromised with an inappropriate image, prompting a discussion about the importance of actively managing and uploading quality photos to prevent such exploits. The thread emphasizes that dealers who neglect their Place Pages leave them vulnerable to having offensive or damaging content uploaded by bad actors, making proactive photo management a crucial defensive strategy for online reputation. The key takeaway is that maintaining an active, well-populated photo presence on Google Local listings is both a best practice for SEO/marketing and a necessary safeguard against vandalism.

Dealers debate whether online reviews significantly impact car-buying decisions compared to other industries, with the consensus being that reviews matter most as a validation tool rather than a primary decision-driver—customers use them to confirm pre-existing choices after they've already decided to visit a dealership. While reviews may not dramatically increase first-visit traffic (FMOT) like they do for restaurants, bad reviews can suppress dealership visits and good reviews can improve closing ratios by reducing customer adversarial attitudes. The practical takeaway is that reviews function as part of the overall marketing "secret sauce" and are increasingly important to monitor, particularly in competitive markets where customers can choose between multiple nearby dealers.

Dealership professionals discuss social media publishing tools that allow simultaneous posting across multiple platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), with recommendations including HootSuite, Seesmic, TweetDeck, Buffer, and Ezyinsights. A key debate emerges about social media's ROI for dealerships, with one user dismissing it as worthless while others argue it's valuable for promoting service specials, managing reviews, and improving customer satisfaction scores. The thread ultimately emphasizes that while social media publishing tools can save time, their value depends on dealership strategy and realistic expectations about direct car sales attribution.

Dealers report that Cars.com leads have dropped dramatically following Yahoo's partnership transition to TrueCar (beginning January 1st), with one dealer noting a collapse from 20-25 leads monthly to just 5. The broader consensus is that TrueCar's $50 million annual Yahoo deal has underperformed, with traffic declining sharply after their TV advertising was reduced, prompting dealers to consider reallocating their Cars.com budgets toward more effective channels like Google PPC or SEO-driven sites like U.S. News.

A dealer discovers his inventory is listed on Yahoo Autos without his knowledge and that test leads submitted through the platform aren't being delivered to him. Community members explain that Yahoo Motors is now managed by TrueCAR, and unless a dealer is directly signed up with them, submitted leads are likely being resold multiple times through third-party lead providers rather than sent to the actual dealership—potentially resulting in customer frustration from unwanted dealer contact while the original dealership never receives the lead.

Dealers debated whether to invest $700 in online newspaper banner ads (140,000 impressions) versus Google PPC, with most respondents recommending PPC as the superior choice for direct lead generation due to better cost-per-click efficiency and quality traffic. Key insights included that newspaper banner ads are primarily a branding tool with significant impression waste (many viewers not in buying cycle), while Google PPC is a performance-driven traffic tool; one expert noted that fair comparison requires different metrics—CPM for banner ads versus CPC for PPC—and recommended establishing PPC first, then adding remarketing and branding campaigns later.

A BDC manager asks whether dealerships should invest in social media marketing, particularly given their older demographic. The consensus from experienced contributors is that social media can be worthwhile, but requires consistent promotion across all customer touchpoints, relevant content strategy, and sustained effort—and dealerships should evaluate whether the ROI justifies the time investment compared to proven lead-generation methods.

A dealer asks whether Google Places' new request for business licenses is legitimate and what prompted the policy. Respondents largely view it as a verification measure targeting fraudulent business listings, though one commenter with apparent insider knowledge suggests the requests are rare and unrelated to general business authenticity concerns.

The thread debates how car dealers can streamline the process of sending Internet price quotes by implementing a pricing matrix, removing the bottleneck of real-time sales manager approval. Joe Webb argues that a well-researched matrix empowers ISMs to respond faster while keeping pricing decisions anchored to management strategy, but Jeff Kershner and others note that low-gross months often cause managers to abandon the system and blame the BDC. The key insight is that resistance to price matrices typically stems from management fear and lack of training rather than the tool itself being flawed.

A dealer inquires about uHAPS Media, an experiential marketing firm that hires college-aged brand ambassadors to attend local events and generate social media content, prompting skeptical responses from forum members who view it as overpriced "spam" unsuitable for automotive sales. After attending the pitch meeting, the original poster concludes the service is better suited for branding against direct OEM competition rather than dealerships with no local rivals, and notes it represents a genuinely different approach from typical social media vendors despite initial reservations from the community.

The thread discusses how the classic "Four P's of Marketing" (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) remain fundamental to automotive sales strategy, but their application has fundamentally shifted due to modern market realities and the internet. Participants emphasize that while these core principles haven't changed, the way dealers execute them must evolve—particularly recognizing that the dealership's "front door" now exists online rather than solely at the physical location. The key insight is that dealers should use the Four P's as foundational questions to develop updated strategies relevant to today's market, rather than dismissing them as outdated theory.