Websites, SEO, SEM, Display, Social, Marketing

Forum members discuss why many dealerships underutilize AutoTrader's premium features like Dynamic Display ads, Spotlights, and special offers despite having paid placements. The consensus identifies time constraints and staffing limitations as the primary barriers—one moderator notes she's the sole person managing AutoTrader tasks and often works off the clock—though the original poster argues it's worth the effort, having successfully cleared 2011 inventory through spotlighted offers and suggesting dealers request rep assistance to set up templates they can then modify.

A dealership owner seeks recommendations for affordable third-party PPC and remarketing management after rejecting ReachLocal due to poor reviews and questionable practices. Respondents unanimously advise against generic PPC vendors and emphasize choosing an automotive-specialized provider, with specific recommendations including HayStak, Dealer.com, Portraz, and PCG Digital Marketing. The key insight is that automotive PPC vendors must have deep industry knowledge to optimize budgets effectively and avoid costly mistakes that generalist agencies would make.

A dealer seeks resources for purchasing automotive service illustrations and engine diagrams to enhance their service page's visual explanations. The original poster finds and shares a potential solution through Traffic Builders, which offers automotive marketing service videos available for purchase. The thread addresses a common need for quality visual content that dealerships can own outright rather than license through subscription services.

A dealership owner seeks advice on removing a lawsuit reference from Google's autocomplete suggestions when searching their business name. The thread consensus emphasizes that Google's predictive results are driven by search frequency and content freshness, and the original poster likely worsened the situation by mentioning the lawsuit; the recommended approach is patience and time rather than active intervention. A secondary debate emerges about using microsites with duplicated content to push out negative suggestions, with experienced users cautioning against this tactic due to SEO best practices.

The thread discusses whether dealers should use text messages to follow up with internet leads, with the original poster asking for systems to send quote confirmations via text. A strong consensus emerges that texting without explicit customer opt-in is legally risky and ineffective—multiple participants reference Lithia Motors' costly lawsuit and warn that unsolicited texts can lead to customer frustration and legal liability. The recommended approach is to use CRM tools that request opt-in permission before sending any texts, allowing customers to choose texting as their preferred communication method.

This thread addresses which web analytics metrics matter most for car dealers, with contributors emphasizing that traffic volume alone is insufficient—dealers should track keywords, bounce rate, time on site, and conversion metrics to understand marketing effectiveness. The most actionable insight is Joe Pistell's two-part framework: create post-sale surveys showing that 80-95% of buyers visited the site before purchase, and calculate the conversion rate (typically 0.5-1.5% of unique visitors) to identify improvement opportunities. The discussion reveals that dealers should focus less on raw data and more on metrics that directly connect website activity to actual sales.

A dealer reports a significant drop in Craigslist referral traffic (down 50-75%) despite maintaining their usual posting strategy and inventory levels. Responses suggest multiple potential causes: inventory pricing (CL works better for sub-$10K cars), increased competitor posting burying their ads, or ad fatigue—with one commenter confirming similar traffic declines and another recommending testing different ad messaging and formats to improve performance.

JamieS shares an article about how email service providers like Gmail and Yahoo are increasingly filtering out "uninteresting" emails as spam, citing recent reports from major marketers and platforms that indicate lazy email marketing practices are no longer viable. The post highlights a shift in email marketing where engagement quality and relevance have become critical factors in deliverability, signaling that generic, low-effort email campaigns will face greater filtering challenges going forward.

Multiple automotive dealers reported their mobile websites were compromised by a hacker using the tag "hacked by YMH," affecting several major platform providers including FordDirect, Cars2Go, and Dominion. The post serves as a warning for dealers to audit their mobile sites for similar vulnerabilities, though at least one vendor (Dealer eProcess) was able to restore affected sites quickly. The key takeaway is that this was a widespread attack affecting multiple providers rather than isolated incidents, making it critical for all dealers to verify their mobile site security.

A dealer received an unsolicited lead from carshopmobile.com and questioned whether the free service and unsubscribed contact were legitimate. Forum members identified multiple red flags suggesting the site was a scam, including poor website design and hidden WHOIS information, though the company's representative later defended their service as legitimate and removed the dealer from their system. The thread ultimately reflects skepticism about an unproven lead generation service, with the company's defensive response doing little to build credibility with experienced industry professionals.

A user shares an infographic explaining how the Google AdWords auction system works, providing educational resource for dealers unfamiliar with the mechanics of paid search advertising. The thread appears designed to help automotive professionals understand the fundamentals of AdWords bidding and placement, though discussion beyond the initial resource is not detailed in the provided content.

A Toyota/Scion dealer asks for strategies to have staff engage with potential customers across multiple channels, sparking discussion about the distinction between traffic generation and customer interaction. Responses range from direct channels (chat, text, phone) to content-based strategies (forums, blogs, Yahoo Answers) and third-party platforms (Autotrader, Cars.com), with the key insight that forums dedicated to specific car models and communities can be particularly effective for both driving traffic and building genuine customer relationships.

A dealer group owner reports that Google reviews and business information for their multiple franchise locations (Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Pre-Owned, and main corporate site) are appearing on each other's Google Business pages. The consensus solution involves fixing NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency across all online listings, removing the parent company's standalone Google page, correcting business categories and owner messages to be location-specific, and contacting Google directly to request manual correction—though resolution may take weeks or longer.

A dealer requests volunteers to secret shop their internet sales team's handling of new vehicle leads, offering to share results anonymously on the forum. Jerry Thibeau agrees to conduct a professional mystery shop but pushes back on the anonymity requirement, noting that salespeople's names will naturally appear in email signatures, and the dealer agrees to obtain rep buy-in. The thread reveals interest in transparent peer feedback within the dealer community and showcases the dealer's custom WordPress website architecture.

The thread discusses a Maryland dealership's controversial practice of adding a $1,495 markup for door edge guards that cost $8, using artificially low advertised prices to drive traffic before revealing hidden fees. Participants debate whether such "old school" bait-and-switch tactics remain effective despite the internet age, with most agreeing these strategies are unsustainable long-term, though some note they continue to work because customers still buy despite discovering the deception.

markwinters provides practical guidance on creating vehicle video walkarounds for dealerships, emphasizing that the process is simpler than many assume. He outlines essential requirements including a quiet shooting location, minimal visual distractions, and an affordable HD camera with microphone input (available for ~$300), highlighting specific features like fast zoom and image stabilization as important considerations.

Jamie Pilson asks for feedback on Potratz, a digital marketing and website provider for dealerships, before committing to their services. Billfred points out that this inquiry was already posted elsewhere on the forum and notes that duplicate posts won't increase visibility. The thread offers no substantive feedback on Potratz itself, only a moderation note directing the poster to consolidate discussions.

Stefan shares information about Google's new Click-to-Teleport Extensions (beta), a theoretical feature that would allow customers to instantly teleport from search ads directly to a dealership's physical location. The post emphasizes this as a solution to streamline the online-to-store conversion funnel and drive in-store sales, though the thread content cuts off before revealing actual performance results or dealer reactions.

A Toyota dealer seeks advice on promoting a Pittsburgh Pirates ticket giveaway on Facebook, asking whether to split four tickets into two giveaways and how to maximize engagement. Respondents unanimously recommend giving away all four tickets together (better experience for winners) and using creative trivia or Q&A contests with branded names to drive engagement, emphasizing that early posts should not determine winners to keep momentum going. The key insight is that engagement-focused promotions work better than simple random draws, and building personality and recurring branded contests (like "Preston Prizes") keeps audiences invested and improves Facebook reach.

Dealers debate how much investment and attention their websites deserve as a core marketing component, with discussion covering website quality, SEO, PPC, and related digital tools. Respondents cite industry data showing that roughly 50% of dealership marketing strategy should focus on the internet, as buyers increasingly spend significant time researching online before visiting dealerships. The consensus emerging is that websites are central to dealership success and require meaningful budget allocation and quality content to convert modern, digitally-savvy customers.

A dealer discovered that a third-party inventory vendor created a .net domain using the dealer's name and logos, ranking #4 in Google searches for the dealership while funneling traffic away from the dealer's primary website. Forum experts advised the dealer to leverage his contract and payment to demand the vendor either transfer the domain and admin rights to him or redirect traffic to his primary site, with most agreeing the vendor likely acted to demonstrate their service value rather than maliciously. The key insight is that vendors often lack transparency in their practices, making it essential for dealers to clarify domain ownership and traffic routing in contracts before signing.

Carfax announced a contest offering an 8-foot inflatable Car Fox to employees of Carfax Advantage Dealers through their Facebook page (March 20-26, 2012), with Jeff Kershner offering an additional incentive for DealerRefresh members who won. The contest concluded quickly, disappointing at least one dealer who missed the deadline.