-
This thread is just the tip of the iceberg.The people ahead of the curve aren't Googling for answers — they're already in here, having the conversations you haven't found yet. DealerRefresh is free.Get the full picture →
SEO is Still Relevant Amongst Google's Changes
Recently Google created a Tsunami of change by integrating Google Places into organic search results. Dealers called me to ask what I thought these changes would have to their Automotive SEO strategies. I was not quick to answer because I think that Google is still refining their balancing act of SEO, SEM, and Google Places.
With that said, I am feeling much better about the changes that are in play. I was worried that the new Google Places integration would start at the top of organic listings which would favor websites connected to a Google Places page. From what I can see, Google is still rewarding exact match domain names and highly optimized websites before the "mosh pit" (in green) is displayed.
In the example below, a broad search phrase like "Los Angeles Dealers" produces a list of car dealers that have Google Maps, but before those listings, three company websites appear.
In the search results shown above, you can see that an "exact match" domain with good content, links, and relevance PRECEDES the massive block of results shown in green that are enhanced by Google Places data. You can also see the other two websites that rank above the Google Places block are not slackers at all: Automotive.com and Cars.com.
Google SERP Find Exact Matches First
I've said this before and will repeat it again, Google always tries to present, on a search results page (SERP), the best matching assets in its database. Google, Yahoo, and Bing all weight exact matching domains very high as long as the websites have relevant content. Redirected domains that are not hosted will never appear in search results so all those parked domains you may own are not helping you. It may be time to get those parked domains on a real content publishing strategy!
Don't Forget The Stars
When Google integrated Google Places, the normal 8-10 organic listings were changed dramatically which created a "jump ball" once again in the search marketing Olympics.
I would like to remind all car dealers that they MUST develop a comprehensive Internet Reputation Management (IRM) strategy to increase participation of their clients to posted reviews. My recommendation is that a successful dealer should have TWICE the number of positive reviews "stars" of their nearest competitor. That may be harder in years to come but all dealers should have a few HUNDRED reviews posted from authentic customers.
Testing Search Results Start To Show A Trend
From recent testing that I have done, websites hosted on great domain names may actually have an edge over local car dealer websites. Take a look at the search listed below. The websites that Google felt were best matches and NOT in Google Places were listed first. Then the local dealers were listed.
Once again, the TOP websites above the integrated and enhanced Google Places organic listings are two heavyweight contenders UsedCars.com and Yahoo Autos. For the car industry, the bigger, more established inventory advertising websites could be getting more traffic because they are NOT in the green Google Places area and shown at the top of the page.
This trend continues as you type in even broader searches, and you can see that websites that are EXACT matching or that have high SEO inbound links on targeted keywords, appear on Google Page One before the Google Places block. So, in essence, Automotive SEO strategies are still in tact and dealers that have EXACT matching microsites with great content are getting a boost.
The Future Automotive SEO
Since I am an advocate of Automotive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies, you would expect me to defend this marketing strategy but I will be the first to say that the changes with Google Places is still a dynamic event. I'll keep you posted on what I find and make recommendations to take advantage of opportunities I see.
With that said, I am feeling much better about the changes that are in play. I was worried that the new Google Places integration would start at the top of organic listings which would favor websites connected to a Google Places page. From what I can see, Google is still rewarding exact match domain names and highly optimized websites before the "mosh pit" (in green) is displayed.
In the example below, a broad search phrase like "Los Angeles Dealers" produces a list of car dealers that have Google Maps, but before those listings, three company websites appear.
In the search results shown above, you can see that an "exact match" domain with good content, links, and relevance PRECEDES the massive block of results shown in green that are enhanced by Google Places data. You can also see the other two websites that rank above the Google Places block are not slackers at all: Automotive.com and Cars.com.
Google SERP Find Exact Matches First
I've said this before and will repeat it again, Google always tries to present, on a search results page (SERP), the best matching assets in its database. Google, Yahoo, and Bing all weight exact matching domains very high as long as the websites have relevant content. Redirected domains that are not hosted will never appear in search results so all those parked domains you may own are not helping you. It may be time to get those parked domains on a real content publishing strategy!
Don't Forget The Stars
When Google integrated Google Places, the normal 8-10 organic listings were changed dramatically which created a "jump ball" once again in the search marketing Olympics.
I would like to remind all car dealers that they MUST develop a comprehensive Internet Reputation Management (IRM) strategy to increase participation of their clients to posted reviews. My recommendation is that a successful dealer should have TWICE the number of positive reviews "stars" of their nearest competitor. That may be harder in years to come but all dealers should have a few HUNDRED reviews posted from authentic customers.
Testing Search Results Start To Show A Trend
From recent testing that I have done, websites hosted on great domain names may actually have an edge over local car dealer websites. Take a look at the search listed below. The websites that Google felt were best matches and NOT in Google Places were listed first. Then the local dealers were listed.
Once again, the TOP websites above the integrated and enhanced Google Places organic listings are two heavyweight contenders UsedCars.com and Yahoo Autos. For the car industry, the bigger, more established inventory advertising websites could be getting more traffic because they are NOT in the green Google Places area and shown at the top of the page.
This trend continues as you type in even broader searches, and you can see that websites that are EXACT matching or that have high SEO inbound links on targeted keywords, appear on Google Page One before the Google Places block. So, in essence, Automotive SEO strategies are still in tact and dealers that have EXACT matching microsites with great content are getting a boost.
The Future Automotive SEO
Since I am an advocate of Automotive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies, you would expect me to defend this marketing strategy but I will be the first to say that the changes with Google Places is still a dynamic event. I'll keep you posted on what I find and make recommendations to take advantage of opportunities I see.
Documentation Replaces Negotiation: 4 Easy and Effective Strategies to Improving Gross Profit
Join vAuto for a Webinar on November 19
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/444183314
The reality of today’s market is that vehicles need to be priced right in order to drive traffic. This means that you can not negotiate as much, or in some cases, at all. Dale Pollak, a leading used car expert and best selling author, will present 4 practical strategies that will enable documentation to replace negotiation. Using these easy techniques, dealerships can expect their profits to rise without sacrificing volume.
Title: Documentation Replaces Negotiation: 4 Easy and Effective Strategies to Improving Gross Profit Presented by Dale Pollak
Date: Friday, November 19, 2010
Time: 11:00AM – 12:00 PM CDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
Top 10 Gripes Of An Automotive Marketer
- By DyanDavis
- Off Topic & Everything Else
- 10 Replies
Oh my ... I don't even need to leave a comment. I'm just enjoying the comraderie and jibes. 
Top 10 Gripes Of An Automotive Marketer
- Off Topic & Everything Else
- 10 Replies
#10 - heard twice last week
Top 10 Gripes Of An Automotive Marketer
- Off Topic & Everything Else
- 10 Replies
Thanks David! As always, feelin the love... HA! (but the check is in the mail...)
Top 10 Gripes Of An Automotive Marketer
- Off Topic & Everything Else
- 10 Replies
10. My Boss can’t find our website. Now we need a mobile website, so he can’t find it on his phone?
9. Being reasonably “internet” savvy does not make me the IT guy; please stop asking me how to fix
your computer.
8. Boss: Site Retargeting & Behavioral Targeting = Banners. Social Media is different.
7. Tell me one more time that the “Pixels Didn’t Fire” and I’m gonna punch you right square in the
mouth!
6. Yes, there are some parts of the country where people still read the newspaper. I even know one
place where they still use the Phone Book. (No Kidding!)
5. Boss: If you are still using a flip-phone from 2002, you are FORBIDDEN from purchasing an ipad.
4. 4-Square?? Seriously???
3. Boss: Just because the manufacturers spend all their money on TV doesn’t make it smart!
2. It has taken me 10 years to get our Sales Managers to read email in less than 36 hours. Zuckerberg:
Leave Email Alone!!!
1. How, at 39, did the world just pass me by??
Auto Remarketing CPO Forum, The Certified Conference - Review
The Used Car Business IS the Internet Business
San Diego Monday and Tuesday was a great location for the Auto Remarketing CPO Forum, The Certified Conference. I was fortunate enough to be invited to be on a panel of Dealers speaking on Inventory Management and being as this was a one room conference I got to see everyone’s presentations…so here’s my unofficial review of what you missed if you weren’t there.
First to present was Arianne Walker from J.D. Power Automotive Remarketingwho had lots of great information on the customer awareness as well as motivators to purchase a Certified Pre Owned Vehicle. A couple stats I found interesting were almost 80% of CPO buyers set out to purchase a CPO vehicle and 42% of people found the exact car they purchased online. On a customer service note, not explaining all fees and charges created the biggest drop in satisfaction.
Next up was the panel I was on which included Howard Hakes from Hitchcock Automotive Group, Kevin Nachbar from McCarthy Auto Group and myself. The discussion was inventory management and quickly became how technology has taken over as the driver of used vehicle management. Each of us is on different inventory management software but agree it’s what you do with the information not the information that breeds success. Digital advertising was the choice of marketing with 14-25 pictures as the norm. It’s going to be an interesting ride as supply tightens even further in the next 18 months, get ready to have to inflate your game!
Finishing off Monday’s sessions was Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura’s Brian Benstock, who is quickly becoming known as Tier 10 Marketing’s premier client and interruption marketing specialist. Brian happens to be one hell of a Certified Pre Owned player as well selling double his next competitor. Brian told a humbled journey of becoming a premier Velocity Dealer as well as taking the steps to change the reputation of the store not only digitally where they monitor reviews but physically in his stores. They now no longer look for old school sharks or plaid suited mythical car guys of days past but hire “nice people” whom “you would let babysit your kids” which was a great takeaway for an interview thought to have in your head. We did get subjected to some Tier 10 spam at the end of the presentation, but Brian shared his experiences freely and has an amazing story to share.
Tuesday’s sessions got started with a keynote discussion from Doug Hadden of AAX, David Nelson of First Look and one of my mentors Dale Pollak of vAuto. The 3 men on this forum although representing the 3 major competitors in the inventory management segment presented as complete professionals with nobody with the agenda of pitching a product. All agree, “The Used Car business is the Internet business.” All mentioned online marketing with great pictures and compelling accurate descriptions. Dale spoke of “strategies, people and process” as being key factors to CPO success. David wanted dealers to described Certified Vehicle programs “in a manner your mom would understand.” Doug challenged dealers to give up the “3 G’s of inventory management” or ‘Gamble, Guess and Gut” and use the technology available to make educated inventory decisions. Overall an informative session leaving dealers with Dale’s question of “Are you operating with happenstance inventory or engineered inventory?”
Matt McKenna from AutoTrader.com gave a stat filled presentation and with 57% of online consumers looking for sales and 47% using coupons, I’d say his statement that “Savvy is the new status symbol” is a reality. A great takeaway from his presentation was that although consumers perceived value of certification was between $1750- $2300 the majority or roughly 70% believe certification is a dealer program not a manufacturer program.
Brad Mugg and Chad Lemieux from Norm Reeves Honda shared some of their experiences with online inventory acquisition as well as marketing. Spending $1200-$1500 per Certified Vehicle for reconditioning was the average quote by all the dealers on panels which proved true in Cerritos as well. Having management buy in and participation was stressed as important to significant pre owned sales.
Charlie Vogelheim of Intellichoice presented awards to Mini and Volvo for their Certified Pre Owned programs in classic mustached form for “moovember”, a great Program where people grow mustaches to raise awareness for prostate cancer. I think that raising awareness is great.mustaches? Not my gig, but mustaches = funny, so a win for Vogelheim.
Ira Gabriel from MotorTrend, David DeCredico represented Independent Certified Used Cars programs from Apco/EasyCare and a woman whose name I didn’t write down, was a change in the program I’m using for notes so I apologize for leaving out. These programs are in the early development stages but fill a void for those dealers abandoned by factories and those looking to Certify all their vehicles not just those covered by the manufacturer they represent.
I’ve got to leave out the last 2 presentations (you’re probably happy if you’re still reading) because I skipped out on the last hour and a half to go shop for gifts for my kids before going to dinner with some folks from Adesa Auto Auctions whom I’d like to thank for making sure I was fed well while in San Diego both evenings.
Bill Zadeits from Auto Remarketing did an excellent job moderating the discussions, the venue was virtually sales free, the networking was great with lots of OEM’s represented and heavy industry players all sharing great knowledge and first hand experiences. This conference will be on my schedule next year for sure, having a passion for Certified Used Vehicle sales and understanding “The Used Car Business is the Internet Business” this conference fit me well.
Does your dealer view their Used car business as their "Internet Business"?
Loading…
www.dealerrefresh.com
San Diego Monday and Tuesday was a great location for the Auto Remarketing CPO Forum, The Certified Conference. I was fortunate enough to be invited to be on a panel of Dealers speaking on Inventory Management and being as this was a one room conference I got to see everyone’s presentations…so here’s my unofficial review of what you missed if you weren’t there.
First to present was Arianne Walker from J.D. Power Automotive Remarketingwho had lots of great information on the customer awareness as well as motivators to purchase a Certified Pre Owned Vehicle. A couple stats I found interesting were almost 80% of CPO buyers set out to purchase a CPO vehicle and 42% of people found the exact car they purchased online. On a customer service note, not explaining all fees and charges created the biggest drop in satisfaction.
Next up was the panel I was on which included Howard Hakes from Hitchcock Automotive Group, Kevin Nachbar from McCarthy Auto Group and myself. The discussion was inventory management and quickly became how technology has taken over as the driver of used vehicle management. Each of us is on different inventory management software but agree it’s what you do with the information not the information that breeds success. Digital advertising was the choice of marketing with 14-25 pictures as the norm. It’s going to be an interesting ride as supply tightens even further in the next 18 months, get ready to have to inflate your game!
Finishing off Monday’s sessions was Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura’s Brian Benstock, who is quickly becoming known as Tier 10 Marketing’s premier client and interruption marketing specialist. Brian happens to be one hell of a Certified Pre Owned player as well selling double his next competitor. Brian told a humbled journey of becoming a premier Velocity Dealer as well as taking the steps to change the reputation of the store not only digitally where they monitor reviews but physically in his stores. They now no longer look for old school sharks or plaid suited mythical car guys of days past but hire “nice people” whom “you would let babysit your kids” which was a great takeaway for an interview thought to have in your head. We did get subjected to some Tier 10 spam at the end of the presentation, but Brian shared his experiences freely and has an amazing story to share.
Tuesday’s sessions got started with a keynote discussion from Doug Hadden of AAX, David Nelson of First Look and one of my mentors Dale Pollak of vAuto. The 3 men on this forum although representing the 3 major competitors in the inventory management segment presented as complete professionals with nobody with the agenda of pitching a product. All agree, “The Used Car business is the Internet business.” All mentioned online marketing with great pictures and compelling accurate descriptions. Dale spoke of “strategies, people and process” as being key factors to CPO success. David wanted dealers to described Certified Vehicle programs “in a manner your mom would understand.” Doug challenged dealers to give up the “3 G’s of inventory management” or ‘Gamble, Guess and Gut” and use the technology available to make educated inventory decisions. Overall an informative session leaving dealers with Dale’s question of “Are you operating with happenstance inventory or engineered inventory?”
Matt McKenna from AutoTrader.com gave a stat filled presentation and with 57% of online consumers looking for sales and 47% using coupons, I’d say his statement that “Savvy is the new status symbol” is a reality. A great takeaway from his presentation was that although consumers perceived value of certification was between $1750- $2300 the majority or roughly 70% believe certification is a dealer program not a manufacturer program.
Brad Mugg and Chad Lemieux from Norm Reeves Honda shared some of their experiences with online inventory acquisition as well as marketing. Spending $1200-$1500 per Certified Vehicle for reconditioning was the average quote by all the dealers on panels which proved true in Cerritos as well. Having management buy in and participation was stressed as important to significant pre owned sales.
Charlie Vogelheim of Intellichoice presented awards to Mini and Volvo for their Certified Pre Owned programs in classic mustached form for “moovember”, a great Program where people grow mustaches to raise awareness for prostate cancer. I think that raising awareness is great.mustaches? Not my gig, but mustaches = funny, so a win for Vogelheim.
Ira Gabriel from MotorTrend, David DeCredico represented Independent Certified Used Cars programs from Apco/EasyCare and a woman whose name I didn’t write down, was a change in the program I’m using for notes so I apologize for leaving out. These programs are in the early development stages but fill a void for those dealers abandoned by factories and those looking to Certify all their vehicles not just those covered by the manufacturer they represent.
I’ve got to leave out the last 2 presentations (you’re probably happy if you’re still reading) because I skipped out on the last hour and a half to go shop for gifts for my kids before going to dinner with some folks from Adesa Auto Auctions whom I’d like to thank for making sure I was fed well while in San Diego both evenings.
Bill Zadeits from Auto Remarketing did an excellent job moderating the discussions, the venue was virtually sales free, the networking was great with lots of OEM’s represented and heavy industry players all sharing great knowledge and first hand experiences. This conference will be on my schedule next year for sure, having a passion for Certified Used Vehicle sales and understanding “The Used Car Business is the Internet Business” this conference fit me well.
Does your dealer view their Used car business as their "Internet Business"?
