Car Dealer Internet Marketing

For Searchers

The way it looks initially, searches will be experiencing a paradigm shift in the way they search.  Sounds pretty dramatic, but between changes coming in Universal Search and the SearchWiki functionality rolling out right now, searchers will (hopefully) be able to get the information they need more easily without having to use multiple attempts at different keywords to get what they want.

Before, typing a search for "Toyota Dealers" would yield mostly national searches in the organic section.  The sponsored section was normally geo-targeted results, but unless you happened to be close to dealership whose website was very well optimized, you probably had to do the search again.  If localized, universal, and personalized search make good on their promises and meet their goals of relevancy, that could all change.

For Website Owners

The real question should be, "Is your website provider or marketing firm ready for what’s coming down?"

Bruce Clay is saying that "ranking is dead."  Behavior based search is expanding, regardless of whether someone is logged into Google or not.  He predicts that in the first quarter of 2009, there will be a major shift to localized, personal search that will make the once-simple job of optimizing a website much more difficult.  The factors that determine the rankings delivered to the target audience will change and we will see a shift towards other indicators for success.

Matt Cutts says "ranking won’t be as important as it used to be in 2009."

This is a scary proposition for the ill-prepared SEO firm.  It isn’t a matter of making websites linkable and large.  What will be necessary is for them to be directly relevant to the search terms that they are wanting to rank for.  This is a subtle distinction, but in the whole scheme of things, it’s a huge difference from the way websites are optimized today.

Personalization and localization are coming.  They’re here, to some extent.  If you haven’t seen it already, don’t worry.  Your data center will update soon.

Universal search is changing.  It is apparently in a constant state of flux.  We’ve had a taste of it for a year, now.  SEO’s must embrace the fact that they are having to become more like marketers.  There is a distinction, and anyone who doesn’t make that distinction and adjust will be lost in 2008.

Other key points:

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Technorati Tags: automotive, ranking, search engine optimization, SEO

As with many of my posts lately, I’m going to ride the fence.  There are advantages and disadvantages to having your website inventory indexed.  This issue has popped up more and more lately as a lot of gurus are pointing towards indexed inventory as a strong SEO tool.

To me, it’s a gray issue.

Advantages of Indexed Inventory:

• More pages
  
• More opportunities to rank for long-tail keywords
  
• Searchers land on specific vehicles versus navigation
  
• Internal link potential (if done properly) to help other pages rank well

Disadvantages:

• Temporary listings that can become 404 errors or redirects when the search engines crawl the page next time
  
• Duplicate content
  
• Lack of focus on primary linked pages

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Technorati Tags: indexing car inventory

There is a debate going on, though few are involved and even fewer understand it.  First, the definitions:

Long: Searches that are specific, normally 3, 4, or more words, that are highly targeted by minimal for traffic.  They are normally an extension of a primary keyword.  Example: "New Honda Accord Shreveport"

Medium: Less specific than long keywords, usually 2 or 3 words, with higher volume and lower conversion.  Example:  "Shreveport Honda"

Short: Very general terms.  High volume, low, low conversion.  Example: "Honda"

These definitions are loose simply because the automotive industry is so locally targeted, the traditional definitions of "long-tail" vs "short-tail" don’t do it justice.  Technically, all relevant automotive keywords for a dealership are long-tail, so it is important to add the middle definition.

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Technorati Tags: automotive seo, car dealer seo

The old saying that "content is king" is just that… and old saying.  In automotive search engine optimization (any SEO for that matter), the importance of content has been superceded by quality, relevant inbound links.

Content still has its value, of course.  In the race to the top of the search engines, every little bit helps.  The way that SEO has evolved over the last couple of years has placed a strong emphasis on what other websites are saying about your website.  They know that you can manipulate your content, play with the percentages, and stuff keywords.  That is why content, while still important, is not the factor that it used to be.

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Technorati Tags: automotive seo, content, links

Gas mileage is a hot topic to automotive consumers. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a hot topic to automotive dealers. With today’s economic conditions, getting the most mileage out of a vehicle has many parallels with getting the most out of your SEO.

In both cases, we want more for less. Search engine marketing is becoming more expensive, so smart dealers must position themselves on the organic section of the search engines to get the most bang for their buck. Here are some tips to help achieve the most possible clicks for the least amount of money.

Buy a Hybrid
Just as hybrid vehicles are rolling off showroom floors at record rates, hybrid SEO campaigns are becoming more popular for car dealer Web sites. A hybrid SEO campaign is one that properly utilizes both onsite and offsite optimization techniques.

In the past, having proper SEO on a Web site itself was enough. Today, the search engines like to see more in the way of relevant, high-quality inbound links from other Web sites to your own. These links act as “votes” for a site, and search engines are counting these heavily.

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Technorati Tags: automotive seo, car dealer seo, search engine optimization

One of three things happens whenever a car dealer is talking to their marketing company and asks the question, “Should I focus on search engine optimization or pay per click marketing?”

1. SEO is touted as the end-all, be-all form of search engine marketing and pay-per-click is trashed as a waste of money, or…
2. PPC is touted as a must-have marketing investment because it is instant and controllable, or…
3. The dealer is told that they shouldn’t do either because it’s all just a waste of money.

How the question is answered is almost always determined by what the marketing company or website provider does well and where they can make the most money.  The truth of the matter is that marketing companies and website providers should not be the determining factor when dealers consider how to spend their online marketing budgets.  The only thing that matters to a dealer should be, “What is best for me in my dealership’s current situation?”

The key point there is “…my dealership’s current situation…”
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Technorati Tags: Automotive Internet Marketing, seo vs ppc

It has been brought to my attention that some in the industry are pushing the concept that you absolutely, positively, without a doubt have to have search engine marketing pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns or your website is going to die a fast yet painful death.  These people are using phrases such as "anybody who tells you otherwise is lying to you."

The funny part of that statement is that it is a complete and total misconception ill-conceived around product offerings.  You see, if a company is good at one thing and poor at another, they will spread the idea that the thing they are good at is the key to success and the thing they are bad at is not important.  It’s sad, but that’s sales.  It’s human nature.  I am not upset by this.

The part that upsets me is when dealers fall for it.  They should know better.  It doesn’t make sense.  There is too much research on Google and Yahoo searches to believe otherwise.  Do the searches, do the research, then use common sense.

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Technorati Tags: automotive sem, automotive seo

Pay Per Click marketing, often called Search Engine Marketing, is slowly becoming one of the most sought after forms of advertising for car dealers.  It is less expensive and often more effective than conventional marketing through radio, television, or newspapers, and has the convenience of an easily adjustable budget.

The problem with many of the offerings out there is that the products being pushed by companies are not maximized for the dealers’ benefit.  While SEM should always be secondary to SEO (which has a much higher and more sustainable return on investment) it is still an important part for many marketing plans.  As such, there are less-than-desirable products being offered.

When looking for a search engine marketing firm, here are five things that you should look for, listed in reverse order from least important to most important:

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Technorati Tags: automotive ppc, automotive search engine marketing, automotive sem, car dealer ppc, car dealer sem, ppc, sem

I did a follow-up with a lost client today.  We were discussing doing search engine optimization a few months ago and I wanted to make sure that everything was still going well.  I, of course, wanted to see if there was any opportunities to earn their business today.

They had signed with another SEO company a few months prior.  I asked how it was going.  "Just fine," she said.

There was an acute lack of confidence in her voice.  I pushed a little harder, telling her that I wasn’t necessarily trying to insult the other company, but that I was surprised that someone had been working on it since their rankings hadn’t changed in the four months since last we talked.

She said that she had noticed the same thing, but was told that the results were coming.  It takes time, her SEO company told her.  I agreed, but I said that 4 months was definitely enough time to see a noticeable result.

After a brief silence, she asked me if I would be willing to analyze her site to see what they had done.  It was tough for her, as I know that she really wanted to go with us before but there were questions at the time over a conflict of interest.  We had another dealership of the same brand in her city and the owner wasn’t happy about "sharing" us with them (which, for future reference, is not a problem since there are plenty of keywords for everyone in most major metros).

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Technorati Tags: automotive seo, ripoff, scam, search engine optimization

For most dealers, search engine optimization and pay-per-click marketing are the primary methods for driving traffic to the dealership Web site. It is targeted and localized, and the return on investment is amazing compared to other forms of marketing.

Establishing a stronger presence through Web 2.0 can drive traffic to a Web site and greatly improve a dealer’s search rankings on Google, Yahoo and the other search engines. The social Web revolution has been taking the Internet by storm for a few years now, but has only recently become a buzzword in the automotive industry. Blogs, social media and social networks are all excellent forms of traffic-drivers if applied properly.

If mishandled, however, they can actually have the opposite effect.

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Technorati Tags: auto dealer seo, automotive seo, automotive social media, automotive social networks, car dealer seo, car dealers