In the Trenches

As networking tools these sites are great resources, they can build your brand, protect your reputation and help you maintain contact with current customers -or- do more harm than good in those same areas.

The purpose of these sites is to interact with others and that requires personal interaction and that is who people want to connect with not spam profiles whose only purpose is to pitch links.  To create profiles in the name of a dealership to do this with is as bad as sending bulk emails to bought leads who have not opted in to receive them.

My friend JD Rucker did a post about links being indexed at twitter, unfortunately it will probably cause more dealers and consultants to say this is the proper way to use these mediums because of the malaligned thought that it will help drive traffic and SEO value.

Fortunately for the users of these mediums they do not have to interact or connect with spam profiles.  If induced to do so they will not maintain that connection if all you are doing is pitching products.

These sites rely on community moderation to identify profiles that bring little value to their platforms and waste their resources.  Eventually they will have algorithms in place that will do it automatically.

People on facebook do not want to connect with a dealership profile and twitter users already have a hard enough time to cut through the noise and a ning site without value added content, not just promotional pitches, for your customer base is pointless.

The best way for dealerships to maximize the use of these platforms is to not try to maximize them, but instead encourage their people to participate and add value to their connections as an employee of the store.  That is the best way to generate word of mouth referrals and business from social networking/social media.

You trust your employees to conduct themselves away from work in such a way as to not hurt your reputation in the community now rely on them to build your reputation online before you establish a digital foot print that is counter productive.

Examples of counter productive social media/networking digital footprints and some alternatives.

• Facebook profiles in the name of the store - Better - “A facebook page, controlled by an agency or the dealer principle, that all of your employees join and encourage their customers to join.”
• Twitter profiles that push links and updates that are easily identified as automated.  - Better - “Employees adding valuable updates to help people in the car buying or servicing arena as well as their personal time line as a representative of your store.”
• Multiple blogs on a free hosting sites such as www.blogspot.com, vox.com, or wordpress.com - Better- “1. A self hosted blog could cost less than $100 per year and exudes professionalism versus an easily identified free hosting service.  2. Model / Brand / Geo specific microsites for seo value and lead generation.  3. Individual dealer websites for each department / brand.”
• A ning site for a dealership really has no value.  - Better - “Use available plug and play technology to build networking into your main website”

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or use the comment form below.

Shortly after assuring this dealer that a 10% click through rate (ctr) would be an extraordinarily, highly, unbelievably successful campaign and that the 10% ctr was probably an error in his recall of the pitch, I received a phone call from another dealer asking me about the same claim. Later that afternoon I reached out to some of my other clients and they also verified that they were given the same “tall tale”. Three of the dealers I spoke with also said that a rep from a major search engine was also in tow.

Below are the stats from one of my online properties the content and banner relationship are in sync, as would be expected with a banner that is behavioral and geographically targeted, all traffic comes from the search engines.

Over one half of a million impressions I am personally happy with the .7 of 1% ctr of this offer. The content also contains a strong call to action to encourage a click through, not found on classified portals and search engine banner advertising. The chances that a dealer will even experience a 1% ctr is a highly unlikely, an optimistic expectation would be .5 of 1% with reality coming in at .1 of 1% and anything greater than that being a bonus.

The average CPM (Cost per 1,000 impressions) for large sites, over 100,000,000 page views per month, a search engine, in 4th quarter 2008 was $0.17 CPM and the CPM for medium sized sites, between 1 million and 100 million page, classified portal, views per month was $0.30 according the the 4th quarter 2008 Ad Price Index.

Those numbers do not take into geo targeting or a tightly defined niche site such as an automotive classified web property.  I was told that that the banners would also appear on the search engine network as well.  The highest CPM was given to Business and Finance at $0.83 and the lowest social networking sites $0.10.

The quotes dealers were given on this new push was $25.00 cpm.  While a higher rate should be expected on the smaller buys being offered to dealers and due to enhanced targeting, I could not find a way to recommend this type of spend based on current economic conditions, market pricing and anticipated ROI.

Using the numbers given by the rep at the unfathomable 10% ctr that would equate to a $0.25 cpc (cost per click) for what would be considered a content network display ad is still out of round based on the current state of the click.  Using an overly optimistic ctr of 1% it drives that cost up to $2.50 cpc for a banner ad, an unrealistic cost value proposition.

I hope that I have miscalled this offering and several dealers are wrong in their recollection of what they were pitched both in cost of the offer and results claimed. 

If not there are better opportunities out there for their marketing dollars.

The topics discussed exceeded expectations and delved into a level of knowledge beyond that of basic seo offerings available to car dealers today. While many website providers do offer basic services the discussions delved much deeper.

Some of the topics covered were:

• Changes in search that are becoming a reality such as universal search and the Google search wiki.
• Why tag and keyword stuffing are a waste of bandwidth and the negative implications to be expected from these practices.
• Website analytics and why independent third party site performance measurement trumps vendor provided tracking.
• Building search engine trust and the importance of outbound links and linking partners.
• Techniques for ranking for competitors names.
• Inbound linking strategies and internal linking strategies.
• The importance of updated content and the challenges dealers face.
• Pros and cons of website provider platforms.
• Blogging for car dealers and effective use to help build search engine relevance.
• Search engine saturation and how to eliminate third party lead providers from dealers “money term” searches.

Those in attendance were top level website providers, automotive marketing consultants, inventory distribution partners, micro site providers, analytic providers and search marketing providers and consultants.

This years conference was by invitation only and the next one is scheduled for September 18th-21st of this year in Las Vegas. Make sure you subscribe to ISMinTraining.com to receive details on the next automotive seo conference and for tips and opinion of online automotive marketing.

While I see errors almost daily in dealer pay per click marketing initiatives such as buying terms for the dealer (running the campaign) name and city, brand and city dealer combos.  If your directory and map listings are well optimized then you are spending money unnecessarily.  Of course exceptions abound with the biggest being that your competitors are buying your name and keyword combos.  If your campaign is set up properly and your site content is optimized properly you should be able to take the top spot for these basic terms.

I have been told by dealers that their SEM provider actually suggested buying these terms and after reviewing the campaigns it was a waste for the dealer(s).  Due to the fact that there was no competition in place for their primary terms and they were well optimized for these searches already.

For example:

Someone wanting to buy a Ford F150 will not be typing in terms such as Boston Ford dealer they will probably be typing in terms such as “Ford F150 rebates”, “Ford F150leasing programs”, “Ford F150 finance specials”, “Ford F150 prices”, “Ford F150 inventory Boston” or “down payment needed to buy a Ford F150″.  Buying the broad match “Ford” in your pay per click campaign will bring traffic for these terms but it can also bring traffic for “used ford truck bumper”, “model T Ford”, “Henry Ford” and “Harrison Ford”.  Buying “Ford F150″ can further complicate the problem and raise your cost as well.  It can potentially bring in traffic for “towing capacity for 1987 Ford F150″, “what is the coffee can under the hood of a Ford F150 for”, “used Ford F150 parts” all terms you do not need to waste search budget on and will increase your expenses as your bounce rate rises because your quality score goes into the tank for not delivering content relative to the search and your time on site drops.

Consumers may think that a dealers website should have this information and it probably should, but if it does not have the requested info and a great call to action to opt in for follow up then it is a waste of a dealers marketing budget.

The longtails are cheaper clicks and easier to optimize for quality score.  Thus driving down cost or expanding reach on the same budget.  From a search engine optimization point of view longtail searches traffic will increase traffic exponentially over a period of time.  High converting traffic comes from longer tail searches, because people using longer search phrases are generally looking for the answer to a very specific question or need.

The problem lies in identifying these “long tail” searches as Jared mentioned in the comments of this post.  He asked for some resources for keyword research sand here is the short list of some of the tools I use when working with clients and my own properties.

Word Tracker for identifying keywords and search phrases with low competion and enough search engine volume to justify encorporating them into a search engine optimization or search engine marketing plan.  They give some great videos and have a 7 day free trial.

Keyword Spy for exploring the sem efforts of my competition it will also help you track your competitions search positions and keywords in the organic listings.

SEMRush is a little less pricey than Keyord Spy and has a free option but the depth of reporting in my opinion is not as robust.

Adwords has some built in research tools, but if you are only using adwords for PPC you are missing a universe of low cost promotion tools.  Their tool is structured to help them sell a larger spend.

Becareful if you visit any of those links above and seek enhanced knowledge it will open your eyes to a whole new universe of search engine marketing.

Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions about your search engine campaigns.

“There’s a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hands,”It’s almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high-hat and tuxedo. . . . I mean, couldn’t you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here?” Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-N.Y.)

That is like begging for food as you open a fresh pack of cigarettes It just does not appear to be genuine.

Sure the media is talking it up, in and out of the auto industry. Why? Because you are participating. It sells advertising and even worse it distracts you from looking for ways to better your business.

The big three did not get in the shape they are in overnight. Now with all of the press the begging is getting it cannot possibly help consumer confidence or lend any credence to their products. How reliable is the Chrysler “Lifetime Warranty” now? For that matter how about the 12 month / 12,000 mile adjustment warranties?

We can blame the press all we want, but the problem lies with the ones who choose to participate. The ones who are glued to all of the updates, from all sources, and the ones who fly in corporate jets.

I was not going to let that stop me from putting a copy in his hand on this day.  The boys and I visited the local big chain book retailer to pick up a copy and it reminded me why I prefer to shop online for certain things.  It also proved how much more efficient it is as a consumer to do so.

We trotted to the business book section and started scouring the books to find our coveted copy.  It appearded that there was no rhyme or reason to how the books were shelved and after 10 minutes we visited the kiosk to see if there was even a copy in the store.  Theirs was not self serve so we had to wait 3 or 4 more minutes for someone to come help us.

After giving the name of the book to the clerk and then having to spell both the authours name an the title to here  and being informed that there was 12 copies in the store in the business section I wanted to scream.  After explaining to her that we did not see it there and her insistence that it was the manager came to our rescue.  She informed her and us that it was on display by their coffee shop and went and grabbed us a copy. 

The price was around five dollars more than I could of bought it for online and the process took around 25 minutes longer even if I had to type my credit card number in at checkout, which I don’t.  This process explains why online book retailers are more successful than their brick and mortar counter parts.

To state the obvious that is why consumers visit dealers online before stepping into the showroom.  They want to make sure you have what they want before they waste their time visiting you.  They want what they are after even if that is now what they buy in the end.

It could be a specific used car or new car color trim selection.  It could be competent secondary financing to make up for their credit short falls.  It could be to just window shop to see what is available.  For what ever reason they want what they came for before they decide to engage you.

The longer you can hold them on your site giving them the information they want the more likely they are to reach out to you buy either submitting a lead or visiting your showroom.  Anything you can do to sell them on doing business with you while they are there will let them win and you win.

Make it easy for the consumer to get what they want should be your first goal.  Keeping them on your site longer, with an effective call to action is your second.  Here are some things that you may want to try to increase conversions.

• Turn the pop ups and pop unders off.  One website site I recently visited causes a pop under on every navigation from a single inventory item even back to the search feature.  A customer experiening this may leave and never come back.
• Make sure your cars are priced even if it is list price.  Think if you visited a store that did not display prices until you were ready to check out would you go there often?
• Keep all sections of your site updated.  If you have a specials page make sure something is there or turn it off.
• Give them more than one way to contact you.  Is your phone number on every page and each inventory item?
• Tell your story.  Let them know what makes you different from “Down the Road Motors”.
• Get rid of the auto played audio.  Let the customers decide if they want to hear about you virtual showroom.  If they are looking at work and that comes on they may bounce to never return.

These are just a few starting points to help your average time on site and conversion ratio.  I am sure some will disagree or even have more tips.  Please tell us about it in the comments.

How many times have you heard these words in a dealership?

These types of transactions are not a solution for the customer or the dealer long term and it wont be long before lenders realize this is just bad business for all parties concerned and change their lending guidelines.  A car or truck with a large rebate as a tool to move them and cover negative equity is soon to be part of the “good ole days”.

It is these type of transactions that inflated home values and brought around the inevitable market correction and now is the time for the automotive industry to wake up to the fact that this is not financially sound for any party.

Large rebates on vehicles held by the manufacturer can cripple cash flow for a dealer and cause them to pay interest on their own money.  Basically dealers are giving the manufactures loans and they are paying the interest for them, in their floor plan cost.

A customer who dumps a vehicle they are upside down in by using a large rebate has only gotten a shiny new ride with the same negative equity problem they had before thus removing them from the market for a longer protracted period of time.

The lender who makes a loan structured on invoice price before taking into account a rebate is way under collateralized and is making large personal loans disguised as secured loans.

Not a win for any of the participants.  If the customers and the dealers will not put an end to the madness chances are the lenders will be the first ones to do so, especially now that the federal government is getting into the banking business.

Is this bad for the future of the car business?  Not at all.  It will cause a distress for the short term and stop the shell games and the industry will win when the dust settles.

Today’s traditional media is online.  Radio, cable tv, direct mail and print are antiquated forms forms of marketing.  To call those forms of advertising “traditional marketing” is like telling your kid to go to the record store to get a needle to play the new 45 you just bought.

Dictionary defines traditional as:

tra⋅di⋅tion⋅al   [truh-dish-uh-nl]  – adjective

1.     of or pertaining to tradition.

tra⋅di⋅tion  [truh-dish-uhn]  –noun

1.     the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice: a story that has come down to us by popular tradition.
2.     something that is handed down: the traditions of the Eskimos.
3.     a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting: The rebellious students wanted to break with tradition.
4.     a continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices.
5.     a customary or characteristic method or manner: The winner took a victory lap in the usual track tradition.

Sure if you are in a conversation with a third generation dealer those forms of advertising may be considered “traditional” according to the definition.  Traditional could also mean generations of bad habits like smoking and overeating.  Not real good examples to follow.

However the second part of the phrase “marketing” is defined as:

mar⋅ket⋅ing /ˈ[mahr-ki-ting] –noun

1.     the act of buying or selling in a market.
2.     the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling.

What resonates the loudest in the definition of marketing is “the transfer of goods from .. seller to consumer.”  Antiquated marketing does not accomplish that, traditional marketing does. 

So to use the definitions to define “traditional marketing” I would say “A continuing pattern of practices to transfer goods from seller or buyer.”  I don’t think antiquated mediums suffice to fill those shoes.

It is the buyers tradition of research to acquire goods and services you must market in their form of tradition.  With over 70% of buyers researching vehicles online before making a purchase decision it should tell dealers and consultants that the “tradition” for the buyer is to start online.  Even if they do not make their final purchase there.

If customers by habit use a medium to collect information before signing on the dotted line, they have created the tradition that you must embrace.  They don’t care about your traditions or habits they only care about theirs. 

You market to people by reaching them, you need to go to where they are.  No amount of money is going to get them to listen to your radio ad when they are using their iPod and Sirrus, they won’t watch your commercial if they TiVo or DVR and when was the last time you really read a paper front to back or sorted through sales slicks in your mail box.

Just as we have become immune from advertising so have our customers.  I guess the weekly print ad is still an effective closing tool for sales people and weak managers and provides them with a tool to discourage other forms of marketing because they do not want to be responsible for encouraging something different than the status quo.

Today’s consumers traditionally go online, most car dealers traditionally spend money marketing in the wrong places.  Be an innovator if you are not to late and own a market area before your competition wakes up by using traditional marketing, let them keep wasting their money.

Customers are changing their traditions we must change our vocabulary.