Click on the chart image shown above to open a larger, easier to read and view image of the Website Traffic Tracking widget provided by Compete, Inc. that is shown on the ADM Showroom page about halfway down...

Here is a Direct Link To Automotive Professional Social Media Site Tracking Report from Compete, Inc.

12 Months: Unique Visitors (below)


12 Months: Visitors (below)


12 Months: Compete Rank (below)
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I currently have 3 dealership Web 2.0 / UGC digital marketing projects in progress... At this point in time, it is fairly easy to swap various User Generated Content (UGC) and interaction modules, gadgets, widgets, applets, applications, etc. in and out of a Web 2.0 site using a variety of platforms... However... What I have come to realize from a fairly short time into the project is that UGC/Web 2.0 engagement tools and features are only 25% of the formula for success that will be required... What hasn't changed about using the Internet for automotive marketing and sales via client/consumer/shopper/customer interaction during the past 15 years is that ALL digital marketing plans require a balanced approach and consistent tactical execution in 4 distinct key areas... And, site content and features are only 1 of those 4. The digital marketing strategy I am referring to has been understood for so long, it is almost a cliche, but these requirements are still as true today as they wer...

There are several automotive industry technology suppliers offering various automotive sales Internet Lead Scoring solutions for deployment and implementation in a variety of ways at Tiers 1, 2 and 3. They are:
1. R. L. Polk (see Jeremy Hambly's blog post)
2. Urban Science
3. Trilogy
4. ????????
After having had lengthy discussions with each of the above, and participating in numerous presentations, then speaking with dealers, enterprises and car companies who have implemented some form of using Lead Scoring, I am convinced more than ever that Lead SCORING is a strategy with several major flaws.
Do customers lie in their lead forms? Of course, but that is not the worst problem...
Are some leads distributed to more than one dealer, diluting each dealer's probability of selling that customer a vehicle, regardless of any arbitrary score a software system assigns? Of course they are...
If I send 10 leads to any dealership in America that have been automatically assessed by a softwa...

As Google continues to glean display advertising expertise through their acquisition of DoubleClick, the hits just keep on coming... Google has added several MORE new features to the Google AdWords display ad builder recently launched in September 2008. Dealers and their Managers can use these new capabilities to easily create and self-administer their website targeted display advertising placements... Google says that there most recent upgrades to the Adwords display ad creator application are based on user feedback, but I personally suspect some of the DoubleClick gang at work. Google has increased functionality in a way that provides greater dealer customization capabilities and even makes building website display ads easier.
 

For example, the new image picker feature lets dealers choose from a library of previously uploaded images, such as dealership and brand logos, when creating new ads. I especially like the real-time editing display that lets users see...

Video has become the new Eye Candy of the web... Car buyers are attracted to it and many dealers have leveraged low cost or free video distribution sites to their business advantage... Let's take a look at how some of these sites stack up.
Many Automotive Digital Marketing professionals have asked me "How do I get started with using Video to attract customers?"... There are a lot of ways to leverage the car buying public's seemingly insatiable appetite for online video clips. Certainly the whole industry has by now been pitched on using video clips created by vendors like Unity Works Media and SiSTer Technology from your used vehicle images sent in by DealerSpecialties or CDM Data or any one of several used and new vehicle photo taking services... However, what about the kinds of videos that the Jeff Wyler Family of Dealerships uses to enhance communications with customers? Or, how about what Alvin Newton does with his team at Courtesy Chevrolet in San Diego?
Both of those ...

 
NADA Supports Tax Break for Auto Buyers, Offers Dealer Hotline November 13, 2008 - Sen. Mikulski Introduces Tax Deduction Bill to Put Economy ‘Back on its Wheels’
WASHINGTON (Nov. 12, 2008) – The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) supports proposed legislation announced today by U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., which seeks to stimulate the struggling economy by boosting retail automobile sales.
Today at a suburban Maryland dealership, Sen. Mikulski proposed granting a tax incentive for consumers who purchase a new car or truck. New vehicle owners would be able to temporarily deduct sales and excise taxes as well as interest on auto loans from their income taxes. (View the arguments in favor of tax incentives for car buyers from Sen. Mikulski).
“Credit is available again but lagging consumer confidence is still depressing new car and truck sales 25-30 percent,” NADA Chairman Annette Sykora said. “Now is the time for Congress...

Since this is my first blog posting to be published on DrivingSales.com, please let me introduce myself...
My name is Ralph Paglia and I joined the ADP Dealer Services Division, headquartered in Hoffman Estates, IL as their corporate  “Director – Digital Marketing” responsible for business development with OEM and National Accounts in April, 2007.  Prior to joining ADP, I was the Director of CRM and eBusiness Operations at Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix, AZ.  Courtesy Chevrolet’s Phoenix dealership is the largest total sales volume Chevrolet dealership in America… For the first 6 months after leaving Courtesy, I maintained an ongoing consulting relationship with Bill Gruwell, the owner of Courtesy Chevrolet and his sons Mark and Scott Gruwell.

I first became familiar with AskPatty.com while working for Courtesy Chevrolet in the Spring of 2006.  Since most of the people reading this blog posting have probably heard about AskPatty...