Brian Pasch

Company: PCG Consulting Inc

Brian Pasch Blog
Total Posts: 325    

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Nov 11, 2010

What Automotive Training Videos Would You Watch?

I'm heading out in a few weeks to record a series of educational videos covering different aspects of automotive digital marketing, search engine optimization, reputation management, car dealer microsites, and social media integration.

I would love to get input from the DrivingSales community on the topics that you would like to see filmed.  The videos will be approximately 10-15 minutes in length so they are laser focused on one topic.  More complicated topics would be broken out into parts 1,2,3, etc.

Since September I have been mentoring 100 car dealers in the Automotive SEO Study and one of the most popular comments that I receive is that members of the study love to go back and reply the videos of the live webinars.  Some have commented that they play them back multiple times to catch all the details from our lessons. 

Automotive Training Videos

That is what makes video training so effective; you can repeat the videos until you get the subject matter integrated into dealership process.  With that in mind, I would love for you to make some suggestions.  In order to guide your thoughts and suggestions, here are a couple of planned videos segments:

Google Places

  1. Introduction to Google Places
  2. Completing Your Business Profile
  3. Optimizing Your Business Profile
  4. Understanding Google Places Analytics
  5. Monitor Consumer Reviews

Search Engine Optimization

  1. Introduction to SEO
  2. How The Search Engines Work
  3. Domain Name Purchasing Strategies
  4. Microsite Publishing Strategies
  5. Link Building Strategies
  6. Creating Optimized Content Pages
  7. Content Publishing Strategies

You get the idea.  With larger topics you need to break the videos into segments.  So share your creativity and if you have a "wish list" for great educational video content that you can use in your dealership to train your staff or a refresher course for yourself, make some suggestions.

I'll use the feedback from DrivingSales.com members to guide my video segments that I film this month and also in the coming months.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing

http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com 
http://twitter.com/automotiveseo
http://facebook.com/pcgdigitalmarketing

P.S. Don't forget to join me in Napa for our Digital Marketing Strategies Conference on February 1-3rd, 2011 just prior to the NADA Convention in San Francisco.

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

1522

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Nov 11, 2010

What Automotive Training Videos Would You Watch?

I'm heading out in a few weeks to record a series of educational videos covering different aspects of automotive digital marketing, search engine optimization, reputation management, car dealer microsites, and social media integration.

I would love to get input from the DrivingSales community on the topics that you would like to see filmed.  The videos will be approximately 10-15 minutes in length so they are laser focused on one topic.  More complicated topics would be broken out into parts 1,2,3, etc.

Since September I have been mentoring 100 car dealers in the Automotive SEO Study and one of the most popular comments that I receive is that members of the study love to go back and reply the videos of the live webinars.  Some have commented that they play them back multiple times to catch all the details from our lessons. 

Automotive Training Videos

That is what makes video training so effective; you can repeat the videos until you get the subject matter integrated into dealership process.  With that in mind, I would love for you to make some suggestions.  In order to guide your thoughts and suggestions, here are a couple of planned videos segments:

Google Places

  1. Introduction to Google Places
  2. Completing Your Business Profile
  3. Optimizing Your Business Profile
  4. Understanding Google Places Analytics
  5. Monitor Consumer Reviews

Search Engine Optimization

  1. Introduction to SEO
  2. How The Search Engines Work
  3. Domain Name Purchasing Strategies
  4. Microsite Publishing Strategies
  5. Link Building Strategies
  6. Creating Optimized Content Pages
  7. Content Publishing Strategies

You get the idea.  With larger topics you need to break the videos into segments.  So share your creativity and if you have a "wish list" for great educational video content that you can use in your dealership to train your staff or a refresher course for yourself, make some suggestions.

I'll use the feedback from DrivingSales.com members to guide my video segments that I film this month and also in the coming months.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing

http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com 
http://twitter.com/automotiveseo
http://facebook.com/pcgdigitalmarketing

P.S. Don't forget to join me in Napa for our Digital Marketing Strategies Conference on February 1-3rd, 2011 just prior to the NADA Convention in San Francisco.

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

1522

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Sep 9, 2010

Dealers Need a POD Score of 100

POD Score

I am introducing to DrivingSales.com members a new acronym in the field of Automotive SEO: POD Score.

 

POD stands for Page One Defense and the score can range from Zero to 100. A car dealer's POD Score is a direct reflection of their awareness and diligence to protect their brand from parasites and poachers.

 

The sad news is that over 95% of car dealers in the United States fail to have a POD score above 50%.

 

The most frequent search phrase that brings a consumer to a car dealer website is a search on their dealership name. If a dealer is also buying their name in Google Adwords, it will also be the number one search phrase that drives paid clicks to a dealers website.

 

Summary:  Your dealership NAME is the #1 way that consumers find your website on the Internet.

 

With this in mind, I am raising awareness of what is happening on the search engines when a consumer searches a car dealership name. Creating the POD Scoring system will raise the awareness of car dealers that their brand name is under attack.

 

The #1 Search Phrase That Drives Traffic

 

Since the dealer's EXACT NAME is the #1 organic search phrase to drive traffic to their website, lead collectors as a group have targeted search optimization strategies on their name to drive traffic to their websites.

 

If you haven't noticed, Edmunds.com for example, has an optimized website page for every car dealer in the US. On that page is a form to get price quotes from your competitors.

 

I bet that as a group, the #1 free traffic that many lead collection website receive is traffic on dealership names.

 

Dealers spend thousands of dollars a month on radio, TV, print, billboards and local advertising. As a result of that brand awareness, consumers type in a dealer's name for directions, phone numbers, service, or to shop for a car.

 

What dealer's are not fully aware of is that people are lying in wait for these consumers to type in the dealer's name and redirect them to their own websites and marketing goals.

 

 

So what is your dealerships POD Score?

 

 

It is our opinion that the ideal score is a perfect 100 but many car dealers in the United States have a POD Scores of 40 or below. Here are some examples of dealers that have a POD Score of 20 and one that has a POD score of 80:

 

 


 


How Is The POD Score Calculated?

 

POD Scores give dealers 10 points for each organic listing that they control on Page One for an exact search on their dealership name. If a dealer controls all 10 of the organic listings on Page One, they receive a 100 point score.

 

The definition of "control" is simple; do you have the ability to control the content on the listing that shows on Page One for your dealership name. Some of the dealers can control that appear on Page One include:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Blogs
  • Microsites
  • Press Releases
  • Videos

Some of the things that dealers cannot control on Page One include:

  • Lead collectors
  • Review websites
  • Business Directories
  • Complaint websites
  • Better Business Bureau
  • National Automotive Websites

Why is a POD Score of 100 Important

 

A POD Score of 100 means that third party lead collectors are not diverting your customers into their data capturing devices. It means that disgruntled employees, customers and competitors will have a harder time abusing review websites to hurt your brand. It means that customers who are driven to the web by your radio, TV and print advertising investments are not diverted from your website.

 

A POD Score of 100 will yield MORE direct leads. There will be more discussion and a few videos created on how dealers can achieve a score of 80, 90, or 100 points. Anything less than a score of 70 means that your brand is being drained of its equity and you have made it easy for this to occur.

 

 

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

2207

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Sep 9, 2010

Dealers Need a POD Score of 100

POD Score

I am introducing to DrivingSales.com members a new acronym in the field of Automotive SEO: POD Score.

 

POD stands for Page One Defense and the score can range from Zero to 100. A car dealer's POD Score is a direct reflection of their awareness and diligence to protect their brand from parasites and poachers.

 

The sad news is that over 95% of car dealers in the United States fail to have a POD score above 50%.

 

The most frequent search phrase that brings a consumer to a car dealer website is a search on their dealership name. If a dealer is also buying their name in Google Adwords, it will also be the number one search phrase that drives paid clicks to a dealers website.

 

Summary:  Your dealership NAME is the #1 way that consumers find your website on the Internet.

 

With this in mind, I am raising awareness of what is happening on the search engines when a consumer searches a car dealership name. Creating the POD Scoring system will raise the awareness of car dealers that their brand name is under attack.

 

The #1 Search Phrase That Drives Traffic

 

Since the dealer's EXACT NAME is the #1 organic search phrase to drive traffic to their website, lead collectors as a group have targeted search optimization strategies on their name to drive traffic to their websites.

 

If you haven't noticed, Edmunds.com for example, has an optimized website page for every car dealer in the US. On that page is a form to get price quotes from your competitors.

 

I bet that as a group, the #1 free traffic that many lead collection website receive is traffic on dealership names.

 

Dealers spend thousands of dollars a month on radio, TV, print, billboards and local advertising. As a result of that brand awareness, consumers type in a dealer's name for directions, phone numbers, service, or to shop for a car.

 

What dealer's are not fully aware of is that people are lying in wait for these consumers to type in the dealer's name and redirect them to their own websites and marketing goals.

 

 

So what is your dealerships POD Score?

 

 

It is our opinion that the ideal score is a perfect 100 but many car dealers in the United States have a POD Scores of 40 or below. Here are some examples of dealers that have a POD Score of 20 and one that has a POD score of 80:

 

 


 


How Is The POD Score Calculated?

 

POD Scores give dealers 10 points for each organic listing that they control on Page One for an exact search on their dealership name. If a dealer controls all 10 of the organic listings on Page One, they receive a 100 point score.

 

The definition of "control" is simple; do you have the ability to control the content on the listing that shows on Page One for your dealership name. Some of the dealers can control that appear on Page One include:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Blogs
  • Microsites
  • Press Releases
  • Videos

Some of the things that dealers cannot control on Page One include:

  • Lead collectors
  • Review websites
  • Business Directories
  • Complaint websites
  • Better Business Bureau
  • National Automotive Websites

Why is a POD Score of 100 Important

 

A POD Score of 100 means that third party lead collectors are not diverting your customers into their data capturing devices. It means that disgruntled employees, customers and competitors will have a harder time abusing review websites to hurt your brand. It means that customers who are driven to the web by your radio, TV and print advertising investments are not diverted from your website.

 

A POD Score of 100 will yield MORE direct leads. There will be more discussion and a few videos created on how dealers can achieve a score of 80, 90, or 100 points. Anything less than a score of 70 means that your brand is being drained of its equity and you have made it easy for this to occur.

 

 

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

2207

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Aug 8, 2010

Car Dealers As Movie Producers

Car dealers are turning to a second career to jumpstart their online sales: movie director.  Consumer engagement in social media coupled with the popularity of online review sites has forced car dealers to rethink their automotive advertising strategies.

Video production which was once was cost prohibitive for dealers to do themselves has now become an affordable tool for creative automotive professionals. In growing numbers, car dealers are turning to FlipCam video cameras to create video testimonials for their customers, walk around car videos and now a move to create social media viral videos.

These videos are being integrated into their websites, Google Maps, Facebook and loaded on popular video websites like YouTube to extend the reach of their brand.  Customer testimonial videos are becoming standard operating procedure as studies show that consumers trust their peers five times more than a statement from an automotive dealer. 

Toyota Extended WarrantyOne of the newest place to leverage a car dealer's video testimonials in on Google Maps. 

I recommend that you load a new car, used car and service testimonial video to your Google Maps listings. 

You should also add 3 or 4  good photos of customers getting delivery of cars and delete those photos of your building.  When you enhance you Google Maps listings with positive eneergy, watch what happens to your click through statistics.

Pioneers in this field of FlipCam videos include Tim Jennings, Ken Beam, Christine Knowles, and a host of advance thinkers who have made their websites come alive with multimedia.  One of the rising stars in automotive videos is Acton Toyota who first made me laugh with their A++ Toyota Warranty videos.

Get Ready To Laugh - Can You Translate Boston Speak?

If you want to see a great video for a revenue source that most dealers ignore, click on this link:  Toyota Extended Warranty

Acton Toyota Videos

Toyota Dealer Shines for FlipCam

One innovative car dealers has been nationally recognized for their innovative videos using a FlipCam is Acton Toyota.  The Boston Toyota dealership was recently featured in the national magazine "Toyota Today" for their spoof videos that were inspired by the popular Mac vs PC TV commercials.

Acton Toyota had no previous film or editing experience yet their videos have attracted thousands of visitors to their websites. The recent article in Toyota Today highlights that car dealers are just beginning to embrace social media communications that include these creative viral videos.

With the ease of which the FlipCam can create videos, more car dealers should investigate how they can bring their static websites alive with tutorials, testimonials, better display of the cars they sell and warm introductions for the services they offer.

I would estimate that less that 10% of all car dealers in the United States have testimonial videos on their website or integrated into their social media processes.  He who acts first will increase their marketshare and brand awareness.  Are you ready? 

 

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

2032

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Aug 8, 2010

Car Dealers As Movie Producers

Car dealers are turning to a second career to jumpstart their online sales: movie director.  Consumer engagement in social media coupled with the popularity of online review sites has forced car dealers to rethink their automotive advertising strategies.

Video production which was once was cost prohibitive for dealers to do themselves has now become an affordable tool for creative automotive professionals. In growing numbers, car dealers are turning to FlipCam video cameras to create video testimonials for their customers, walk around car videos and now a move to create social media viral videos.

These videos are being integrated into their websites, Google Maps, Facebook and loaded on popular video websites like YouTube to extend the reach of their brand.  Customer testimonial videos are becoming standard operating procedure as studies show that consumers trust their peers five times more than a statement from an automotive dealer. 

Toyota Extended WarrantyOne of the newest place to leverage a car dealer's video testimonials in on Google Maps. 

I recommend that you load a new car, used car and service testimonial video to your Google Maps listings. 

You should also add 3 or 4  good photos of customers getting delivery of cars and delete those photos of your building.  When you enhance you Google Maps listings with positive eneergy, watch what happens to your click through statistics.

Pioneers in this field of FlipCam videos include Tim Jennings, Ken Beam, Christine Knowles, and a host of advance thinkers who have made their websites come alive with multimedia.  One of the rising stars in automotive videos is Acton Toyota who first made me laugh with their A++ Toyota Warranty videos.

Get Ready To Laugh - Can You Translate Boston Speak?

If you want to see a great video for a revenue source that most dealers ignore, click on this link:  Toyota Extended Warranty

Acton Toyota Videos

Toyota Dealer Shines for FlipCam

One innovative car dealers has been nationally recognized for their innovative videos using a FlipCam is Acton Toyota.  The Boston Toyota dealership was recently featured in the national magazine "Toyota Today" for their spoof videos that were inspired by the popular Mac vs PC TV commercials.

Acton Toyota had no previous film or editing experience yet their videos have attracted thousands of visitors to their websites. The recent article in Toyota Today highlights that car dealers are just beginning to embrace social media communications that include these creative viral videos.

With the ease of which the FlipCam can create videos, more car dealers should investigate how they can bring their static websites alive with tutorials, testimonials, better display of the cars they sell and warm introductions for the services they offer.

I would estimate that less that 10% of all car dealers in the United States have testimonial videos on their website or integrated into their social media processes.  He who acts first will increase their marketshare and brand awareness.  Are you ready? 

 

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

2032

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Jul 7, 2010

Car Dealer Service MicrositesAs car dealers look to increase profits and revenue, their marketing agenda lately has focused on social media and how this communication channel can grow their business.

Social media of course is important but a proven money maker for car dealers is being ignored by many dealers as part of their digital advertising strategy.

When I am called into dealership meetings to review their online marketing strategy, rarely does a dealership ask about increasing service revenue through SEO and SEM.

Dealers seem to be content with service direct mail and email campaigns which work very well in most markets. Over the past few months I have been working on an SEO strategy to increase the visibility of car dealers for common service searches in Google.

It is an eye opener to see just how I have been able to increase visibility for car dealers by targeting popular service keywords. A good way to test the service visibility for any car dealer is to type in a common service for a brand that they sell in their own town.

So a BMW dealer in Virginia Beach would test their service SEO by searching Google for:

  • BMW Oil Change Virginia Beach  (see Google Search)
  • BMW Brakes Virginia Beach
  • BMW Tires Virginia Beach

In the first case, PCG's new Fixed Operations Microsite appears on Google Page One for Checkered Flag Auto Group ahead of all business offering a BMW Oil Change. 

The service microsite is www.virginiabeachcarrepairs.com . This added visibility for car dealers over time, will increase service leads, calls and service revenue.  The site is about 45 days old and it appears in Google search for a number of OEM brands and services in their market.

If you search Google Videos or YouTube videos for the Phrase "Virginia Beach Oil Change", their service video is ranked #1. Christine at Checkered Flag does an amazing job with their service videos.

Dealers who want to gain an edge in their markets should leverage service microsites and videos to communicate an effective message.  Service videos, when they are done so well like this example, can be placed in many places to increase conversion.

Dealers Becoming Price Competitive

In this challenging economy, many dealers have decided to become more price competitive for common automotive services like oil changes, tires, brakes and coolant flushes. I wholeheartedly agree with this strategy.

If dealers have good service advisers, they can extend the dealership brand and customer service experience to owners of cars that dealers do not sell. The service channel can be a more effective sales and lead strategy than any other channel because of the number of car owners they touch each month.

Busy dealer groups service thousands of cars a week and if they were also marketing to all car owners in their market, these numbers could grow significantly. So I would like to cast a vote that Fixed Operations SEO and microsites be on dealership agendas for digital marketing spending.

Dealers should also create a budget to create videos for popular services that they offer which can light-up content pages. Google rewards first responders so before your competitors take the lead for service microsites in your area, make the move.

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

2106

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Jul 7, 2010

Car Dealer Service MicrositesAs car dealers look to increase profits and revenue, their marketing agenda lately has focused on social media and how this communication channel can grow their business.

Social media of course is important but a proven money maker for car dealers is being ignored by many dealers as part of their digital advertising strategy.

When I am called into dealership meetings to review their online marketing strategy, rarely does a dealership ask about increasing service revenue through SEO and SEM.

Dealers seem to be content with service direct mail and email campaigns which work very well in most markets. Over the past few months I have been working on an SEO strategy to increase the visibility of car dealers for common service searches in Google.

It is an eye opener to see just how I have been able to increase visibility for car dealers by targeting popular service keywords. A good way to test the service visibility for any car dealer is to type in a common service for a brand that they sell in their own town.

So a BMW dealer in Virginia Beach would test their service SEO by searching Google for:

  • BMW Oil Change Virginia Beach  (see Google Search)
  • BMW Brakes Virginia Beach
  • BMW Tires Virginia Beach

In the first case, PCG's new Fixed Operations Microsite appears on Google Page One for Checkered Flag Auto Group ahead of all business offering a BMW Oil Change. 

The service microsite is www.virginiabeachcarrepairs.com . This added visibility for car dealers over time, will increase service leads, calls and service revenue.  The site is about 45 days old and it appears in Google search for a number of OEM brands and services in their market.

If you search Google Videos or YouTube videos for the Phrase "Virginia Beach Oil Change", their service video is ranked #1. Christine at Checkered Flag does an amazing job with their service videos.

Dealers who want to gain an edge in their markets should leverage service microsites and videos to communicate an effective message.  Service videos, when they are done so well like this example, can be placed in many places to increase conversion.

Dealers Becoming Price Competitive

In this challenging economy, many dealers have decided to become more price competitive for common automotive services like oil changes, tires, brakes and coolant flushes. I wholeheartedly agree with this strategy.

If dealers have good service advisers, they can extend the dealership brand and customer service experience to owners of cars that dealers do not sell. The service channel can be a more effective sales and lead strategy than any other channel because of the number of car owners they touch each month.

Busy dealer groups service thousands of cars a week and if they were also marketing to all car owners in their market, these numbers could grow significantly. So I would like to cast a vote that Fixed Operations SEO and microsites be on dealership agendas for digital marketing spending.

Dealers should also create a budget to create videos for popular services that they offer which can light-up content pages. Google rewards first responders so before your competitors take the lead for service microsites in your area, make the move.

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

2106

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Apr 4, 2010

Dealers spend thousands of dollars a year on designing a good website. Then they spend thousands of dollars a year to add video, chat, vAuto, SEO and SEM to their websites. They invest in branding on radio, TV and newspaper as well.

Then dealers unknowingly make decisions to make sure consumers DO NOT GET to their website for popular search phrases on the search engines.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

One day, dealers were told it was a "good" idea to send their inventory to 3, 5, 8 or 10 "free" inventory listing websites that promised to create significant leads and relevance to their business.

Inventory feed providers, website providers all bought the sales pitch. Funny, not many dealers have gone back to look just how many leads are coming in from these "free" sites? Even less have decided to take any action once they saw that these free sites were NOT producing meaningful results.

Dealers concluded, what can it hurt me to send my inventory....it's free. Guess what. It's NOT free. It has a real Cost.

So, I wrote a post this week that I though would elicit more responses, but it didn't. I think I just gave too much information, so I'll say it one more time, using graphics. Dealers are allowing their inventory to be used against them.
 

They are allowing free websites to push their own websites off of Google Page One.


I did a simple search on Yahoo, which was: " Indianapolis Silverado for sale" and I documented Page 1 and Page 2 of the search results. You should test a few local phrases and see who comes up on Page One.

Take a look at the screen shots at the bottom of this page and take note that:
 

  1. There are NO car dealers in organic search results on Page One or Two.
  2. Go back and read point #1.
  3. Free listing websites that sell your leads or show competitor listings are on Page 1 and 2 and NO car dealer websites are one Page 1 or 2.
  4. KBB is using your inventory feed to create car detail pages with lead generation links to:
    1. Cars.com
    2. FundingWay.com
    3. Presenting competing dealer banner ads
    4. Presenting banner ads that go to OEM websites
  5. Oodle is using your inventory feed to create car detail pages with lead generation links to:
    1. Your competitors using Google Adsense
    2. Presenting banner ads that go to OEM websites
  6. LemonFree is using your inventory feed to create car detail pages with lead generation links to:
    1. Your competitors comparable listings in their network
    2. Competitors using Google Adsense



Do I have to keep going?


Many dealers are PAYING Autotrader.com to advertise their cars and even AT is being pushed down in the ranking by free and pseudo-free websites that are NOT dealer centric models. The irony is that dealers are sending their inventory to free sites that are pushing even AutoTrader.com down in the rankings.

Anyone looking for a reason WHY Autotrader.com leads may be down in your market? It just may be your own actions!

How many leads a month are you getting from these FREE sites?

Driving Sales Members..please listen.

STOP SENDING YOUR INVENTORY to "free" sites that are using your inventory to create landing pages by car model that: 

  • sell your competitors cars
  • create leads that are sold to your competitors
  • generate ad revenue for someone else
  • that push your own website pages off Google Page One


Call your inventory management service
like HomeNet, Dealer Specialties, etc. and tell them to ONLY send your inventory advertising services that DELIVER results like Autotrader.com, Cars.com or any site THAT YOU HAVE PROVEN is not hurting you and is delivering real sales each month.

Get it in writing and then search for VIN numbers that you have in stock the following month. Need proof? See the images below.

Does ANYONE think that at least ONE Chevrolet Dealer should be showing up on Yahoo Page One or Page Two???
 

 

What is your response?

 

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

http://twitter.com/automotiveseo

http://facebook.com/pcgdigitalmarketing

 

 

 

 


 

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

1434

No Comments

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

Apr 4, 2010

Dealers spend thousands of dollars a year on designing a good website. Then they spend thousands of dollars a year to add video, chat, vAuto, SEO and SEM to their websites. They invest in branding on radio, TV and newspaper as well.

Then dealers unknowingly make decisions to make sure consumers DO NOT GET to their website for popular search phrases on the search engines.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

One day, dealers were told it was a "good" idea to send their inventory to 3, 5, 8 or 10 "free" inventory listing websites that promised to create significant leads and relevance to their business.

Inventory feed providers, website providers all bought the sales pitch. Funny, not many dealers have gone back to look just how many leads are coming in from these "free" sites? Even less have decided to take any action once they saw that these free sites were NOT producing meaningful results.

Dealers concluded, what can it hurt me to send my inventory....it's free. Guess what. It's NOT free. It has a real Cost.

So, I wrote a post this week that I though would elicit more responses, but it didn't. I think I just gave too much information, so I'll say it one more time, using graphics. Dealers are allowing their inventory to be used against them.
 

They are allowing free websites to push their own websites off of Google Page One.


I did a simple search on Yahoo, which was: " Indianapolis Silverado for sale" and I documented Page 1 and Page 2 of the search results. You should test a few local phrases and see who comes up on Page One.

Take a look at the screen shots at the bottom of this page and take note that:
 

  1. There are NO car dealers in organic search results on Page One or Two.
  2. Go back and read point #1.
  3. Free listing websites that sell your leads or show competitor listings are on Page 1 and 2 and NO car dealer websites are one Page 1 or 2.
  4. KBB is using your inventory feed to create car detail pages with lead generation links to:
    1. Cars.com
    2. FundingWay.com
    3. Presenting competing dealer banner ads
    4. Presenting banner ads that go to OEM websites
  5. Oodle is using your inventory feed to create car detail pages with lead generation links to:
    1. Your competitors using Google Adsense
    2. Presenting banner ads that go to OEM websites
  6. LemonFree is using your inventory feed to create car detail pages with lead generation links to:
    1. Your competitors comparable listings in their network
    2. Competitors using Google Adsense



Do I have to keep going?


Many dealers are PAYING Autotrader.com to advertise their cars and even AT is being pushed down in the ranking by free and pseudo-free websites that are NOT dealer centric models. The irony is that dealers are sending their inventory to free sites that are pushing even AutoTrader.com down in the rankings.

Anyone looking for a reason WHY Autotrader.com leads may be down in your market? It just may be your own actions!

How many leads a month are you getting from these FREE sites?

Driving Sales Members..please listen.

STOP SENDING YOUR INVENTORY to "free" sites that are using your inventory to create landing pages by car model that: 

  • sell your competitors cars
  • create leads that are sold to your competitors
  • generate ad revenue for someone else
  • that push your own website pages off Google Page One


Call your inventory management service
like HomeNet, Dealer Specialties, etc. and tell them to ONLY send your inventory advertising services that DELIVER results like Autotrader.com, Cars.com or any site THAT YOU HAVE PROVEN is not hurting you and is delivering real sales each month.

Get it in writing and then search for VIN numbers that you have in stock the following month. Need proof? See the images below.

Does ANYONE think that at least ONE Chevrolet Dealer should be showing up on Yahoo Page One or Page Two???
 

 

What is your response?

 

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

http://twitter.com/automotiveseo

http://facebook.com/pcgdigitalmarketing

 

 

 

 


 

Brian Pasch

PCG Consulting Inc

CEO

1434

No Comments

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