The best time to capture a review from a happy customer is while they are with you at your place of business. As soon as your satisfied customers leave your building, the likelihood that they will place a review on Google Places is reduced. Business owners have been struggling to establish easy processes to increase their direct Google Places reviews. Solutions are on the way!

Google introduced Google Hotpot as a way to simplify posting reviews on Google Places. Until recently there was no convenient way to post a review on Google Places from a mobile device.

Before this app was available, it was a painful process to post a review on Google Places from my iPad. This new app solves that issue and opens the door to empower business owners to collect more reviews.

Google has just published their Google Places App which is available for download on the iTunes store. This app will bring a significant change to how reviews are posted directly on Google Places.

It will also bring direct competition to Yelp.com and other platforms that have similar mobile ratings apps.

Google Places does roll-up reviews from many different review websites but my recommendation is that if you need a place to start your IRM process, begin with posting reviews directly on Google Places.

Collecting Reviews Using HotPot

For business owners, this means they can load an iPad or iPhone with the Google Places App which gives them an easy, one click path, to their business listing ratings page on Google Places.

The Google HotPot technology will automatically show all businesses near the location of the mobile device. If you have not played with Google Hotpot, get busy. It really makes posting reviews for any business a breeze.

For car dealers, imagine if during the sales and service processes you ask your customers is they have a Google Account. If they do, you can pass them an iPhone or iPad on the public 3G network and ask them to post a review using their gmail account.

The Google Places App makes it so easy for the customer and they are using their EXISTING Google email. You also have no IP address issues that prevent dealers from getting in store reviews from sites like DealerRater.com. In reality, Google wants consumers to post reviews on the spot. Did you enjoy your meal? Post a review. Did your oil change go smoothly? Post a review.

I wonder if DealerRater and other automotive specific websites will start to release mobile apps and unshackle car dealers from the duplicate IP address issues that are antiquated.

Soon, you won't have to pass them an iPad you can just ask them if they downloaded the Google Places App and they can vote from their own phone. This new app will significantly increase reviews on Google Places.
 

You Can Also Send Customized Emails

While you are implementing the mobile review process outlined above, you can also craft a special email to your customers that have given you a Google "gmail" address on their customer file. Since they have a Google account, sending them a link to your Google Places review page.

This brings your customers one click away from being able to post a review. Your email template for these customers should state that since they are Google users, they don't have to create an account to post a review. Let them know that its fast and simple.

So if you want more positive reviews, create a mobile strategy for your business and have your customers review your business while they are with you! Are you ready to be the business in your area with the highest number of reviews on Google Places? The race is on!

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

See you in Napa Feb 1-3

The best time to capture a review from a happy customer is while they are with you at your place of business. As soon as your satisfied customers leave your building, the likelihood that they will place a review on Google Places is reduced. Business owners have been struggling to establish easy processes to increase their direct Google Places reviews. Solutions are on the way!

Google introduced Google Hotpot as a way to simplify posting reviews on Google Places. Until recently there was no convenient way to post a review on Google Places from a mobile device.

Before this app was available, it was a painful process to post a review on Google Places from my iPad. This new app solves that issue and opens the door to empower business owners to collect more reviews.

Google has just published their Google Places App which is available for download on the iTunes store. This app will bring a significant change to how reviews are posted directly on Google Places.

It will also bring direct competition to Yelp.com and other platforms that have similar mobile ratings apps.

Google Places does roll-up reviews from many different review websites but my recommendation is that if you need a place to start your IRM process, begin with posting reviews directly on Google Places.

Collecting Reviews Using HotPot

For business owners, this means they can load an iPad or iPhone with the Google Places App which gives them an easy, one click path, to their business listing ratings page on Google Places.

The Google HotPot technology will automatically show all businesses near the location of the mobile device. If you have not played with Google Hotpot, get busy. It really makes posting reviews for any business a breeze.

For car dealers, imagine if during the sales and service processes you ask your customers is they have a Google Account. If they do, you can pass them an iPhone or iPad on the public 3G network and ask them to post a review using their gmail account.

The Google Places App makes it so easy for the customer and they are using their EXISTING Google email. You also have no IP address issues that prevent dealers from getting in store reviews from sites like DealerRater.com. In reality, Google wants consumers to post reviews on the spot. Did you enjoy your meal? Post a review. Did your oil change go smoothly? Post a review.

I wonder if DealerRater and other automotive specific websites will start to release mobile apps and unshackle car dealers from the duplicate IP address issues that are antiquated.

Soon, you won't have to pass them an iPad you can just ask them if they downloaded the Google Places App and they can vote from their own phone. This new app will significantly increase reviews on Google Places.
 

You Can Also Send Customized Emails

While you are implementing the mobile review process outlined above, you can also craft a special email to your customers that have given you a Google "gmail" address on their customer file. Since they have a Google account, sending them a link to your Google Places review page.

This brings your customers one click away from being able to post a review. Your email template for these customers should state that since they are Google users, they don't have to create an account to post a review. Let them know that its fast and simple.

So if you want more positive reviews, create a mobile strategy for your business and have your customers review your business while they are with you! Are you ready to be the business in your area with the highest number of reviews on Google Places? The race is on!

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

See you in Napa Feb 1-3

Wikipedia made popular the technology used on many "wiki" websites which allows for web pages to be created and edited without requiring HTML programming knowledge.

The largest "wiki" website for the automotive industry is http://www.CarDealerWiki.org. This website is a great resource for dealers embarking on a Automotive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign and also for dealers who want to syndicate their used car inventory.

CarDealerWiki.org is a free website that is for employees of car dealerships, vendors of the automotive industry, and related automotive service and news providers. Getting started with CarDealerWiki is as simple as creating an account and completing the sign-up form.

It is recommended that you register with an email account from your business and NOT from Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail. Once your registration is approved, normally within 24 hours, you can claim your dealership profile page and create powerful content and backlinks. Email accounts not associated with a business website will not be approved to reduce spam.

Creating More Automotive Backlinks

One of the most powerful ways a car dealer can increase the search authority of their website is to build quality backlinks from well respected websites.

The more links a dealer has pointing to his relevant website content, the higher that page will rank in the search engines. Think of links as "votes" to your website pages.

It is a challenge to find free websites that allow car dealers to post original content and create backlinks on a variety of keywords and phrases. CarDealerWiki is one of the best websites to assist dealers with content publishing and backlink building.

In fact, the site has a number of automated features that make content generation and link building very easy, some which are shown below:

1. You can drop in your RSS feed from DealerRater.com (view example)
2. You can drop in your RSS feed of new car inventory (view example)
3. You can drop in your RSS feed of used car inventory (view example)
4. You can drop in customer testimonial videos from Youtube
5. You can drop in your RSS feed from your blog

Capital Ford Lincoln in Canada has a very detailed profile page and sub-pages that integrates their inventory, videos, and their blog posts. Take a peek by visiting their page at: http://www.cardealerwiki.org/Capital_Ford_Lincoln.

Marketing Used Cars on CarDealerWiki

CarDealerWiki.org also supports the Automotive Advertising Network (AAN) data feed so members have direct access to their inventory with searchable RSS parameters so they can create used car marketing pages for any make or model.

The architecture of CarDealerWiki.org really empowers car dealers to build links to their Vehicle Detail Pages.

This is a significant competitive edge that is little talked about in the industry. Not all website providers provide a properly formatted RSS feed of car inventory, but for those that do, dealers can really leverage this website.

Midway Motors in Kansas created a Used Car marketing page for Hillsboro Kansas and the cars shown on this page http://www.cardealerwiki.org/Hillsboro_Used_Cars provide not only more visibility for their cars but also links back to their main dealership website and Vehicle Detail Pages (VDP)

CarDealerWiki Pages Index For Automotive Search Phrases

The key with any SEO campaign is to see if Google is respecting the content and links generated from a third party website and in this matter CarDealerWiki.org is a superstar.

Take a look at the screen capture below for a search on the phrase "Nissan Altima Marlboro". Marlboro Nissan operates a dealership in Marlboro Massachusetts and the content pages he created on CarDealerWiki is helping to defend his PMA.

You will see that CarDealerWiki has two listing on Google Page One. In fact, 90% of this page is filled with search results that Tim Martell, Internet Marketing Director and founder of WikiMotive has implemented for his store.

You can also search for a Fiat Dealers in the USA with a term like "Fiat Dealers USA" and you will see that CarDealerWiki.org is on Google Page One for this national search phrases.

Type into Google "Regina Ford Service" and you will see CarDealerWiki.org on Google Page One for a dealer created service page.

Dealers Can Be Creative

The power of CarDealerWiki.org is that car dealers can create pages for new cars, used cars, service, parts, and warranty repairs in their local markets. Well formatted content pages can link back to the dealer's primary website to enhance the search authority of their main website.

Since dealers need more search visibility and links and content are a part of that solution, I encourage all car dealers in the US and Canada to create an account and get started building out content on CarDealerWiki.org for their dealership.

If you are a website provider or an SEO Consultant working on behalf of a dealership, you can assist your clients on CarDealerWiki.org as well. Register with your business email address and complete your profile and your one login can be used for all your clients. Now get to work!

Wikipedia made popular the technology used on many "wiki" websites which allows for web pages to be created and edited without requiring HTML programming knowledge.

The largest "wiki" website for the automotive industry is http://www.CarDealerWiki.org. This website is a great resource for dealers embarking on a Automotive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign and also for dealers who want to syndicate their used car inventory.

CarDealerWiki.org is a free website that is for employees of car dealerships, vendors of the automotive industry, and related automotive service and news providers. Getting started with CarDealerWiki is as simple as creating an account and completing the sign-up form.

It is recommended that you register with an email account from your business and NOT from Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail. Once your registration is approved, normally within 24 hours, you can claim your dealership profile page and create powerful content and backlinks. Email accounts not associated with a business website will not be approved to reduce spam.

Creating More Automotive Backlinks

One of the most powerful ways a car dealer can increase the search authority of their website is to build quality backlinks from well respected websites.

The more links a dealer has pointing to his relevant website content, the higher that page will rank in the search engines. Think of links as "votes" to your website pages.

It is a challenge to find free websites that allow car dealers to post original content and create backlinks on a variety of keywords and phrases. CarDealerWiki is one of the best websites to assist dealers with content publishing and backlink building.

In fact, the site has a number of automated features that make content generation and link building very easy, some which are shown below:

1. You can drop in your RSS feed from DealerRater.com (view example)
2. You can drop in your RSS feed of new car inventory (view example)
3. You can drop in your RSS feed of used car inventory (view example)
4. You can drop in customer testimonial videos from Youtube
5. You can drop in your RSS feed from your blog

Capital Ford Lincoln in Canada has a very detailed profile page and sub-pages that integrates their inventory, videos, and their blog posts. Take a peek by visiting their page at: http://www.cardealerwiki.org/Capital_Ford_Lincoln.

Marketing Used Cars on CarDealerWiki

CarDealerWiki.org also supports the Automotive Advertising Network (AAN) data feed so members have direct access to their inventory with searchable RSS parameters so they can create used car marketing pages for any make or model.

The architecture of CarDealerWiki.org really empowers car dealers to build links to their Vehicle Detail Pages.

This is a significant competitive edge that is little talked about in the industry. Not all website providers provide a properly formatted RSS feed of car inventory, but for those that do, dealers can really leverage this website.

Midway Motors in Kansas created a Used Car marketing page for Hillsboro Kansas and the cars shown on this page http://www.cardealerwiki.org/Hillsboro_Used_Cars provide not only more visibility for their cars but also links back to their main dealership website and Vehicle Detail Pages (VDP)

CarDealerWiki Pages Index For Automotive Search Phrases

The key with any SEO campaign is to see if Google is respecting the content and links generated from a third party website and in this matter CarDealerWiki.org is a superstar.

Take a look at the screen capture below for a search on the phrase "Nissan Altima Marlboro". Marlboro Nissan operates a dealership in Marlboro Massachusetts and the content pages he created on CarDealerWiki is helping to defend his PMA.

You will see that CarDealerWiki has two listing on Google Page One. In fact, 90% of this page is filled with search results that Tim Martell, Internet Marketing Director and founder of WikiMotive has implemented for his store.

You can also search for a Fiat Dealers in the USA with a term like "Fiat Dealers USA" and you will see that CarDealerWiki.org is on Google Page One for this national search phrases.

Type into Google "Regina Ford Service" and you will see CarDealerWiki.org on Google Page One for a dealer created service page.

Dealers Can Be Creative

The power of CarDealerWiki.org is that car dealers can create pages for new cars, used cars, service, parts, and warranty repairs in their local markets. Well formatted content pages can link back to the dealer's primary website to enhance the search authority of their main website.

Since dealers need more search visibility and links and content are a part of that solution, I encourage all car dealers in the US and Canada to create an account and get started building out content on CarDealerWiki.org for their dealership.

If you are a website provider or an SEO Consultant working on behalf of a dealership, you can assist your clients on CarDealerWiki.org as well. Register with your business email address and complete your profile and your one login can be used for all your clients. Now get to work!

Did you know that by default, Google Places is setup to market your car dealership only within a 20 mile radius of your dealership?  Do you sell and deliver cars to consumers more than 20 miles away?  Well of course you do!  Do you want to increase your automotive advertising reach? Yes!

However, many of the Google Places listing that I check for car dealers are NOT setup properly for their business. This impacts the number of times a dealership's Business Listing will appear in search results. For some dealers in metro areas, their Google Places listing will show over 15,000 a month. With this in mind, anything that could increase the visibility of your local business listing should be embraced.

As I stated above, Google Places service area DEFAULTS to a 20 mile service radius around the business address. This is one of the most important setting on your Google Places listing because it sets the geographic positioning of the consumers you serve. Car dealers routinely deliver cars to customers that are outside of a 20 mile radius of their business. With this is mind, dealers should inspect your service area settings in Google.
 

Google Places Custom Service Areas Polygons

Dealers that have physical locations near bodies of water will find that a simple radius setting is not the most accurate map of their service area.

In the screen shot below, Harris Auto Group in Canada is located on Victoria Island. If they left their Google Maps service area radius set at 20 miles, which is the default, they would not cover Victoria which is a major market for the island.



Fortunately, Google Places will allow you to enter in specific town names to create a polygon that covers the areas that the dealership serves. In the photo above, you can see that the shaded area was created by inputting the towns in the "List of Areas Served".
 

Don't Abuse The Service Area Settings

I encourage dealers not to abuse the Service Area setting and show unrealistic service coverage maps. I have a feeling that Google may penalize anything that would be contrived as scamming the system. I would say that a 50 mile radius for most dealers is reasonable. So take a minute and look into your Google Places service area setting and see if it has been set too conservatively.

Also, while you are looking at your Google Places listing, make sure that it has:

• Five great photos of customers taking delivery of cars or your work in the community. Kill the building photos.
• Five great videos. Three customer testimonial videos, one welcome video, and one service video.
• Proper categories that describe your business. There is a category for every OEM brand
• Make sure one category you select is "Used Car Dealer"

If you have any questions on Google Places, just type in your question below.  If you are going to NADA in February, make sure you stop into one of my workshops.  You can check my schedule on this link:  Brian Pasch NADA Workshops.

Did you know that by default, Google Places is setup to market your car dealership only within a 20 mile radius of your dealership?  Do you sell and deliver cars to consumers more than 20 miles away?  Well of course you do!  Do you want to increase your automotive advertising reach? Yes!

However, many of the Google Places listing that I check for car dealers are NOT setup properly for their business. This impacts the number of times a dealership's Business Listing will appear in search results. For some dealers in metro areas, their Google Places listing will show over 15,000 a month. With this in mind, anything that could increase the visibility of your local business listing should be embraced.

As I stated above, Google Places service area DEFAULTS to a 20 mile service radius around the business address. This is one of the most important setting on your Google Places listing because it sets the geographic positioning of the consumers you serve. Car dealers routinely deliver cars to customers that are outside of a 20 mile radius of their business. With this is mind, dealers should inspect your service area settings in Google.
 

Google Places Custom Service Areas Polygons

Dealers that have physical locations near bodies of water will find that a simple radius setting is not the most accurate map of their service area.

In the screen shot below, Harris Auto Group in Canada is located on Victoria Island. If they left their Google Maps service area radius set at 20 miles, which is the default, they would not cover Victoria which is a major market for the island.



Fortunately, Google Places will allow you to enter in specific town names to create a polygon that covers the areas that the dealership serves. In the photo above, you can see that the shaded area was created by inputting the towns in the "List of Areas Served".
 

Don't Abuse The Service Area Settings

I encourage dealers not to abuse the Service Area setting and show unrealistic service coverage maps. I have a feeling that Google may penalize anything that would be contrived as scamming the system. I would say that a 50 mile radius for most dealers is reasonable. So take a minute and look into your Google Places service area setting and see if it has been set too conservatively.

Also, while you are looking at your Google Places listing, make sure that it has:

• Five great photos of customers taking delivery of cars or your work in the community. Kill the building photos.
• Five great videos. Three customer testimonial videos, one welcome video, and one service video.
• Proper categories that describe your business. There is a category for every OEM brand
• Make sure one category you select is "Used Car Dealer"

If you have any questions on Google Places, just type in your question below.  If you are going to NADA in February, make sure you stop into one of my workshops.  You can check my schedule on this link:  Brian Pasch NADA Workshops.

Jared Hamilton sent out a Tweet today about the recent report from Compete that Bing powered search is now 29% of the search market share so I thought it was time to share a few insights into Automotive SEO with Bing and Yahoo. Car dealers need to have a digital marketing strategy for Bing and Yahoo that is independent of what they are doing in Google. Do you have a Bing and Yahoo strategy?

In general, Automotive SEO "basics" apply to Google, Yahoo, and Bing which includes strong page titles, URL names, and relevant content. However there are some big differences. Yahoo and Bing favor sub-domains that are keyword targeted more than Google.

Having hundreds of SEO tests running a year, I'll share with you a two examples that demonstrate this sub-domain preference.

Toyota Sale

When you search Google for the phrase "Toyota Sale" you will see among the Page One results "www.toyotaforsale.org" which confirms what I have witnessed thousands of times; Google favors exact match domains or near match domains.

Yahoo and Bing on the other-hand will often favor sub-domains more than exact matches when they are properly optimized. A search in Yahoo and Bing show similar results and shows the site http://toyota.cardealersale.com on Page One. The Home Page title on this site is "Toyota Sale | Toyota For Sale". This sub-domain is NOT on Google Page One.

What this means is that you can get on Bing and Yahoo page one for important keywords using a sub-domain microsite strategy.

Jacksonville Hyundai

When exact match domains are not available you can see that sub-domains can also play a major role in achieving visibility for short search phrases. The sub-domain http://jacksonville-hyundai.fl.cardealersale.com is showing on Bing Page One.

You will also see in the example below that Bing shows a domain with TWO dashes in the name "www.jacksonville-hyundai-fl.com" which you will normal NOT see appear on Google Page One. Bing and Yahoo like these dashed domains!

OEM Compliance Issues Lessened With Sub-Domains

Most dealers also should know that OEM are more tolerant with sub-domain microsites that stand-alone microsites on a new domain.

For example, http://service.irvinebmw.com is a service microsite but it is associated with the primary dealer domain and thus complies with BMW microsite regulations.

For Toyota warranty information, Acton Toyota created http://warranty.actontoyota.com which indexes nationally on Page One for a search on Toyota Warranty.

In summary, there are more ways to gain Page One exposure on Yahoo and Bing than in Google and this means that the early bird will get the worm.

Automotive SEO Education

If you would like to keep up with the latest Automotive SEO Strategies, you can join a free community dedicated to Automotive SEO at http://automotive-seo.ning.com (which ranks #3 in the USA on Bing and Yahoo for the term Automotive SEO).

You can also get the latest SEO strategies live by attending the 2011 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference February 1-3, 2011 which is right before the NADA Convention in San Francisco.

Register online at: http://www.digitalmarketingstrategies.org.

The conference has attracted some of the top speakers and educators in the automotive industry and if you are looking to lock in a successful digital marketing attack in your PMA in 2011, you need to be in attendance.

Jared Hamilton sent out a Tweet today about the recent report from Compete that Bing powered search is now 29% of the search market share so I thought it was time to share a few insights into Automotive SEO with Bing and Yahoo. Car dealers need to have a digital marketing strategy for Bing and Yahoo that is independent of what they are doing in Google. Do you have a Bing and Yahoo strategy?

In general, Automotive SEO "basics" apply to Google, Yahoo, and Bing which includes strong page titles, URL names, and relevant content. However there are some big differences. Yahoo and Bing favor sub-domains that are keyword targeted more than Google.

Having hundreds of SEO tests running a year, I'll share with you a two examples that demonstrate this sub-domain preference.

Toyota Sale

When you search Google for the phrase "Toyota Sale" you will see among the Page One results "www.toyotaforsale.org" which confirms what I have witnessed thousands of times; Google favors exact match domains or near match domains.

Yahoo and Bing on the other-hand will often favor sub-domains more than exact matches when they are properly optimized. A search in Yahoo and Bing show similar results and shows the site http://toyota.cardealersale.com on Page One. The Home Page title on this site is "Toyota Sale | Toyota For Sale". This sub-domain is NOT on Google Page One.

What this means is that you can get on Bing and Yahoo page one for important keywords using a sub-domain microsite strategy.

Jacksonville Hyundai

When exact match domains are not available you can see that sub-domains can also play a major role in achieving visibility for short search phrases. The sub-domain http://jacksonville-hyundai.fl.cardealersale.com is showing on Bing Page One.

You will also see in the example below that Bing shows a domain with TWO dashes in the name "www.jacksonville-hyundai-fl.com" which you will normal NOT see appear on Google Page One. Bing and Yahoo like these dashed domains!

OEM Compliance Issues Lessened With Sub-Domains

Most dealers also should know that OEM are more tolerant with sub-domain microsites that stand-alone microsites on a new domain.

For example, http://service.irvinebmw.com is a service microsite but it is associated with the primary dealer domain and thus complies with BMW microsite regulations.

For Toyota warranty information, Acton Toyota created http://warranty.actontoyota.com which indexes nationally on Page One for a search on Toyota Warranty.

In summary, there are more ways to gain Page One exposure on Yahoo and Bing than in Google and this means that the early bird will get the worm.

Automotive SEO Education

If you would like to keep up with the latest Automotive SEO Strategies, you can join a free community dedicated to Automotive SEO at http://automotive-seo.ning.com (which ranks #3 in the USA on Bing and Yahoo for the term Automotive SEO).

You can also get the latest SEO strategies live by attending the 2011 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference February 1-3, 2011 which is right before the NADA Convention in San Francisco.

Register online at: http://www.digitalmarketingstrategies.org.

The conference has attracted some of the top speakers and educators in the automotive industry and if you are looking to lock in a successful digital marketing attack in your PMA in 2011, you need to be in attendance.

"If car dealers want to increase their online reviews in 2011 they need to first ask themselves why they are reluctant to vote for their own vendors online."

Over the past two months I have been watching the ratings and review counts on DrivingSales.com for their 2010 Vendor Awards. Each year car dealers have the opportunity to voice their opinion and rate the best vendors that serve the automotive industry.

The Driving Sales Vendor Awards have become a benchmark for peer review. All votes are carefully validated to ensure that the person voting is actually a dealership employee.

This year my companies were listed in the categories for which we offer products and services and each year we make sure that we ask our customers to take a minute and posted their rating for our services. We make these requests on the phone and also via email.

We have friendly "battles" with our industry competitors but it's all good for keep the competitive spirit alive. Now that the voting for the 2010 Driving Sales Vendor Awards is closed, I wanted to share an observation.

The Review Process

I'm sure you know that getting YOUR customers to post reviews on Google Places is hard.

After someone purchases their car and gets home, it is hard to motivate them to take action remotely and post a review from their home IP address.

What is even harder is to get OUR car dealer clients to rate their vendors (us) on the DrivingSales Vendor Awards. Our automotive clients put off the task just like your car buyers…its ironic.

For example, for Internet Trainer, I have trained hundreds of car dealership employees at conference, workshops, and through webinars. Many of these automotive professionals have joined one of the PCG managed online communities or they are in our email database. Only a small percentage have taken the time to read my email advising them of the voting process and visited DrivingSales to vote.

In another category, only clients of PCG can vote in the Automotive SEO Vendor category. What is ironic is that we help hundreds of rooftops with their SEO and most indicate that they are satisfied when we ask them (Does this sound familiar?) Most all have committed to voting online. (Does this sound familiar?) Yet the review counts are very low! (Does this sound familiar?)

I'm not complaining. Many of our great supporters voted this year but it did not come without a tremendous investment in time and resources. Verbal phone commitments produce low online voting results.

Rethinking The Approach

So this process has really educated me that we need to think of new ways to motivate our customers to take the time to click and post a review online once they leave the dealership.

If car dealers are coming to realize that Internet Reputation Management is important, what call to action could I have created to make our car dealer clients vote?

The answers are there....automotive retailers who are part of this community just have to ask why they didn't take time to vote for their favorite vendors?

If you did vote, what motivated you to take time to vote?

We need to start discussing the psychology behind voting online. For the record, I understand that everyone is busy. I also understand that the dealer/vendor relationship can be strong or weak.

But if car dealers are to move the needle with their own Online Reputation Management program in 2011 and increase their Google "Star Counts" on Google Places, we need to discuss what is working best.

Car dealers who are having great success getting their clients to post directly on Google Places, please speak up. I have some ideas to share but that will be in a follow-up article this month.

What ways can car dealers increase the success rate of getting their customers to vote on Google Places, DealerRater, PrestoReviews, Yelp, etc. from home?

"If car dealers want to increase their online reviews in 2011 they need to first ask themselves why they are reluctant to vote for their own vendors online."

Over the past two months I have been watching the ratings and review counts on DrivingSales.com for their 2010 Vendor Awards. Each year car dealers have the opportunity to voice their opinion and rate the best vendors that serve the automotive industry.

The Driving Sales Vendor Awards have become a benchmark for peer review. All votes are carefully validated to ensure that the person voting is actually a dealership employee.

This year my companies were listed in the categories for which we offer products and services and each year we make sure that we ask our customers to take a minute and posted their rating for our services. We make these requests on the phone and also via email.

We have friendly "battles" with our industry competitors but it's all good for keep the competitive spirit alive. Now that the voting for the 2010 Driving Sales Vendor Awards is closed, I wanted to share an observation.

The Review Process

I'm sure you know that getting YOUR customers to post reviews on Google Places is hard.

After someone purchases their car and gets home, it is hard to motivate them to take action remotely and post a review from their home IP address.

What is even harder is to get OUR car dealer clients to rate their vendors (us) on the DrivingSales Vendor Awards. Our automotive clients put off the task just like your car buyers…its ironic.

For example, for Internet Trainer, I have trained hundreds of car dealership employees at conference, workshops, and through webinars. Many of these automotive professionals have joined one of the PCG managed online communities or they are in our email database. Only a small percentage have taken the time to read my email advising them of the voting process and visited DrivingSales to vote.

In another category, only clients of PCG can vote in the Automotive SEO Vendor category. What is ironic is that we help hundreds of rooftops with their SEO and most indicate that they are satisfied when we ask them (Does this sound familiar?) Most all have committed to voting online. (Does this sound familiar?) Yet the review counts are very low! (Does this sound familiar?)

I'm not complaining. Many of our great supporters voted this year but it did not come without a tremendous investment in time and resources. Verbal phone commitments produce low online voting results.

Rethinking The Approach

So this process has really educated me that we need to think of new ways to motivate our customers to take the time to click and post a review online once they leave the dealership.

If car dealers are coming to realize that Internet Reputation Management is important, what call to action could I have created to make our car dealer clients vote?

The answers are there....automotive retailers who are part of this community just have to ask why they didn't take time to vote for their favorite vendors?

If you did vote, what motivated you to take time to vote?

We need to start discussing the psychology behind voting online. For the record, I understand that everyone is busy. I also understand that the dealer/vendor relationship can be strong or weak.

But if car dealers are to move the needle with their own Online Reputation Management program in 2011 and increase their Google "Star Counts" on Google Places, we need to discuss what is working best.

Car dealers who are having great success getting their clients to post directly on Google Places, please speak up. I have some ideas to share but that will be in a follow-up article this month.

What ways can car dealers increase the success rate of getting their customers to vote on Google Places, DealerRater, PrestoReviews, Yelp, etc. from home?