Like a proud father who is moved with emotion as he sees his child graduate from college, I was filled with pride when Westbury Jeep secured their graduation honors. In July Westbury Jeep was recognized as the #1 Jeep Chrysler Dodge dealer in the United States for June 2011.

Being #1 in the US for any brand is a great reward and a double blessing for a passionate and engaging dealer principal. Many factors go into achieving that level of success and the entire Westbury Jeep team should be congratulated. Creating a team that executes on all levels is not an easy accomplishment.

PCG Digital Marketing has assisted Westbury Jeep define and implement their digital marketing strategy for the past three years. We have also developed a great relationship with Joel and his team based on keeping them ahead of their competition in regards to digital marketing.  

Become a Student 

Joel Sporn is a rare dealer principal that sought to understand all digital marketing concepts so he could adapt them to his specific vision for his franchise store.

Joel is a student of strategy and fiercely competitive. He chose to accept the responsibility of crafting his digital strategy and build a great team of marketing partners.

Joel sought out and connected with people who could help him learn, execute, and integrate that knowledge. Joel was patient to see the rewards of his digital investments, which is the main theme of this article.

Too often the executive leadership of a dealership is disconnected from the staff that are tasked to research, select, implement, and manage a digital strategy. This disconnect can cause dealer principals to be impatient.

It is not uncommon for digital investments to be pulled off the budget before they bear fruit in as little as 60 days.

Automotive SEO Is Not For Sprinters

Digital marketing investments can have an immediate and clear ROI for dealers like adding 24x7 managed chat to a website, adding pop-up coupons, or operating a pay-per-click campaign with well-designed conversion pages. These digital strategies have an immediate pay-off and, when measured, create a comfort level with bean counters.

Other digital strategies require patience to create a market dominating success story. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most misunderstood investments. Joel took the time to learn, craft, and implement a market dominating SEO strategy and the payoff is clear today.

Since an aggressive SEO strategy can take over a year to implement and refine, few dealers ever see the fruits of their SEO investment. Automotive SEO strategies are continually changing. Just recently Google added the “+1 Button” to search engine listing pages and this one change will have a major impact on click rates to dealer websites.

The Google launch of their social media platform “Google+” also creates new opportunities to drive social links and traffic to a dealer’s website.

Despite all these new opportunities, I caution dealers that have little patience to start an aggressive SEO strategy. If you are looking for SEO to make significant changes in online visibility and traffic in 90 days, don’t start.

Patience Also Needed For  Reputation Management

Patience is also required for Internet Reputation Management (IRM) processes, which yield an increase in online review counts each month. These reviews are visible to tens of thousands of in-market shoppers each month.

Dealers who ignore their online reputation “scores” are in effect using their monthly advertising budgets to send consumers to their nearest competitors. Dealers who want to fully leverage the digital divide must implement an in-store and post sale review gathering process.

Implementation does not come without resistance from dealer employees. They are also uninformed and impatient on the benefits of doing “more” work in their already hectic workday. The ROI to a commitment to IRM does not necessarily come in 30, 60, or 90 days, but when a dealership has 200+ more reviews than their nearest competitor, the pay-off starts to become very clear.

When consumers call and ask for sales professionals they never met because of an online review, your sales team will take notice.

Unfortunately, I have already started to see dealers give up on IRM process investments. I’ve been told that it’s too hard to ask happy customers to take 60 seconds to post a review inside the store. I’ve been told that none of their customers have Google accounts. Both are excuses and lies.

Dealers, what lies are you and your employees believing that are holding back your online marketing success?

Digital marketing takes a well-defined strategy and as I have outlined; patience. Success also takes a commitment to learn and lead from the top executives of the company.

We have mentored Brickell Honda, located in Miami Florida, over the past 2 years and they have over 800 reviews posted directly on Google Places.  Alex Andreus and Mario Murgado have a market dominating digital marketing strategy that includes a strong belief in presenting a positive online brand image.

With the correct leadership it is amazing what can be accomplished.  

Do You Have Patience?

Westbury Jeep and Brickell Honda have demonstrated patience in crafting and implementing their digital marketing strategy. Success did not happen overnight.

Their success came from having a strategy that reviewed all their current marketing investments, which resulted in an action plan. These two dealers are examples of a new breed of automotive professionals that are making the investment to develop a strategy that includes technology, training, and the willingness to be ahead of their peers.

Has your dealership made a commitment to create a dominating digital marketing strategy?

If dealers continue to measure success in 30, 60, or 90-day intervals they will never reap the rewards, which are produced from implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

I am not implying that your digital investments should not be measured each month. I am saying that until dealership executives invest in digital marketing education for themselves and their team, they will never have the patience to win the race.  They may win a short sprint but never the marathon.

Running A Dealership Is Like Running A Marathon

Successful car dealers are marathon runners.  Has your operations and marketing trainer prepared you for the digital marathon?   I sure hope so because the race has already started.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing

Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences.

 Brian Pasch

Like a proud father who is moved with emotion as he sees his child graduate from college, I was filled with pride when Westbury Jeep secured their graduation honors. In July Westbury Jeep was recognized as the #1 Jeep Chrysler Dodge dealer in the United States for June 2011.

Being #1 in the US for any brand is a great reward and a double blessing for a passionate and engaging dealer principal. Many factors go into achieving that level of success and the entire Westbury Jeep team should be congratulated. Creating a team that executes on all levels is not an easy accomplishment.

PCG Digital Marketing has assisted Westbury Jeep define and implement their digital marketing strategy for the past three years. We have also developed a great relationship with Joel and his team based on keeping them ahead of their competition in regards to digital marketing.  

Become a Student 

Joel Sporn is a rare dealer principal that sought to understand all digital marketing concepts so he could adapt them to his specific vision for his franchise store.

Joel is a student of strategy and fiercely competitive. He chose to accept the responsibility of crafting his digital strategy and build a great team of marketing partners.

Joel sought out and connected with people who could help him learn, execute, and integrate that knowledge. Joel was patient to see the rewards of his digital investments, which is the main theme of this article.

Too often the executive leadership of a dealership is disconnected from the staff that are tasked to research, select, implement, and manage a digital strategy. This disconnect can cause dealer principals to be impatient.

It is not uncommon for digital investments to be pulled off the budget before they bear fruit in as little as 60 days.

Automotive SEO Is Not For Sprinters

Digital marketing investments can have an immediate and clear ROI for dealers like adding 24x7 managed chat to a website, adding pop-up coupons, or operating a pay-per-click campaign with well-designed conversion pages. These digital strategies have an immediate pay-off and, when measured, create a comfort level with bean counters.

Other digital strategies require patience to create a market dominating success story. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most misunderstood investments. Joel took the time to learn, craft, and implement a market dominating SEO strategy and the payoff is clear today.

Since an aggressive SEO strategy can take over a year to implement and refine, few dealers ever see the fruits of their SEO investment. Automotive SEO strategies are continually changing. Just recently Google added the “+1 Button” to search engine listing pages and this one change will have a major impact on click rates to dealer websites.

The Google launch of their social media platform “Google+” also creates new opportunities to drive social links and traffic to a dealer’s website.

Despite all these new opportunities, I caution dealers that have little patience to start an aggressive SEO strategy. If you are looking for SEO to make significant changes in online visibility and traffic in 90 days, don’t start.

Patience Also Needed For  Reputation Management

Patience is also required for Internet Reputation Management (IRM) processes, which yield an increase in online review counts each month. These reviews are visible to tens of thousands of in-market shoppers each month.

Dealers who ignore their online reputation “scores” are in effect using their monthly advertising budgets to send consumers to their nearest competitors. Dealers who want to fully leverage the digital divide must implement an in-store and post sale review gathering process.

Implementation does not come without resistance from dealer employees. They are also uninformed and impatient on the benefits of doing “more” work in their already hectic workday. The ROI to a commitment to IRM does not necessarily come in 30, 60, or 90 days, but when a dealership has 200+ more reviews than their nearest competitor, the pay-off starts to become very clear.

When consumers call and ask for sales professionals they never met because of an online review, your sales team will take notice.

Unfortunately, I have already started to see dealers give up on IRM process investments. I’ve been told that it’s too hard to ask happy customers to take 60 seconds to post a review inside the store. I’ve been told that none of their customers have Google accounts. Both are excuses and lies.

Dealers, what lies are you and your employees believing that are holding back your online marketing success?

Digital marketing takes a well-defined strategy and as I have outlined; patience. Success also takes a commitment to learn and lead from the top executives of the company.

We have mentored Brickell Honda, located in Miami Florida, over the past 2 years and they have over 800 reviews posted directly on Google Places.  Alex Andreus and Mario Murgado have a market dominating digital marketing strategy that includes a strong belief in presenting a positive online brand image.

With the correct leadership it is amazing what can be accomplished.  

Do You Have Patience?

Westbury Jeep and Brickell Honda have demonstrated patience in crafting and implementing their digital marketing strategy. Success did not happen overnight.

Their success came from having a strategy that reviewed all their current marketing investments, which resulted in an action plan. These two dealers are examples of a new breed of automotive professionals that are making the investment to develop a strategy that includes technology, training, and the willingness to be ahead of their peers.

Has your dealership made a commitment to create a dominating digital marketing strategy?

If dealers continue to measure success in 30, 60, or 90-day intervals they will never reap the rewards, which are produced from implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

I am not implying that your digital investments should not be measured each month. I am saying that until dealership executives invest in digital marketing education for themselves and their team, they will never have the patience to win the race.  They may win a short sprint but never the marathon.

Running A Dealership Is Like Running A Marathon

Successful car dealers are marathon runners.  Has your operations and marketing trainer prepared you for the digital marathon?   I sure hope so because the race has already started.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing

Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences.

 Brian Pasch

This has been a great month for change at Google and PCG Digital Marketing has been in the forefront advising car dealers about these changes.  In July 2011 we were introduced to:

• Google+
• Google Circles
• Google +1 button
• Profile thumbnail photos under search results
• Enhancements to Adwords Ads to include META data and Site Links
• New formulas for review star counts on Google Places

To keep the news stream flowing, Google announces that Google Boost is now called "Google Adwords Express". This is another opportunity for dealers to adjust their Automotive Advertising budgets.

Are you ready for a GREAT opportunity to market your dealership online at a LOWER cost?

Adwords For The Masses

I've been asked many times if Google Boost was a replacement for Adwords and it is not. 

Google Adwords Express (formerly Google Boost) is Adwords for the masses.  It is ideal for the small business who can not afford to have a third party setup and manage Adwords.  It is ideal for the non technical business owner who wants an easy online "yellow pages" ad on the #1 search engine.

Car dealers may forget just how advanced they are when compared to small business owners who only have a few hundred dollars a month for advertising.  

Google Adwords Express takes no more than 5 minutes to setup once your Google Places listing is up and running. As a caveat, dealers must update the Google Places category selections to use Adwords Express.  Google has "standardized" these categories to avoid spamming.

Benefits of Adwords Express

Google Adwords Express is accessed through your Google Places dashboard.  It allows you to create an ad that is based on one of the five business categories that you select for your business.  The BENEFIT of a Google Adwords Express ad is that it includes:

• Business Name
• Business Address
• Contact Phone Number
• Call To Action Message
• Consumer Reviews (Star Counts)

Google Adwords Express ads STAND OUT from the boring text Adwords Ads because they include the yellow highlighted star counts.  Do not ignore the fact that these ads stand out from your competition.

Google Adwords Express ads MAY reduce clicks because they have the location of your business, a contact phone number, and social proof that people like your store.  

This is especially true for Fixed Ops marketing campaigns. The key to leveraging Google Adwords Express is to have your Google Places page setup properly.

You can also download our free white paper by clicking on this link:  Google Places Optimization

Adwords Express is Ideal For Car Dealers

Just because Adwords Express was designed for small business owners, it is actually perfect for car dealers.  You just have to know how to utilize Adwords Express.

We have managed and documented Adwords Express campaigns that have a lower cost per click than Adwords.  We have also seen campaigns setup improperly and cost MORE than Adwords.  

Don't rush and be sloppy, it is still a PPC campaign!

Google Adwords Express is ideal for Fixed Ops marketing.  Dealers who want to go after the national service and tire chains (Jiffy Lube, Meineke, Discount Tire, Pep Boys, etc.) should take note:  Adwords Express can change the dynamics of your Fixed Operations marketing strategy.

Adwords Express Must Be Integrated With Reputation Management

Dealers who want to benefit from Google Adwords Express, which is connected to Google Places, must have a strong Internet Reputation Management Process in place.  Do you have one? Here is a quick check:

• Do you have a process to identify Google consumers in your sales process? Service?
• Are your customers adding new reviews to Google Places each week?
• Are you reading and responding to reviews each week?
• Do you have a policy on dealing with negative reviews?

Dealers who implement an in-store review process that leverages the power of the Google Places App will significantly advance on leveraging Google Adwords Express to increase their sales and fixed operations revenue.

Are you ready to leverage Google Adwords Express?  I hope so because you want to be in the game BEFORE your competition reads this post!

This has been a great month for change at Google and PCG Digital Marketing has been in the forefront advising car dealers about these changes.  In July 2011 we were introduced to:

• Google+
• Google Circles
• Google +1 button
• Profile thumbnail photos under search results
• Enhancements to Adwords Ads to include META data and Site Links
• New formulas for review star counts on Google Places

To keep the news stream flowing, Google announces that Google Boost is now called "Google Adwords Express". This is another opportunity for dealers to adjust their Automotive Advertising budgets.

Are you ready for a GREAT opportunity to market your dealership online at a LOWER cost?

Adwords For The Masses

I've been asked many times if Google Boost was a replacement for Adwords and it is not. 

Google Adwords Express (formerly Google Boost) is Adwords for the masses.  It is ideal for the small business who can not afford to have a third party setup and manage Adwords.  It is ideal for the non technical business owner who wants an easy online "yellow pages" ad on the #1 search engine.

Car dealers may forget just how advanced they are when compared to small business owners who only have a few hundred dollars a month for advertising.  

Google Adwords Express takes no more than 5 minutes to setup once your Google Places listing is up and running. As a caveat, dealers must update the Google Places category selections to use Adwords Express.  Google has "standardized" these categories to avoid spamming.

Benefits of Adwords Express

Google Adwords Express is accessed through your Google Places dashboard.  It allows you to create an ad that is based on one of the five business categories that you select for your business.  The BENEFIT of a Google Adwords Express ad is that it includes:

• Business Name
• Business Address
• Contact Phone Number
• Call To Action Message
• Consumer Reviews (Star Counts)

Google Adwords Express ads STAND OUT from the boring text Adwords Ads because they include the yellow highlighted star counts.  Do not ignore the fact that these ads stand out from your competition.

Google Adwords Express ads MAY reduce clicks because they have the location of your business, a contact phone number, and social proof that people like your store.  

This is especially true for Fixed Ops marketing campaigns. The key to leveraging Google Adwords Express is to have your Google Places page setup properly.

You can also download our free white paper by clicking on this link:  Google Places Optimization

Adwords Express is Ideal For Car Dealers

Just because Adwords Express was designed for small business owners, it is actually perfect for car dealers.  You just have to know how to utilize Adwords Express.

We have managed and documented Adwords Express campaigns that have a lower cost per click than Adwords.  We have also seen campaigns setup improperly and cost MORE than Adwords.  

Don't rush and be sloppy, it is still a PPC campaign!

Google Adwords Express is ideal for Fixed Ops marketing.  Dealers who want to go after the national service and tire chains (Jiffy Lube, Meineke, Discount Tire, Pep Boys, etc.) should take note:  Adwords Express can change the dynamics of your Fixed Operations marketing strategy.

Adwords Express Must Be Integrated With Reputation Management

Dealers who want to benefit from Google Adwords Express, which is connected to Google Places, must have a strong Internet Reputation Management Process in place.  Do you have one? Here is a quick check:

• Do you have a process to identify Google consumers in your sales process? Service?
• Are your customers adding new reviews to Google Places each week?
• Are you reading and responding to reviews each week?
• Do you have a policy on dealing with negative reviews?

Dealers who implement an in-store review process that leverages the power of the Google Places App will significantly advance on leveraging Google Adwords Express to increase their sales and fixed operations revenue.

Are you ready to leverage Google Adwords Express?  I hope so because you want to be in the game BEFORE your competition reads this post!

Change once again is rocking the automotive digital marketing world as Google today drops the third party review counts from its yellow stars. ONLY reviews directly posted on Google Places are showing.

This screen shot of BMW of Scherville showed all the DealerRater reviews last week in their star counts but not today.

This is what their Google Places account looked like last week:

This change is impacting all Chicago BMW dealers:

In-Store Reputation Management & Google Places

I've been coaching dealers to start using the Google Places App on their iPhones and iPads to increase directly posted reviews. The benefit? The dealer can use Google Boost to spice up their PPC strategy.

I also warned dealers that if Google every dropped the review "counts" from the stars from 3rd parties, they would be better protected by having a direct Google Places posting strategy.

Now keep in mind, Google is still showing the counts from third parties in brackets, but the key metric is that the yellow stars are what always show and not always do the consolidated reviews show.

I am not saying that 3rd party review sites are not IMPORTANT, they are. 

It is just that the MOST visible aspect of Google Places and SERP results is the yellow stars.  Secondly, there is not way to predict which 3rd party sites will show up in the brackets underneath the listing.

A Tsunami of Change

Acton Toyota has over 1,227 reviews posted on DealerRater but they only have 10 reviews directly posted on Google Places. A few weeks ago I saw their Google listing and it showed over 1,000 reviews with their stars. That is now history!

In fact, Google is not even showing all of their reviews from Dealerrater.com as shown below:

Dealers looking for direction on how to best adapt to these changes should start an in store reputation management process that include using 3G iPads and iPhone devices.

Dealers must set processes to identify consumers with Google accounts while they are in the dealership. 550,000 Android devices are activated a DAY and all have Google Accounts. Google empowered consumers can post reviews directly on Google Places, with their account, from a mobile device.

I told dealers this day would come and today is that day. If you need help with in store training, processes, and strategy on reputation management, give me a call. I'm here to help. We have the strategy and solutions.

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

732-672-2356

Change once again is rocking the automotive digital marketing world as Google today drops the third party review counts from its yellow stars. ONLY reviews directly posted on Google Places are showing.

This screen shot of BMW of Scherville showed all the DealerRater reviews last week in their star counts but not today.

This is what their Google Places account looked like last week:

This change is impacting all Chicago BMW dealers:

In-Store Reputation Management & Google Places

I've been coaching dealers to start using the Google Places App on their iPhones and iPads to increase directly posted reviews. The benefit? The dealer can use Google Boost to spice up their PPC strategy.

I also warned dealers that if Google every dropped the review "counts" from the stars from 3rd parties, they would be better protected by having a direct Google Places posting strategy.

Now keep in mind, Google is still showing the counts from third parties in brackets, but the key metric is that the yellow stars are what always show and not always do the consolidated reviews show.

I am not saying that 3rd party review sites are not IMPORTANT, they are. 

It is just that the MOST visible aspect of Google Places and SERP results is the yellow stars.  Secondly, there is not way to predict which 3rd party sites will show up in the brackets underneath the listing.

A Tsunami of Change

Acton Toyota has over 1,227 reviews posted on DealerRater but they only have 10 reviews directly posted on Google Places. A few weeks ago I saw their Google listing and it showed over 1,000 reviews with their stars. That is now history!

In fact, Google is not even showing all of their reviews from Dealerrater.com as shown below:

Dealers looking for direction on how to best adapt to these changes should start an in store reputation management process that include using 3G iPads and iPhone devices.

Dealers must set processes to identify consumers with Google accounts while they are in the dealership. 550,000 Android devices are activated a DAY and all have Google Accounts. Google empowered consumers can post reviews directly on Google Places, with their account, from a mobile device.

I told dealers this day would come and today is that day. If you need help with in store training, processes, and strategy on reputation management, give me a call. I'm here to help. We have the strategy and solutions.

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

732-672-2356

The +1 button which has been added to organic search results is now coming to your Adwords campaign. I love how Google continues to "socialize" SERP pages and it also changes the game in regards to being on Google Page One.

18 months ago being on Page One was the goal of most Automotive SEO strategists. Today, you need to make sure your online reviews, social media "likes", and now "+1's" also show next to your listing. At the risk of sounding like a broken record:

Being on Google Page One with poor reviews is actually hurting your brand. Now, being on Page One with nobody recommending your page is going to be negative as well!

Email From Google About Adwords +1

Here is the email from Google I received today: (in italic)

In the coming weeks, your search results and ads on Google will include a +1 button, which users can click to recommend your ads. You don't need to make any changes to your account in order to take advantage of them. The final landing page URL of your ads can also appear on the Google profile of any user who +1's your ad.

Here's how the +1 button works: Let's say you own a hotel in Madrid. Brian had a lovely stay at your hotel last summer. When Brian starts researching accommodations for his next trip to Spain, he searches on Google while signed into his Google account, and sees your ad. He clicks the +1 button on the ad to recommend it to his contacts.

When Brian's friend Ann plans her trip to Spain, she signs in to her Google account, searches, and also sees your ad – plus the personalized annotation that Brian +1'd it. Knowing that Brian recommends your hotel helps Ann decide where to stay during her travels.

Think of the +1 button as a way for fans of your business to recommend what you offer, for all their friends and contacts to see. By helping searchers see more personal, relevant ads, we believe you'll see more qualified traffic. You can also add the +1 button to your site to give your customers the opportunity to +1 your site after visiting it.

What +1 Means To Your Dealership

Do you have a process to leverage the Google +1 feature for your business? The +1 is the next "gold rush" for Page One relevance and conversion. Imagine what happens when your organic listing for your dealership home page have 100 +1 votes. In this example, what happens when your ads get recommended. I hope you can see the clear opportunity and now you just need a strategy.

Automotive Advertising and Google search marketing is continually evolving to provide the most RELEVANT and DESIRED result for consumers. That said there are creative ways to empower your customer base to make sure you get the attention you need on Page One. You need an online marketing strategy and these continued changes should be proof enough that dealers need to be paying attention and reacting.

Time to get this on your blogs as well. If you haven't added the +1 to your own blog yet, now is the time!

Internet Marketing Strategy - Do You Have One?

I'll be reviewing the opportunities for the Google +1 tool at all of the upcoming PCG Pit Stop Conferences. I will also be addressing the impact of social media links and likes, which continue to influence SERP's. Dates and locations can be found at http://www.pcgpitstop.com.

The +1 button which has been added to organic search results is now coming to your Adwords campaign. I love how Google continues to "socialize" SERP pages and it also changes the game in regards to being on Google Page One.

18 months ago being on Page One was the goal of most Automotive SEO strategists. Today, you need to make sure your online reviews, social media "likes", and now "+1's" also show next to your listing. At the risk of sounding like a broken record:

Being on Google Page One with poor reviews is actually hurting your brand. Now, being on Page One with nobody recommending your page is going to be negative as well!

Email From Google About Adwords +1

Here is the email from Google I received today: (in italic)

In the coming weeks, your search results and ads on Google will include a +1 button, which users can click to recommend your ads. You don't need to make any changes to your account in order to take advantage of them. The final landing page URL of your ads can also appear on the Google profile of any user who +1's your ad.

Here's how the +1 button works: Let's say you own a hotel in Madrid. Brian had a lovely stay at your hotel last summer. When Brian starts researching accommodations for his next trip to Spain, he searches on Google while signed into his Google account, and sees your ad. He clicks the +1 button on the ad to recommend it to his contacts.

When Brian's friend Ann plans her trip to Spain, she signs in to her Google account, searches, and also sees your ad – plus the personalized annotation that Brian +1'd it. Knowing that Brian recommends your hotel helps Ann decide where to stay during her travels.

Think of the +1 button as a way for fans of your business to recommend what you offer, for all their friends and contacts to see. By helping searchers see more personal, relevant ads, we believe you'll see more qualified traffic. You can also add the +1 button to your site to give your customers the opportunity to +1 your site after visiting it.

What +1 Means To Your Dealership

Do you have a process to leverage the Google +1 feature for your business? The +1 is the next "gold rush" for Page One relevance and conversion. Imagine what happens when your organic listing for your dealership home page have 100 +1 votes. In this example, what happens when your ads get recommended. I hope you can see the clear opportunity and now you just need a strategy.

Automotive Advertising and Google search marketing is continually evolving to provide the most RELEVANT and DESIRED result for consumers. That said there are creative ways to empower your customer base to make sure you get the attention you need on Page One. You need an online marketing strategy and these continued changes should be proof enough that dealers need to be paying attention and reacting.

Time to get this on your blogs as well. If you haven't added the +1 to your own blog yet, now is the time!

Internet Marketing Strategy - Do You Have One?

I'll be reviewing the opportunities for the Google +1 tool at all of the upcoming PCG Pit Stop Conferences. I will also be addressing the impact of social media links and likes, which continue to influence SERP's. Dates and locations can be found at http://www.pcgpitstop.com.

Google has always enabled you to track what people say about you online with Google Alerts but they have now made it easier for anyone to track their online reputation with a new feature in the Google Dashboard called "Me on the Web".

I've stated this many times but it is worth repeating.  All your advertising dollars that drive consumers to search your business name are impacted by your online reputation.  Google has socialized the web experience and your "stars" will impact whether a consumer will engage with your business or call a competitor.

Free IRM Tools

The new set of tools makes it easier for anyone to see what is posted on the web using their name. The dashboard also has features that includes a link entitled "How to Remove Unwanted Content" which will assist companies dealing with their online reputation management.

Here is an exerpt from that page:

"If you find content online--say, your telephone number or an embarrassing photo of you--that you don't want to appear online, first determine whether you or someone else controls the content. For example, if the photo you want to hide is part of your Picasa account, you can simply change your photo visibility settings. If, however, the unwanted content resides on a site or page you don't control, you can follow our tips on removing personal information from the web and removing a page from Google's search results."

Me On The Web

The Google Accounts dashboard, shown below, has the "Me on the Web" summary and helpful links:  

To access this feature, login to your Google Account Dashboard and it will be active.

The introduction of this feature is a clear signal to any business that Internet Reputation Management is a mandatory business process that should be part their standard operation procedures manual.

This feature will also help to educate the general public on reputation management.  In fact, on XM and local radio, you may have been hearing commercials from a company called "Reputation Defender".  Reputation Management is going mainstream and our phone has been overheating with companies asking for help with their online reputation management.

So, check out the new features and I am confident that this will be expanded in the year ahead to make it easier for people to check what people are saying about them online.

Google has always enabled you to track what people say about you online with Google Alerts but they have now made it easier for anyone to track their online reputation with a new feature in the Google Dashboard called "Me on the Web".

I've stated this many times but it is worth repeating.  All your advertising dollars that drive consumers to search your business name are impacted by your online reputation.  Google has socialized the web experience and your "stars" will impact whether a consumer will engage with your business or call a competitor.

Free IRM Tools

The new set of tools makes it easier for anyone to see what is posted on the web using their name. The dashboard also has features that includes a link entitled "How to Remove Unwanted Content" which will assist companies dealing with their online reputation management.

Here is an exerpt from that page:

"If you find content online--say, your telephone number or an embarrassing photo of you--that you don't want to appear online, first determine whether you or someone else controls the content. For example, if the photo you want to hide is part of your Picasa account, you can simply change your photo visibility settings. If, however, the unwanted content resides on a site or page you don't control, you can follow our tips on removing personal information from the web and removing a page from Google's search results."

Me On The Web

The Google Accounts dashboard, shown below, has the "Me on the Web" summary and helpful links:  

To access this feature, login to your Google Account Dashboard and it will be active.

The introduction of this feature is a clear signal to any business that Internet Reputation Management is a mandatory business process that should be part their standard operation procedures manual.

This feature will also help to educate the general public on reputation management.  In fact, on XM and local radio, you may have been hearing commercials from a company called "Reputation Defender".  Reputation Management is going mainstream and our phone has been overheating with companies asking for help with their online reputation management.

So, check out the new features and I am confident that this will be expanded in the year ahead to make it easier for people to check what people are saying about them online.