Google met with top automotive dealers and manufacturers at the 2011 NADA Convention in San Francisco this week to introduce their new lead generation model for search, which one insider called "Dealer Preference". This is a new strategy for their popular Google Adwords software.

The new paid automotive advertising model by Google would create special automotive ads which are designed to generate calls or leads, which will be sold to the highest bidder. This is a game changer in my mind but people at the meeting said that dealer response was very mild.

Take a look at this screen capture for the search phrase "mortgage loans" and look at the new Adwords section that says "Comparison Ad" that is highlighted in red.

Google Automotive Lead Gen

This model is new to the automotive industry but not new to other verticals like Mortgages. You can see from the screen shot above highlighted in red, Google has created a special new pink bar for ads that it creates for lead capture and places them ABOVE normal Adwords ads. Notice that ad has radio buttons and a call to action to "Compare Rates".

On a related note, you will also see one business using Google Boost and how much more attractive PPC ads will be getting if a car dealer has high review counts!

When you click on that link, this is what you will see:



The position of this page is sold to the highest bidder, I assume. Details on the Dealer Preference advertising is forthcoming in a second post. My first guess that this will be used for New Car advertising and that some OEM's might prefer this enhanced lead generation model. The jury is still out and I need to get more information on this product offering.

This is a game changer for the automotive advertising industry. If Google starts to become a middle-man in automotive price advertising and comparisons, a whole new strategy will need to be considered. It still will have to be seen if this increases clicks on paid ads.

Automotive Advertising Changes Again

This new features does a few things:

1. It pushes other paid ads lower on the right sidebar.
2. It pushes organic search results down so positions 1-3 become even more valuable
3. Dealers that have been ignoring Adwords will need to get in the game and test things.

The idea that Google has in mind is that if a consumer types in "Used Honda Miami" it will display its OWN lead collection ad and show cars or sales based on participating dealers.

What is your reaction?

Do you have some additional information from NADA to share?

Google met with top automotive dealers and manufacturers at the 2011 NADA Convention in San Francisco this week to introduce their new lead generation model for search, which one insider called "Dealer Preference". This is a new strategy for their popular Google Adwords software.

The new paid automotive advertising model by Google would create special automotive ads which are designed to generate calls or leads, which will be sold to the highest bidder. This is a game changer in my mind but people at the meeting said that dealer response was very mild.

Take a look at this screen capture for the search phrase "mortgage loans" and look at the new Adwords section that says "Comparison Ad" that is highlighted in red.

Google Automotive Lead Gen

This model is new to the automotive industry but not new to other verticals like Mortgages. You can see from the screen shot above highlighted in red, Google has created a special new pink bar for ads that it creates for lead capture and places them ABOVE normal Adwords ads. Notice that ad has radio buttons and a call to action to "Compare Rates".

On a related note, you will also see one business using Google Boost and how much more attractive PPC ads will be getting if a car dealer has high review counts!

When you click on that link, this is what you will see:



The position of this page is sold to the highest bidder, I assume. Details on the Dealer Preference advertising is forthcoming in a second post. My first guess that this will be used for New Car advertising and that some OEM's might prefer this enhanced lead generation model. The jury is still out and I need to get more information on this product offering.

This is a game changer for the automotive advertising industry. If Google starts to become a middle-man in automotive price advertising and comparisons, a whole new strategy will need to be considered. It still will have to be seen if this increases clicks on paid ads.

Automotive Advertising Changes Again

This new features does a few things:

1. It pushes other paid ads lower on the right sidebar.
2. It pushes organic search results down so positions 1-3 become even more valuable
3. Dealers that have been ignoring Adwords will need to get in the game and test things.

The idea that Google has in mind is that if a consumer types in "Used Honda Miami" it will display its OWN lead collection ad and show cars or sales based on participating dealers.

What is your reaction?

Do you have some additional information from NADA to share?

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!

Video Optimization Webinar Scheduled – Dec 7th

Join Brian Pasch and Karry Moore, President of CAR-MERCIAL on December 7, 2010 at 12:00 noon to discuss video optimization and the unique product that CAR-MERCIAL offers.

Brian has inspected the video optimization tools, products, and strategy offered by CAR-MERCIAL and highly recommends that members of this community attend this webinar.

If you would like to attend, register by following this link:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/891216777

About CAR-MERCIAL

CAR-MERCIAL helps automotive dealerships implement digital marketing campaigns to attract, sell and service more customers profitably. CAR-MERCIAL delivers proven strategies to increase traffic, sales and service business through video search engine strategies.

CAR-MERCIAL’s proven system combines the power of television's sight, sound and motion with the power of search engines' ability to speak directly to consumers who want to buy or service a vehicle now. CAR-MERCIAL is the first company in the world to specialize in the optimization of online TV ads that attract more traffic for less cost than traditional advertising and paid search engine marketing.

Video Optimization Webinar Scheduled – Dec 7th

Join Brian Pasch and Karry Moore, President of CAR-MERCIAL on December 7, 2010 at 12:00 noon to discuss video optimization and the unique product that CAR-MERCIAL offers.

Brian has inspected the video optimization tools, products, and strategy offered by CAR-MERCIAL and highly recommends that members of this community attend this webinar.

If you would like to attend, register by following this link:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/891216777

About CAR-MERCIAL

CAR-MERCIAL helps automotive dealerships implement digital marketing campaigns to attract, sell and service more customers profitably. CAR-MERCIAL delivers proven strategies to increase traffic, sales and service business through video search engine strategies.

CAR-MERCIAL’s proven system combines the power of television's sight, sound and motion with the power of search engines' ability to speak directly to consumers who want to buy or service a vehicle now. CAR-MERCIAL is the first company in the world to specialize in the optimization of online TV ads that attract more traffic for less cost than traditional advertising and paid search engine marketing.

Facebook has started a push to attract car dealers into their Facebook Marketplace which is powered by Oodle. The image shown above was part of an email solicitation campaign that reach one of my dealer clients to offer their automotive advertising package.

According to the Facebook marketing website, your subscription with Oodle Pro will display your cars on Facebook as well as a number of other websites in the Oodle network.  Do you think that Facebook could create a competitive automotive marketplace challenge to Autotrader.com and Cars.com?

The Facebook Marketplace Pitch

Here are some excerpts from the Facebook Marketplace website:

• Showcase vehicle inventory on Facebook Marketplace. Your listings get top placement in search results on Facebook Marketplace and across the Oodle network to maximize exposure.
• Open your dealership to millions of potential buyers across Facebook Marketplace and the Oodle Network. Reach local audiences and millions of prospective buyers. Access to more than 500 million people on Facebook Marketplace.
• With Oodle Pro, one service automatically lets you post to over 250 sites including: Oodle, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace Classifieds, and more. Manage all of your listings in one place, making it easy to stay on top of your business – no more need to post your listings on website after website.
• No social media experience needed — a simple, easy to use setup, gets you up and running quickly, and makes it easy to begin reaching millions of people right away. Hassle-free product support, detailed help topics, and feature-specific tutorials give you all the support you'll need to be successful.

If anyone has been using the Facebook Marketplace for their car inventory, please share your results. I am familiar with the Oodle network outside of Facebook but not their ability to market cars within Facebook. I was also a bit suspicious that they are hawking this service to advertising car inventory on Twitter and MySpace, which qualify for "Weak Ideas of the Week".

Shopping For a Car on Facebook

Once you reach Facebook Marketplace, you can click on Cars in the top navigation as shown below which pops up a box to help you narrow down your search criteria.

Once you click on "submit" you will see a listing of cars for sale, not unlike any other automotive advertising portal. So I clicked on a 2007 Chevy Cobalt that appeared in my list, and this is the Vehicle Detail Page I was presented.

I wanted to experience how I would communicate with the seller so I clicked on the RESPOND button at the top of the listing and I had to give Facebook Marketplace access to my profile. This is where things started to go off the tracks for me. Recently I accepted an App that wreaked havoc on my friends so we have to assume the Marketplace will not abuse this access.

Once I granted permission to access my profile, a message box appeared which will allow me to contact the seller as shown below:

Car Dealer Inventory on Facebook

I decided to look at car dealer listings that appeared for my search and Sheehy Ford of Springfield appeared in the list. The car did not have any photos and in fact, all the dealers that I saw on the first few pages had photos missing. Here is what the Vehicle Detail Page looked like:

This is one ugly Vehicle Detail Page in my opinion. Since I gave access to my profile, the form at the bottom of the page to contact the dealer is pre-filled with some bacsic information from my profile.

How Much Does it Cost?

As you can see from the pricing chart below, you can list up to 500 cars a month for $499 if you go month to month. If you want to syndicate more than 500 cars, you need to request special pricing.

What Do You Think?

So what do you think about Facebook Marketplace for automotive advertising?

The Marketplace application was very slow from my computer so I would like some feedback is speed was also an issue from your PC.

Our recent survey of automotive shoppers indicated that "ease of use" of the shopping interface was the most important factor in selecting a website to shop for a car.  This current version falls short in my opinion of creating a positive shopping experience.  What do you think?

Facebook has started a push to attract car dealers into their Facebook Marketplace which is powered by Oodle. The image shown above was part of an email solicitation campaign that reach one of my dealer clients to offer their automotive advertising package.

According to the Facebook marketing website, your subscription with Oodle Pro will display your cars on Facebook as well as a number of other websites in the Oodle network.  Do you think that Facebook could create a competitive automotive marketplace challenge to Autotrader.com and Cars.com?

The Facebook Marketplace Pitch

Here are some excerpts from the Facebook Marketplace website:

• Showcase vehicle inventory on Facebook Marketplace. Your listings get top placement in search results on Facebook Marketplace and across the Oodle network to maximize exposure.
• Open your dealership to millions of potential buyers across Facebook Marketplace and the Oodle Network. Reach local audiences and millions of prospective buyers. Access to more than 500 million people on Facebook Marketplace.
• With Oodle Pro, one service automatically lets you post to over 250 sites including: Oodle, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace Classifieds, and more. Manage all of your listings in one place, making it easy to stay on top of your business – no more need to post your listings on website after website.
• No social media experience needed — a simple, easy to use setup, gets you up and running quickly, and makes it easy to begin reaching millions of people right away. Hassle-free product support, detailed help topics, and feature-specific tutorials give you all the support you'll need to be successful.

If anyone has been using the Facebook Marketplace for their car inventory, please share your results. I am familiar with the Oodle network outside of Facebook but not their ability to market cars within Facebook. I was also a bit suspicious that they are hawking this service to advertising car inventory on Twitter and MySpace, which qualify for "Weak Ideas of the Week".

Shopping For a Car on Facebook

Once you reach Facebook Marketplace, you can click on Cars in the top navigation as shown below which pops up a box to help you narrow down your search criteria.

Once you click on "submit" you will see a listing of cars for sale, not unlike any other automotive advertising portal. So I clicked on a 2007 Chevy Cobalt that appeared in my list, and this is the Vehicle Detail Page I was presented.

I wanted to experience how I would communicate with the seller so I clicked on the RESPOND button at the top of the listing and I had to give Facebook Marketplace access to my profile. This is where things started to go off the tracks for me. Recently I accepted an App that wreaked havoc on my friends so we have to assume the Marketplace will not abuse this access.

Once I granted permission to access my profile, a message box appeared which will allow me to contact the seller as shown below:

Car Dealer Inventory on Facebook

I decided to look at car dealer listings that appeared for my search and Sheehy Ford of Springfield appeared in the list. The car did not have any photos and in fact, all the dealers that I saw on the first few pages had photos missing. Here is what the Vehicle Detail Page looked like:

This is one ugly Vehicle Detail Page in my opinion. Since I gave access to my profile, the form at the bottom of the page to contact the dealer is pre-filled with some bacsic information from my profile.

How Much Does it Cost?

As you can see from the pricing chart below, you can list up to 500 cars a month for $499 if you go month to month. If you want to syndicate more than 500 cars, you need to request special pricing.

What Do You Think?

So what do you think about Facebook Marketplace for automotive advertising?

The Marketplace application was very slow from my computer so I would like some feedback is speed was also an issue from your PC.

Our recent survey of automotive shoppers indicated that "ease of use" of the shopping interface was the most important factor in selecting a website to shop for a car.  This current version falls short in my opinion of creating a positive shopping experience.  What do you think?

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.

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.