Dealers are spending thousands of dollars each month on Google Adwords and few have tested the impact of different "landing page" designs on conversion.

The landing page is the first page where a consumer is taken when they click on your paid advertisement.

Conversion testing is CRITICAL for anyone using Google Adwords or any pay-per-click advertising solution.

If you could increase conversion by 5% on all your PPC traffic, what would that be worth to you each month? What about 10% or 15%?

Conversion Testing is The Holy Grail

The premise behind A/B testing is that you don't know if your landing page is setup to achieve optimal conversion unless you test the design. Changes in the design can include colors, photos, videos, and physical page layout.

Many single point stores have Pay-Per-Click budgets between $1,000 - $3,000 a month. Yet these same stores have not created a series of tests to determine which landing page designs will produce the best results.

Many PPC vendors do not offer individualized A/B testing since they claim to know which landing page design work best. If it was my money, I would want to see the test results from my local market.

Google provides a tool called Website Optimizer to give Adwords users TOOLS to test the impact of landing page designs. The problem with this tool is that it takes knowledge and time to setup and foresight on how to decide what to test. This is normally not an internal skill set inside a dealership.

The Automotive SEM Study, recently announced on DrivingSales.com, will test landing page design on member Adwords campaigns in a controlled environment. We will share the results of the A/B testing so that everyone can benefit from the knowledge that is collected.

Google Website Optimizer

Google Website Optimizer has two modes: Simple A/B Testing and Multivariate Testing. Today I will focus on the easiest testing which is A/B testing.

One of the learning examples in the Automotive SEM Study will be to take active users of Google Adwords and create a series of A/B or A/B/C testing on different landing pages to see which variations increase/decrease response rates.

The A/B testing in Google Website Optimizer is the "easiest" testing you can do because it requires you to create different landing pages for the test. Most website platforms will allow you to create pages on the fly, which could be these alternative landing pages. The more advanced forms of testing in Google Website Optimizer call "multivariate testing" will be discussed in a follow-up article.

The potential roadblock with Google Website Optimizer on automotive website platforms is that some vendors will limit "Java Code" can be placed on user generated website pages. As you can see from the diagram above, you need to place two pieces of code on the original page and then footer code on the alternative pages and the thank you page if someone submits a lead.

So What's The Big Deal?

Well, the code that you have the place on these pages are simple; Google provide it. The problem is that some website platforms don't allow you to insert Java Script code on website pages. If you are using open source microsites like WordPress, you have to make sure that WordPress doesn't rewrite/format the code.

For the Automotive SEM Study we will be using open source WordPress websites and we will show you how to use a free plugin called "Hana Code Insert" to drop in the needed code to your testing pages. If you would like to use your PRIMARY website for the SEM A/B testing, ask your vendor if they support Google Website Optimizer code.

We will also be looking into other website testing platforms that may simplify the study member experience; details will follow when the study officially starts on February 15th.

Industry veteran and conversion testing expert, Larry Bruce has offered his PPC testing platform to study members, so we will look into the latest version of his software and see if it matches with our study goals.

What Can We Get From A/B Testing?

If you have a budget that is large enough to generate enough traffic to your landing pages, you can start to see the impact of design, colors, phone number ,forms, or ANY on page element on conversion. For many car dealers this topic may be new but their instincts will tell them that they have NOT testing their landing pages.

If you are spending money on Google Adwords, isn't it time to start improving CONVERSION by testing different design layouts and call-to-action messages?

In the above example, Google will distribute clicks over all THREE pages and keep track of all statistics on these pages. You may find that Alternative B, which a lower down payment created higher conversion. Or you may find that Alternative A which featured the featured car with a lower monthly payment increased conversion. STOP GUESSING. START TESTING.

Understanding Google Adwords and PPC Testing Is Important

This is one of the many reasons why you should have your dealer peers register for the Automotive SEM Study. Isn't it time that our industry raises the bar on automotive PPC spending and refine our campaigns to increase CONVERSION?

Sign-up at: http://www.automotivesemstudy.com

The eight week study is free to the first 100 dealership employees that register with a dealership email address.

The Automotive Website Awards (AWA), presented by PCG Digital Marketing each year, recognize companies that provide outstanding technology platforms for the automotive industry.

The 160-page research paper that is associated with the awards provides guidance to car dealers who are considering a change to their automotive website. (Download a copy)

The review process has opened doors for PCG, allowing our review team the opportunity to see the latest design, technology, and future products from the leaders in this industry. I am blessed that I have met so many great people behind the companies that were included in this year's report.

Reviewing ADP and Cobalt Technology

As part of the review process this summer, I met with the Cobalt development team in Seattle as well as the ADP/BZ team via a webinar. Both companies impressed me with their future vision and upcoming technologies. I posted a blog about some of the major positive changes in the BZ Platform, which excited a number of BZ clients. Change was definitely coming to users of both platforms.

At the time we reviewed their upcoming platforms, I had no idea that at the end of this year the two companies would merge. I am sure that I was not alone in July 2010 as I speculated which technology platform would eventually “win” and how the two companies would operate.

Some in the industry commented to me that these two “big” companies would have a hard time sorting out their technology and integrating their employees. I started to speculate about the different cultures at ADP and Cobalt and how John Holt would integrate the development, sales, and marketing teams to create a future vision for the new company.

I asked John Holt this question directly at the Driving Sales Executive Summit in October 2010, in front of 500 industry leaders. At that time, John had little to share but he had tremendous confidence that the combination would yield significant benefits for ADP and Cobalt clients.

Visiting the ADP / Cobalt Team in Seattle

Fast-forward to 60 days later. I visited Seattle in December 2010 and met with the new website team which consisted of architects, engineers, social media specialists, search engine optimization strategists, and marketing leaders of the new company. The team was a combination of BZ and Cobalt employees.

Members of each team took time to share their roles and vision for the future technology platforms that they were working on. Through all the meetings one thing impressed me. There was tremendous positive energy that was coming from everyone that was in attendance. There were no hints of divisiveness and everyone was focus, attentive, and added to the conversation.

John Holt and his executive team have quickly united the best of each company and have crafted a powerful technology focus for the upcoming year. This should be great news for Cobalt and BZ customers as the company readies its new technology platform. How this new platform will be implemented for its customers was not shared but I was impressed with what I saw.

Some dealers have commented that ADP and Cobalt grew too large to listen to the needs of their installed user base, but the two companies have indeed been listening. They have responded from the feedback provided in the AWA review process and from their customers. Granted, it may have taken longer than dealers would have wished but the good news is that change is in the air.

The Energy Factor

The new ADP/Cobalt company is not wasting time to produce a world-class product that includes the best in website architecture, design, SEO, automotive advertising, and social media integration.

The injection of 50+ new developers from the ADP merger will surely expedite the technology road map. Since I was not privy to rollout schedules or final production software I cannot say when the new platform will arrive, but don’t count these two players out.

Contrary to what some may believe, this merger has empowered these two companies. I go back to the “energy” factor I witnessed.

When the right teams of people get together with a unified goal, great things can happen.

I commend John Holt the leadership that has created this momentum in just five months. Now we all will have to sit back and see what comes out of the production funnel. The future looks so bright that they may have to give out sunglasses during the unveiling of their new platform. What are your thoughts?

The people behind PitchEngine.com have a plugin for Facebook that adds a tab to your Fan Page to stream in your press releases, dealer news, and basically anything you want to show to your fans. PitchEngine.com has many other uses and a number of people I know use their service.

To learn more, you can visit: http://www.pitchengine.com/plans.php

This week I had the opportunity to visit Wheelers GM in Marshfield Wisconsin and one of the projects we worked on was a digital marketing strategy for their Wheelers Auto Body & Collision Shop.  Unlike their main store, their new Auto Body facility was not listed in Google Places and the basics of online marketing were absent. 

So, I created a Google Places listing, started a WordPress microsite for the shop, and started to research keywords for content development. I was surprised to see how WIDE OPEN digital marketing is for collision repair shops.  In this area of Wisconsin, there were no local shops that really had optimized Google Places listings let alone a content publishing strategy.

When competitors are asleep at the wheel, the first body shop to get it right in the marketplace will have a strong digital marketing advantage. If you own a body shop, how would you rate your SEO campaign for the keywords related to the services you offer?

Auto Body SEO

It got me to think that over the past 5 years I really have not been asked too many times about SEO and digital marketing strategies for Body Shops.  I know that a number of my clients have collision repair facilities but it seems like these areas of revenue are digital advertising orphans.

As dealers look toward 2011 and plan their automotive advertising budgets, I encourage everyone to look at all the profit centers and inspect their digital visibility in the local market.  I have seen an increased interest in dealers for marketing tires, brakes, and oil change services in 2010 but don't ignore the body shop if you have one.

I'm a firm believer that attracting more customers to your service facility or body shop will allow you to connect with more consumers that will eventually need a new or used car. Dealers should not allow independant service centers and body shops to rule the day in their local market.

Fixed Operations SEO and content publishing is a great way to energize revenue, profits, and local consumer engagement in 2011.

I was visiting an established dealership group recently and I chuckled when one of the General Managers stated that they STOPPED taking calls from ANY vendors that were attempting to sell them on digital marketing and social media services.

His reason was simple; he didn't know enough about the subject to filter through the sales speak and to get to the facts on ROI.  He quickly admitted that by doing this he could be missing something "BIG" that could really make a difference in his business.  For him at this moment, it was easier to shut off the constant stream of solicitations.

I wonder how many other dealers in the country feel the same way. 

Calls to their phones or the barrage of emails in their mailbox touting the best CRM, IRM, SEO, SEM, and now Social Media Optimization (SMO) tools is just too much.  Do they have the tools to determine fact from fiction?

For me, it was a great opportunity to LISTEN and assess what it is like on the other side of the table.  I was also blessed with the opportunity to educate and help this dealership understand the opportunities in the market for growth.

As a vendor community and as an industry we need to invest MORE in dealer education before a sales pitch.  We need to create the bridges of understanding from traditional marketing to their digital and social equivalents. 

This dealer's feedback was clear that our CURRENT industry practices has NOT made it easy for them to comprehend the changes that are second nature for some of us on this forum.

2011 Digital Marketing Strategies

If you are a dealer on this forum and feel the same way, I invite you to attend the 2011 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference.  It is being held just before the 2011 NADA Convention in beautiful Napa Valley California. 

The dates are February 1st - 3rd and on the 4th we will transport attendees to San Francisco in the morning to register for the start of the 2011 NADA Conference.

The 2011 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference has attracted some of the the industry's top thought leaders in social media, Automotive SEO, SEM, IRM, Content Publishing, Automotive Advertising, Branding, and the latest insights on the things you NEED to know to succeed in 2011.

If you are looking for guidance to create an effective digital marketing strategy in 2011, I invite you to register for the Conference by visiting:  http://www.digitalmarketingstrategies.org. 

The conference is limited to the first 50 dealerships that register and seating is selling out quickly.  This will ensure that every dealership that attends gets personalized advice, attention, and take home action plans.

Conference Speakers

Speakers and workshop leaders at the Conference include:

• Jared Hamilton
• Alex Snyder
• Gary May
• Matt Murray
• Glenn Pasch
• JD Rucker
• Sean Wolfingtion
• Christine Rochelle
• Brian Pasch

The conference will also feature technology updates from VinSolutions, Dealer.com, TK Carsites, DealerTrend, Smart Web Concepts, PrestoReviews.com, DealerFire, CAR-MERCIAL, Automotive Advertising Network, and a few special guest that will be unveiled at the Conference.

I hope to see you in Napa prior to the 2011 NADA Convention.

Brian

It's hard keeping pace with Google in the past month. Google Instant, Google Preview, Google Boost, and now Google Hotpot. It seems that I'm chasing Google's product team to understand the implications of all these new tools for search marketing.

The latest tool, Google Hotpot, is a streamlined interface for location based reviews. Location based applications are a hot segment of the market and Google is moving fast into this space to become a dominant player in consumer reviews and feedback loops.

Google Hotpot takes the data from Google Places and the reviews from other consumers and places them in a simple interface that anyone can use.

Getting Started With Hotpot

The first thing you will need to do is to create your account. Click through on this link to get started: http://www.google.com/hotpot

If you have a Google Account, just login and you will be asked to create a screen name. This is your public "reviewer" name so you can get creative at this point or use your real name.

From the screenshot below, you will also see that your default start-up account needs a photo as well as some basic information. I decided to use my actual name so my Google HotPot account.

Once you create your account you can start rating local businesses and places nearby. You are presented with a search box and you can start by reviewing your favorite places. You have unlimited 1-5 star ratings and initially you only get 10 "Best Ever" stars, which is a special rating.

I'm not sure how the "Best Ever" ratings will pan out but since they are limited, they may be weighted heavier.

Google HotPot Targets Review Websites

The default search is restaurants and so Google is taking aim at the most popular ratings engines like Yelp.com and CitySearch.com. Google also knows businesses that you rated in the past.

For example, you will see that my review count started at eight even though this is a brand new account. This is from past reviews that I used with this Google email address on Google Places.

Hotpot takes all of Google Places‘ ratings and reviews features and adds a more personal touch. Currently, Place Pages mostly aggregate review data from sources such as Yelp. With Hotpot, users will be encouraged to rate and review businesses directly from their Google-linked profile.

Users’ ratings and reviews are tracked with a counter at the top of each profile, and likes and dislikes are remembered and used in Google’s recommendation engine. When you post a review, you photo will now appear next to the review as shown below:

Looking At Recent Trends

How does this apply to car dealers? Think stars! The progression over the past few months looks like this. Google upgrades Google Places and emphasizes the important reviews. Then Google integrates Google Places reviews into organic search so business "star" ratings appear for broad business searches. Search for "Baltimore Honda dealers" in Google to see exactly how that look.

Then Google offers business owners the ability to run pay-per-click ads using their star ratings: Google Boost. Now, Google is making it easier for consumers to post reviews for local businesses.

In 2011 the most important investment dealers can make is to establish a strong online reputation management process.

Good customer service will be rewarded ten-fold if Google's Hotpot takes off. Bad customer service will be placed for all consumers to see for popular search phrases. Dealers need to start inspecting all business processes and test ways to integrate review posting strategies.

As Google makes it easier for consumers to post reviews from their mobile devices, like Google Hotpot, you should be encouraging your customers to post reviews on Google Hotpot when they are in your store or when you are on the phone with them. If you are NOT asking your loyal and happy customers, then most likely you will only see negative reviews.

Keeping Pace With Change

Are you prepared for this tsunami of change?  Need help?  Get some great strategies at the 2011 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference February 1-3, 2011 in the Napa Valley.  http://www.digitalmarketingstrategies.org

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.

In a continuing effort to make Google Places a very important part of online business marketing and advertising, Google is rolling out Google Boost in select markets. If your business is in any one of these cities, you can start testing Google Boost:

• San Francisco, CA
• Houston, TX
• San Jose, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Wichita, KS
• Charlottesville, VA
• Atlanta, GA
• Chapel Hill, NC
• Orlando, FL
• Washington D.C.
• Boston, MA
• Cross Plains, TX
• Portland, ME

Google Boost and Google Places

Google Boost is a pay-per-click advertising option to showcase your Google Places listing. One of the main reasons why you would want to use Google Boost is to highlight your outstanding customer review counts.

For example, Acton Toyota in Massachusetts has over 1,000 Google reviews. If they participated in Google Boost, they could bring their Google Places listing and reviews front and center. Here is an example Google Boost ad:

The important points to remember is that if you are going to use Google Boost, you better have a strong Internet Reputation Management process in place. Secondly, you can see that by using Google Tags ($25 a monthly) you can add the yellow marker and message to your Boost ad.

One of the other factors to consider when using Google Boost is the have another set of eyes look at your Google Places listing. It should fully leverage all the marketing tools that Places offers business owners.

For example, you can load up to four videos on Google Places and I recommend  that three of them be customer testimonial videos. Business owners should create one “welcome” video that outlines the advantages and benefits of doing business with your company.

Where Do Google Boost Ads Appear?

The Google Boost ads will appear in the normal places that Adwords ad would show but keep in mind that the landing page can be EITHER your business Google Places listing or your website. Also notice that the current number of reviews will be showing in the ad.

There are so many ways that this can be leverages but it has to start with inspecting that your Google Places listing is correct and fully completed. Second, you need to inspect the reviews that have been written about your company and to implement a strong reputation management process.

If you need help with creating a strong Internet Reputation Management process or if you have more questions about Boost, start the dialogue here.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

http://twitter.com/automotiveseo

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

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

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

Automotive Training Videos

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

Google Places

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

Search Engine Optimization

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

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

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

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing

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

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

PCG is hosting an industry conference in the Napa Valley on February 1-3, 2011 which is conveniently timed to precede the 2011 NADA Convention.  The workshop leaders and speakers are all working with a common goal: help dealers create a powerful digital marketing strategy for 2011.

The process of crrafting your 2011 Digital Marketing Strategy should be starting now. I was wondering how many DrivingSales.com members have a written digital marketing strategy for 2011.   If you have one, consider sharing it with this community.

You may be asking, what should this strategy look like?  For starters, it should list all your current expenses for digital and traditional advertising. 

Next to each item you should be indicating how you will be measuring, inspecting, and adjusting that investment for a better return.  For many dealers, some of these expenses have been on auto-pilot for years.

Then you should be listing new strategies that have not yet been tested.  These items should have estimated budgets and details on how success will be measured.  Some newer ideas may include:

• Facebook Advertising
• Facebook Marketplace
• Digital Radio Stations like Pandora
• Google Places Sponsored Ads
• Content and Inventory Snydication
• Craigslist
• Video Optimization
• Microsites

Then a discussion can start about funding new strategies and eliminating investments that no longer have a strong ROI.  The most important part of this process is to make sure that all spending has a purpose and a strategy.  Paying for something because your competitor is using the "shiny object" is not a strategy.

There are many more details to outlining your 2011 Digital Marketing Strategy. I invite you to start the dialogue here on this post.  What questions do you have that industry peers can answer?  What is working well for you that you can share openly to help the members of this community?

Let's get the conversation stated.

2011 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference

Also, if you would like to collaborate with some of the brighest minds in digital marketing, look into attending the conference. Details on the conference can be found at:  http://www.digitalmarketingstrategies.org

Workshop leaders include Alex Snyder, Gary May, Glenn Pasch, Brian Pasch, Matt Murray, and Christine Rochelle.  Speakers include Sean Wolfington, Jared Hamilton, and JD Rucker.

The conference ends on Friday February 4th and attendees will be taken to San Francisco on Friday morning to the Convention Center  so they won't miss a single event.