Once the industry darling of automotive websites, back when car dealers raced to purchase Flash based websites, Dealerskins has had a challenge recently re-energizing their brand. In fact you might say that the company has been laying low for the past year and I think I understand why.

Over the past two years I have witnessed the industry move away from 100% Flash websites and this has impacted Dealerskins’ cutting edge moniker.

In the early days of Flash based websites, the Adobe technology was a hindrance for obtaining strong organic search visibility. In effect, the original Dealerskins Flash websites were not easily optimized using proven Automotive SEO strategies.

In the past, my reviews of the Dealerskins platform from an SEO perspective have not been flattering to say the least.

I will be the first to raise a toast to the website “Phoenix” that has risen with renewed focus that will surprise its former critics. This bird is hungry and hunting!

Existing Dealerskins clients are in for a nice surprise and according to company executives; Dealerskins has a great new story to tell! This is not a full review of the Dealerskins SEO architecture and search marketing strengths of the new platform but a peak at what is coming.

The latest technology from Dealerskins will be included in the 2010 Automotive Website Awards, which will be presented on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 8:00 am at the Mirage Hotel.

Moving Towards A Primary HTML Platform

The first point to acknowledge is Dealerskins’ willingness to rebuild their CMS platform and technology while keeping their existing customers in business and thriving. That is not an easy task! The platform that we reviewed in August is a bridge to their full Content Management System (CMS) release that will be announced in the coming months.

The development team at Dealerskins should be congratulated. Their current hybrid Flash and HTML platform actually performed better in our search marketing architecture analysis this year than many of their peers. In short, this is NOT your parent’s Oldsmobile.

Automotive Inventory Optimization

The current Dealerskins website technology fixed the biggest complaint that I had in the past; their inventory module was practically invisible to the search engines and not in conformance with my SEO best practices. The new Dealerskins platform has optimized website pages for every car in inventory with unique page titles and META descriptions for each car. I also liked their breadcrumb menu on each inventory page shown below:

You can see an example of their new inventory page by visiting this link for a 2009 Volkswagen Routan. The final version of their optimized inventory technology will be unveiled in their next CMS release but the current version is performing very well in our testing. I would like to see more car details integrated into the inventory URL string.

In an interesting balancing act, the Dealerskins design team kept the Flash navigation menus to add some sizzle while adding HTML navigation links and editable text areas on key website pages. In the near future, the Dealerskins homepage will be 100% Flash free which will resolve any complaints of operating systems that are not Flash friendly.

The addition of HTML content pages will also increase the search visibility for existing Dealerskins customers. According to the company, approximately 50% of their existing customers have been converted to the new platform.

Website Administrative Tools Lagging For Content

The administrative tools for car dealers do not currently allow dealers to add their own content pages on the fly. A call to customer support will create as many blank pages that a dealer needs and then a dealer can add or edit content. In the final version of the platform, more robust content editing tools and a blog are scheduled to be included. As car dealer focus more on content writing in 2011, a robust content publishing platform will be a requirement for success.

The Dealerskins platform includes their own analytics technology that provides an independent audit for car dealers who have hired third party companies to run their Adwords or SEO campaigns. Their development team addressed a common concern of dealers who are paying thousands of dollars a month only to trust their vendors are being truthful about traffic, clicks and lead reports they send.

SEO Ranking Tools and More

The Dealerskins team also demonstrated some of their impressive digital marketing tools which included built-in SEO ranking reports and something that dealers should look at called the “Psychic Sales Tool” (PST). The tool shows dealers all the pages and cars that the consumer visited on the Dealerskins website prior to submitting a lead. PST gives the dealer more information about any shopper before they contact them.

Attractive Car Dealer Mobile Sites

Dealerskins has also created attractive mobile websites that are based on the new HTML 5 standard. You can see their slick mobile technology by visiting www.gentiliniford.com from your iPhone. The mobile interface is one of the best that I have seen and very fast.

The Silence Is Broken

The previous silence from Dealerskins?

They were hard at work surveying their customers and getting their new release out the door to customers. Car dealers using the old Dealerskins platform are encouraged to give their account manager a call and see about the upgrade path to this more powerful website technology.

Hats off to Dealerskins for moving to address the most immediate needs of their user base. According to the Dealerskins team more features and enhancements are coming, so listen up when your Dealerskins representative calls.

SEO pundits will not have the DS dog to kick anymore!

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

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

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

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

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

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

The #1 Search Phrase That Drives Traffic

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

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

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

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

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

So what is your dealerships POD Score?

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

How Is The POD Score Calculated?

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

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

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

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

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

Why is a POD Score of 100 Important

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

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

Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing, announced that the company will be expanding the scope of the PCG Automotive Website Awards (AWA).  Starting with their 2010 Awards Program in October, PCG will add coveted industry awards in a total of three categories: Search, Design, and Technology.

The new award categories are a result of the industry’s response to the popular Automotive Search Marketing Awards (ASMA) which will continue under the AWA “search” category.   The ASMA awards are the standard for recognizing website platforms that excel in organic search.

In the Automotive Website Design category, awards will be given for three classifications of automotive website platforms: dealership websites, manufacturer websites and third party automotive advertising websites.

In the Automotive Website Technology category website platforms will be evaluated on innovative core technology that stands above their peers. In the past year the automotive industry has witnessed numerous technological advancements in car dealer websites.  Mobile integration, geo-targeted marketing, chat, CRM, and advances in search advertising all will be considered.

The awards will be presented at an invitation only industry breakfast sponsored by PCG Digital Marketing in Las Vegas on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 8:00 am.  Members of the press and automotive industry who would like to attend the 2010 PCG Automotive Website Awards presentation should contact Carrie Hemphill at 732.450.8200, ext 2.

About the ASMA Awards

Started in 2008, the ASMA Awards are designed to provide car dealers with an independent view of website platform technology as it relates to organic search marketing.   The report assists car dealerships in evaluating new website platforms.

The ASMA Awards also recognize the best platforms that allow consumers and car dealers to connect on the Internet.   The 2010 ASMA study book will be over 150 pages this year and will review 45 website providers.  The report will be the industry’s reference guide for the best in automotive website technology.

Brian Pasch is a recognized authority in automotive digital marketing and a noted speaker in the field of Automotive SEO.   He has compiled a team of experts at PCG Digital Marketing who are qualified leaders in the field of automotive digital marketing, website design and technology.

Submit Website Design Candidates

Members of the Automotive Industry are encouraged to submit their recommendations for the three awards that fall under Automotive Website Design (AWD) this year.    Automotive website companies are asked to limit their submissions to four car dealership websites.

Recommendations must be received by September 20^th and can be submitted online at http://www.asmaawards.org/automotive-website-design-awards/

Contact PCG Digital Marketing

Carrie Hemphill

Media Contact

PCG Digital Marketing

Carrie.hemphill@pcgdigitalmarketing.com

732-450-8200 ext 2

I've been using Vox for a number of years now to post articles and create external blogs.  These free blogs ranked very well and even appear on Google Page One for competitive national search phrases.

It was a shock today to learn that at the end of September, Vox will be shutting down.  Since many DrivingSales.com members use Vox blogs, here is what was posted on their website today.

-------From their website------------ 

Today the Automotive SEO Study kicks off.  Over 100 car dealers from the United States and Canada will depart for a 16-week adventure.  In the past two weeks, interested dealers have been attending webinars and packing their digital luggage for the trip.  The packing process was well defined so that they had the necessary digital garments to endure the voyage.

Part of that pre-travel process was to prepare their travel documents so that they would know where they started.  We asked all members to print PDF snapshots of their Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools, Google Page One Rankings (GPOM), Google Places Analytics for their current website.  Members created a free Google Docs account so that they could load the historical snapshots for safe keeping and later review.

No Digital Accountability

It was sobering to witness the disruption that these requests created. Many members of the study worked at dealerships that never produced or viewed these types of reports.  For some, the accountability was never setup so they start the study with zero history.  I am pleased to say that the passionate members of the study have persevered.  They are ready for travel; clothing and documents in hand.

It prompted me to share with DrivingSales.com readers what I documents they should load into Google Docs for their own dealership.  By creating this discipline, dealers will be able to see their growth or decline in key digital marketing metrics.   

Some readers may be thinking that I'm forgetting that Google Analytics or embedded analytics from your website vendor can show any historical range so there is no need to print static reports and upload them in Google Docs.  They would be correct except that shit happens.  A number of members commented that once they changed website vendors, historical data was lost.   No one had the foresight to print historical reports before the cut-over.

We also had a few members who had unfortunate issues that wiped our historical data or analytics accounts that were owned and controlled by people that were now hostile to the dealership.  My conclusion was to suggest a process that would avoid this pain and empower the dealer. 

Every month, I suggest that dealers create a PDF report and in some cases, capture a screen to a JPG photo file, of important statistical data and load it into a free Google Docs account and ALSO print a paper copy and place them in a tabbed three ring binder.  That may seem old-school until someone deletes you digital files.

What You Should Be Storing

The reports that you should print or screen capture are listed below.  If you don't know how to capture what is on your screen to a file, there are many free utilities on the market.  One of the nicest is called Jing from Techsmith. ( http://www.techsmith.com/jing/ ).  Screen captures are needed because Webmaster Tools and Google Places do not yet have a print to PDF function for their summary data.

The monthly reports you should print and collect are:

• Google Analytics (last 120 days)
• Google Webmaster Tools Dashboard Screen
• Google Webmaster Tools Link Report
• Google Places Analytics Screens (You may need 2 screen shots)
• Google Page One search results for a search on your exact dealership name
• Website Grader Report
• Google Adwords Campaign Report
• Website Vendor Analytics Report

Each one of these reports has some important data which can help assess the overall health of your dealership digital marketing strategies.  This article is not designed to go over the data that is critical on these reports but an encouragement to start this type of monthly log.

If you are serious about improving the traffic, leads and sales for your dealership website you need these reports.  I hope to continue this education process in future articles as well as at the DrivingSales Executive Summit in Las Vegas on October 18-20th.  I hope to see you there.

As many of you already know, Yahoo has started to use Microsoft's search engine technology to power their search results. Have you compared your existing search dealership results in Google to the "new" Yahoo? Try some simple search patterns on Yahoo today.

For example, if you are a Chevrolet dealer in Paramus New Jersey test out a few basic phrases:

• New Jersey Chevrolet Dealer
• Paramus Chevrolet Dealer
• Chevrolet Impala Paramus
• Chevrolet Service Paramus

There are differences in how the Microsoft technology and Google technology work and after you have studied this for a while, those differences become clearer. I would like to challenge all readers to take a moment to take 10 popular search phrases that are part of your SEO strategy and check your rankings in Yahoo.

You can place a "star" beside each listing to see which listings your business controls. Work to raise those positions over the next few months.  Print copies each month to document your progress or use an automated tool that does this for you.

SEO Rewards Those With Persistence

For PCG Digital Marketing, the new Yahoo is actually recognizing our leadership in content publishing. We practice what we preach.

Some of our top keyword targets are "Automotive SEO", "Automotive Reputation Management", "Automotive Social Media", and "Automotive Microsites". You can see that our focus on SEO has rewarded us with good placement in Yahoo.

If your Yahoo results and Bing results are not as strong as Google, or visa versa, it's a good time to roll-up your SEO sleeves and make some investment in updating your Automotive SEO strategies.

In these snapshots taken on 8/30/2010, TK stands for www.tkcarsites, PR stands for Paul Rushing from www.dealerbytes.com and ADM stands for Ralph Paglia's ADM Community. These are companies that are active members of the automotive digital marketing forums.  I took the top five listings to display since most clicks happen above the fold.

Yahoo Search: Automotive SEO

Automotive Reputation Management

Yahoo Search: Automotive Microsites

Yahoo Search: Automotive Social Media

As we get ready to kickoff the Automotive SEO Study on September 1st, I was reflecting on both the enthusiasm of the 75 dealers who have committed to the program to date and also the low participation rate for a curriculum worth over $10,000.  By the way,  it is being offered for free.

One of the barriers that I see is that there limited educational resources that are building a bridge between veteran automotive executives (decision makers) and the vocabulary used by digital marketing and social media advocates.   

You may often hear a young Internet Sales Manager say; "My GM doesn't get it!" but in fact few companies have made it easy for that "bridge" education to take place.

I'm sure at one point, many GM's and dealer principals tried to get a better understanding of digital marketing but they were quickly immersed in funny acronyms and words that might as well have been in French.

Automotive SEO Education in Lacking

In the Bible, key figures spoke in parables so the local people could understand their message.  Digital marketing advocates need to build digital marketing parables that can communicate new digital and social media strategies in terms that the majority of dealers can understand. 

Even I have been accused of speaking square words into dealer's round ears.

In the early days of the Internet, sales professionals spoke in "Bricks to Clicks" analogies. I think we need to get back to those basics because owners and General Managers of dealerships are very smart people.  We can not accept the "They Don't Get It" mentality.  We need to find ways to connect their experience with new marketing concepts.   We need them onboard!

Once dealership principals and GM's "get It" , I predict that the dealership will flourish in the coming years. There will be a unified understanding and direction for the dealership's marketing budgets.  We still have some way to go. I estimate that 75% of car dealer executives do not participate in online digital marketing forums and communities so we need to do more to educate.

DrivingSales.com  and the Automotive SEO Study is attempting to take 100 dealers through a 16 week curriculum to educate, mentor and coach them through one aspect of digital marketing; Search Engine Optimization. 

We are attempting to be that bridge for 100 dealers who want to increase their online success.  At the end of the 16 weeks we will document each dealer's success and allow them to tell us if we succeeded in becoming a bridge of understand for their dealership.  

A whitepaper will be created from the study will be presented at 2011 NADA Convention in San Francisco.  It will clearly demonstrate my belief that SEO has to be a part of every car dealership marketing budget.

The Second Barrier is Patience

The excitement for the Automotive SEO Study is at fever pitch and many have emailed Jared and I to say how excited they are to be a part of this historic study.  I will do my best to keep the study members engaged but I will be fighting something bigger inside their dealership; Patience.

The car industry is obsessed with 30 day windows of performance.  One of the biggest obstacles for car dealers implementing a strong organic marketing strategy is time.  Car dealers want to see major results in 30, 60 and 90 days.  I have lost clients because of this very problem even though I try to set clear expectations.

Car dealers who have had the patience to invest in a strong SEO strategy and content publishing process have been amply rewarded.  Tim Martell, Internet Director at Marlboro Nissan and also President of WikiMotive.net has invested in a multi-year SEO strategy. The organic traffic to his website for a dealership of his size is without peer.

I like to use the analogy that SEO is like building a private advertising network in your PMA.  You are building digital billboards on all the major Internet roads and highways in your locale.  It takes a while to build this network but when it is done, it is yours for a lifetime.  No one can take it away from you and this brings independence and more first party leads.

If your dealership measures success in months, then Automotive SEO may not be for you.  Your competitors who have patience will smile at your decision and eventually will choke off your internet visibility.   It's already happening now with third party lead providers and inventory advertisers.

The decision now is to find the right education and commit to being patient.  If you want to experience both, join the study while there are a few spots left.

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com
http://twitter.com/automotiveseo

I would like to encourage employees of car dealerships who want to learn more about Search Engine Optimization to join a historic study sponsored by PCG Digital Marketing and DrivingSales.com.

The Automotive SEO Study will take 100 car dealership employees through a 16 week SEO curriculum.  There is no cost associated with participating in the study but members will need to commit to 4 hours of work a week.

Depending on the dealership, they should expect to spend approximately $100 in various setup fees to setup a WordPress blogs, buy a domain, etc.

Whitepaper To Be Published

The results of the Automotive SEO Study will be published and presented at the 2011 NADA Convention in San Francisco.  We expect to have a good diversity of website platforms represented as well as OEM brands. The initial registrations are strong so many dealers have embraced the study with open arms.  

I expect the Automotive SEO Study to be full by Friday August 20th.  It is important that members of DrivingSales respond this week.  On Wednesday, August 18th there will be an orientation webinar from 11:00 - 1:00 pm.  Details are on the official study website: http://www.automotiveseostudy.com

If you or someone from your dealership plans to participate, then should also attend the webinar.

Ideal For Hands-On Digital Marketers

The study will walk dealership employees through a easy to follow curriculum which will assist members of this community to build a strong SEO strategy for their dealership.  Study members will be building valuable links to their dealership websites.  They will be learning strategies and tools to build powerful offsite content networks.

The study will document the baseline SEO data for each of the 100 dealerships and then show the accomplishments their staff achieve over a 16 week period.  Members will be ending the study with more knowledge and skills to continue their work independently.

The study will also be a case study that will show the benefits of SEO as part of a car dealership's digital marketing strategy.  We will also be making note of individual car dealers that have achieved outstanding results based on their work in the study.

Are You In?

This will be an exciting project and I hope you will consider participating.  I will be teaching the courses so if you have enjoyed my columns in the past, spread the word.  You can email members of your 20 Groups to join as well.

The study members just have to be currently working at a dealership and have permission to create content and blog posts on behalf of the dealership. If you have questions, contact me.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get Ready To Laugh - Can You Translate Boston Speak?

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

Toyota Dealer Shines for FlipCam

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

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

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

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

I have some good news for you today. Car dealers can now respond positive and negative reviews on Google Maps! The feature that many dealers have been waiting for is finally here. If you have verified your Google Maps listing proving that you are the owner, you can now respond to any comments, positive or negative, when you are logged in to your account.

This is great news for dealers who have an Automotive Internet Reputation Management (IRM) process setup and who have been monitoring reviews on sites like Google Maps, Yelp, CitySearch, InsiderPages and Dealerrater. I also like the strategy of thanking people who place positive comments!

Here is the official notice from Google:

Whether you’re looking for a great lounge to hang out with your friends or a trusty shop to repair your bicycle, the web is a great place to discover and learn about local businesses and services. Some of the listings on Google Maps showcase reviews to help prospective customers make informed decisions and find the places that are just right for them. Reviews on Google Maps are assembled from a variety of sources on the web to give you the best possible overview of what people are saying about a specific place. We also encourage users to share their opinions by writing reviews directly on the Place Page of any place they’ve visited, be it a local business, tourist attraction or the like.

Starting today, if you’re a verified Google Places business owner, you can publicly respond to reviews written by Google Maps users on the Place Page for your business. Engaging with the people who have shared their thoughts about your business is a great way to get to know your customers and find out more. Both positive and negative feedback can be good for your business and help it grow (even though it’s sometimes hard to hear).

By responding, you can build stronger relationships with existing and prospective customers. For example, a thoughtful response acknowledging a problem and offering a solution can often turn a customer who had an initially negative experience into a raving supporter. A simple thank you or a personal message can further reinforce a positive experience. Ultimately, business owner responses give you the opportunity to learn what you do well, what you can do better, and show your customers that you’re listening.

This new feature will make some serious competition for Yelp...but for now, it's time for car dealers to take charge and come up with an review response policy and be careful how your comment on a negative review.

Example Of A Business Owner Comment

Here is an example of how it would look: 

What is your reaction to this news?

I'm very excited to see that negative comments or characterizations can be challenged by car dealers who have been unfairly judged.  This of course reminds me to say that dealers must have an IRM policy in place with guidelines on who should respond, if at all.  Responding the wrong way to an angry customer or a negative review could compound the problem.