I've written multiple pieces on how to properly set up and maintain your Google Places listing and account, but haven't touched on the mistakes you could be making, hurting your car dealership online marketing strategy.

Here are the places where you could really screw up your listing if you aren't careful:

Don't use a post office box. Even if this is where you get mail, make sure you use the actual address of your business.

Only enter the address into the address field.  That means no directions, no landmarks (turn left at the yellow building), and no descriptions.

Don't hide your address.  Google gives you the option of hiding your physical address--don't do it!  Google Places wants to be able to show users where you are located on a map, so let them.

Using a tracking number?  Stop.  Google has officially stated "Types of phone numbers that should not be included are: call tracking numbers and phone numbers that are not specific to a business location."

Don't ignore errors in your account, including a misplaced map pinpoint.  Google is notoriously difficult to get a hold of, but don't let that deter you from reporting an error if and when you see it.

A well developed and maintained Google Places listing can be a huge asset for your dealership's online marketing efforts.  If you need help with your Google Places account or other aspects of your Internet marketing program, feel free to contact DealerOn for help.

Now that Google+ is open to businesses, many are trying to figure out the best way to utilize this new social media portal (including DealerOn).  I’ve gathered some of the more common mistakes that businesses are making to shorten the learning curve for auto dealerships.

Like all other social media sites, not posting on a regular basis can hurt your marketing efforts.  Consistently providing visitors with quality, worthwhile content is the best way to attract (and keep) potential dealership customers engaged in your social sharing.

Google+ really lends itself to sharing photos, so make sure you take full advantage.  Switch up your text posts with photos of your vehicles, dealership, and staff.  Make sure your profile photo identifies your dealership to help ensure your visitors know they’ve found the right Google+ page.

To further help identify your profile, make sure your tagline is clear and descriptive.  Use it as a way to stand out from other dealerships and make it very clear to visitors that this is an official page for your dealership.

One of the great things about Google+ is the ease in which you can segment your viewers…so make sure that you do!  Consider separating potential customers from those that have previously bought from your dealership, or segment those that bought used cars from those that bought new.  Take advantage of the ability to tailor the information you are sharing with your visitors.

Those that are using Google+, what mistakes have you made and learned from so far?

Now that Google+ is open to businesses, many are trying to figure out the best way to utilize this new social media portal (including DealerOn).  I’ve gathered some of the more common mistakes that businesses are making to shorten the learning curve for auto dealerships.

Like all other social media sites, not posting on a regular basis can hurt your marketing efforts.  Consistently providing visitors with quality, worthwhile content is the best way to attract (and keep) potential dealership customers engaged in your social sharing.

Google+ really lends itself to sharing photos, so make sure you take full advantage.  Switch up your text posts with photos of your vehicles, dealership, and staff.  Make sure your profile photo identifies your dealership to help ensure your visitors know they’ve found the right Google+ page.

To further help identify your profile, make sure your tagline is clear and descriptive.  Use it as a way to stand out from other dealerships and make it very clear to visitors that this is an official page for your dealership.

One of the great things about Google+ is the ease in which you can segment your viewers…so make sure that you do!  Consider separating potential customers from those that have previously bought from your dealership, or segment those that bought used cars from those that bought new.  Take advantage of the ability to tailor the information you are sharing with your visitors.

Those that are using Google+, what mistakes have you made and learned from so far?

Google recently announced a new update to their search engine algorithm that puts a greater emphasis on recently published, fresh content. "This change...promotes fresher results...so that we provide users the most relevant answers to their queries," according to a Google spokesperson.

Regularly updated content has always been a positive ranking factor in SEO, but this announcement from Google makes it that much more important.

So how can your dealership use this change to help your dealer site rank better?

Individual Inventory Pages: Your inventory changes often, so why not use that to your advantage.  Having an inventory page for each vehicle not only gives your dealership more pages for Google to rank, but having new pages with relevant content will help your entire site rank higher.

Blog: Blogs have always been great for SEO purposes because of their optimized content and regular updates.  This update to Google's algorithm just makes them that much more important.  Make sure your auto dealer website has a blog within the dealership domain.  Update it regularly with posts about dealership news, the cars you sell, and driving tips in general.

Create Custom Pages: Ideally your dealership’s website provider has a flexible enough platform that you can create as many pages that specifically target your geographic markets, your inventory, and the relevant offers available from your manufacturer.  When you create custom pages, you want to be able to customize the title tags, the URL of the page, meta descriptions, meta keywords, and actual verbiage on the page.  Your goal should be to make sure that the words and phrases relevant to one of your target customers (like 2012 Nissan Leaf sale) are reflected throughout each of these areas of the page.  If you’re not sure exactly how to do this, reach out to the company that provides your dealership website, and have them help you.  If you’re not able to get help there, you can reach out to our team at DealerOn—we’re always interested in helping dealers improve their online presence.

Keeping your dealership website up to date will help ensure your dealer customers find the information they are looking for, as well as help your site rank well in Google's search engine results pages.

Google recently announced a new update to their search engine algorithm that puts a greater emphasis on recently published, fresh content. "This change...promotes fresher results...so that we provide users the most relevant answers to their queries," according to a Google spokesperson.

Regularly updated content has always been a positive ranking factor in SEO, but this announcement from Google makes it that much more important.

So how can your dealership use this change to help your dealer site rank better?

Individual Inventory Pages: Your inventory changes often, so why not use that to your advantage.  Having an inventory page for each vehicle not only gives your dealership more pages for Google to rank, but having new pages with relevant content will help your entire site rank higher.

Blog: Blogs have always been great for SEO purposes because of their optimized content and regular updates.  This update to Google's algorithm just makes them that much more important.  Make sure your auto dealer website has a blog within the dealership domain.  Update it regularly with posts about dealership news, the cars you sell, and driving tips in general.

Create Custom Pages: Ideally your dealership’s website provider has a flexible enough platform that you can create as many pages that specifically target your geographic markets, your inventory, and the relevant offers available from your manufacturer.  When you create custom pages, you want to be able to customize the title tags, the URL of the page, meta descriptions, meta keywords, and actual verbiage on the page.  Your goal should be to make sure that the words and phrases relevant to one of your target customers (like 2012 Nissan Leaf sale) are reflected throughout each of these areas of the page.  If you’re not sure exactly how to do this, reach out to the company that provides your dealership website, and have them help you.  If you’re not able to get help there, you can reach out to our team at DealerOn—we’re always interested in helping dealers improve their online presence.

Keeping your dealership website up to date will help ensure your dealer customers find the information they are looking for, as well as help your site rank well in Google's search engine results pages.

Google, in an effort to help small business ensure they have an effective mobile website, has launched "GoMo".  This website (http://www.howtogomo.com) lets users learn about why having a quality mobile site is important, test how your site looks in its mobile version, and find resources to help if your mobile site isn't quite up to par.

I really like the option to see how your current site looks in mobile.  From the homepage, click "See How Your Current Site Looks in Mobile", then "Test Your Site".  Enter the URL of your dealership website to see how mobile users will see it.  After answering a couple of questions about what you see, you'll get a report card of sorts that focuses on four potential mobile website hangups: Loading Speed, Images, Text, and Navigation.

The DealerOn auto dealer website I tested scored a 4 out of 4.  According to the site, the site I tested showed:

Loading Speed:  0.404 seconds.  The recommended loading time is 5 seconds.

Images: Images appeared properly

Text: Text is visible without pinching or zooming on the phone screen

Navigation: All links and buttons are thumb friendly

Check your dealership website to see how well it scores.  If you're not getting a Pass in each category, you need to talk to your mobile website provider to find out what can be done.

Google, in an effort to help small business ensure they have an effective mobile website, has launched "GoMo".  This website (http://www.howtogomo.com) lets users learn about why having a quality mobile site is important, test how your site looks in its mobile version, and find resources to help if your mobile site isn't quite up to par.

I really like the option to see how your current site looks in mobile.  From the homepage, click "See How Your Current Site Looks in Mobile", then "Test Your Site".  Enter the URL of your dealership website to see how mobile users will see it.  After answering a couple of questions about what you see, you'll get a report card of sorts that focuses on four potential mobile website hangups: Loading Speed, Images, Text, and Navigation.

The DealerOn auto dealer website I tested scored a 4 out of 4.  According to the site, the site I tested showed:

Loading Speed:  0.404 seconds.  The recommended loading time is 5 seconds.

Images: Images appeared properly

Text: Text is visible without pinching or zooming on the phone screen

Navigation: All links and buttons are thumb friendly

Check your dealership website to see how well it scores.  If you're not getting a Pass in each category, you need to talk to your mobile website provider to find out what can be done.

While many dealers see press releases as a marketing strategy for larger companies, it can be (and is) a valuable and worthwhile strategy for auto dealerships as well.  It’s a great way to get news about your company out both locally and nationally.  Press releases can make their way into both local and national news sources, helping your dealership brand itself within the community, as well as show up more often and higher on the search engine result pages.

Here are some ways your dealership can get the most out of each press release you create:

Put in on your dealership website.  If you have a blog, this is a great place to add dealership news in the form of a press release.

Link back to your auto dealer website when fitting.  Some press release sites use no-follow or don’t allow links, but most local new sites and your own site should definitely use keyword-optimized anchor text to link back to your website.

Don’t assume local news websites will pick up the press release on their own–send it to them.  Make sure that you’re only sending press releases about newsworthy items, though, or your contacts will learn to quickly dismiss your future press releases.  Also, put links on your social media sites.

Press releases can be a great tool for search engine optimization when done properly.  Does anyone use press releases as a tool in their dealership to get out news or add to your search engine results?

While many dealers see press releases as a marketing strategy for larger companies, it can be (and is) a valuable and worthwhile strategy for auto dealerships as well.  It’s a great way to get news about your company out both locally and nationally.  Press releases can make their way into both local and national news sources, helping your dealership brand itself within the community, as well as show up more often and higher on the search engine result pages.

Here are some ways your dealership can get the most out of each press release you create:

Put in on your dealership website.  If you have a blog, this is a great place to add dealership news in the form of a press release.

Link back to your auto dealer website when fitting.  Some press release sites use no-follow or don’t allow links, but most local new sites and your own site should definitely use keyword-optimized anchor text to link back to your website.

Don’t assume local news websites will pick up the press release on their own–send it to them.  Make sure that you’re only sending press releases about newsworthy items, though, or your contacts will learn to quickly dismiss your future press releases.  Also, put links on your social media sites.

Press releases can be a great tool for search engine optimization when done properly.  Does anyone use press releases as a tool in their dealership to get out news or add to your search engine results?

It is so frustrating when trying to send a legitimate, valuable email to a customer (future or current), and have it be blocked by a spam filter.  While there are some auto dealers that do send emails that might be properly classified as spam, most dealers who have spam issues are sending real emails to real customers.  Their email campaigns are being inappropriately blocked by various spam filters.

Here are some tips to avoid the dreaded spam filter in your customer's email inbox:

Avoid Sending Spam-Like Emails (Obviously):  Using words like "Free" multiple times, having large images or tons of links are more likely to make your email be stopped by a spam filter.  Also, watch the ratio of text to images.  For example, try linking to your inventory instead of pasting images in the actual email.

Ask Customers to Add You to Address Book: When customers add you to their address book, your emails will get delivered to their inbox.  Add a line to your email signature or above your opt-out message that asks people to help ensure they get your emails by adding your email address to their address book.  This little step will go a long way.

Follow CAN-SPAM Guidelines: Following CAN-SPAM (which by law you should be doing anyway) will greatly reduce the chances your email gets flagged as spam.  This includes having an opt-out (that is honored), listing your physical location, and using an accurate subject line.  You can find more information on the FTC website.