Almost every dealership website today features specials and promotions on its homepage, specials pages, or dedicated landing pages. Understandably: everyone wants a deal.

But what if those sales and deals could get an actual buying conversation going with more of your online shoppers? Dealership websites still typically convert at low rates, often lower than 2%. Transforming the deals you are already offering into overlays that populate your site with dynamic targeting provides customers with more opportunities to convert, and can increase sales at your dealership.  

Across industries, using overlay forms instead of static page increases conversions and dramatically boosts sales. When it comes to the average online auto shopper, bringing the deal directly to the customer at a time when interest is high makes sense: customers on your website may not notice, or engage with, or remember the offers available on your website landing pages, and they may lack the time or motivation to look for them. But sales that come to them, at moments of high interest, have the power to move the buying process forward by encouraging engagement and conversion. They can actually work like a skilled salesperson at your dealership, listening to customers’ interests and letting them know which sales and specials are relevant to them.

Dynamic offers: for that personal touch.

Let’s break down a number of tangible benefits that you and your customers will experience with this shift:

Convenience

Say your customer has been browsing your dealership website for a few moments and would now be interested in finding deals. How do they find them? Do they open another window and go to your homepage, or look for your incentives page? Do they call you? Engage a chat tool? A highly motivated customer might do any or all of these things. But most customers, especially in the early stages of research, are not that highly motivated. They will not think of opening another tab on their browser, or will not want to take that extra step, or they might not realize that you have offers at all. They might be a mobile customer and have limited screen space or time to pursue the offers somewhere else on your site. Removing all these obstacles and bringing the offer to the shopper when they are interested allows your customers to access real value– and encourages them to engage with your inventory and move forward.

Personalization

Shoppers today appreciate seeing content that is relevant to them. If your website is equipped to respond to customers’ needs in real time with relevant offers, visitors to your site will understand that your dealership has their personal interests in mind. Even better, optimizing your overlays and popups to appear at times when customers have demonstrated interest, rather than staying where they are and waiting to be found, creates the feeling of a salesperson responding to questions. Car shopping can be overwhelming, and the dealership that understands customers’ needs online helps smooth the process. Personalization is great for the customer experience– which in turn is great for brand loyalty.

Smart, dynamic targeting increases conversions

The key to using your deals as popups and overlays that appear to the right customers at the right time is to equip your website with smart targeting capability– the ability to track customer behavior and select the best offer to show at the most optimized time. For example, someone who is still browsing can be shown a general store-wide offer or holiday promotion, while the shoppers looking at a specific VDP can see an offer on that particular vehicle. With simple, straightforward fields added to these forms to ask for a name, number, and email address, your sales or BDC team can follow up on the interest the customer has already demonstrated on your site.  

Don't let those leads go! Follow up!

Every kind of sale, special, and incentive at your dealership can be turned into a conversion form to engage with each customer at the right time–  on a one-to-one level. That benefits your customer– and your bottom line.

Google recently researched the shopping patterns of early autoshoppers– those in the initial stages of research, gathering information about what car to buy and where to buy it– and made some discoveries that can help dealerships get more conversions and more paying customers from their websites.

What kind of discoveries? Well, Google took a look at car shoppers' micro-moments, or moments when people instinctively turn to a mobile phone or other device for information. Such moments are powerfully influential over people's decisions because they are so deliberate: these are the times when a specific need causes someone to seek answers or services. According to the study, it's important for dealerships to be available to autoshoppers during particular micro-moments across their buying journeys. If they are, it's much more likely customers will choose their dealership.

Google identifies five of these micro-moments (you can read about all of them here), but the ones relevant to early stage shoppers are called "which-car-is-best" moments and "is-it-right-for-me moments." These questions will send shoppers at beginning stages rummaging in their pockets for their phones– and dealerships need to provide them with the content and answers they seek at those moments.

Check out the entire study here, but in the meantime, here are three major takeaways:

Don't forget about early-stage autoshoppers

This study highlights how important early-stage leads truly are. They may not buy today, but they will tomorrow– and are much more likely to buy from the dealership that helps them out now. Dealerships that prioritize becoming a resource to shoppers still doing research can grab those shoppers during crucial micro-moments.

Post photos and videos on your dealership website

Oh, how customers love their photos and videos. Google found that people using Youtube and image searches during their which-car-is-best and is-it-right-for-me moments had a high likelihood of visiting dealerships. If site content is rich in photos and videos, customers will seriously appreciate it.

Ramp it up on mobile

The whole idea behind micro-moments is customers turning to a device when a question comes up. That means a great many of these decision-influencing moments happen on mobile, whenever the question strikes. To really take advantage of these moments, dealerships should make sure to be there for customers with a fully mobile-optimized website, where autoshoppers can find whatever they need, whenever, wherever.

Whether on your own website or popular review sites, your dealership most likely already has a sizable library of reviews of your in-store experience: customer service, helpfulness of salespeople, quality of service, and, of course, your actual cars. But are you getting reviews from your customers about your dealership website itself? That is, have you assessed the experience of starting, and doing so much of, the shopping process, on your website?

If you do, shoutout to you- you're ahead of the game. If not, reach out to your customers and get feedback on your digital experience so you can continually improve while impressing your website visitors. 

Consumer reviews: don't forget about the digital

Considering how much of the research process is done online, dealerships need to know how customers experience their websites. So ask them: did your website give them what they wanted? Did they choose your dealership because of your website? Did they choose your dealership in spite of  your website? This is crucial information.

By the time a customer walks onto your showroom, and certainly by the time they have made a purchase, it might seem like this information is no longer relevant– or it might seem obvious that the digital experience was good, or at least good enough to bring customers into the showroom. Do not assume this is true. Get the data you need to assess your digital showroom. 

So what data should you gather? Here are some suggestions:

7 crucial pieces of data for your consumer digital reviews

1. Content. Whether they are getting ready to buy or still figuring out how car tech has changed in the 10 years since their last car purchase, your customers are looking for information on your website. So one of the most important pieces of data to gather is whether they were able to actually find what they were looking for. Specifically, you can ask:
   • Were VDPs up to date and sufficiently informative?
   • Did we have the tools you needed?
   • Was our website helpful for you in choosing your next vehicle?
   • Did you find the information you came for?
   • Did you find everything you were looking for regarding service and maintenance?
   • Was content enjoyable?
2. Accessibility. You could have the world's greatest content, but if your website browsers can't find it, it won't be helpful. Ask your users:
   • Was it easy to navigate the site?
   • Were navigation bars clear and intuitive?
3. Design. A lot of websites today unfortunately take the pro-bombardment approach: cram as much as possible into the home page and throw as many lead capture tools on there as humanly possible, in a desperate attempt to gain visitors' attention. The thing is, your users get overwhelmed by that just like you would. So as you evaluate and reevaluate your website design, make sure to get your customers' feedback:
   • Was the website easy on the eyes or was it headache-inducing?
   • Did popups and offers appear at good times, or did they all grab for attention at once?
   • Was the design intuitive and up-to-date, or did it look like it was ripped out of a magazine ad section, then scanned and uploaded?
4. Personalization. This is a big one, with so many customers today expecting an online shopping experience tailored to their individual interests. Ask your users:
   •  Were popups and overlays relevant to your interests?
   • If you visited the site multiple times, did you see the same content and offers every time, or did it vary to reflect my stage in the buying process?
5. Tools. Payment, financing, and similar tools and calculators are extremely important to digital dealership browsers, so assess the quality of yours by asking the people who use them: are the tools on our website helpful? Are they intuitive? Are they overly complicated? Find out so you can make any changes if necessary.
6. Follow-up. Of course the goal is to move customers from the website to the store, so find out how helpful your processes were in making that happen:
   • Did the dealership respond to your lead submission or request for information? How long did it take to respond?
   • Did responses show familiarity with the information submitted or questions already asked, or did the representative ask questions you had already answered? Were they helpful and courteous?
7. Overall digital experience. In general, how helpful was your website?
   • Was there something in particular that led this customer to the decision to visit your dealership?
   • Are they likely to return for service and maintenance needs?

This might seem like a lot of questions, and it is. So choose a few areas that are important to your dealership right now and focus on getting substantial feedback on those categories. In a few months, try asking about something else. The goal is to make sure you know if your website is accomplishing what it's supposed to: getting you more customers and providing crucial resources to encourage people to come back to you every time, with everything they need.

Spring cleaning is upon us, and what better time to declutter your dealership website? The time has come to take a look at what should stay and what should go, what is helping your site, and what's just getting in the way.

Why?

Because no one likes to hang around a mess– in person or online. Having a clean, decluttered site will do a better job of engaging your visitors and converting leads.

You clean your car. Why not your dealership website?

So how does the enterprising dealership go about decluttering its website? We're glad you asked. Here are some ideas:

Think goals

Before you put on your metaphorical rubber gloves and get started, think about the goals you have for your website. What values do you want to convey? Maybe your dealership is all about quality, or value, or community. Those can and should come through on your website. What information do you want your visitors to be able to get? What parts of the shopping process should they be able to accomplish on your site?

With your goals clarified, check out your site and see if it helps you accomplish them. From features to design to content– anything that furthers your goals is worthwhile, and anything that detracts should get the boot, or at least some serious modification.

Clean up your design and navigation

When it comes to design, less is more, friends. Do not try to cram everything you offer onto your homepage. Do not use colors and flashing banners that send your users racing for the Tylenol– or the exit button. Embrace blank space and clear design. Allow your visitors to focus without getting overwhelmed. Take down old photos and videos that are poor quality, or no longer relevant.

This is also a great time to make sure your navigation bars are clear, and to check for extra pages you no longer need . See if there are pages you can remove or combine with other pages for a more streamlined experience.

Pay attention to your "about" page

A lot of about pages are super generic, but yours doesn't have to be. Here's a great place to highlight the core values of your dealership, and show your users what they get if they choose you over other dealerships.

Update your VDPs

Make sure your VDPs are up to date with great information– and without dead links. Nothing worse than finding the car of your dreams and realizing the link leads to something else, decidedly not of your dreams. Upload some great photos and videos taken at your dealership– not generic ones– to show your visitors an accurate and personalized view of your inventory.

Make sure your links are helping, not hurting

Watch out for links that take your users away from your site. If you send a shopper to a third-party site, they are likely not to return. Instead, as much as possible, allow your to get everything they need from your site, whether it's content, tools, or any kind of research they might want to do.

Examine your lead-capture tools

You probably use a number of tools on your dealership website, and it's useful every once and while to make sure they are providing enough value to you and your customers to be worth it. Is your chat tool truly answering questions? Is it helping your shoppers get what they need? Try it out and see. Are your trade-in and valuation tools efficient and effective? Now's the time to find out.

Next, check your popups and overlays. Are they customized and optimized to reach the right customers at the right time? If you're showing the same offer to everyone, that's probably just a lot of clutter for many of your users, who are looking for something more relevant and less repetitive.

Are all your lead-capture tools appearing at the same time? Here's another case where less is more. Make sure your popups are not competing with each other and overwhelming your visitors. If they are, that will likely hurt your lead capture rather than helping it.

This is your customer after visiting your decluttered website

You've probably been hearing that personalization is good for business. Online shoppers want to see content that is relevant to them, when it is relevant to them. They want their needs taken into account, and their questions answered.  Businesses that can make this happen reap the benefits.

Your dealership showroom surely already personalizes the in-store shopping experience– but you can also bring this level of personalization online with smart targeting technology. You can enable your website to tailor the shopping experience to each customer so that it is always personalized and never random. First, though, you'll need an arsenal of content and offers to appeal to a wide variety of shoppers, because the customers shopping for cars on your website are not all looking for the same thing. Some want lots of information while some are just looking for the nearest pre-qual form. Some want to read comparisons and some just lurk on the same VDP over and over, waiting for the right moment to take the plunge

So let's look at examples of content and offers, some for early stage shoppers still doing research and some for late stage ones closer to purchase. Use these ideas to build up a large variety of offers on your dealership website.

Popups For the Early Stage Shopper

Ah. the early stage shopper: reading up, checking their options, probably checking out the competition. Maybe they're still fantasizing about their next purchase, thinking about how to make it a reality, stealing a couple minutes at work or on their commute home to check out your inventory and see if anything strikes their interest. Probably, it's been a number of years since their last purchase and they need to catch up on all the latest features and upgrades. Your website can do two main things for these shoppers: provide them with lots of information to further their research that doesn't ask for contact information and doesn't push for conversion, and, in conjunction, offer them opportunities to convert that don't ask for too much of a commitment:

1. Content that doesn't ask for anything in return

Check out this offer:

This feature explanation helps shoppers enrich their knowledge and understanding of your inventory– and it doesn't ask for any personal information in return. Note that it allows the user to easily expand and contract it using arrows, to read more when they wish and dismiss when they do not. For a shopper who is doing research on your website and wants to learn more about your inventory, this is a great resource. The fact that it doesn't require leaving contact information makes the shopper feel valued– they are able to get what they need from your website without being hounded immediately for a mailing address.

Here's another:

This is a great example of video content that can be shown to shoppers in the research phase. The customer can click on the video to expand it and view with sound. Here's a screenshot:

Features with visuals- what more could a car shopper want?

2. Conversion offers for the early-stage shopper

Of course, along with great content, your website should also present offers to convert suited to the early stage shopper. An early stage shopper doesn't want to fill out a lot of fields asking for all their personal details. They don't want to feel like they're making a big commitment by completing a form. So try something like this:

This offer speaks directly to the early stage shopper, clear acknowledging with the language "window shopping" that they have not yet made a decision. Its fields are minimal and straightforward, and its CTA is clear and directly connected to the content of the offer. Design is appealing and nothing about it pressures or bombards, especially as long as timing is optimized to show this offer when the customer is likely to be receptive.

Here's another:

Advertising a store-wide sale is another great way to appeal to an early-stage shopper. Someone doing research would want to know about this special, which just might draw them into the dealership.

All of these content and offer popups could appeal to late stage shoppers as well– all those customers who are closer to buying. However, there are some popups that will be more successful with specifically later stage shoppers. So without further ado:

Popups For the Late State Shopper

For shoppers who actually have a better sense of what vehicle they want, popups should present offers related to those vehicles. Here's one example:

This offer also has minimal fields, but its focus makes it a great choice for a customer viewing that particular VDP. For that customer, this is extremely useful. It would be far less useful for an early stage shopper who hasn't yet settled on a model.

Here's a similar offer:

Again, specific, straightforward, and, with the right technology, targeted to the right customer.

Which offers do you have on your website and which customers do they reach?

When you think about it, following up with all the leads in your CRM is a lot like online dating: calling strangers, trying to get them to like you, hoping to form some kind of relationship where before were just forms, questionnaires, and maybe a few photos. Rejection, misaligned expectations, and missed opportunities abound. And yet, just like there are ways to set up dates with total stranger for success, there are ways to make your lead nurture go better than you ever thought possible. So without further ado, here are our tips for lead follow-up and nurture, inspired by internet dating:

1. Prepare for the phone call. You wouldn't call your prospective date without reading their profile first, would you? After all, you need things to talk about. And when she says in her profile she loves hiking and cooking, you're not going to ask her what she does for fun– because then she'll feel like you didn't take the time to read the profile she spent so much time writing.  Instead, you'll ask follow-up questions: what was her favorite hike, what are her signature dishes. The same is true of your dealership's internet leads: their lead in your CRM is their profile. It has a lot of information, and reading it carefully can really improve your phone conversation. Maybe they converted on a general offer. Maybe they converted on a specific one. Maybe they've been to your site many times, maybe they're a first-time visitor. Either way, before you make that call, make sure you know what offer they converted on, how often they've been to your site, what pages they've viewed, how many times, and for how long– because when you know this information, you can respond to their questions, ask them relevant questions that are not redundant (no "are you looking to buy or lease" when you already should know the answer), and move the whole process forward. Take the time to understand the customer you are calling and don't ask them for information you already have. That extra effort will inspire confidence and trust.
2. Don't be too pushy on the phone. When you're talking to your date, of course you want to set up a time to meet in person– otherwise, how will you know if there's any chemistry? But, if you only use the phone call to set that time and don't take the opportunity to connect with a great conversation, you'll come off abrupt, and your date will likely be less excited to meet you. The same is true of your internet leads. You, and your customers, don't have time for a long phone conversation. However, if you try to set the test drive appointment within five seconds of their answering the phone, it might not go so well. Take the extra minute or so to have a friendly, helpful conversation, listen to any questions, and build trust, and then go ahead and set that test drive appointment. You can still be a little aggressive about this– push that sale that's ending, emphasize that the model they want is flying off the lot– but the idea is to move forward when you sense interest instead of trying to force the appointment without building rapport first.
3. Follow up. We all know if you have a good date, you have to follow up or the person will get frustrated and go away. This is true in your dealership as well. Whether you spoke on the phone, had a test drive, or even sold a car, have some mechanisms in place to follow up and keep the conversation going. If it's pre-sale, you definitely want to keep the lines of communication open with a solid lead nurture system including helpful information for car shoppers, segmented to different customers' areas of interest. If it's after the sale, you want to make sure that customer chooses your dealership for all their maintenance and repairs– so stay in touch with service reminders and offers, relevant maintenance content, and connections like birthday and holiday cards. Don't break up with your customers by giving them the silent treatment. Keep the relationship going.

What are your dealership's best lead nurture tips? And are they dating-related?

Smart targeting is becoming a popular term in the automotive space. But with every buzz word, it’s important to understand the actual meaning.  What is smart targeting and how can it benefit your dealership’s website?

First, a definition:

Smart targeting is the use of AI (artificial intelligence) technology to predict the interests of website visitors and target them with relevant content and offers at optimal times.

Let’s break that down.

Hopefully you have lots of content on your site: information for every customer, from the late stage shopper seriously considering a particular model to the first-time browser to the service customer who needs an oil change. Getting all that content up is super important.   

What smart targeting does is take it to the next level: it takes your content and special offer overlays and targets them to the right customer at the right time. That way, you can build on customers' interests and provide each one with opportunities to convert when interest is high.

Here are some examples:

• Someone browsing VDPs can be shown an offer on that particular vehicle after having a few moments to read and research on their own. Because they are demonstrating interest in that vehicle, this offer is useful for them, and is offered at a time they will likely convert.
• The first-time visitor will see an offer for a holiday sale, not the second they arrive onsite, but after 15 seconds or so, enough time to get oriented. Note: this customer will not see a specific vehicle offer because they are likely still shopping around and not ready to choose a car yet.

How does smart targeting actually work?

The technology works like this: a system based on algorithms and machine learning tracks visitor data such as location, browser language, and time of day. It also notes behaviors including site visits, time onsite, and VDP views. Using this information, the system creates segments of visitors, such as early-stage shoppers, late-stage shoppers, shoppers in a particular location, and so on, and predicts the interests of each segment. With segments in place, site visitors can be categorized and offered content they will likely want. Finally, their responses are recorded– did they convert or not?– to improve segments and future predictions.

In non-technology terms, smart targeting is a system that behaves like a great salesperson, responding to customer interests, anticipating their questions, and helping them find the products and deals that interest them.

How does smart targeting benefit my dealership?

Smart targeting is a tool that brings online car shoppers unprecedented levels of personalization on dealership website. This means:

1. Improved advertising ROI. When customers convert on your site, the ad dollars you spend bringing them there pay off. You also save on retargeting.
2. A competitive edge. In today’s market, 55% of customers are willing to pay more for better customer service. The dealership that can provide it from the moment customers arrive onsite will win over those customers, drawing them away from the competition.
3. More leads. Recent research shows that 74% of customers get frustrated with content that is irrelevant to their interests. Personalization is an effective way to get more leads. Smart targeting is the key to personalization.

Are you using smart targeting on your dealership website? Is it helping you get more leads?

Customer retention is a huge challenge these days. It’s hard to keep customers' attention, especially when their cars are no longer under warranty. There’s so much choice out there that losing customers can unfortunately happen at every turn.

The good news is that since so much shopping is done online, your digital marketing platforms present excellent opportunities to stay in touch and build loyalty. Use these channels to keep providing value so customers stay happy and keep choosing your dealership for their service, maintenance, and even future purchases.

Here are five tips for using your digital strategy to improve customer retention at your dealership:

1. Get together as many reviews and testimonials as humanly possible.  Customer testimonials are considered the most effective marketing tactic out there. You already know they are extremely important for bringing first-time shoppers into your dealership. But they can also be a great way to tell people about your superior service department: how high quality, how fast, how convenient. Let your satisfied customers advertise for you, and place their reviews on your website, your Facebook page, or in your email campaigns. Reviews and testimonials are also a great way to retain customers who submit them. If a satisfied customer tweets a photo of themselves with their new vehicle and you retweet them, and then promote that image (with permission, of course), that customer will feel a greater connection to your brand, and even a sense of ownership, and will likely return.
2. Set up some fab segmented email campaigns for return customers. Great follow-up is important for all your internet leads, but don’t forget to set up campaigns for customers who have already purchased from you. Segment these campaigns by customer interest– buyers vs. leasers, the type of vehicle they bought, personal demographics– and send information relevant to each group, such as service reminders and packages, community events at your dealership, or specials when the time comes to consider an upgrade. Make sure to offer plenty of content that doesn’t try to sell, such as tips, guides, and even birthday cards. Letting your buyers know you care will make them feel valued.
3. Kill it on mobile. Someone who needs an oil change will likely google options on their phone during their break at work, so in addition to a great SEO strategy, make sure your dealership looks great and is extremely user-friendly on mobile. (Not sure your website provider optimizes for mobile? Check out this guide.) Better yet, invest in creating a mobile app for your dealership so customers can book appointments and ask questions on an interface designed for a great mobile experience.
4. Get on social media. Stay on social media. Use your dealership Facebook and Twitter accounts to interact with customers instantly and directly. This is a an especially effective way to improve customer satisfaction and encourage retention because it allows you to respond quickly and often publicly, which creates a reputation of accessibility, transparency, and responsiveness.  If a customer tweets a complaints at you and you resolve it immediately, not only is that customer happy, but others see that service is a priority for your dealership.
5. Make sure your website is chock-full of great content for car owners. Getting those new leads to come in and buy is a major priority for digital. But how great would it be if your previous customers could find all the maintenance information they need right there on your website? Create lists and guides– or even better, videos– such as how to get your car ready for winter, or how to know when to book a service appointment, or how to decide whether to rent or bring your own car on your road trip. Your dealership website can be a tool for retention when it’s a great resource for both current and future customers

When it comes down to it, these tips are all about providing great service for customers at every stage. Use your digital to reach your previous customers and keep them coming back for more.

RELATED: Interview with Jim Roche: The Biggest Mistake Dealers Make When It Comes to Customer Retention

Sometimes you need to go back to basics.

So today, we bring you a short refresher course in conversion optimization for auto. What is it? How does it work? Why should anyone care? We'll explain it all.

Learning about conversion optimization is the best

First, let's define our terms. And when we say define terms, we don't mean use more jargon to explain jargon. We're going to really get in there. So get your notebooks and have a seat.

Conversion

A conversion is a change in status. In digital marketing terms, it means going from a casual, passive website visitor to an active one. How? By buying something, or signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a form- in short, by providing some kind of contact information that allows for follow-up. Once someone does this, they become a lead, or converted website visitor. Now they are a customer that you can interact with.

As you might imagine, most website visitors do not want to do this. You don't give your information to everyone who asks for it. You have to feel like you're getting something in return. That's where optimization comes in.

Optimization

Optimization is an improvement. If you optimize something, you upgrade it, or maximize it.

Thus! Conversion optimization means upgrading your website's capacity for conversion, or making your website more likely to get visitors to give you their contact information so that you can start a buying conversation with them.

Note: this is not the same thing as driving traffic to your site. Conversion optimization is taking the traffic that's already there and making it count. It means appealing to people who have already found you, probably because of the time, energy, and dollars you have put into other areas of your digital marketing strategy. It's not getting people in the door. It's getting the people who are already in the door to stay, and to come back, and to buy.

Second note: this is also referred to as conversion rate optimization, or CRO.

Why is conversion optimization important?

Great question.

In most case, the vast majority of the people who come to your site do not convert. They fill out no forms, they leave no contact information, they disappear, and might never come back. In fact, conversion rates on dealership websites are usually in the range of 1-3%. That means that bringing all these customers to your website is not paying off. Dealerships are both losing that ad spend, and not building enough new revenue from their websites.

But, when more of your existing site traffic likes what they find on your site, starts to feel loyal to your dealership, and begins to move the process forward with your dealership, guess what? You have optimized your conversions! And you've made all that money you spent pay off! Cue the marching band!

Or uncork the champagne. Not everyone is into marching bands.

Is conversion optimization in auto different from other industries?

Conversion optimization is important for every type of e-commerce, but it's especially important for auto. Why? Because more than ever, shoppers do most of their research online before walking into a dealership. They don't decide whether or not to buy from you when they come into your store. They decide whether or not to buy from you when they come to your website, and instantly start judging it.

In fact, within 0-8 seconds, your website visitors will make the decision to stay on your page– or leave the page.

So how do I optimize my dealership website for better conversion rates?

In three main ways:

• Content
• Design
• Strategy

Content

First of all, if you want people to engage with your site, you need to put things on it that they want to see. What does a dealership website visitor want to see? Well, cars. But they also want to see information on how to buy a car, or on oil changes, or on financing. They want to see how much their trade-in is worth. They want to know your office hours. Notice that not everyone wants to see the same thing. So really think through who you are trying to reach and what they might want to get from your site. 

People also want to see the sales and special offers you have going on.  They want to know why it's worth it for them to move forward with your company, what they will get out of working with you.

Some of this content should appear directly on your site. However, it is also really helpful to create popups with content and offers to appear at good times while people are browsing. More on that later.

Design

It's gotta look good or no one is sticking around. Think of your favorite store, say, I don't know, a dealership, maybe the one you work at. Think about the vibe, the decor, the layout. Consider how easy it is to find things, what the lighting looks like, what colors you favor. Now make your website look and feel like that.

Strategy

We mentioned earlier that not everyone wants to see the same thing. This is obvious: no two conversations in person are the same, and this is also true online. The key here is to take all the content you've put on your site and make sure the right people are seeing it, when they want to see it.

Here's where the magic comes in. The technology that conversion optimization companies use monitors what your visitors do on your site, and then uses that data to predict what they'll be interested in. Based on those predictions, it shows different visitors different popups at different times.

So someone who keeps coming back to the same VDP will see a sale on that vehicle. Someone who's visited your service section three times this week will see an offer about service. Someone who comes to your site for the first time will see a holiday sale offer, and someone viewing a VDP for the first time will see some of its major features highlighted.

It's basically like answering people's questions, except without hearing the question. It's anticipating your users' needs so that they feel like your website is talking to them in a helpful way, and then stay, and convert, and eventually come into your dealership and close a sale.

But aren't popups annoying?

Sure, if they're not done right. If they appear immediately, every time you go onsite, are hard to dismiss, are full of loud, flashing colors, and cover everything you want to see? That's the worst. But a popup with a clean design, that is easily dismissed, that looks like the rest of your site content, and that gives people things they actually want? Those will get you conversions. It really works.

It probably won't surprise you to hear that people today do most of their shopping online. From electronics to clothing to toilet paper, pretty much anything can make its way through the ether to your front door. When it comes to car shopping, the vast majority of people still want to come in for a test drive and not complete their purchase online- however, car shoppers are doing a huge amount of their car research on the internet. That means your website experience is crucial for bringing in customers and starting your sales process.

So how do you make sure your website is creating that great shopping experience to get you more leads, and ultimately more sales?

We decided to take a look at some of today's e-commerce giants' websites and see what some of their best features are. Here's what we found, with handy tips for implementing them into your dealership website:

Personalization

People love to feel like your website is speaking directly to them. Think of a time you went into a store and spoke with a really great salesperson, who showed you not only various options in your price range, but also complementary products, reviews, and comparisons. This salesperson had access to all the information you wanted- and spared you the effort of wandering the aisles and figuring everything out by trial and error.

Your website should strive to bring this level of personalization online.

Amazon is pretty great at this. We shopped for a remote control helicopter, as one does, and were presented with all kinds of helpful options: items that are frequently bought together, similar products, comparisons between models, and reviews, all on the same page. These are tools that customize the shopping experience, helping customers find exactly what they want.

Take a look at a few of these features in action:

This tool is extremely helpful for shoppers who want to make the most of their purchases- and it's also a great way for companies to upsell. Some ways to bring this type of experience to your dealership website: offer tools to select all features a user might want in their next vehicle, or create service packages with suggested upgrades. And of course, customize users' experiences with smart targeting that presents offers to the right people at the right time.

Here's a shot of the extremely user-friendly comparison feature:

If I'm shopping for a remote control helicopter, I definitely need to comparison shop, and Amazon has got me covered. On your dealership website, offer comparisons between your top sellers and competing similar models. Don't be afraid to show your shoppers the competition. They're looking for it anyway, and this is an opportunity to showcase why yours is the best.

Transparency

One thing that really frustrates people is when they have to do elaborate searches for the basic information they need to move forward. eBay mitigates this problem by anticipating the key information shoppers need and putting it front and center. When you're shopping online, you want to know how much shipping will cost, how long it will take, and what the return policy is, without clicking all over the place to find out. This makes it so, so clear:

For your dealership site, think of what information your shoppers typically need-such as specials, valuation tools, contact information, typical service costs-  and display it prominently. Make it as easy as possible.

Customer Service

It's important for customers to be able to find you and get help when they want to. It's frustrating when they can't find you, or don't get responses when they reach out, or have to jump through any kinds of hoops to reach the person or department they need. For this, we turn to the king of customer service, Zappos. Zappos is known for amazing phone service and return policies, but it starts on their website:

This page has a number of advantages: it doesn't have six different numbers to choose from, it allows customers to communicate in whatever way is most convenient for them, and it even has a Spanish language option. You can tell just by looking at this that this company cares about customer experience.

You can do the same thing in your dealership. Show your visitors that you are there for them on your website, and they will feel confident that future interactions with your dealership will be positive.

Specials

If you're running a special, that should be immediately obvious to people. Macy's is a great example:

This appears immediately when people arrive on-site, making it absolutely clear what sale is going on. This is attention-grabbing and helps people understand the value of staying with you.

On your dealership website, make your offers prominent and clear. People need to know about your sales so they can buy more cars!

Great offers

We talk a lot about popups and offers that look great with your site by providing moments of focus, consistent branding, unobtrusive design, and clear instructions. Here's a great example on Best Buy's website:

This is a popup that works: its CTA is clear and straightforward, it asks for minimal information, its visuals are on-brand, and it's easy to close. Make sure your dealership offers are doing the same.

Extensive product information

Shoppers are on your site for a reason: to get all the information they can to make the best possible decision. If they can't find the information they need, they will get frustrated and leave. So we love this feature tour on Walmart's website:

It's labeled, it's comprehensive, it anticipates what customers might have questions about. This is a great idea to do with your popular models.

Easy Navigation

Speaking of finding what you're looking for, take a look at your navigation bar and make sure it has all the options is needs to, clearly labeled. Here we turn again to Zappos, whose navigation bar at the top of the page is a good one:

Whatever your key categories are, make them easy to find.

Great Design

Check out Priceline's homepage:

Here's what we love about this page: it has the clear navigation, it prompts visitors to easily start the process right away, its text clearly communicates brand values, and the background image suggests to visitors all the fabulous adventures they'll have. And yet, with all that going on, the page is still visually appealing and not overwhelming.

Looking at your dealership site, make sure it guides people without feeling pushy, and that the website design welcomes without overwhelming and communicates your dealership's values.

Use these examples to look for ways to improve your website and create a superior online shopping experience. Your customers will thank you- by coming into your dealership.