The FTC has made noises of late that it would be taking action about the growing problem of fake or paid for online reviews, but this week it slapped its very first fine on a company: $250,000, no small potatoes.  It’s the first clue as to what kind of enforcement and penalties are likely to unfold, according to a detailed article at PaidContent: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-ftc-fines-company-for-bogus-online-reviews/

A company called Legacy Learning Systems was hit this week with a quarter-million-dollar fine (and other sanctions) for hiring affiliate marketers to write glowing reviews about their educational DVD series, and failing to disclose they were getting paid for sales the reviews generated.

The article notes that the fake review problem (that old  ‘sock puppetry’) has been around since the Web was hatched, but we’re only now just starting to see major legal action. (Prior cases included a handful of cases that involved settlements, but not outright fines).  Experts speculate there will be more cases like this around the bend, but the FTC is barred by law from talking about investigations while they’re underway.

The FTC issued its guidelines in 2009 on reviews/testimonials, and they spell put what they deem “unfair or deceptive advertising” – because that’s essentially what it is.

A key rule: Any positive review posted by anyone connected to the seller – or someone/a business that receives cash or some form of payment – must disclose the relationship. The FTC stated: Anyone that uses someone else to “promote their products would be wise to put in place a reasonable monitoring program to verify…that they follow the principles of truth in advertising.”

The FTC is sending a clear message to businesses…

•    It’s never been more important to be 100% authentic in your review-gathering and Online Reputation Management – the penalties can be HEFTY

•    Never compensate in any way a customer or an affiliate for posting positive reviews

•    If someone’s assisting you with Online Reputation Management, make sure you fully understand their review gathering, posting and distributing processes. They have to be YOUR real customers, and they have to post comments themselves.

The moral: Always BE authentic. There is NOTHING but dividends…because a 100% real, believable positive online reputation can drive quite unbelievable business for dealerships.

Any questions? Contact Merla Turner, Director of Dealer Training, eXteresAUTO: m.turner@exteres.com or 866-994-2613

The FTC has made noises of late that it would be taking action about the growing problem of fake or paid for online reviews, but this week it slapped its very first fine on a company: $250,000, no small potatoes.  It’s the first clue as to what kind of enforcement and penalties are likely to unfold, according to a detailed article at PaidContent: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-ftc-fines-company-for-bogus-online-reviews/

A company called Legacy Learning Systems was hit this week with a quarter-million-dollar fine (and other sanctions) for hiring affiliate marketers to write glowing reviews about their educational DVD series, and failing to disclose they were getting paid for sales the reviews generated.

The article notes that the fake review problem (that old  ‘sock puppetry’) has been around since the Web was hatched, but we’re only now just starting to see major legal action. (Prior cases included a handful of cases that involved settlements, but not outright fines).  Experts speculate there will be more cases like this around the bend, but the FTC is barred by law from talking about investigations while they’re underway.

The FTC issued its guidelines in 2009 on reviews/testimonials, and they spell put what they deem “unfair or deceptive advertising” – because that’s essentially what it is.

A key rule: Any positive review posted by anyone connected to the seller – or someone/a business that receives cash or some form of payment – must disclose the relationship. The FTC stated: Anyone that uses someone else to “promote their products would be wise to put in place a reasonable monitoring program to verify…that they follow the principles of truth in advertising.”

The FTC is sending a clear message to businesses…

•    It’s never been more important to be 100% authentic in your review-gathering and Online Reputation Management – the penalties can be HEFTY

•    Never compensate in any way a customer or an affiliate for posting positive reviews

•    If someone’s assisting you with Online Reputation Management, make sure you fully understand their review gathering, posting and distributing processes. They have to be YOUR real customers, and they have to post comments themselves.

The moral: Always BE authentic. There is NOTHING but dividends…because a 100% real, believable positive online reputation can drive quite unbelievable business for dealerships.

Any questions? Contact Merla Turner, Director of Dealer Training, eXteresAUTO: m.turner@exteres.com or 866-994-2613

Yelp Can Be a Headache for Dealers –
Advice on Getting a Successful Review Presence There

   One of the most common questions I get from dealers regarding online reviews is whether or not to gather reviews on Yelp.com.  I have found that there are definite do’s and don’ts – and that auto dealers face SERIOUS backlash if they don’t gather reviews the right way on Yelp.

Why does Yelp matter?

• As of January 2011, more than 45 million people visited Yelp in the past 30 days, making it the most frequently used online review site today.

• Yelpers have written over 15 million local reviews, which get pulled right into Google Places listings.  That means that many of the reviews written on Yelp about your dealership will, of course, appear on Google too.
• Because of the special nature of the Yelp community (explained below), Yelpers uniquely trust and turn to Yelp reviews – so pound-for-pound a review on Yelp can have more impact than so many other review sites.
• Yelp has expanded coast-to-coast, and is now covering many/most major markets. Check here to see what cities and regions they cover: http://www.yelp.com/locations?return_url=%2Fhome

Warning: Dealership Backlash!

Yelp does not function like the majority of review sites across the Internet. Their site is driven by passionate reviewers called ‘Yelpers.’  Yelpers write reviews on all types of local businesses, and the more high quality and useful the reviews they contribute are, the more esteemed they are by the Yelp community – with people eventually achieving an ‘elite’ reviewer status.   

Because Yelp is driven by its user community, when a dealership has customers write a review without being an established Yelper, the community often thinks that the dealership is posting fake reviews. So, it’s absolutely critical that dealerships don’t just send any old customer to review on Yelp. 

Furthermore, the Yelp community is unique in that it flags (through a review filter) reviews written by users that have posted no other reviews at the site – these are called ‘Drive Bys’ or ‘501s’ (from, 5-star review, 0 friends on Yelp, 1 review written). When a business has several reviews flagged as 501s or drive-bys, Yelp often simply removes the reviews. Sometimes the reviews show back up again, and other times they are gone forever. We have heard from so many dealers: “I gathered a dozen reviews at Yelp and they just disappeared!” And it’s not just the time and energy wasted - when other Yelpers start posting about how these are suspicious or fake reviews, it can do more harm that having NO reviews at the site.

So, What’s A Dealer To Do?

Since there is so much traffic on Yelp - and passionate, engaged Yelpers tend to really trust the reviews there - and those reviews are getting pulled into Google Places listings, dealers want to make sure they have positive content on the site. But the review-gathering process differs…

Tip 1:  Add a sentence on your review-gathering email or email template that reads, “Are you an established Yelper? If so, please Yelp about us!” It’s typically not even necessary to drive the general customer to your Yelp listing, because if someone is an established Yelper, they will know exactly how to find your listing. 

Tip 2:  Ask your customers in person if they ‘Yelp.’  If they know what Yelping is, ask them to write a review for your dealership.  If they don’t, DON’T send them to Yelp to write a review for your dealership!

By having only established Yelpers review your dealership, the reviews will not be flagged for removal. You will have less reviews than you may at other targeted review sites/directories, but the reviews you do receive will be much more impactful.

I know if I were still at a dealership, I would take the following actions:

1. Make sure my Yelp listing was updated with all the proper contact and dealership information.
    
2. Assess how many reviews I have on Yelp compared to other dealers/my direct competitors in my local market.  By doing so, I would determine how many positive reviews I needed to shine on the site.
    
3. Set a firm goal at the dealership (and share with my sales and service staff) the necessity to gather X amount of reviews on Yelp – only through established Yelpers.
    
4. Put a process in place that identifies happy sales, service and parts customers that are already ‘Yelpers,’ and ask them to share their experience at the dealership on Yelp.
    
5. Test out Yelp’s advertising options.  I get it - if we signed up every single provider that was just a few hundred bucks a month, we would be broke!  But, the data and dealership results that Yelp recently shared with me seemed pretty cut and dry…advertising can give you a built-out listing, and because comparatively few dealers do it compared with many other retail categories, you can stand out with no/few competitors on the most visited review site in the US. And your positive reviews should convert into more calls, leads and car deals. 
    

Other questions I often get asked:

Q.  If I advertise on Yelp, will they remove my negative reviews?
A.  According to Yelp, paid advertising can never change or re-order their reviews.

Q.  I have asked customers to write reviews on Yelp, and now they are missing!  Why?
A.  Remember the ‘501’ Issue – Yelp has an automated filter/algorithm that suppresses reviews they deem ‘suspicious.’  It’s doesn’t always seem either consistent or fair, but that’s the way it is.

So…the answer to the question, “To Yelp, or not to Yelp?” Yelp!

Reviews on Yelp really HELP! But be sure to follow the right process.

If you have any questions, please just call or email...

Merla Turner, Director of Dealer Training for eXtéresAUTO, m.turner@exteres.com or 866-475-5553 
 

Yelp Can Be a Headache for Dealers –
Advice on Getting a Successful Review Presence There

   One of the most common questions I get from dealers regarding online reviews is whether or not to gather reviews on Yelp.com.  I have found that there are definite do’s and don’ts – and that auto dealers face SERIOUS backlash if they don’t gather reviews the right way on Yelp.

Why does Yelp matter?

• As of January 2011, more than 45 million people visited Yelp in the past 30 days, making it the most frequently used online review site today.

• Yelpers have written over 15 million local reviews, which get pulled right into Google Places listings.  That means that many of the reviews written on Yelp about your dealership will, of course, appear on Google too.
• Because of the special nature of the Yelp community (explained below), Yelpers uniquely trust and turn to Yelp reviews – so pound-for-pound a review on Yelp can have more impact than so many other review sites.
• Yelp has expanded coast-to-coast, and is now covering many/most major markets. Check here to see what cities and regions they cover: http://www.yelp.com/locations?return_url=%2Fhome

Warning: Dealership Backlash!

Yelp does not function like the majority of review sites across the Internet. Their site is driven by passionate reviewers called ‘Yelpers.’  Yelpers write reviews on all types of local businesses, and the more high quality and useful the reviews they contribute are, the more esteemed they are by the Yelp community – with people eventually achieving an ‘elite’ reviewer status.   

Because Yelp is driven by its user community, when a dealership has customers write a review without being an established Yelper, the community often thinks that the dealership is posting fake reviews. So, it’s absolutely critical that dealerships don’t just send any old customer to review on Yelp. 

Furthermore, the Yelp community is unique in that it flags (through a review filter) reviews written by users that have posted no other reviews at the site – these are called ‘Drive Bys’ or ‘501s’ (from, 5-star review, 0 friends on Yelp, 1 review written). When a business has several reviews flagged as 501s or drive-bys, Yelp often simply removes the reviews. Sometimes the reviews show back up again, and other times they are gone forever. We have heard from so many dealers: “I gathered a dozen reviews at Yelp and they just disappeared!” And it’s not just the time and energy wasted - when other Yelpers start posting about how these are suspicious or fake reviews, it can do more harm that having NO reviews at the site.

So, What’s A Dealer To Do?

Since there is so much traffic on Yelp - and passionate, engaged Yelpers tend to really trust the reviews there - and those reviews are getting pulled into Google Places listings, dealers want to make sure they have positive content on the site. But the review-gathering process differs…

Tip 1:  Add a sentence on your review-gathering email or email template that reads, “Are you an established Yelper? If so, please Yelp about us!” It’s typically not even necessary to drive the general customer to your Yelp listing, because if someone is an established Yelper, they will know exactly how to find your listing. 

Tip 2:  Ask your customers in person if they ‘Yelp.’  If they know what Yelping is, ask them to write a review for your dealership.  If they don’t, DON’T send them to Yelp to write a review for your dealership!

By having only established Yelpers review your dealership, the reviews will not be flagged for removal. You will have less reviews than you may at other targeted review sites/directories, but the reviews you do receive will be much more impactful.

I know if I were still at a dealership, I would take the following actions:

1. Make sure my Yelp listing was updated with all the proper contact and dealership information.
    
2. Assess how many reviews I have on Yelp compared to other dealers/my direct competitors in my local market.  By doing so, I would determine how many positive reviews I needed to shine on the site.
    
3. Set a firm goal at the dealership (and share with my sales and service staff) the necessity to gather X amount of reviews on Yelp – only through established Yelpers.
    
4. Put a process in place that identifies happy sales, service and parts customers that are already ‘Yelpers,’ and ask them to share their experience at the dealership on Yelp.
    
5. Test out Yelp’s advertising options.  I get it - if we signed up every single provider that was just a few hundred bucks a month, we would be broke!  But, the data and dealership results that Yelp recently shared with me seemed pretty cut and dry…advertising can give you a built-out listing, and because comparatively few dealers do it compared with many other retail categories, you can stand out with no/few competitors on the most visited review site in the US. And your positive reviews should convert into more calls, leads and car deals. 
    

Other questions I often get asked:

Q.  If I advertise on Yelp, will they remove my negative reviews?
A.  According to Yelp, paid advertising can never change or re-order their reviews.

Q.  I have asked customers to write reviews on Yelp, and now they are missing!  Why?
A.  Remember the ‘501’ Issue – Yelp has an automated filter/algorithm that suppresses reviews they deem ‘suspicious.’  It’s doesn’t always seem either consistent or fair, but that’s the way it is.

So…the answer to the question, “To Yelp, or not to Yelp?” Yelp!

Reviews on Yelp really HELP! But be sure to follow the right process.

If you have any questions, please just call or email...

Merla Turner, Director of Dealer Training for eXtéresAUTO, m.turner@exteres.com or 866-475-5553 
 

Company Ranks #1 for SEO for Second Straight Year – Merla Turner Also Honored as “Top Rated” Internet Trainer

The winners of the 2010 DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards were just unveiled at the NADA Convention, and eXteresAUTO has again won “Highest Rated” for SEO. The company received the #1 SEO ranking for the second straight year, as determined by the thousands of auto dealers who are part of the DrivingSales.com community. eXteresAUTO’s Director of Dealer Training, Merla Turner, was also honored as a “Top Rated” Internet Trainer.

“It’s a special honor to rank as the #1 SEO provider again for 2010 at DrivingSales, because their awards are uniquely based on the real-world opinions of dealers across the nation who actually use these products and services,” noted Richard Winch, eXteresAUTO’s CEO. “And I’m thrilled Merla Turner was so deservedly recognized as one of the country’s top Internet trainers.”

eXteresAUTO provides total “Search Asset Management” (SAM™), combining the very first, and consistently highest-rated, SEO and Online Reputation Management solutions for dealerships. Every eXteresAUTO solution is designed to help auto retailers establish the most powerful, positive presence across the search engines and online review/social media sites. The company also currently ranks #1 for Reputation Management at DrivingSales.com, was recently honored as one of 2011’s “Best of the Best” companies by AutoSuccess magazine and selected by Mercedes-Benz USA as a “Preferred SEO Vendor” for its nationwide dealership network.

“We are proud to present both the DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction ‘Highest Rated’ SEO and ‘Top Rated’ Internet Trainer Awards to eXteresAUTO for achieving what we consider to be the highest possible accolade: the satisfaction of their customers,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. “Their awards are a reflection of the excellent results eXteresAUTO has generated for dealerships across the nation.”

Full award results are available online at: www.DrivingSales.com/dealersatisfactionaward

Broadcast coverage of the DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards ceremony is available at www.drivingsalestv.com

For more information about eXteresAUTO, contact: Beth McGroarty @ beth@rbicom.com or 213-300-0107

Company Ranks #1 for SEO for Second Straight Year – Merla Turner Also Honored as “Top Rated” Internet Trainer

The winners of the 2010 DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards were just unveiled at the NADA Convention, and eXteresAUTO has again won “Highest Rated” for SEO. The company received the #1 SEO ranking for the second straight year, as determined by the thousands of auto dealers who are part of the DrivingSales.com community. eXteresAUTO’s Director of Dealer Training, Merla Turner, was also honored as a “Top Rated” Internet Trainer.

“It’s a special honor to rank as the #1 SEO provider again for 2010 at DrivingSales, because their awards are uniquely based on the real-world opinions of dealers across the nation who actually use these products and services,” noted Richard Winch, eXteresAUTO’s CEO. “And I’m thrilled Merla Turner was so deservedly recognized as one of the country’s top Internet trainers.”

eXteresAUTO provides total “Search Asset Management” (SAM™), combining the very first, and consistently highest-rated, SEO and Online Reputation Management solutions for dealerships. Every eXteresAUTO solution is designed to help auto retailers establish the most powerful, positive presence across the search engines and online review/social media sites. The company also currently ranks #1 for Reputation Management at DrivingSales.com, was recently honored as one of 2011’s “Best of the Best” companies by AutoSuccess magazine and selected by Mercedes-Benz USA as a “Preferred SEO Vendor” for its nationwide dealership network.

“We are proud to present both the DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction ‘Highest Rated’ SEO and ‘Top Rated’ Internet Trainer Awards to eXteresAUTO for achieving what we consider to be the highest possible accolade: the satisfaction of their customers,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. “Their awards are a reflection of the excellent results eXteresAUTO has generated for dealerships across the nation.”

Full award results are available online at: www.DrivingSales.com/dealersatisfactionaward

Broadcast coverage of the DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards ceremony is available at www.drivingsalestv.com

For more information about eXteresAUTO, contact: Beth McGroarty @ beth@rbicom.com or 213-300-0107

Will Provide Dealerships Crucial, Actionable Data on Phone Leads from Search Engines and Review Sites

eXteresAUTO, the leading “Search Asset Management” (SAM™) provider for auto dealerships, and CallSource, the industry leader in call tracking and management, today announced a partnership to provide eXteresAUTO clients with objective, robust and actionable data on phone leads they’re generating directly from search engines and online review sites/directories.

CallSource tracking and analytics will now be included with every eXteresAUTO SEO and Online Reputation Management subscriptions. Now, dealer clients will be able to view all their search- and review-driven calls (i.e., reporting on call volume/traffic, etc.); access detailed data behind each call (callers’ phone numbers, addresses, zip codes, etc.); listen to calls via recorded audio files; and utilize tools helping the sales and service departments to take action on these valuable leads. Combined with eXteresAUTO’s rich website analytics, dealerships will now have a 360-degree view of the phone and website traffic they’re driving directly from Google, Yahoo!, Bing and review sites/directories.

“We’re thrilled to partner with CallSource, the most respected, innovative call-tracking provider. Search engine and online review/social media site usage is exploding. And our dealers, with their powerful search and review presence, are driving hundreds of calls a month from these sources - but fully understanding the business generation has remained too anecdotal,” noted eXteresAUTO CEO, Richard Winch. “Our dealers now have the hard data to measure the extraordinary ROI of SEO and Reputation Management, bringing the same transparency and tangibility to high-volume, high-closing first-party leads that they’ve typically received from third-party sources.

“It’s crucial for dealerships to have objective, actionable data on their search- and review-driven phone leads,” noted Pogo Parr, V.P., Automotive, for CallSource. “And given the new Google Places local search layout - where businesses’ online reviews have intense visibility, and searchers are grabbing phone numbers from Place Pages rather than dealer sites - the need for call tracking is even more profound.”

eXteresAUTO’s “Search Asset Management” (SAM™) combines the first, and consistently highest-rated, SEO and Reputation Management dealership solutions. Every eXteresAUTO solution is designed to help auto retailers establish the most powerful, positive presence across the search engines and online review/social media sites. The company just received the 2010 DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award for “Highest Rated” SEO, and also ranks #1 for Reputation Management at DrivingSales.com.

CallSource solutions (integrating call tracking and recording, business analytics, lead scoring and management, telephone performance analysis and training, etc.), ensure every phone lead is tracked, every call recorded and every opportunity is followed up – helping dealerships make information-based decisions on their advertising’s ROI. The company manages nearly 2,000,000 toll-free and local tracking numbers for more than 300,000 businesses throughout the US and Canada.  CallSource just received the 2010 DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award for “Highest Rated” Call Management Solution.

For more information about eXteresAUTO, contact: Beth McGroarty @ beth@rbicom.com or 213-300-0107

CallSource media contact: Elliot Leiboff, Chief Strategy Officer, 888-668-0766 or marketing@callsource.com

Will Provide Dealerships Crucial, Actionable Data on Phone Leads from Search Engines and Review Sites

eXteresAUTO, the leading “Search Asset Management” (SAM™) provider for auto dealerships, and CallSource, the industry leader in call tracking and management, today announced a partnership to provide eXteresAUTO clients with objective, robust and actionable data on phone leads they’re generating directly from search engines and online review sites/directories.

CallSource tracking and analytics will now be included with every eXteresAUTO SEO and Online Reputation Management subscriptions. Now, dealer clients will be able to view all their search- and review-driven calls (i.e., reporting on call volume/traffic, etc.); access detailed data behind each call (callers’ phone numbers, addresses, zip codes, etc.); listen to calls via recorded audio files; and utilize tools helping the sales and service departments to take action on these valuable leads. Combined with eXteresAUTO’s rich website analytics, dealerships will now have a 360-degree view of the phone and website traffic they’re driving directly from Google, Yahoo!, Bing and review sites/directories.

“We’re thrilled to partner with CallSource, the most respected, innovative call-tracking provider. Search engine and online review/social media site usage is exploding. And our dealers, with their powerful search and review presence, are driving hundreds of calls a month from these sources - but fully understanding the business generation has remained too anecdotal,” noted eXteresAUTO CEO, Richard Winch. “Our dealers now have the hard data to measure the extraordinary ROI of SEO and Reputation Management, bringing the same transparency and tangibility to high-volume, high-closing first-party leads that they’ve typically received from third-party sources.

“It’s crucial for dealerships to have objective, actionable data on their search- and review-driven phone leads,” noted Pogo Parr, V.P., Automotive, for CallSource. “And given the new Google Places local search layout - where businesses’ online reviews have intense visibility, and searchers are grabbing phone numbers from Place Pages rather than dealer sites - the need for call tracking is even more profound.”

eXteresAUTO’s “Search Asset Management” (SAM™) combines the first, and consistently highest-rated, SEO and Reputation Management dealership solutions. Every eXteresAUTO solution is designed to help auto retailers establish the most powerful, positive presence across the search engines and online review/social media sites. The company just received the 2010 DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award for “Highest Rated” SEO, and also ranks #1 for Reputation Management at DrivingSales.com.

CallSource solutions (integrating call tracking and recording, business analytics, lead scoring and management, telephone performance analysis and training, etc.), ensure every phone lead is tracked, every call recorded and every opportunity is followed up – helping dealerships make information-based decisions on their advertising’s ROI. The company manages nearly 2,000,000 toll-free and local tracking numbers for more than 300,000 businesses throughout the US and Canada.  CallSource just received the 2010 DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award for “Highest Rated” Call Management Solution.

For more information about eXteresAUTO, contact: Beth McGroarty @ beth@rbicom.com or 213-300-0107

CallSource media contact: Elliot Leiboff, Chief Strategy Officer, 888-668-0766 or marketing@callsource.com

First we had the new Google Places plastering a business’ reviews all over the local search results and Place Pages – and now another reason to get serious about Online Reputation Management…According to recent articles in Automotive News and MediaPost, Edmunds is about to unveil a major re-launch of its site in mid-December, and dealership reviews (and a new dealer rating system) will figure far more prominently.

First we had the new Google Places plastering a business’ reviews all over the local search results and Place Pages – and now another reason to get serious about Online Reputation Management…According to recent articles in Automotive News and MediaPost, Edmunds is about to unveil a major re-launch of its site in mid-December, and dealership reviews (and a new dealer rating system) will figure far more prominently.