What’s your ultimate goal in running a search engine marketing campaign for your car dealership? To get more clicks on your ads? To lower your cost per click and get the most for your money? To get more conversions when people fill out forms to get a quote? All of these things work step by step closer to your ultimate goal: to sell more cars. That’s what it comes down to.

An effective pay-per-click campaign needs to take into consideration all these elements and more to use your dealership’s advertising budget to its maximum potential and drive the most people to your site and ultimately to the lot to buy cars. It’s much more than just bidding on a few keywords and letting it run.

In fact, an auto dealer SEM campaign can ultimately only be as effective as the web pages ads drive people to. Google takes into account the quality of landing pages and their relevance to the ads people click on. As a car dealer seeking to drive more leads, you need to make sure your website is buyer-friendly with a clean, simple design and also plenty of calls to action to get people to fill out forms.

Every part of your dealership’s advertising needs to focus on your goal of selling more cars, and you should take steps to make sure your search engine marketing campaign is driving toward this goal.

What’s your ultimate goal in running a search engine marketing campaign for your car dealership? To get more clicks on your ads? To lower your cost per click and get the most for your money? To get more conversions when people fill out forms to get a quote? All of these things work step by step closer to your ultimate goal: to sell more cars. That’s what it comes down to.

An effective pay-per-click campaign needs to take into consideration all these elements and more to use your dealership’s advertising budget to its maximum potential and drive the most people to your site and ultimately to the lot to buy cars. It’s much more than just bidding on a few keywords and letting it run.

In fact, an auto dealer SEM campaign can ultimately only be as effective as the web pages ads drive people to. Google takes into account the quality of landing pages and their relevance to the ads people click on. As a car dealer seeking to drive more leads, you need to make sure your website is buyer-friendly with a clean, simple design and also plenty of calls to action to get people to fill out forms.

Every part of your dealership’s advertising needs to focus on your goal of selling more cars, and you should take steps to make sure your search engine marketing campaign is driving toward this goal.

In marketing for auto dealers around the country, we spend time analyzing their competition to see how they’re doing with everything from social media marketing to website lead management. In order to beat your competition out in sales, your dealership needs to take the time to look at what competitors are doing. Here are a few quick tips to analyze other dealerships:

• Look at their website. Is it a customized site, or are they using a generic auto dealer website provider like Dealer.com? What are they doing to drive conversions?
• Pretend to be a car shopper and fill out some forms. How soon do you get a response? Do they email, call, or both? Are all the emails automated, or do any of them look personally written?
• Search in Google for brands and models that they sell. How well do their listings rank? Are they running or posting press releases or online videos?
• Find their dealership’s Facebook business page, if they have one. What kind of content are they posting, and how often? Are they just blasting out sales and inventory or starting conversations and personal interaction?

Take some time to analyze your competition. You can see the areas in which you are strong and also what you need to improve.

In marketing for auto dealers around the country, we spend time analyzing their competition to see how they’re doing with everything from social media marketing to website lead management. In order to beat your competition out in sales, your dealership needs to take the time to look at what competitors are doing. Here are a few quick tips to analyze other dealerships:

• Look at their website. Is it a customized site, or are they using a generic auto dealer website provider like Dealer.com? What are they doing to drive conversions?
• Pretend to be a car shopper and fill out some forms. How soon do you get a response? Do they email, call, or both? Are all the emails automated, or do any of them look personally written?
• Search in Google for brands and models that they sell. How well do their listings rank? Are they running or posting press releases or online videos?
• Find their dealership’s Facebook business page, if they have one. What kind of content are they posting, and how often? Are they just blasting out sales and inventory or starting conversations and personal interaction?

Take some time to analyze your competition. You can see the areas in which you are strong and also what you need to improve.

Warren Buffet recently announced he is leaving the board for the Washington Post Co. after almost a 40 year run.  On another note Rupert Murdoch's News Corp just launched the first i-pad only newspaper last week which it plans to charge 99 cents per week or $40 per year to read.  There has also been talk that the New York Times, the most visited news publication on the internet, will also start charging for it's on-line paper.

Dealers and agencies both know traditional newspapers have been losing revenue for years.  It's no surprise that we are going to see more of a shift toward completely digital publications.  It's cheaper to produce, it's "greener", it's easier, faster and cheaper to distribute.  The only down side is that they still don't have the readership of regular papers :)  I personally feel newspapers will eventually all go digital, if not for at least the most basic environmental and cost reasons.  You already have paperless offices, why not paperless "papers".  But something that will never change is that people will always need to go somewhere to get news and information from a place they know and trust.  As to where that will be and how much it will cost to advertise there still remains to be seen.  Plus until everyone has a smart phone, tablet or computer there will still be plenty of people reading papers.  And even then some people still prefer paper to screen.  I am a huge "techie" for example.  But I refuse to get a kindle.  I don't get to read as much as I would like, so I prefer the feel of a real book. I enjoy visiting the library, the quiet rustle of pages, the smell of paper after it has aged for decades in the care of hundreds of readers.  To me reading a book is a visceral experience as well as a mental enjoyment.  You can't replace something like that with technology.

A younger associate of mine recently asked me "why do they even have newspapers anymore?  I only read things on-line anyway"  My answer was pretty simple... Where else can you find all of the dealerships in your area in one place so you can compare prices side by side?  Most dealers have a great web presence these days but comparison shopping on-line is  much harder than just opening the local paper.

So what does this all amount to for dealers?  Well as much as dealers have wanted to finally say goodbye to the papers it looks like they are here to stay.  As long as people need news, no matter how or where they go to get it, there will probably be a place where dealers will have to advertise.  Especially if on-line publications move from just national to regional or even local publications.

Warren Buffet recently announced he is leaving the board for the Washington Post Co. after almost a 40 year run.  On another note Rupert Murdoch's News Corp just launched the first i-pad only newspaper last week which it plans to charge 99 cents per week or $40 per year to read.  There has also been talk that the New York Times, the most visited news publication on the internet, will also start charging for it's on-line paper.

Dealers and agencies both know traditional newspapers have been losing revenue for years.  It's no surprise that we are going to see more of a shift toward completely digital publications.  It's cheaper to produce, it's "greener", it's easier, faster and cheaper to distribute.  The only down side is that they still don't have the readership of regular papers :)  I personally feel newspapers will eventually all go digital, if not for at least the most basic environmental and cost reasons.  You already have paperless offices, why not paperless "papers".  But something that will never change is that people will always need to go somewhere to get news and information from a place they know and trust.  As to where that will be and how much it will cost to advertise there still remains to be seen.  Plus until everyone has a smart phone, tablet or computer there will still be plenty of people reading papers.  And even then some people still prefer paper to screen.  I am a huge "techie" for example.  But I refuse to get a kindle.  I don't get to read as much as I would like, so I prefer the feel of a real book. I enjoy visiting the library, the quiet rustle of pages, the smell of paper after it has aged for decades in the care of hundreds of readers.  To me reading a book is a visceral experience as well as a mental enjoyment.  You can't replace something like that with technology.

A younger associate of mine recently asked me "why do they even have newspapers anymore?  I only read things on-line anyway"  My answer was pretty simple... Where else can you find all of the dealerships in your area in one place so you can compare prices side by side?  Most dealers have a great web presence these days but comparison shopping on-line is  much harder than just opening the local paper.

So what does this all amount to for dealers?  Well as much as dealers have wanted to finally say goodbye to the papers it looks like they are here to stay.  As long as people need news, no matter how or where they go to get it, there will probably be a place where dealers will have to advertise.  Especially if on-line publications move from just national to regional or even local publications.

Service department marketing is something that often falls by the wayside in most dealership's and dealer group's marketing campaigns. However, with today's location based marketing applications and social media networks it's easier than ever to give your back end of the dealership the attention it needs. Here are a few quick ways you can utilize these new media elements:

1. Set Up Facebook Places and Deals for your Dealership Business Page - We've just actually completed a webinar on this last week, so Potratz can walk you through it on our website's past workshops. (http://exclusivelyautomotive.com/portfolio-item/setting-up-facebook-places-deals/). This will allow you to market service incentives to your Facebook place on mobile devices, but also set up deals for service on your dealership's or dealer group's business page.

2. Claim Your Foursquare Venue - Claim your dealership venue on foursquare and set up your specials. It's an easy way to brand your dealership on these location based networks, but also put your service coupons and added value on them as well.

3. Utilize Google Tags - Set up Google Tags in your SEM campaigns and advertise your best service coupons. This allows consumers to see your service campaigns when they are searching for various keywords or your dealership name on Google and Google Maps.

Follow those quick steps and immediately put your service department out there by using some of the best location based technologies available. It may take some time to claim and set up, but once you're live it's one of the best ways to promote service at a low cost.
 

Service department marketing is something that often falls by the wayside in most dealership's and dealer group's marketing campaigns. However, with today's location based marketing applications and social media networks it's easier than ever to give your back end of the dealership the attention it needs. Here are a few quick ways you can utilize these new media elements:

1. Set Up Facebook Places and Deals for your Dealership Business Page - We've just actually completed a webinar on this last week, so Potratz can walk you through it on our website's past workshops. (http://exclusivelyautomotive.com/portfolio-item/setting-up-facebook-places-deals/). This will allow you to market service incentives to your Facebook place on mobile devices, but also set up deals for service on your dealership's or dealer group's business page.

2. Claim Your Foursquare Venue - Claim your dealership venue on foursquare and set up your specials. It's an easy way to brand your dealership on these location based networks, but also put your service coupons and added value on them as well.

3. Utilize Google Tags - Set up Google Tags in your SEM campaigns and advertise your best service coupons. This allows consumers to see your service campaigns when they are searching for various keywords or your dealership name on Google and Google Maps.

Follow those quick steps and immediately put your service department out there by using some of the best location based technologies available. It may take some time to claim and set up, but once you're live it's one of the best ways to promote service at a low cost.
 

This weekend, I was comparing website analytics for 2010 vs 2009 for one of our dealers, which got me to thinking about how 2009 compared to 2010. Before I knew it, I was digging into analytics for 2008 and 2007.

Limiting myself to just one dealer's analytics could taint my findings with the improvement of the website, lead generation, SEO, SEM, etc. So to ensure the most accurate findings, I formed a test group of six dealers from various geographic regions with multiple rooftops and brands to provide better insight and benchmarks. The dealers’ websites were managed through BZ, Dealer.com, Cobalt, Dealeron, and Potratz over the period of 2007-2010. Third party leads from sites like Cars.com and ATC were not used in this measurement.

Here are some of my findings:

Unique visits from 2007 to 2010 have increased at a rate of 743%
Average time on site increased 1:37 from 2007 to 7:10 in 2010
Bounce rates averaged 51% in 2007 and decreased to 23% in 2010
The money question… Conversions increased by 625% from 2007 to 2010!
Site visits by mobile device in 2007 were too low to measure (less than .01%). However, in fourth quarter 2010, these were at 6%

These findings did not completely surprise me, since I have been in the digital bubble for many years and I choose to do my shopping, reading, and learning online. Also, I am a gadget freak the type who feels like a little boy on Christmas day when I find a new Saas CRM, SFA, open source software, or API package.

We have all heard terms like “Internet Bubble” and how the internet is going to create explosive growth. Well, that time is officially here, and is not showing any signs of slowing. In fact, it is only growing, seeing a triple digit growth over time!

61,000,000 smart phones are in use with growth of 10% in the last 90 days, mobile tablets are flying off the shelves, and free wifi is popping up everywhere!

If your dealership is tracking lot ups on a paper log then I challenge you to track internet ups daily on a log and analyze this number daily just like you do lot ups. There is no difference in a lot up and an internet up! Internet ups are car shoppers, and the same shoppers you have visiting the lot EXCEPT the internet ups outnumber the lot ups 10 to 1.

Paul Potratz

This weekend, I was comparing website analytics for 2010 vs 2009 for one of our dealers, which got me to thinking about how 2009 compared to 2010. Before I knew it, I was digging into analytics for 2008 and 2007.

Limiting myself to just one dealer's analytics could taint my findings with the improvement of the website, lead generation, SEO, SEM, etc. So to ensure the most accurate findings, I formed a test group of six dealers from various geographic regions with multiple rooftops and brands to provide better insight and benchmarks. The dealers’ websites were managed through BZ, Dealer.com, Cobalt, Dealeron, and Potratz over the period of 2007-2010. Third party leads from sites like Cars.com and ATC were not used in this measurement.

Here are some of my findings:

Unique visits from 2007 to 2010 have increased at a rate of 743%
Average time on site increased 1:37 from 2007 to 7:10 in 2010
Bounce rates averaged 51% in 2007 and decreased to 23% in 2010
The money question… Conversions increased by 625% from 2007 to 2010!
Site visits by mobile device in 2007 were too low to measure (less than .01%). However, in fourth quarter 2010, these were at 6%

These findings did not completely surprise me, since I have been in the digital bubble for many years and I choose to do my shopping, reading, and learning online. Also, I am a gadget freak the type who feels like a little boy on Christmas day when I find a new Saas CRM, SFA, open source software, or API package.

We have all heard terms like “Internet Bubble” and how the internet is going to create explosive growth. Well, that time is officially here, and is not showing any signs of slowing. In fact, it is only growing, seeing a triple digit growth over time!

61,000,000 smart phones are in use with growth of 10% in the last 90 days, mobile tablets are flying off the shelves, and free wifi is popping up everywhere!

If your dealership is tracking lot ups on a paper log then I challenge you to track internet ups daily on a log and analyze this number daily just like you do lot ups. There is no difference in a lot up and an internet up! Internet ups are car shoppers, and the same shoppers you have visiting the lot EXCEPT the internet ups outnumber the lot ups 10 to 1.

Paul Potratz