While SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) are of key importance with regards to SEO (search engine optimization), many auto dealers still don't pay enough attention to their website's search results pages.  These typically appear when a shopper searches the inventory on a dealership website.  With some fine tuning, these search results pages can help drive more VDP (vehicle display page) views and ultimately more leads.

Many times, dealership websites overwhelm customers with confusing search results pages right from the start.  These are identified as confusing by having too many options offered to the visitor.  In fact, some dealers have nearly every option available on their search results pages as they do on their VDP!  However, most visitors don't take direct action off of search results pages.  Instead, they drill down to a VDP for more details before placing a phone call or submitting a lead.  In order to maintain simplicity, one should try removing nearly all of the options from the SRP except for the option to move to the VDP, and possibly one direct action driver such as a dynamic phone number.  Take an SRP from Amazon.com as an example.  Their search results pages typically just have the price and a rating, with a link to see more details.

Another issue harming search results pages on many dealer sites can be confusing or malfunctioning search filters.  If a shopper is constantly having to hit reset, collapse a filter bar, or the results don't seem to refine correctly, they may bounce from the site.  Dealerships should strive to have the most streamlined, easy to understand and mobile friendly search functionality possible.

While search results pages don't often get the attention that VDPs do, they are important to get right.  How are you all refining your onsite search results pages for maximum clarity and impact?

While SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) are of key importance with regards to SEO (search engine optimization), many auto dealers still don't pay enough attention to their website's search results pages.  These typically appear when a shopper searches the inventory on a dealership website.  With some fine tuning, these search results pages can help drive more VDP (vehicle display page) views and ultimately more leads.

Many times, dealership websites overwhelm customers with confusing search results pages right from the start.  These are identified as confusing by having too many options offered to the visitor.  In fact, some dealers have nearly every option available on their search results pages as they do on their VDP!  However, most visitors don't take direct action off of search results pages.  Instead, they drill down to a VDP for more details before placing a phone call or submitting a lead.  In order to maintain simplicity, one should try removing nearly all of the options from the SRP except for the option to move to the VDP, and possibly one direct action driver such as a dynamic phone number.  Take an SRP from Amazon.com as an example.  Their search results pages typically just have the price and a rating, with a link to see more details.

Another issue harming search results pages on many dealer sites can be confusing or malfunctioning search filters.  If a shopper is constantly having to hit reset, collapse a filter bar, or the results don't seem to refine correctly, they may bounce from the site.  Dealerships should strive to have the most streamlined, easy to understand and mobile friendly search functionality possible.

While search results pages don't often get the attention that VDPs do, they are important to get right.  How are you all refining your onsite search results pages for maximum clarity and impact?

Give the people what they are looking for.  It seems like such a simple concept, yet so many dealerships fail to deliver and lose many potential customers in the process.  A best practice for a landing page is to make sure that once a businesses' message is out there, customers are able to easily find and utilize whatever was stated in that message.

Most dealers are running some sort of marketing, and one of the most popular ways to drive business is to advertise a promotion or special sale to bring in clients that are comparison shopping for price and/or value.  The main issue in the digital space is what to do with clients that have clicked on one of the marketing pieces.  The secret is to send them somewhere that will deliver on the promise made in the promotion - this is the best practice that a business can employ for a landing page.

Of course, it is now common knowledge that ads shouldn't send clients to the home page of a website.  Instead, shoppers should be sent to a relevant landing page.  The easiest way to keep customers on a site and moving down a purchasing funnel is to hand hold them step by step and deliver what was promised in the advertising.

For example, if a dealership is running a leasing special in AdWords, when a client searches and clicks on the ad, it is a best practice for the landing page to mention that same leasing special, and let the searcher know what the next step is (typically browsing available relevant inventory).  Yet, many dealers still send clients to a home page or an inventory page instead.  While some customers might react positively to this, most are just scanning the site looking for the same deal that was mentioned in the ad, and will not browse much further if they don't immediately see it.

Dealerships should always be aware of the bigger picture when it comes to their advertising.  What are some ways you guys are making sure landing pages are relevant and deliver what was promised in the marketing?​

Give the people what they are looking for.  It seems like such a simple concept, yet so many dealerships fail to deliver and lose many potential customers in the process.  A best practice for a landing page is to make sure that once a businesses' message is out there, customers are able to easily find and utilize whatever was stated in that message.

Most dealers are running some sort of marketing, and one of the most popular ways to drive business is to advertise a promotion or special sale to bring in clients that are comparison shopping for price and/or value.  The main issue in the digital space is what to do with clients that have clicked on one of the marketing pieces.  The secret is to send them somewhere that will deliver on the promise made in the promotion - this is the best practice that a business can employ for a landing page.

Of course, it is now common knowledge that ads shouldn't send clients to the home page of a website.  Instead, shoppers should be sent to a relevant landing page.  The easiest way to keep customers on a site and moving down a purchasing funnel is to hand hold them step by step and deliver what was promised in the advertising.

For example, if a dealership is running a leasing special in AdWords, when a client searches and clicks on the ad, it is a best practice for the landing page to mention that same leasing special, and let the searcher know what the next step is (typically browsing available relevant inventory).  Yet, many dealers still send clients to a home page or an inventory page instead.  While some customers might react positively to this, most are just scanning the site looking for the same deal that was mentioned in the ad, and will not browse much further if they don't immediately see it.

Dealerships should always be aware of the bigger picture when it comes to their advertising.  What are some ways you guys are making sure landing pages are relevant and deliver what was promised in the marketing?​

A dealer with the capability to add pages to their website ultimately has a great opportunity for SEO for their vehicles.  Vehicle landing pages can help boost a site's SERP (Search Engine Results Page) visibility for their vehicles!

Vehicle landing pages are basically pages dedicated to the individual vehicle models that a dealership carries.  Each one of these pages can be designed to serve two functions simultaneously.  If the page contains lots of relevant information about the vehicle, it will, over time, add a boost to a client's overall organic search results for the automobile plus any related keywords that are included on the page.

If the vehicle landing pages also contain strong calls to action (such as "browse inventory" or "call to check availability"), they can be used as landing pages for Display Marketing and SEM (Search Engine Marketing).  A good layout might include inventory right at the bottom of the landing page.  That way, both organic and paid traffic have opportunites to convert on the vehicle landing pages.

Many dealers have a strong (and smart) focus on VDPs and SRPs, but VLPs can help round out the site’s overall SEO and SEM efforts.  Are you all making individual vehicle landing pages for your dealership sites?

A dealer with the capability to add pages to their website ultimately has a great opportunity for SEO for their vehicles.  Vehicle landing pages can help boost a site's SERP (Search Engine Results Page) visibility for their vehicles!

Vehicle landing pages are basically pages dedicated to the individual vehicle models that a dealership carries.  Each one of these pages can be designed to serve two functions simultaneously.  If the page contains lots of relevant information about the vehicle, it will, over time, add a boost to a client's overall organic search results for the automobile plus any related keywords that are included on the page.

If the vehicle landing pages also contain strong calls to action (such as "browse inventory" or "call to check availability"), they can be used as landing pages for Display Marketing and SEM (Search Engine Marketing).  A good layout might include inventory right at the bottom of the landing page.  That way, both organic and paid traffic have opportunites to convert on the vehicle landing pages.

Many dealers have a strong (and smart) focus on VDPs and SRPs, but VLPs can help round out the site’s overall SEO and SEM efforts.  Are you all making individual vehicle landing pages for your dealership sites?

MONTEREY, CA – Everyone has an opinion. Unfortunately, the people most willing to share theirs online are often the ones with a problem when it comes to a business. Even worse, online reviewing sites have increasing visibility in search engine results. A negative review might appear in SERPs before a business’ actual website when that business is searched! Assuming these reviews are legitimate, there are basically two ways that a business could respond – gracefully or with retaliation.

If someone found a negative review of their business on a site like Yelp, which allows for a management response, the first impulse might be to aggressively come back at the reviewer. These can be seen all over social review sites – business owners insulting, berating and otherwise slamming the reviewer for their bad attitude, incompetence, etc. But while it may feel great to type out and make public, a business owner would be doing themselves a disservice by falling into the trap of a vindictive management response.

These days, a negative review can actually be an opportunity for a business to show that it cares about it’s customers. The response one should shoot for is one that paints a business as apologetic of any issues a client may have had, and a willingness to not only show improvement, but to also publicly offer a customer some sort of compensation for their grievance. This approach will signal that not only is the business cognizant of it’s online reputation, it is also willing to do whatever it takes to provide excellent customer service and make things right with a customer that is feeling that they weren’t put first.

All in all, negative reviews can be painful for a business struggling to increase their profile online. What are some of your tactics when faced with a public-facing negative review?

MONTEREY, CA – Everyone has an opinion. Unfortunately, the people most willing to share theirs online are often the ones with a problem when it comes to a business. Even worse, online reviewing sites have increasing visibility in search engine results. A negative review might appear in SERPs before a business’ actual website when that business is searched! Assuming these reviews are legitimate, there are basically two ways that a business could respond – gracefully or with retaliation.

If someone found a negative review of their business on a site like Yelp, which allows for a management response, the first impulse might be to aggressively come back at the reviewer. These can be seen all over social review sites – business owners insulting, berating and otherwise slamming the reviewer for their bad attitude, incompetence, etc. But while it may feel great to type out and make public, a business owner would be doing themselves a disservice by falling into the trap of a vindictive management response.

These days, a negative review can actually be an opportunity for a business to show that it cares about it’s customers. The response one should shoot for is one that paints a business as apologetic of any issues a client may have had, and a willingness to not only show improvement, but to also publicly offer a customer some sort of compensation for their grievance. This approach will signal that not only is the business cognizant of it’s online reputation, it is also willing to do whatever it takes to provide excellent customer service and make things right with a customer that is feeling that they weren’t put first.

All in all, negative reviews can be painful for a business struggling to increase their profile online. What are some of your tactics when faced with a public-facing negative review?

MONTEREY, CA – This past year was an interesting year for digital marketing. Most automotive companies increased their digital presence through all kinds of different ways, and technology got a little better in terms of finding potential customers. And while many dealerships kept pace with all the latest marketing trends, many could still use some work. For those dealers, here is a Zero Moment of Truth resolution checklist:

[ ] Make sure that all vehicles are searchable on Google via SEO and pay per click advertising
[ ] Evaluate long tail marketing and targeted branding and make sure that the balance is constantly monitored
[ ] Get vehicles onto Craigslist and other classified listing sites
[ ] All vehicles should be searchable on YouTube
[ ] Continue to build a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and other social media
[ ] Monitor various review sites and make sure that negative reviews are handled correctly
[ ] Ensure that important online directory listings such as Google Maps are accurate and contain identical information
[ ] Continue to create new content to help boost SEO and social media presence
[ ] Make sure to retarget website visitors
[ ] Try reducing the number of vendors being utilized for digital marketing in favor of vendors with more capability
[ ] Make sure all vendors are delivering efficiently
[ ] Get help for any areas that cannot be covered effectively in-house

New Year resolutions are usually about changes for the better, but many make their resolutions and never follow through. Automotive digital marketing is only going to get sharper and more competitive as the year progresses, so a dealership should remember to make sure that their marketing is always in balance, not stale or out-of-date and creating as big of a presence as budget will allow. What are everybody's New Year's resolutions for capturing clients at the zero moment of truth this year?

MONTEREY, CA – This past year was an interesting year for digital marketing. Most automotive companies increased their digital presence through all kinds of different ways, and technology got a little better in terms of finding potential customers. And while many dealerships kept pace with all the latest marketing trends, many could still use some work. For those dealers, here is a Zero Moment of Truth resolution checklist:

[ ] Make sure that all vehicles are searchable on Google via SEO and pay per click advertising
[ ] Evaluate long tail marketing and targeted branding and make sure that the balance is constantly monitored
[ ] Get vehicles onto Craigslist and other classified listing sites
[ ] All vehicles should be searchable on YouTube
[ ] Continue to build a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and other social media
[ ] Monitor various review sites and make sure that negative reviews are handled correctly
[ ] Ensure that important online directory listings such as Google Maps are accurate and contain identical information
[ ] Continue to create new content to help boost SEO and social media presence
[ ] Make sure to retarget website visitors
[ ] Try reducing the number of vendors being utilized for digital marketing in favor of vendors with more capability
[ ] Make sure all vendors are delivering efficiently
[ ] Get help for any areas that cannot be covered effectively in-house

New Year resolutions are usually about changes for the better, but many make their resolutions and never follow through. Automotive digital marketing is only going to get sharper and more competitive as the year progresses, so a dealership should remember to make sure that their marketing is always in balance, not stale or out-of-date and creating as big of a presence as budget will allow. What are everybody's New Year's resolutions for capturing clients at the zero moment of truth this year?