Vane Clayton, an industry leader known for building profitable private and public growth companies joins TK Carsites, Inc. an Internet marketing company that focuses on SEO, Social Media, and website design for franchised and independent auto dealers.

Orange County, CA (August 3, 2010) – TK Carsites, Inc. an Internet marketing provider for automotive retailers, announced today that it has appointed Vane Clayton as Executive Chairman. Clayton will oversee day-to-day operations with focus on client service.

“We asked Vane to join TK because of his experience in building profitable private and public growth companies,” said Richard Valenta, CEO of TK Carsites. “Our clients are the real winners as Vane’s top priority is enhancing our overall client experience.  I will be taking on an active role in product development, as well as in both the execution of SEO which we pioneered at TK Carsites in 2003, and in Social Media which TK Carsites has been involved with since 2007.  My goal is to put our focus on these two core products with JD Rucker, Director of New Media, leading the strategy.”

Clayton will also continue to serve as CEO of KPA LLC.  KPA is one of the few companies in the automotive industry that saw growth through the economic downturn with 3% revenue growth and 50% profit in 2009. Clayton’s financial success with KPA has been instrumental in securing growth capital for TK Carsites and the dual role of CEO of KPA and Chairman of TK Carsites provides Clayton with a unique industry insider’s role that few can match, serving over 4,000 automotive and equipment dealer and service companies.

“As a student of building profitable growth companies, I understand the dynamics of the marketplace – the need to introduce innovative products that help clients to compete,” said Clayton. “Optimizing an Internet Marketing Strategy for the retail auto industry through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, and websites designed for optimization of each department to drive a low cost of acquisition, is imperative. TK Carsites gets it. TK Carsites’ market leading products will be the solid foundation to serve more auto dealers with services that help them to grow revenue through leveraging a cost effective Internet Marketing strategy. I’m honored to be able to contribute to the success of our 4,000 clients.”

About TK Carsites, Inc.

TK Carsites, Inc. is an Internet marketing company located in Orange County, CA.  TK Carsites’ core products include automotive SEO, Social Media and automotive website design for auto dealers in the U.S. and Canada. Earlier this year, TK Carsites launched the Power SEO product. For more information, call (714) 937-1239. www.tkcarsites.com

About Vane Clayton

Vane Clayton is President and CEO of KPA, LLC since 2006.  He is also a member of the company’s board of directors.  KPA serves over 3,000 clients including the top 7 dealer groups, providing safety, environmental, human resource software and related services.

Prior to KPA, Clayton was President of ZOLL Data Systems, an enterprise software subsidiary of ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL). While at ZOLL, Clayton launched a highly successful, user-friendly .NET Tablet software application and acquired a human resource software solution to expand the suite of products offered to the ambulance and fire, public safety markets.  Clayton’s team of 55 software developers and a total of 100 employees were able to drive efficiency throughout the organization to increase the revenue per employee 50%, from $128K to $192K in 2.5 years, while revenue increased from $12M to $20M during the same period.

Prior to ZOLL, Clayton was co-founder, CEO, and board member of SOS Wireless Communications.  Under Clayton’s leadership, SOS raised $15M of Venture Capital and angel funding, while growing to 35 employees and 25,000 customers. Clayton also serves on the board of Ironclad (ICPW.OB) since 2004.  Earlier in his career, Clayton managed a sales team for Raychem ($1.7B in Sales), a division of Tyco Electronics driving sales of the EloTouch subsidiary from $19M to $30M in a twelve month period.

Clayton holds a B.S. in Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  Vane Clayton on LinkedIn

Vane Clayton, an industry leader known for building profitable private and public growth companies joins TK Carsites, Inc. an Internet marketing company that focuses on SEO, Social Media, and website design for franchised and independent auto dealers.

Orange County, CA (August 3, 2010) – TK Carsites, Inc. an Internet marketing provider for automotive retailers, announced today that it has appointed Vane Clayton as Executive Chairman. Clayton will oversee day-to-day operations with focus on client service.

“We asked Vane to join TK because of his experience in building profitable private and public growth companies,” said Richard Valenta, CEO of TK Carsites. “Our clients are the real winners as Vane’s top priority is enhancing our overall client experience.  I will be taking on an active role in product development, as well as in both the execution of SEO which we pioneered at TK Carsites in 2003, and in Social Media which TK Carsites has been involved with since 2007.  My goal is to put our focus on these two core products with JD Rucker, Director of New Media, leading the strategy.”

Clayton will also continue to serve as CEO of KPA LLC.  KPA is one of the few companies in the automotive industry that saw growth through the economic downturn with 3% revenue growth and 50% profit in 2009. Clayton’s financial success with KPA has been instrumental in securing growth capital for TK Carsites and the dual role of CEO of KPA and Chairman of TK Carsites provides Clayton with a unique industry insider’s role that few can match, serving over 4,000 automotive and equipment dealer and service companies.

“As a student of building profitable growth companies, I understand the dynamics of the marketplace – the need to introduce innovative products that help clients to compete,” said Clayton. “Optimizing an Internet Marketing Strategy for the retail auto industry through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, and websites designed for optimization of each department to drive a low cost of acquisition, is imperative. TK Carsites gets it. TK Carsites’ market leading products will be the solid foundation to serve more auto dealers with services that help them to grow revenue through leveraging a cost effective Internet Marketing strategy. I’m honored to be able to contribute to the success of our 4,000 clients.”

About TK Carsites, Inc.

TK Carsites, Inc. is an Internet marketing company located in Orange County, CA.  TK Carsites’ core products include automotive SEO, Social Media and automotive website design for auto dealers in the U.S. and Canada. Earlier this year, TK Carsites launched the Power SEO product. For more information, call (714) 937-1239. www.tkcarsites.com

About Vane Clayton

Vane Clayton is President and CEO of KPA, LLC since 2006.  He is also a member of the company’s board of directors.  KPA serves over 3,000 clients including the top 7 dealer groups, providing safety, environmental, human resource software and related services.

Prior to KPA, Clayton was President of ZOLL Data Systems, an enterprise software subsidiary of ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL). While at ZOLL, Clayton launched a highly successful, user-friendly .NET Tablet software application and acquired a human resource software solution to expand the suite of products offered to the ambulance and fire, public safety markets.  Clayton’s team of 55 software developers and a total of 100 employees were able to drive efficiency throughout the organization to increase the revenue per employee 50%, from $128K to $192K in 2.5 years, while revenue increased from $12M to $20M during the same period.

Prior to ZOLL, Clayton was co-founder, CEO, and board member of SOS Wireless Communications.  Under Clayton’s leadership, SOS raised $15M of Venture Capital and angel funding, while growing to 35 employees and 25,000 customers. Clayton also serves on the board of Ironclad (ICPW.OB) since 2004.  Earlier in his career, Clayton managed a sales team for Raychem ($1.7B in Sales), a division of Tyco Electronics driving sales of the EloTouch subsidiary from $19M to $30M in a twelve month period.

Clayton holds a B.S. in Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  Vane Clayton on LinkedIn

I was doing some research earlier this week on search engine ranking methodologies and came across a recent patent that was granted to Google this month.  The patent was titled "system and method for modulating search relevancy using pointer activity monitoring".   While I don't believe cursor movement would ever be a factor in rankings for obvious reasons, I do believe the search engine wars are continuing to heat up. 

Yes, Google still holds a commanding lead but the question is will it last forever.  Better yet, is the lead enough to ignore other search engines?  Bing and Yahoo have experienced impressive gains over the last year and I would not be surprised to see this continue.  Additionally, I firmly believe that no company, no matter how large, is unstoppable.   Take a look at Apple for example.   Everyone thought they were headed for the scrap pile in the 90s and now look at them.  

Most dealers we talk to at TK only care about how we do on Google.  When we try and demonstrate our power on Yahoo and Bing, there is simply no interest whatsoever. While I do understand the big focus on Google, I don't understand why people could care less about Yahoo and Bing.   I believe if you are betting it all on Google and ignoring the rest, you might want to think twice.  They are the leader by a long shot but they still only control 63% of the market.  That leaves 37% to Yahoo, Bing and the rest (yes, I can still do simple math).   If you want to maximize your effort in Automotive SEO, you should focus on the big three search engines.   37% is a huge number when competition is so fierce among dealers. 

I was doing some research earlier this week on search engine ranking methodologies and came across a recent patent that was granted to Google this month.  The patent was titled "system and method for modulating search relevancy using pointer activity monitoring".   While I don't believe cursor movement would ever be a factor in rankings for obvious reasons, I do believe the search engine wars are continuing to heat up. 

Yes, Google still holds a commanding lead but the question is will it last forever.  Better yet, is the lead enough to ignore other search engines?  Bing and Yahoo have experienced impressive gains over the last year and I would not be surprised to see this continue.  Additionally, I firmly believe that no company, no matter how large, is unstoppable.   Take a look at Apple for example.   Everyone thought they were headed for the scrap pile in the 90s and now look at them.  

Most dealers we talk to at TK only care about how we do on Google.  When we try and demonstrate our power on Yahoo and Bing, there is simply no interest whatsoever. While I do understand the big focus on Google, I don't understand why people could care less about Yahoo and Bing.   I believe if you are betting it all on Google and ignoring the rest, you might want to think twice.  They are the leader by a long shot but they still only control 63% of the market.  That leaves 37% to Yahoo, Bing and the rest (yes, I can still do simple math).   If you want to maximize your effort in Automotive SEO, you should focus on the big three search engines.   37% is a huge number when competition is so fierce among dealers. 

Dealer Magazine released a report that ADP is purchasing Cobalt. From a corporate perspective, it puts a huge chunk of both the industry and the revenue under one umbrella, but what does it mean to individual dealers?

I've always been relatively critical of Cobalt, pointing out that they have never been able to optimize their own website to rank #1 on Google for their own name while being the website vendor for manufacturers during their worst sales collapses, but I've also always had a certain level of respect for them because pound for pound, dollar for dollar, they have a very respectable product.

Will this change with ADP at the helm? The good news is that John Holt is staying on as vice president of ADP's Digital Marketing Group: Cobalt, Dealix, and BZ Results. His leadership has built a juggernaut through innovations and sound business practices over the years.

The decision to keep Cobalt and BZ Results separate but under the same roof makes sense in some respects, but one has to question whether keeping tier 1 and 2 interests in mind with one hand will hurt the other hand focusing on tier 3.

What do you all think? Is this move going to be a good one for the individual dealers and dealer groups? Does this give them too much leverage for pushing down the destructive path (in my opinion) of making dealer websites more uniform, more vanilla? Will they be able to combine technologies and innovations between two of the trendsetting companies in the industry?

So many questions surround the deal. It's definitely a good deal for them and likely a great deal for the manufacturers. Where do dealers stand?

Dealer Magazine released a report that ADP is purchasing Cobalt. From a corporate perspective, it puts a huge chunk of both the industry and the revenue under one umbrella, but what does it mean to individual dealers?

I've always been relatively critical of Cobalt, pointing out that they have never been able to optimize their own website to rank #1 on Google for their own name while being the website vendor for manufacturers during their worst sales collapses, but I've also always had a certain level of respect for them because pound for pound, dollar for dollar, they have a very respectable product.

Will this change with ADP at the helm? The good news is that John Holt is staying on as vice president of ADP's Digital Marketing Group: Cobalt, Dealix, and BZ Results. His leadership has built a juggernaut through innovations and sound business practices over the years.

The decision to keep Cobalt and BZ Results separate but under the same roof makes sense in some respects, but one has to question whether keeping tier 1 and 2 interests in mind with one hand will hurt the other hand focusing on tier 3.

What do you all think? Is this move going to be a good one for the individual dealers and dealer groups? Does this give them too much leverage for pushing down the destructive path (in my opinion) of making dealer websites more uniform, more vanilla? Will they be able to combine technologies and innovations between two of the trendsetting companies in the industry?

So many questions surround the deal. It's definitely a good deal for them and likely a great deal for the manufacturers. Where do dealers stand?