One of the biggest misconceptions in the automotive website business is that the more pages you have, the more leads your website will produce.  There are arguments in both directions, but one thing is definitely true:

The more QUALITY, LEAD-GENERATING pages you have, the more leads you're going to get.

This is not an entry into the debate over indexing inventory versus not.  That's an entire other post.  Today, let's explore the power and effectiveness of landing pages both as part of your website as well as outside of your website.

Onsite Landing Pages

Regardless of what your customers are searching for, they should be sent to a page that gives them what they're looking for, period.  End of story.  Having a landing page that is geared towards a specific model, a service product, or a specialty service that you offer will dramatically increase your website's ability to turn potential customers into buyers.  Instead of going into details here, I will just hit on a few points that you want to have on your landing page:

Contact form: This is imperative.  A landing page that does not have a contact form on it is worthless.  Having a button to a contact form is nearly as useless.  When someone lands on your page, you have a few seconds to convince them that you have what they want and you have to give them a way to get their information to you, all on one page.

Professional appearance: It amazes me when I hear that "it doesn't matter what it looks like."  Is this true for you?  Do you go to a page that offers something that you want and NOT take the appearance and professionalism into account?  Of course not.  It doesn't have to be super-fancy with flashing lights and zooming cars, but it should present a professional, trustworthy appearance that puts people at ease and compels them to submit a lead form.

Optimized, optimized, optimized: By far the biggest difference between what most companies offer and what we offer is that we actually optimize our landing pages to rank at the top for both competitive and specific keywords.  It doesn't matter how well a landing page is built if nobody goes there.  It is possible to have a landing page that is geared towards PPC marketing, but having one that is optimized can only help in the overall marketing plan of the landing page.

Offsite Landing Pages

An offsite landing page is very similar to one on your primary website.  The only difference is that you have the option of keeping it unbranded.  There is a segment of the population that does not like working directly with car dealers until the last possible moment.  They would rather go through a third-party site that will do (in their mind) most of the work for them ahead of time.  This is how many third-party lead providers generate the leads that they sell to you for $15-$25 each.

By creating an unbranded microsite like Used Cars New Hampshire, for example, you can relate to those who want a buffer between themselves and the dealers, at least in this stage of the buying process.

How Much?

We won't promote our product on this blog even though we (obviously) feel it is the best.  Instead, I just wanted to arm those considering a landing page with information that can help them make a decision.

Normally, you get what you pay for.  A $50 landing page is a $50 landing page.  It isn't sold for much because it isn't worth much.  On the other hand, a $10,000 landing page is a ripoff unless it comes with something very, very special (gold bars, perhaps).

When shopping, a good price range for a monthly program without SEO is $100-$250 per month.  With SEO, you should at least double that number.  Some sell them outright with an inexpensive hosting plan attached.  These should cost somewhere between $1500 and $3500 plus $10-$40 per month for hosting.

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Read more about automotive landing pages on this blog.

Every four years, many people hold their breath.  It's not their lungs that they tighten up - it's their pocketbooks.  Non-essential spending is pulled back and the car business takes the hit.

I'm talking about Election Day, of course.  When we decide as a country who to put in the White House, there is a natural tendancy for many to delay major decisions until after the results.  The funny part is that, regardless of who wins, those people who were waiting are still going to buy a vehicle regardless of which side they were on.

Call it the "Brace for Impact" philosophy.  Call it whatever you want.  People who need a car will buy a car.  Even if the election has very little impact on their purchasing decision, it's a common perception that it will, so people wait.  With the economy in its current state, this is probably amplified even more.

Get ready.  The flood gates will creep open slowly over the next couple of weeks.  Then, of course, we get into the Christmas holiday, but it will be followed by a new year, a new budget, and tax returns around the corner.  It's hard out there for many dealerships right now (especially those who don't have a killer website) but better times are ahead for the car business.

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Read more by Joe Turner on this TK Carsites blog.

One of the most perplexing aspects of working with special finance customers is that many are reluctant to give the information necessary to grant them a loan.  Just about everyone understands that you need a job, a social security number, and a residence to get a car loan, yet they are often hesitant to reveal this information, especially when they're visiting a dealer's website.

The average car dealer website only generates a handful of credit leads per month, yet many of our clients have seen over 1,000% increase in credit leads the first month they get our websites.  There are three reasons that our 30-Second Credit Application is more effective:

1. 3 Step Lead Capture - Our credit application is broken into steps with friendly video that walks prospects through the process.  If they finish step one but leave the application during the subsequent steps, you still get the important information in step one: name, phone number, email.
2. Flexible Interface - Some dealers capture a lot of data in the first step, opting for a more detailed picture of the customer.  Others use a simple 5-liner in the first step, then gather more information later.
3. Security - Our credit apps scream of security throughout the web page.  From the "https" designation to the clear VeriSign badge to the green security toolbar interface, it is very clear to consumers that their information is completely secure being submitted to you.

Instead of continuing with your long, intimidating form that only captures the lead after the customer has made it all the way through, consider following in the footsteps of one of our Tennessee Ford Dealers who is receiving 15X more credit leads than they were before they signed on with us.

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Read more articles by Jim Bradford on this automotive blog by TK Carsites.

As our company grows, I am able to get out into the field and talk face to face with clients and prospective clients more so than ever in our history.  In my travels, I have noticed a change in the mindset that many car dealers are using when it comes to their Internet department and their dealership as a whole.

It used to be that the Internet Sales Manager or BDC Manager was a salesperson or sales manager who had the strongest knowledge of the Internet.  This person would coordinate the leads, work with Internet vendors, and fix internal and external problems related to the web.

Now, we are seeing more and more dealers hire people from other industries, including IT, finance, and marketing, to come in and work with the technical side of automotive Internet marketing.  Other dealers are taking their current ISMs and getting them the training they need to be ahead of the curve.

Regardless of the way that dealers go, most are heading in the same direction: towards having an Internet department run by people who know more than just how to run Outlook and their ILM/CRM.  In this tough economy, it is so important to either have the right people in the right position or to enable those in the position to gain the proper knowledge necessary to effectively lead their departments from every angle.

What does this mean for car dealers, vendors, and the future?  As dealers staff their Internet departments with more tech-savvy people (or make their current people more tech-savvy) it will be more difficult for vendors to use "smoke and mirrors" to sell their products.  We have always taken pride in delivering quality, state-of-the-art products to our customers and exceeding expectations, so this latest trend is a breath of fresh air to me.  With 75% of people looking to the Internet for information when they are ready to purchase a vehicle, it makes sense to be equipped with tools that appeal to them and people to make the most out of these tools.

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Read more articles by Richard Valenta on Driving Sales.

When I was selling cars, I noticed something that was consistent at all of my dealerships.  When the Internet first started taking hold, car dealers were reluctant to spend money on it.  The scale was off for some reason.  They would cut corners and pinch pennies when it came to spending thousands of dollars on their website, marketing, online classified sites, and third-party lead providers.  While they were figuring out ways to spend less on the Internet, I was spending more... and smiling all the way to the bank.

For years, car dealers had no problem with dropping tens of thousands of dollars on television, radio, and newspaper, yet there was a stigma about marketing on the Internet, their virtual dealership, a marketing platform that people trusted that would draw more traffic in a day than their physical dealership could get in a week, even a month.  I always had the advantage over my competitors because I believed in 3 letters: SGS.

Now that I'm out of the retail end of the industry, I am happy to share my experiences.  Thankfully, more and more dealers are starting to listen.

SPEND LESS MONEY

With the economy in the position that it's in, most dealers are already in the process of doing this.  They are pulling back on their marketing budgets to compensate for a stale market.  Those who are not pulling back, who are attacking the issue with more marketing, may or may not be getting the results that they want.

The key to spending less money is to spend it well.  Return on investment (ROI) is the absolute key to success in these tough times.  With all of the options out there, no form of advertising has a stronger ROI than the Internet and specifically a dealer's primary website.

GET MORE LEADS

Leads are step one of a two-part goal for car dealers.  For the Internet or any aspect of advertising to be effective, it has to turn into leads.  Phone leads, email leads, walk-in leads -- whatever it takes to get a customer in contact with your dealership gives you the opportunity to convert that person from a shopper to a buyer.

People use the Internet in every phase of their car-buying experience until it is time to take delivery.  A study last week shows 75% of people use it.  It just makes sense that your website is the best possible place to get more leads.

SELL MORE CARS

Step two of the two-part goal is to make the sale.  Leads are great, but if you can't convert them into a sale, what's the point?  Again, this is where your Internet presence, your primary website, is the true path down the road to success.  This is where it amazes me the most.  Dealers will spend a ton of money on advertising mediums that cannot be tracked and do not produce results, yet they get conservative when it comes to their websites.

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The bottom line is this: the key to making it through these tough times and even exceeding all expectations lies in having the best possible website available.  You need one that converts, that can be found on the search engines organically, and that will portray your dealership in a way that makes people comfortable working with you.  It's the Internet.  A shopper can surf 10 websites and 10 inventories in an hour.  You cannot miss the opportunity when it's presented to you.

In my years in the car business, I was an early adopter of the Internet as my primary marketing source.  It just makes sense.  There is no reason to get cheap with your website.  A $500 website is a $500 website.  Take a look at all of the options and make sure that your current or future website provider has what it takes to meet the criteria.  If it means spending more money, then so be it.  Pull back from television or radio if you have to.  Drop your newspaper advertisement down from a full-page clip to a half-page clip.

Whatever you do, find a way to put the best website out there.  It's your virtual dealership.  It represents you online.  Make it count.

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Read more automotive articles by Joe Turner on this blog.

It's a tough market.  We all know that.  BusinessWeek paints a grim picture with two recent articles, one that shows that auto sales have been sliding for 11 straight months and another that shows a shakedown for domestic auto dealers.  For dealers to avoid being a statistic, they have to take the bull by the horns, roll up their sleeves, and do something that many have not done in a long time.

They have to take chances

This doesn't mean that car dealers need to bet their flooplan money on the ponies or start buying shares in AIG.  What they need to do if they want to have a chance in this volatile automotive market is to get out of the mentality that the Internet is something on the side and really dive in head-first.  It is an investment, and one that can truly make a difference in the level of success a dealership can enjoy.

You get what you pay for

With many manufacturers jumping on board with platform-based template website providers, a couple of points come to mind.  Sure, they're free or inexpensive, but are they effective?  What good is a website, even a free or cheap one, if it does very little in the way of driving leads (and sales) to you.

The other important consideration is probably not apparent unless you look at it from a 30,000 foot view.  Why do the manufacturers get on board with these website providers and marketing companies?  Are they concerned about the wellfare of their dealers, or is it an easy way to improve the bottom line of the manufacturer regardless of the effect on individual dealerships?

Think of it like this: from a marketing perspective, these platform templates are designed to keep everyone in their own little box.  Competition with other dealerships of the same manufacturer is not a good thing for the OEMs.  They want you to compete with their competing brands, not with each other.  In an ideal world, it would seem to make sense.  In the real world, the better your dealership is positioned above both your "friends" (other dealers for the same manufacturer) and your "enemies" (other manufacturer dealerships), the more likely that YOU and YOUR DEALERSHIP will enjoy tremendous success.

Make the committment

While it is good to have a manufacturer-provided website to get their leads and listings, a dealership that wants to succeed and not fall victim to the trends will step up, take a chance, and go with the best car dealer website available to them.  Will it cost more?  Probably.  Will it pay off for YOUR dealership?

Absolutely.

Read more from Jim Bradford on this blog.

The more I talk to car dealers, the more I realize that we are in the middle of a "breakout" age for marketing online.  We hear from so many Internet managers, general managers, and even owners about how they are ready to take their Internet marketing to the next level.

The question is, "What is the next level?"

With so many options available for getting inventories, branding, and additional services out to the masses, it can be a daunting task to choose how to spend the Internet marketing budgets properly.  Most dealers are starting to allocate more money to the Internet and less to traditional media, but the different options make putting together a proper strategy challenging.

Websites.  Microsites.  Online classifieds.  Vertical search.  SEO.  PPC marketing.  Banner advertising.  The list goes on and on.

As a biased participant in this, it's easy for me to say that the dealer's website is by far the most important component of their Internet marketing presence and that they should spend a good portion of their budget to create and compliment this factor.  As someone who has been working with the car business for over a decade, I can say that, regardless of which side I am personally involved, it just makes sense to put your website front and center, first and foremost when it comes to advertising on the Internet.

I've said it before: the primary dealer website is a "virtual dealership" that should be treated as its own distinct entity.  It should not be something that is thrown up by the cheapest possible vendor.  As we go forward in these tough times, putting your primary website first will be the key to success.

Read more by Richard Valenta on this blog.

The economy is down, but help is on the way.

Gas prices are high, but they seem to be looking better than they have in recent months.

Competition is tight, but both the OEMs and other dealers are doing things to bring that level down a bit.

Overall, it appears that the automotive industry is ready to be rejuvenated in the coming months.  Before the skeptic in all of us starts chiming in, consider the following points:

• People need cars.  The fact that fewer people have been making purchases lately does not change the fact that they need to.  It isn't that they have decided not to buy at all.  As with many markets, car buyers are simply holding out.  They are holding their breath, waiting to see what is going to happen next.  That is making it difficult now, but it's simply a bottleneck.  They will be buying again.  Soon.
• Lenders need people to loan money to.  It's their business.  With the credit crunch the way it is right now, it's hard to get the same paper bought that was being bought this time last year.  Financial institutions are tightening up, but this has happened before.  What happens when they tighten up?  Eventually, they have to open back up.  They can't survive without interest rolling in.  It's just a cycle.
• Technology is catching up.  Almost every OEM has exciting stuff coming down the pipe.  The rejuvination of the model lines and adjustments to appease a more frugal and gas-conscious consumer has elicited a response from the manufacturers to meet their needs.  With new models and new technologies comes old and new customers.
• The election is near.  Regardless of the winner, there will be an instant effect on the car business that will most likely be positive in the short term simply because it's a change.  It's symbolic.  Whether you are hoping for McCain or Obama, both represent a change from the current situation and will create some sort of boost in the industry.  How long that boost lasts will depend on the winner, but either way, the short term effect will most likely be positive.

Hang in there.  Times are bad now, but there are factors in play that are working on making it better.  It's not as far off as you probably think.

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Read more Insights about the Car Business on this blog.

One of the toughest "sells" to make to Owners, General Managers, and even Internet Managers is that they should treat their Internet Marketing the same way they treat their conventional marketing.  Having a website domain and putting a website on it is nearly the same as having a few acres of land and building a dealership on it.  It's the 21st century.  People enjoy getting their shopping information from the comfort of their home or office.

Your website, vertical search marketing, purchased leads, automotive microsites and landing pages,  email campaigns - all of them have their direct "mirror" in the real world.  In nearly all cases, the total ROI is much better on the Internet version than in real life.  In some cases, the actual resulting sales can be higher than in the "real world".

The real crux of the matter is that the sooner that a dealer realizes the correlation and starts treating the Internet as a microcosm of their actual dealership, the easier it will be for their Internet department to start converting contacts into leads and leads into sales.

Dealership Website is Your Physical Dealership Online

All dealerships have an inventory.  They display this inventory online.

Most dealerships have a service and parts department.  They should have a section of their website dedicated to service and parts.

Most dealerships have a finance department.  There should be a high-quality tool on their website that allows visitors to apply for car credit.

You get the picture.

The primary dealership website should be treated in the same way that the physical dealership is treated.  Customers who come to a lot are considered ups and are normally greeted with a process set up by the dealership for handling them.  Using the same mentality, a lead or phone-pop that comes from the website should be treated in the same fashion.  They are ups.  The goal is normally to take these "virtual ups" that we call leads and get them to come to the dealership.

This way works.  I would never deny it.  BUT, the way that leads are converted into kept-appointments has changed recently.  People want as much information as possible during this initial contact.  The dealership that offers them the selection and prices online have the opportunity to secure the most possible kept-appointments as long as the internet representatives treat them properly and get them the information that they need.

The days of "just come in and we'll talk" are behind us.

Vertical Search Marketing is Your Classified Advertising Online

Dealers are often faced with higher prices on their online classified advertising.  Sites like Cars.com, Autotrader.com, and AutoMart.com are realizing their value and taking advantage of it.  This can be expected.  Still, dealers are often reluctant to spend more money with these sites.  More importantly, they need to use these sites to direct traffic to their own websites.

As long as a potential customer is on a classified site, they have access to a huge inventory.  Any time you can take a visitor to these sites and bring them to your own site, you are taking the competition out of the equation.  Throughout your listings, you should include references to your own site.

"This Accord and 13 more are all available at www.yourdealerwebsite.com."

Yes, the prices are going up, but don't give up.  Think of how much money you spend on traditional classified advertising before considering pulling away from these other sites.

Purchasing Leads, Microsites, and Landing Pages are Your TV and Radio Ads

Sometimes, television ads can be effective.  Early on in the buying cycle, people are starting to pay attention to the deals, ratings, and incentives, and because they are passive at this stage (3-6 months before purchase) they are simply taking in the information.

The third party lead providers offer one avenue to grab these customers.  Because they offer best pricing from a wide variety of dealers, people are often willing to submit leads to these sites just to get a feel for the market.

Microsites and landing pages work in the same way.  The difference is that the leads are exclusive to your dealership and their is no middle-man taking a cut.  When people are mildly interested in learning about a vehicle, they will prefer these types of sites over dealer sites.  They aren't ready (in their own mind) to buy, so they are just doing research.

Getting your foot in the door at this stage can lead to sales down the road.  More importantly, many of the leads can be converted to sales more quickly than the customer imagined.  If you capture the lead, your team will have a chance to make a sale.  The key is getting it as inexpensively as possible.  Microsites and landing pages are the key.

Start Now

The market is compeitive.  Having a plan in place will help you now and in the future.  Build a website that presents all of your dealership's profit centers in their own separate venues.  Market your website through every channel available, especially online classified sites.  Finally, start looking into putting up some microsites and landing pages to capture the leads before they become someone else's.

It just makes sense.

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Read more about dealership marketing right here.

Sports Utility Vehicles seem to be a dying breed.  They will never die, of course, as many people still need the space and capabilities that are attached to them.

Still, the casual SUV buyer who simply liked the comfort, the way they look, the commanding view, the status, or a combination of these and other reasons are the ones who aren't buying them.  Gas approached $5.00 per gallon for a while and it scared people.  Sales dropped, then prices dropped, then sales continued to drop and the manufacturers started panicking.

For car dealers, now that gas has been on a steady price-drop trend for a little over a month, now is the perfect time to unload as much of your inventory as possible.  Using math and the promise of prudence (and comfort) and you will be able to succeed.

The Logic

This part is easy.  Anyone who is shying away from SUVs is a perfect candidate.  Ask them why they are avoiding the SUVs.  The answer, of course, will be gasoline prices 9 times out of 10.  Then, tell them that they are not alone, which is why the prudent shopper will consider now the perfect time to buy.  The market is stagnant.  While gas-economical vehicles are flying off the showroom floors at record rates for record prices, the once-hip SUV is an item of desperation for car dealers.

Pointing this out, then showing them the tremendous savings available both on new and pre-owned ones, and surely they'll see that there are benefits.  Still, they may not be ready for a test drive.

The Math

It's simple.  Assume a $4.50 price for gas, just to be conservative and above the national average to allow for increases.  Then, pull out your calculator.

For a Honda, let's say we have someone considering a Civic:

15,000 annual miles / 32 MPG Average / 52 weeks * $4.50 = $40.56 per week in gas

Now, look at the Honda Pilot:

15,000 annual miles / 18 MPG Average / 52 weeks * $4.50 = $72.11 per week in gas

That seems like a lot - $31.55 per week extra in gas mileage.

Wait a second.

We as a society pay for luxuries.  We pay for conveniences.  Ask your customer this: "Would you pay $30 per week to be more comfortable and have more conveniences?"

The Drive

Before they answer the question (since at this point, it is still probably a "no"), see if they would like to take a test drive in a Civic, then in a Pilot.  Obviously, the Pilot is going to cost more both in monthly payments as well as gas.  Still, at this point, if they're willing to drive it, they may be willing to consider it.

From there, it's just a matter of selling them on it.  They will look so much better in a nice SUV versus an economy vehicle.  They will be much more comfortable.  Their passengers will be much more comfortable.  Pound for pound, it may be the better deal overall.

This example uses the two extremes.  What if they are considering a Honda Accord?  Now the numbers become even more favorable.

Today, SUVs seem to be a dying breed.  The question is, can you capitalize on it.

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Read more about TK Carsites or stay on this automotive blog.