Automotive Internet Marketing Myths

May15
2012 View Comments Written by Andrew

Automotive dealers are having to manage an increasing complex online strategy.  But not all dealer solutions are effective as advertised.  Which ones can they trust and which ones are a myth?  Here are the ones that make me cringe when I hear a dealer tell me he is paying for this service.

Myth #1:  I had my site submitted to Google.  Google is a fully automated search engine.   Google will do it for you.  Just make sure you have a site map.

Myth#2  Keyword are important to search results.  There is a thing called “keyword density” and Google like to see a natural use of the words, about one keyword to every 40 words is a good rule of thumb.  Google will penalize you if they think you are “key word stuffing”.

Myth#3 One-time Optimization Services Work: Only for a short time.  Google likes fresh content.  Plus your competition is always working to improve their results.  Optimization is a process do a one-time activity.

Myth#4 No Follow Links are worthless:  Every link that brings human traffic is an asset to your dealership.  Having all your inventory listed on Craigslist, Backpage, and MyAutoSearch.com among others, with Anchor Text will give dealership’s site relevance.

Posted in Uncategorized

Lot Vantage Awarded Vendor of the Year 2011

Feb09
2012 View Comments Written by Andrew

“Congratulations to Lot Vantage on their outstanding service and dedication to Dunn Rite Auto and our customers”, said Mike Richardson, General Manager of Dunn Rite.

This award goes to the vendor which has out-performed all others in all categories which include sales, marketing, accounting, finance parts and service.  The award is voted upon by all managers and staff and represents all of Dunn Rite’s vendors.

Mr. Richardson said in a statement, “I would like to thank you and your staff at Lot Vantage for being responsible for 50% of our sales.  Over the last 12 months we’ve experienced a higher call volume and more interest in our inventory due to your program. Our clients continually praise our online presence.”

“We are honored by this award and appreciate the acknowledgement of Dunn Rite,” said Andrew Compton, with Lot Vantage.  “Winning this award is a testament to the Lot Vantage team and our commitment to provide our customers with superior quality and service.”

Lot Vantage provides automotive and Powersport dealers with an online marketing software to generate leads from classified sites, like Craigslist, Backpage.com, eBay Motors and others.

Posted in Automotive SEO

Craigslist Posting For Auto Dealers

Jan16
2012 View Comments Written by Andrew

Craigslist posting for auto dealers. The new Craigslist Posting 3.0 is a web-based app used by car dealers and powersport dealers to list their vehicles on Craigslist. Free templates, real-time view of traffic and much more. Visit www.lotvantage.com or call 866-881-3229 for a free demo.

Watch this YouTube Demo: http://youtu.be/iUmWy7oPzF8

 

Posted in Automotive SEO

How to Build a Competitive Advantage

Sep07
2011 View Comments Written by Andrew

Many Internet Managers are uncomfortable with the word, exploit.  They assume it’s something black hat and used by hackers.  But the definition of the word means:  to use something to ones own advantage.

For auto dealers in general its critical to identify, capture and exploit marketing opportunities that increase sales and add profits.  For Internet Managers specifically they must leverage every part of the system and every piece of data for a specific purpose.  The big picture focus should be: Traffic, Leads and Deals.

The words exploit and leverage have two distinct meanings.  Leverage is about automation, being more productive and increasing profits with the less operating cost.  Dealers lose money when sales volume does not meet the break even point and that is the monthly concern for General Managers.   Automation is the natural outcome of a wise Internet Manager strategy to exploit all opportunities available and to keep the GM happy.

The Internet Manager has these 5 major areas to exploit:  Web Analytics, Campaign Analytics, Data Base Management (CRM), Campaign Optimization, and Search Engine Optimization.  Exploiting these should be his daily focus.

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Used Car Prices Rising Again

Aug18
2011 View Comments Written by Andrew

RVI Group, an automotive industry analyst, reports used car prices are climbing this summer.  The report indicates prices are up 16% year to date, and rose 1.1% in July.

Historically low wholesale supply combined with increasing new car prices is pushing up the price on used cars.  As my dad always said… “A rising tide lifts all ships.”  So as the prices of new cars goes up, it takes the price of used cars with them.

The smallest increase was in Full-Size SUV’s up only 3%, while the sub-compact market is up a whopping 41% for the year.  Not surprising with the volatility in the price of oil.

As commodity prices continue to rises, uncertainty in the job market, and overall feeling of pessimism, prices for used cars should continue to trend upward for the year.

What does this mean to the astute used car dealer?  I would recommend finding opportunities to buy vehicles away from the wholesale market and auctions.  Many of my dealers are having success marketing the slogan..

“We’ll buy your car, even if you don’t buy ours.”

We’ve place this in banner on their Craigslist ads and its driving seller to their lot.  The upside benefit is they are  also selling cars to these sellers.  Which is a true, win-win.

Posted in Uncategorized

Get More Facebook Likes For Auto Dealers

Aug15
2011 View Comments Written by Andrew

Dealers are aware there’s value in Facebook,  but it seems the question I am most often asked is….”How can I get more Facebook likes?”

To build a fan base you simply need to use a little creativity.  One way is to encourage off-line customers visiting your dealership to like your Facebook page while they are in your showroom.  You can place signage in the showroom or even have an iPad available and open on your Facebook page so its easy for your customers to “like”.  Dealers can encourage customers with a small reward, like a coupon for an oil change or gas card.

Remember Facebook is designed to connect people, not to purchase.  Selling cars on Facebook should not be the goal, that’s for your website and Craigslist.  The goal should be to make it easy for your customers to engage with you, and their network.

Is your dealership’s Facebook page getting results?  Have you been able to sell cars on Social Media?

 

 

Posted in Social Media

Automotive Lead Generation

Jul31
2011 View Comments Written by Andrew

The significant reduction in leads from traditional advertising over the last couple of years represents a huge strain for dealerships and is forcing an evaluation of long standing relationships with ad agencies.  Agencies providing direct marketing services to auto dealerships are finding they must incorporate more digital solutions to their offerings.  All research indicates a transformation to digital solutions will grow in 2011 and beyond.

A trend I’ve notice in the last 12 months is for firms working for automotive dealers to integrate digital media campaigns into the traditional marketing mix. This adds a synergy by combining tactics.  Blending digital, with TV and print allows dealers to reach hard to find audiences.  Using myself as an example, I rarely watch traditional TV, if I do, its a program recorded on DVR or Netflix.  When I’m ready for my next car purchase, traditional TV will not influence my purchase decision.

When a dealership combines campaigns across digital media, they  improve the frequency and coverage, with a consistent creative message.  Content on Craigslist that matches traditional advertising is proving to be a new path to purchase for auto dealers.  By matching the other marketing efforts it becomes more memorable, while saving production cost, creating synergy. It is well documented that the greater the number of channels a dealership markets to, the greater number of the leads they receive.  Developing low cost lead sources is the challenge auto dealers and agencies face together.

Lot Vantage is focused on providing high quality, low cost leads for auto dealers.  As such we have helped many service providers offer digital lead generation solutions to their existing automotive clients.  We provides a full suite of digital offerings that address the top issues facing ad firms and their auto dealership clients.  Lot Vantage can be marketed as a private label reseller giving firms the ability to better address the dealership digital needs and also developing new revenue streams for the advertising firm.

Posted in Online Leads

Why Pay for Third Party Leads

Jul29
2011 View Comments Written by Andrew

I was asked recently, “Andrew should my dealership pay for third party leads?”

I said.. “There’s no question third party leads can increase the number of opportunities a dealer has to work with, but the big questions remains; What’s the return on investment and will this investment generate cash flow for the dealership or just generate work?”

What I find funny is how some third party lead providers can sell an inquiry to a dealer at a price point high enough for the lead provider to run PPC campaigns to generate the lead.  These pay per clicks ads direct car buyers to a website controlled by the lead provider and they sell them to the highest bidder.

Dealers should be aware they have more tools available than third party leads.

The problem with third party leads are there can be duplicate leads, unqualified leads and the information given may not be accurate.  If you’re following up with unqualified buyers or the phone numbers are wrong, you can spin your wheels by creating work for your staff.  Keep in mind a good closing percentage for third party leads is 10%-20%.  Don’t commit to a high volume of leads until the closing rate has been established.

At the end of the day… buying leads has its place but dealers need to validate the ROI.  The future for car dealers is learning to generated leads a cost low enough to create a competitive advantage.  Remember the old Chinese proverb…Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Lot Vantage provides lead generation for auto dealers.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Online Leads

What Every Dealer Should Know About SEO.

Jul25
2011 View Comments Written by Andrew

It seems today anyone with a computer and Google Analytics is an automotive SEO guru.  Talking with a dealer over the weekends, which is what I do all day everyday, I heard a  ridiculous story how this so called guru sold my buddy one big fat lie after another.

Below are some of the “mistaken information” he told me.

1. Meta Tags Improve Page Rank:  If someone offers to “optimize your meta tags”, realize they don’t know what they’re talking about.  Yes I admit it sounds great. But Google admitted a few years ago they no longer use meta tags to influence page rank.  The greatest value for meta tags are the descriptions for results pages on Google.  They should be accurate and compelling, but won’t improve page rank.

2.  XML Site Map :  I need a XML Site map to move up in the rankings.  This is a useful tool for a site to have, but Google will not reward you with improved search results.  There are many more important things to focus on and definitely don’t spend big money on a site map.

3. Site Submission will Improve Results:  Google will crawl and index your dealer’s website regardless.  If the site is search engine friendly Google finds it automatically.  No manual or re-submission is required.  Look at my blog post “Call Tracking For Auto Dealers”, dated July 15, 2011.  Do a Google search for that phrase and you’ll will find a page one result.

4. More Links equals better results: There are “link farms” on the web that can actually penalize a website.  A link farm is a site that is nothing more than a page of links to other sites. Google considers link farms spam, and exchanging reciprocal links on these sites will have a negative impact.

5.  Content is King:  Contrary to most “Guru’s” suggestions I believe content is not King, but an equal partner among other key players.  You can’t expect buyers to find you simply by having content.  You need relevant inbound links, timely content updates, content relevant to search terms and domain strength.

I’m not an SEO expert, but I am an expert on the subject of online marketing.  SEO is one part of the puzzle and for auto dealers it can be tedious, I know it is for me.

Auto Dealers beware the reason there are so many Gurus today is because charlatan is too hard to spell.

 

Posted in Automotive SEO

Facebook for Car Dealers

Jul20
2011 View Comments Written by Andrew

For most auto dealers navigating Facebook can be tricky subject.  For other dealers it’s a flat out waste of time.  For you it should be another channel that you embrace to build your reputation and promote your dealership.

What you can’t expect is to throw up a Facebook fan page and think people will “like” you because you created a page.  You need something social and enter-active that keeps people engaged and coming back for more.

Facebook is great for images and videos, so it’s a smart move to post photos of customers, new inventory, and coupons or promotions.  Photo contest where fans vote for prizes are common.  And driving sales can be as easy as just adding a coupon on your Facebook fan page.

It’s important for auto dealers to promote their Facebook activity.  The easiest way to do this is post a photo of every new customer, add them to your fan page at the dealership and have them post to their wall about their recent purchase.  This way your using the social network and now their friends and their friends, friends will be exposed to your dealership.

Lot Vantage’s Facebook app was designed to automate the Facebook experience.  Create promotions, coupons and post vehicles directly to your fan page from Lot Vantage.  It’s a social media app for auto dealers designed to increase traffic, attract more qualified leads, and boost sales.

Posted in Social Media
« Older Entries

 

May 2012
M T W T F S S
« Feb    
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  

Archives

Facebook Like Box

Share Plugin