Dealer Revenue

Are Internet Banner Ads Worth the Cost?

Marketing, both online and traditional, is only effective if the intended audience actually pays attention to your message.  It’s also important that your marketing be effective at persuading consumers to purchase from your dealership.  If your marketing efforts aren’t seen by consumers or don’t have an effect on them, you might as well be throwing that money away. 

Internet banner advertising is ignored by 46% of the participants in a Harris Interactive study.  This means that almost half of web users that see your dealership’s Internet banner ads are blocking them out and not paying attention to your message.  That's a pretty ineffective way to reach your customers.

Even more problematic was the finding that only 1% of participants believed Internet banner ads to be the most helpful advertising medium when making buying decisions.  Barely anyone turns to (or trusts) banner ads when looking for information related to purchasing.

Instead of throwing this part of your marketing budget away, it makes much mores sense to reallocate it to marketing techniques that actually earn your dealership sales.  Search engine optimization (SEO) for your car dealer website or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising are considered more trustworthy and are less likely to be ignored than banner ads.  Take a deeper look at the effectiveness and ROI of all of your marketing campaigns, and only fund those that are earning your auto dealership real sales.

Ways Auto Dealers Can Ask for a Referral

Everyone wants referrals, but a lot of salespeople are reluctant to ask for them.  It can be off-putting to some customers, and there seems to be a sense that if a referral comes without having to ask for it, it is more "deserved."  There is nothing wrong with asking for a referral from customers that are satisfied after doing business with your dealership.  Here are some creative ways to make asking for the business of your customer’s friends, family, and colleagues:

Expectation:  After the sale of a car, tell each customer that you expect they'll be satisfied with the process, and will check back with them in 30, 60, or 90 days to ask them if they know of anyone else who needs a new vehicle with a hassle-free experience and superb follow-up.  Of course, fit this to your dealership, and make sure that you actually do follow through with this promise.

Giveaway:  A lot of dealerships already send coupons, promotions, or discounts to their existing customer base through email.  Add some text instructing those customers to feel free to forward the email newsletter (including the discount) to anyone that might need it.  Your customers will refer their loved ones to your dealership while looking like the good-guys by saving them money.

Refunds:  Although this is essentially buying referrals, doing it in a round-about way makes it a little more interesting.  Tell satisfied customers that you will offer a certain percentage off of their next bill (service, parts, purchase, etc) for each referral they send to the dealership.  This allows you to track who is sending the most new customers to your dealership (they'll have to tell you who sent them in order for the referrer to receive the discount), and they'll be more likely to get their vehicle serviced with your dealership, bringing in additional money.

Asking for referrals from satisfied customers doesn't have to be painful.  Try asking in a different manner, or put a creative spin on rewarding those who refer customers to your dealership.

Using Online Marketing to Raise Dealer Website Conversion

On Tuesday, I wrote about how website design, content, navigation, and technical problems can affect your auto dealership website conversion rate.  Your online marketing efforts can also affect the rate at which traffic on your car dealer website converts into leads.  Here's how:

• Keyword Selection (SEO & PPC): People who use search engines expect to find websites that are related to the keywords they used.  If your car dealership websites show in the search engine results for un-related terms, this will almost always result in a lower conversion rate.  This is true for keywords in both search engine optimization and in your pay-per-click ad words.  Make sure your dealership is only bidding on keywords that are related to your industry and website to help lower your bounce rate. 
  
  The more frequently your site shows up for longer tail search terms (like “Richmond Nissan Altima 2009,” as opposed to “Richmond Nissan dealer”), the higher your conversion rate should be.  Having content that brings in more long tail search traffic can both raise your traffic volumes AND increase the rate at which it converts to a lead, since the incremental traffic will convert at a higher rate than your general website traffic.
• Title Tags and Meta Descriptions:  Your auto dealer website provider should be able to help you set these two SEO-related items.  If the description of your website that shows in the search engine results doesn't truly reflect your website, the people that click through will quickly click off.  Also, you may be losing valuable traffic that would click on your website if the description were accurate.
• Ad Copy: If your dealership is using pay-per-click marketing (PPC), the content of your ads is very important.  When you partner with a car dealer PPC management vendor, your ad content should be optimized to maximize your conversion rate.  If not, make sure the copy is relevant to the keywords being bid on, your dealership, and the auto industry.

Every piece of your website, including online marketing, can contribute to your site's conversion rate.  Talk to your online marketing partner to make sure your SEO and PPC efforts are reducing, not adding to, your dealership website's conversion rate.

Up Your Dealership Website Conversion Rate

The conversion rate of a dealership's website is the most commonly used metric to measure the success of a website's success at generating leads.  Conversion rates are usually expressed as the percentage of traffic that submits a lead to your website.  Obviously, the higher the conversion rate, the better it is for your auto dealership.

Most analytics tools calculate conversion rate information, but they don't tell you how to work on increasing your conversion rate.  Here are a few things you should do to increase your conversion rates:

• The Look:  This depends, mainly, on your website provider.  Sites that are too busy, too colorful, or just unappealing to viewer’s eyes will prompt a quick click off of the page.  Make sure that your website looks clean, nice, and un-offensive.

• The Content: It's important that your website contains valuable information.  For auto dealers, this typically means that your inventory descriptions are worthwhile and complete.  It could also mean that you have a blog that offers information that car buyers can actually use.  Don't just stuff keywords into your dealership site; make sure the content is worth reading.

• Ability to Navigate: This often goes hand in hand with website design.  If a visitor can't easily determine how to find the information they are looking for, they'll click to another dealer website.  Make sure your navigation bar is clear and that the most important sub-pages can be reached with just one click from your home page.

• Technical Issues:  Your website should be built so that the majority of web users can view all components.  If someone has to download a program to view something, chances are they'll click off.  The same goes for pages that don't load quickly enough, or not at all.

Make sure that your dealership website has valuable content, looks appealing, loads properly and is easy to use.  Work with your auto dealer website provider to ensure that your site is properly set up to increase your conversion rates.

On Thursday, I'll write about how to use your marketing efforts to increase your website conversion rate.

Auto Dealerships Paying For Website Analytics

Being able to access and understand website analytics is incredibly important to running a successful automotive dealership website.  If you don’t understand how well your website is performing, you can't tell how successful you are or possibly could be.

A recent study by Marketing Pilgrim found that US businesses plan to spend $953 million on web analytics by 2014--a 17% compound growth rate annually.  That is a huge chunk of change, but its small compared to the benefit that great web analytics can provide for a car dealer website.

Google Analytics can track and measure some of the information you need to assess your website’s performance.  Take a look at what the program has to offer, at least as a supplement to your existing web analytics package.  However, more important is the information that your auto dealer website provider should offer you.  Google Analytics is not optimized for the car dealer website industry, and there are many important outcomes to track that either take some technical expertise to track, or that require Google Analytics expertise to measure properly.

Ideally, you will work with an interactive marketing company to help you get the full value of your web analytics and integrate your website information with your lead and even sales databases.  Make sure that this reporting platform gives you the ability to track visitors, leads, and sales by keyword, referral source, and even the pages each visitor viewed.  If your website provider doesn't give you the ability to track these things, chances are you have to pay for it--and that's just a waste of money your dealership could be spending somewhere else.

Check with your car dealer website provider to see what reporting features they offer.  If it isn’t enough to fulfill your analytics needs, consider partnering with a provider that gives you the reporting platform you need.  This should free up money your dealership can use elsewhere.

Online Directory Tips for Auto Dealers

Web directories tend to have a bad reputation.  While it's true that a lot of online directories are full of spam and worthless links, with a little research and selection, it is possible to find directories that will help your dealership website.

Look for local directories.  Does your community have a local business directory?  This is a great place to submit your dealership website.  Not only will you receive local, relevant traffic, but it is highly unlikely that any of the links on these pages are spam.

Look for directories with a high Google page rank.  Google will give websites that they trust a higher page rank than those they do not.  Submitting your dealership website to a directory that Google realizes is mostly spam may not help your dealership's search engine ranking.  Also, websites with a higher page rank will pass some of that rank onto your site when you link to them.

Look for directories that contain trusted, highly reputable websites.  This is one way to help determine which directories are useful and helpful.  If you haven't heard of any of the websites listed, chances are the directory doesn't have much worth for your dealership.

The same rules apply for any linking your dealership website does.  Local sites with a high Google page rank are great websites for your dealership to exchange links with.  When you find the right websites, using link building and online directories are valuable ways to increase your dealership's search engine presence.

Finding Value in your Dealership Competitor's Keywords

Ever wish you could see into your competitor's website analytics software?  I can't imagine a business that would turn that down, however unlikely an offer it may be.  There is a website, however, that will give you some insight into some of the website analytics of the sites your dealership competes with--Compete.com.

Compete.com allows you to enter various website and then see your website traffic compared with the competitors you have chosen.  One of the most helpful tools on Compete.com is the ability to see the top keywords for the websites you chose to compare.

Your dealership can use this data to supplement your dealership's PPC and SEO campaigns.  If a dealership down the street is gaining a lot of traffic from a certain keyword that you aren't using, it can be helpful for your dealership to rank well for those words.

Another great source of data on Compete.com is the section that shows which websites refer the most traffic to each website.  If your dealership competitor's are getting a ton of traffic from a certain search engine or affiliate site, make sure your dealership website has a presence there as well to avoid losing your share of traffic.

Try playing around with Compete.com to see what information you can find out about the websites your dealership competes with.  Just keep in mind, your competitors have access to the same information, so make sure you use it to it’s full potential.

Car Inventory Videos Help Target Your Market

Knowing how different groups of people use the Internet can help your auto dealership effectively target your online marketing and earn more sales.  When you take the time to segment and understand your market, it becomes easier for your dealership to send the right message to the right people at the right time, resulting in more sales for your dealership.

It seems as though one of the factors that most determines how users browse the Internet is gender.  eMarketer recently conducted a study that found slightly more women say they use the Internet than men.  The study also found that men tend to browse the Internet longer per online session that women do.  One reason for this increase in online engagement for men could be that men are more interested in watching online videos than women are.

Your dealership can use this information to better target men who may be shopping your dealer site for their next car.  Try adding videos of your new and used inventory to increase the amount of time your web visitors spend viewing your inventory.  Online video will also help satisfy those car shoppers who spend their time online watching videos.

This is one example of how knowing what your market wants can help your dealership sell more cars.  Placing videos of your dealership inventory on your dealer website can help increase the time that web visitors spend on your site, as well as how engaged they are while viewing your videos.  If you dealership isn't taking full advantage of car inventory videos, you are missing out on potential sales.

Long-Tail Keywords for Auto Dealerships

It's pretty clear that consumers are becoming more sophisticated in their search engine usage and that car dealer websites should be getting a higher percentage of their search traffic from long-tail keywords over time.  What isn't always clear is how to determine which long-tail keywords your car dealer websites should try to rank for.

Your auto dealer website provider should be able to track, monitor, and optimize your website for the proper long-tail keywords.  Ask your account manager to see a report of your top keyword phrases and if they’re generating leads.  You should understand what percentage of your total car dealer websites traffic (visits) and conversions (leads) come from natural search and from your branded keywords vs. your platinum phrases vs. your longtail keywords.  If you cannot get this information readily yourself, or if you have a fairly "hands-off" website vendor, here are some tips on how to research the best long-tail keywords for your dealer website:

Analytics Software--This could include either a third party analytics program or the one that is included in your website package.  You should be able to track which keywords led to which visits, leads, and sales.  This will allow your dealership to focus on the long-tail keywords that are actually leading to dealership sales.

Check Search Engine Rankings for Primary Keywords--Type the keywords that your dealership website already ranks well for, and take a look at the keywords around it.  For example, when I searched for "Nissan Dealer", the descriptions included "Nissan car dealer," and "local Nissan dealership."  These are potential longer-tail keywords that your potential customers could be searching for.  Play around with this technique, but be careful not to go too far.  Don't try to optimize your dealer website for unrelated terms.

Talk to a car dealer online marketing expert.  At DealerOn.com we have a team of online marketing specialists who can readily help you size your local search market and can quantify and focus your keyword process to maximize your search exposure.  We do this as a service to the auto dealer industry.

 

Managing Bad Dealership Reviews Online

Receiving a bad review of your auto dealership from time to time is almost unavoidable.  Given the volume of people your dealership staff interacts with on a daily basis (in-store, online, over the phone), one or two are bound to be unhappy with their experience.  Even with that information, the occasional bad review still strikes fear in almost every business person.  Here are some tips on how to deal with the bad reviews that may pop up online from time to time:

Respond with a neutral frame of mind.  If you give a passionate response right off the bat, you run the risk of further angering the bad reviewer.  Find out what the problem is first, and then respond appropriately.

Ask what you can do to fix the problem.  If possible, take care of this offline.  If it is an anonymous poster, give them your contact information.  If not, contact the poster and attempt to rectify the situation.

If the review is unreasonable and untrue, consider responding online.  Try not to defend your position or tell the poster they are wrong; simply express an alternative side of the story.  Be careful using this method, as it can easily spin out of control and be more damaging to your dealership's reputation.

If the review is personal, completely unfounded, or illegal, consider taking action.  See what, if any, control the website gives your dealership, or in extreme cases, consult a lawyer.  However, these types of personal reviews are typically seen at face value by consumers, so doing nothing may be the best course of action.

Bad reviews will happen; it's a part of doing business.  What will truly set your dealership apart from the rest is how you respond to these reviews.