Car Dealer Websites

Everyone can use a little help sometimes.  Here are some sites that offer insights, advice, and helpful tips that anyone who is a part of the Internet side of automotive sales can use.

Dealer Refresh - Jeff Kershner’s excellent blog that offers car dealers a place to hear news and sound off about it.  Many dealers populate this blog on a regular basis, so it also acts as a forum for Internet Sales Managers to discuss issues and challenges.

Dealer ISM - A newer websites for Internet Sales Managers, it is quickly emerging as one of the best places to get up-to-date advice about being an ISM in today’s competitive internet auto market.

Internet Sales Managers by TK - TK Carsite’s articles designed to help Internet Sales Managers make good decisions and run their departments properly, regardless of who their automotive website designer is.

ISM Today - More of a media site, it offers interesting articles and press releases related to the internet business for car dealers.  Often updated, it is the first stop for ISMs looking for press releases about their industry.

Auto Dealers Network - A social network for those in the automotive industry.  Pretty much brand new, but still with great articles and greater insight.

Whether you are an internet sales manager looking for an edge or a GM looking for the latest trends to discuss with your ISM, these websites should offer the best information out there for you.  Be active, stay in touch, and absorb everything you can from these pages.

If you aren’t on top of things, you’re falling way behind without even knowing it.

Dealership Info

More and more car dealers are starting Google AdWords, Yahoo! Marketing, and Live Sponsored Search accounts.  They plug in their keywords, make their bids, and wait for the links.  In many ways, it works.

In more ways, it doesn’t.

What many dealers are finding is that they are getting leads that end up duplicating through their 3rd party leads.  What does this mean?  At least for new car leads, it means that the dealer is getting into a bidding war with other dealers because the people clicking on their ad are also clicking on other sites.

Is this good?  Of course.  A car buyer is a car buyer, regardless of how competitive their lead is.  Getting in front of someone who is interested in getting the best possible deal and who is willing to get multiple quotes from multiple sources is still taking a very inexpensive shot at earning their business.

Still, there has to be a better way.  This is where many paid marketing services earn their fees — in finding the searches, clicks, and conversions that the competitors aren’t targeting.  What does this mean?  It means that a good SEM compaign will yield not only more leads, but better quality leads because they are finding the keyword phrases that have limited, targeted traffic being drawn.

For car dealers, it isn’t just going after makes and models.  Sometimes the best campaigns target word combinations that are not always on the tip of the dealers’ minds.  Here are some common searches with which most dealers are not marketing.

“First Time Car Buyers” with a landing page that discusses the programs that the dealer offers for financing.

“Good Gas Mileage Cars” with a landing page that lists cars and the gas mileage of vehicles that the dealer offers.

“(metro area) Oil Change” with a landing page that lists specials for service.

 These keywords with very specific ad copy that denotes that they are clicking on a car dealer is the way to get inexpensive leads that convert into traffic and eventually sales.  Dealers that hire someone to do this (or do it themselves) are the ones who are getting the most out of their oranges.

Dealership Info

Many car dealers fell into the trap of “flash is trash” set by some automotive website providers.  While a website should not be so overwhelmed with flashy items that it takes a long time to load, the increase of high speed internet connections makes it possible and even important for auto dealers to start getting better at marketing their products online.

It’s a shame that many car dealer website providers don’t offer high quality custom automotive websites to their clients.  As car buyers, we want the simplicity of being able to click on and view the inventory immediately, but we also want something that speaks to the personality of the dealership.

 A website is often the first impression that a customer receives about a dealership.  It isn’t like people are visiting dealer websites every week.  Normally, we only do it when we are considering buying a car ever 2-4 years, so it makes sense that a car dealer’s website should show more about the dealership than just a listing of their inventory and a way to make contact.

 For many car dealer websites, it isn’t even easy to find a way to contact them.

An example of a good, attractive-but-not-too-flashy website is Pennsylvania Roush Dealers.  They make it easy to get to the inventory, but they still offer an opportunity for people to enjoy surfing the site and gathering information about the dealership.

Another great one is Los Angeles Honda.  As you can see, there is no need to click on anything if you want to see the inventory.  For those who want to explore, it’s as simple as clicking the inventory closed and being able to navigate the site.

Car dealers, don’t make your websites boring.  Car shoppers, if you find a boring one, please let the dealer know.  If they aren’t told, they won’t know that they can improve their users’ experience.



Dealership Info