According to a recent study today by J.D. Powers and Compete consumers spend more time on third party websites in the 6 months prior to purchase than manufacturer website. According to a press release issued today:
“In each of the discrete six months preceding vehicle purchase, greater proportions of buyers visit third-party websites, compared with manufacturer websites, although this changes during the actual month of purchase. In the month of purchase, visitation to manufacturer websites increases to match visitation of third-party websites, with 31 percent of all new-vehicle buyers visiting each type of website.”
What is not being said in this press release is why third party sites are so strong? Some answers are obvious like the results of strong traditional advertising campaigns from sites like Cars.com, Autotrader.com, and Edmunds.com.
But the back story is that car dealer websites are being pushed off Google Page One, in their own towns, by larger inventory and content consolidation websites. Car dealers have little knowledge and strategy to compete against these powerful website platforms which increases the competition for local shoppers to be matched with their cars directly.
The fact that consumers are using third party websites means that your digital marketing strategy must include them. The key decision that I see from this report is what are the best third party websites to list your cars that will place your cars in front of active shoppers and generate leads.
The choice of third party websites is critical since many cross sell and collect leads which are sold to your competitors using your own inventory. Other third party sites are over burdened with banner advertising which also impact leads that are routed to dealers. Your cars are a valuable assets so make sure you inspect how they are being presented.
Free Is Not Free
One of the most powerful stories in the automotive industry is the negative impact on car dealer’s business model by participating in “free” inventory advertising on third party websites. Some dealers I have analyzed have their inventory pushed to over 8 different “free” sites.
When I show these dealers that by participating in mass third party marketing their own website no longer appears on Google Page One for a year, make and model search in their own town, they look puzzled. Yes, their own decisions are hurts their Internet search visibility and they are not be rewarded my more leads from each site.
Where Is Your Inventory Posted?
I encourage readers to track down all the places where your inventory is being advertised and check your CRM for lead volume from these third parties. If the lead volume, calls or walk-in traffic cannot identify successful sales from these third party sources, I would terminate their feeds.
Dealers will be surprised to see where their inventory is being pushed and also some will find that their inventory has been scraped and stolen.
To see where your cars are being advertised pick five cars that have been in stock for at least 30 days and search Google for their VIN#. If you see websites listing your cars that you have never authorized, your inventory may have been scraped or pushed out without your permission.
Another fact from the J.D. Powers / Compete.com study was this:
“Among buyers who visit third-party websites, inventory search is the most popular website tool, with 25 percent of buyers accessing this type of information. Among buyers who visit manufacturer websites, vehicle building tools are used most frequently (29%).”
This result from the study should make all car dealers ask how easy is it for consumers to search or build cars on your website. Some websites that I have seen make consumers jump through hoops to get a list of cars that they want to purchase.
Manufacturer Websites Still Popular
According to the press release:
“Among the 77 percent of new-vehicle buyers who use the Internet in the shopping process, more than two-thirds (68%) visit at least one manufacturer website in the six months leading up to purchase, while a larger percentage—nearly eight in 10—visit at least one third-party website. “
To read the entire press release visit this link and then share what your reactions are to this study?





Brian Pasch is the CEO of the Pasch Consulting Group and an active writer for the automotive community. You can also reach Brian at 732-450-8200 or by visiting 













Erin Touponse is the President of ElmGroup Consulting, a company dedicated to the New Media Marketing. Erin is also the Director of Communications for the Harte Auto Group.





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