Guest Posting by Rebecca Lieb

Everyone’s Local Somewhere

As far back as 2004, local search accounted for up to 25 percent of commercial activity on the Web, according to a Kelsey Group study. No wonder large and small players alike have been striving to build a better local search mousetrap. Of all the large and small search verticals out there, local is the fastest-growing and probably, most important.

It’s not hard to understand why. A dealership in Des Moines may have a Web presence, but it’s unlikely he’ll be selling cars in Cleveland. If your engine needs a tune up in Denver, a mechanic in Pittsburgh isn’t what you need now. The major search engines know this, in fact. Various geolocation technologies are baked into their algorithms. So when someone shopping for a Honda Element in Des Moines searches for a “Honda dealership,” one of the Big Three search engines is likely to figure out where she is (IP addresses are one indicator) and shove that local dentist’s site to the top of the results.

Pretty neat, right?

Well, it works for the dealer the search engines knows is in Des Moines, and therein lies much of the wisdom when it comes to optimizing for local search: defining locality.

Integration as defined on Dictionary.com:  an act or instance of combining into an integral whole. Okay…that doesn’t really help.  How about Wikipedia?  Awesome - they have an entry for “System Integration”:  is the bringing together of the component subsystems into one system and ensuring that the subsystem function together as a system. There’s a lot more here.

That’s the web-technical definition, but why the hell am I writing about it?  Jeff and I get on the phone when one of us is taking a long drive because we have longer phone calls than most friggin’ women do!  Yesterday evening Jeff was on the road and we had a few things to discuss about DealerRefresh.  After we got some house keeping out of the way, we started discussing the various things we’ve been tackling at work lately - no bosses - we’re not sharing information (for those of you who don’t know, Jeff and I actually have some competing stores).  We were discussing the different problems we have in diagnosing inventory issues and somehow that led to the integration topic.  After debating over who is currently dealing with more BS around getting systems to cooperate, I ended up volunteering to write this article (is that what happens when you deal with a ton of BS?).  Anyway, that’s how we got here.

Could we be looking at the new Google AdWords expandable product listings?

Google has been testing this new expandable product listing for sponsored ads across the board  with other vertical markets. Have you seen it?

Some worry that these new expandable ads will push the natural ads too far down the page but I think this could be a great win for dealers. Imagine a long tail keyword search resulting in the exact (or close to) vehicle you’re looking for right on the first page of your Google search. Imagine being able to serve up your inventory in this fashion!

This is taking Google base to the next level. Who said Google base was dead?

Are you thinking about bringing someone into your dealership full-time for online marketing initiatives?

If you aren’t, maybe you should. Considering that dealerships need to not only be versed in SEO and SEM but also analytics, reputation management, video SEO and social media, it seems only natural to bring someone in to do internet marketing full-time.

Over the last few years, I’ve seen more and more companies, large and small, go this route. In fact, for larger companies, it’s at the point where they’re building out teams of internal marketing employees. This may be happening for a number of reasons:

• Dissatisfaction with agencies and third-parties
• Difficulty justifying the cost of outside resources
• Diminishing or unsatisfactory returns
• All of the above

Bringing someone into the dealership full-time may not fix all of these problems, but there are some definite advantages. With an in-house person, you:

• Can talk directly to the employee at anytime (there is reduced risk of miscommunication).
• Work with someone who always has your best interests in mind.
• Shift the focus on the quality of traffic, not the traffic itself. ROI rules.
• Create quicker turnaround times for changes in strategy, budget, etc.
• Enjoy readily available expertise for quick questions, thoughts, etc.

Are dealers ready for this?

What do you look for in these employees, and where do you find them?

Are dealerships ready to hire someone as a full-time internet marketing manager (Note: “Sales” is not in the title.), or is the position simply a passing phase?

About the Arthor: Dan Perry is the SEO Manager for Cars.com. He also has his own interesting Golf [slash] Internet Marketing Blog.

Search Engine Marketing has been around since the early 2000s and has quickly become a billion dollar advertising system for eCommerce.  It is one of the most measurable and cost-effective advertising medias available.  On the dealership side of the automotive world, Search Engine Marketing is still in its infancy.  Many dealers think it is some sort of fad and I’ve heard over 50% of the dealerships in America do not engage in any kind of Pay-Per-Click advertising model.  Those guys probably aren’t on Dealer Refresh, so let’s forget about them for a minute.

If you’ve been involved in paid search for a while you are probably familiar with the different stages it has evolved from.  Originally, there were no paid search vendors.  You had to go directly to the source (Google, Yahoo, etc), create your own account, and build your own campaigns.  Stage 1 was very time consuming and reserved only for the most advanced eCommerce individuals….or those guys who worked at small highline stores with nothing but time on their hands <cough><ahemm>some people</excuse me>

Companies like Reach Local pioneered the second stage of handling your entire campaign on your behalf.  You could just send them a check and wait for the monthly reports with the results.  This is the stage we’re
mostly in right now.  In this second stage, SEM has evolved a little further by allowing some campaign customization through a SEM vendor. Customization is basically how you want your campaign to go -
placement, verbiage, time and some vendors are even able to forecast an outcome for you.  The downsides to that model are having to pay a large cut (typically one you really don’t know despite what a vendor might tell you - there is no way to really check this) and you have to wait for a report.

We are now heading into stage 3 of automotive SEM where it is a mixture of the first and second stages.  You have a vendor who provides the working environment, but you control the campaign from soup to nuts.
Dealer.com’s Total Control Dominator (TCD) is the first product like this that I have seen.  It has predictive measuring that will show you how much to invest on a particular campaign based on nationwide
performance for SEM campaigns targeting the same brands and locations. For example:  you want to buy the main keyword of “Honda” with variations on how it is used by a consumer in a search phrase (”Honda Civic”, “Honda Accord”, “Used Honda”) and target a 10 mile radius around your dealership, TCD will show you that you’re going to need to spend $500 to get 1,000 clicks and x number of leads.  Over time, you can adjust your campaign to target and position the keywords that are getting you a more impressions and higher conversions.  This is nothing new, but it shows you instantly - without you having to contact a rep
at your SEM vendor’s HQ.  Next to what a click costs is what a lead conversion will cost.  This is where the dynamic changes.  Instead of buying paid search engine placement by the click, you are looking at what it costs as a conversion once they’re on your website.  This is where stage 3 is defined and becomes revolutionary!

Search Can Destroy Budgets

Auto dealers can get burned buying overly general keyword terms for search-engine marketing, some auto retailers who learned the hard way say.

Paying per-click for specific search terms effectively can highlight a dealership’s ranking in the results listings of search-engine Web pages.

But if chosen search terms are too broad, a dealership can end up paying for lots of clicks by Internet users who aren’t in the market to buy a vehicle.

That warning flag is raised during discussions on measuring online ad effectiveness at Ward’s Automotive Spring Training Conference presented by Autobytel in Tampa, FL.

Five years ago, the Shaw Automotive Group in Denver thought buying “Chevy” as a local search term would be a good way to draw customers to Shaw’s Chevrolet store.

But it backfired, recalls Matt Strickroot, Shaw’s former Internet director and now a vice president at Digitas, a firm specializing in digital marketing.

Shaw ended up paying for clicks by Internet users who were interested in Chevrolets, not necessarily in buying one at the time.

“We blew through $1,000 in three hours,” says Strickroot.

“It is hard to sell to someone not in the market,” says Omar Tawakol, CEO of Bluekai, a data company.

Buying general search terms can result in hello-goodbye results, says Stephen Stauning e-commerce director at the Asbury Automotive Group, a dealership chain.

“One example is ‘Honda Accord,’” he says. “If someone types in that when they are just researching cars, and it takes them to your dealership site, they often leave right away.”

Asbury also avoids the controversial strategy of buying a competitor’s name for a search term as a way to snare customers, Stauning says. “If people type in your name, and it takes them to a competitor, they say, ‘Oops, that’s not what I want,’ and leave.

“Search-engine marketing was supposed to put third-party lead providers out of business, but a lot of dealers ended up taking it on the chin with search,” he says.

If a dealership indiscriminately buys a bunch of keyword terms, the store may end up with a lot of website visitors who are unqualified as buyers, Stauning says.

Only 23% of online traffic to Asbury dealerships comes from keyword searches, he says. “If you have a big brand, like our McDavid in Texas and Neely in Atlanta, you don’t have to do a lot of search.”

Half of Asbury’s stores use search-engine marketing to generate leads. Others rely on leads from auto maker, dealership and third-party websites.

“Search is not the silver bullet it was touted to be,” says Todd Swickard, president and CEO of Auto Dealer Traffic Inc. “People spend six minutes on the search process and four to six weeks on the car-buying process.”

It is fair to question whether paid search would have been more effective in the past, says Dean Evans, chief marketing officer for Dealer.com and a former dealership manager.

“Digital (marketing) is still a good value,” he says. “Even though it may have been hit in the past, doesn’t mean it isn’t where you should be.”

Evans says too many dealers are preoccupied with the attractiveness of their websites. Their real concern should be whether online efforts drive traffic that, in turn, is converted into dealership sales.

Meanwhile, some skeptics question the touted advanced qualities of search engines.

They deserve credit for predictive algorithms, says Tawakol. “But if you type in ‘SUV Seattle,’ what do you think you’ll get? It’s pretty obvious as a search result.”

Article by Steve Finlay
Ward’s Dealer Business
Re-published with permission - thanks Cliff!

Matt Cutts talks about Web SPAM,. Some great information if you’re looking to trick Google.

SPAM will soon become more dangerous.

Nothing like some geek SEO Rap! Keep’n the standards in the hizzel.

Enjoy!

We all know about search engine marketing and most of you have already given it a try for your dealerships. Some of you have seen great success with Pay-Per-Click advertising and some of you have really just wasted a lot of money. Everyone knows where they fall. There are tons and tons of vendors out there targeting the automotive industry and selling search engine marketing like a snake oil salesman sells oil.

I lead a team that conducts search engine marketing campaigns for our in house agency clients. I would like to share with you an experience I had this week.

Before starting any search engine marketing campaign either I or one of our team members researches the current climate surrounding the keywords our client will be using. As we all know, certain areas and franchises have much more competition then others. In my keyword and competitive research I typed in the keyword "newburgh cadillac" and in the top sponsored links I saw the result for a dealership named Tunstin Cadillac. Here is a screenshot:

I thought this was interesting since I am quite well versed in the local dealerships and had never heard of this one. I continued my search by searching on the general term "Cadillac." Tunstin Cadillac once again appeared:

My initial reaction was that whoever is doing their search marketing is at least covering all the bases.  I was interested in finding out more about the dealership so I typed in www.tustincadillac.com (I didn’t click the sponsored link because I didn’t want the dealer to get charged). Upon further research I found out that this dealership is located in Tustin, CA a whopping 2,799 miles away.

I have no knowledge of what vendor is running their search campaign. Maybe its even the internet manager at the dealership. Either way my point boils down to this. Make sure that your SEM vendor is acting in your best interest. Audit their results and check your site logs to make sure that you aren’t receiving traffic from regions outside of your general market area.  Google Analytics is also a great and free tool to help you audit your search marketing results. Many SEM vendors work on percentage of spend. If they get you to spend more by running your campaign almost 3,000 miles away from your dealership It won’t matter how much you spend, your search engine marketing campaign will always be a failure.

Guest posting by Brandon Hoffman
Director Of Internet Marketing at KEA Advertising, Inc
www.keaadvertising.com

Car dealers are usually a year or two behind the internet trends. Some companies are taking advantage of that fact.

Doing search engine optimization for auto dealers is difficult, as the market is extremely competitive. Selling search engine optimization to car dealers makes doing the SEO seem like childsplay.

Since the beginning of the world wide web, the automotive industry, car dealers in particular, have been a year or two behind the trends. Whether it is their reluctance to let go of the “glory days” in the 80’s and early 90’s or simply a lack of time to devote to understanding the technology, car dealers seem to be the last to know when it comes to the internet.

This creates problems for those selling SEO services. There are so many companies out there who are selling services that are not adequate to use against the highly-competitive world of automotive marketing. Here are some “smoke and mirrors” tactics that are currently being used to get dealers to sign on the dotted line for “snake-oil SEO”:

Myth #1: Thousand of Indexed Pages are Necessary

It has become a catch-phrase for website providers who create separate pages for each individual car.

The Pitch: “Search engines read web pages like we read books. They give more weight to websites with thousands of pages than they give to websites with dozens of pages.”

The Truth: In many industries, having thousands of pages available for “long tail searches” (covered later) for individual items is a good thing. People look for “round blue widgets in ireland” and having a page for that is good. People do not search for individual cars, which leads to the next myth…

Myth #2: People search for individual cars or by VIN

The Pitch: “Pick a car from one of our dealers. If you type in the VIN (vehicle identification number) you will see a ton of listings to the website. Competitors don’t list their vehicles like this.”

The Truth: In the automotive industry, people wanting a new or used car will search for “minneapolis toyota” or “used cars oklahoma city”. They do not search for “used toyota camry in minneapolis”. According to Overture, here are the searches from January:

“used toyota camry minneapolis” - 28
“toyota minneapolis” - 32,430

Real humans search for dealers. They do not search for individual cars. They do not search by VIN. They do not search by model year unless they are looking for reviews. The search for dealers when they are ready to buy a car.

Myth #3: SEM Certification Means Better SEO

When I first heard of this, I was appalled. Some providers use their Google Certified Reseller and their Yahoo! Ambassador badges as indications of their search engine optimization prowess. This couldn’t be seen as anything other than a lie.

These certifications are nice, as they mean that someone at the company took the time to learn what Google and Yahoo! wanted to teach about their Pay-Per-Click, sponsored results programs. They have no SEO benefits. There was a company that promoted their “inside track” to search engine optimization using these badges in a press release.

Yahoo! certification costs $50. Google requires a certain spend on Adwords. They both have eBooks and tests that are required. They have NOTHING to do with search engine optimization for natural listings. Sadly, most dealers do not research what the programs are really about.

Myth #4: Flash Websites cannot be optimized

The Pitch: “Our templates are completely HTML. They don’t look as good, but the search engines prefer no flash.”

The Truth: There are ways to allow the search engines to read flash. Even more importantly, most automotive websites that are built with flash technology are built with enough HTML content to give the search engines all that they need.

* * *

There are so many more tactics used on car dealers, but this is a good start. In today’s ultra-competitive automotive marketplace, it is so important for dealers to look at examples and to check more websites than the few that the SEO companies provide.

A company with 5,000 websites is bound to have a few that were optimized. It’s in checking some of the other 4,995 that car dealers can keep from falling for the smoke and mirrors.

Guest Posting by J.D. Rucker
J.D. is an automotive search engine optimization specialist
Original Post on PromotionWorld