Best PracticesDealership Marketing

Dealers Are Winning with Multiple “Google My Business”

  If automotive retailers want to maximize their opportunities with Google My Business (GMB), they must create separate departments for sales, service, parts and body shop. I’ve seen this topic debated online, and though some may disagree, I want the data to speak for itself in making this recommendation. Let’s first establish what winning on …
Best PracticesDealership Marketing

3rd Party Classifieds Battle to Win-the-Click

One of the questions I receive most often from dealers is whether or not they are overpaying for their third-party classifieds. The dealers overall agree that third-party classified sites (*TPCs) are a foundational element in a successful digital marketing strategy, however they are concerned as the pricing has continued to climb over the years. It seems to …
Dealership MarketingIndustry News & TrendsOther Stuff

NADA: Internet Advertising tops 50%, TV & Radio Lose

I carefully navigated the NADA website, clicking the button to download one of my favorite semi-annual automotive industry reports. I had heard the 2017 results were finally available, and I was anxious to dive into the data. I double-clicked to open the report, quickly scrolling to the “Advertising Expenditures” section. And then…my jaw dropped. I’m …
Dealership Marketing

Who? How? A Closer Look at Inquisitive Paid Search Traffic

One of my favorite techniques when auditing automotive dealers’ paid search spending, is to compare the search queries to keyword purchases. The search queries are the exact phrases that visitors are typing into Google (or other search engines). I find it useful to compare the search queries to the actual keyword(s) the dealer is purchasing. For instance, if …
Dealership Marketing

Facebook Testing Ads, Reviews, Drilling Down Search

Facebook has been very busy lately– figuring out how to monetize Graph Search, while improving its functionality. The process of monetizing Graph Search comes as a welcome addition for Facebook investors. Facebook currently has a limited monetization focus with search ads, which are not targeted to the user’s search criteria. Instead, standard targeting and retargeting …