On of the worst parts about working in the automotive search engine optimization industry is that many dealers believe that getting top organic rankings on search engines through SEO is the end-all of internet marketing. It just isn't true.
Here are some of the areas that every car dealer (and most other competitive internet businesses, for that matter) should consider to put into their arsenal to get them the most possible customers from the Internet:
1) Automotive Search Engine Optimization - This is the one that most are starting to know more about. Getting to the top of Google (and the other search engines to some extent) will yield the best traffic to the dealer's website. People go to the internet to research cars, search inventories, and about a dozen other things before they ever deal with the dealership. Dealers: be found. Read more about Automotive SEO at this marketing blog.
2) Search Engine Marketing - while this is less automotive specific (any good SEM can do well here) it is still something that dealers should research before using. PPC marketing is dying a slow death to some extent in regards to percentages of searches, but since the bulk number of searchers is increasing, it levels out. The problem is that there is more competition for the keywords. Auto SEM can be found here.
3) Automotive Microsites - These are old and new at the same time. They are old because many third-party lead providers have used them excessively for years. They are new because dealers have only recently started their inquiries. In essence, a microsite is one that is very, very simple. The front page asks what vehicle the consumer is considering, while the second page gathers a bit more information on the car as well as the consumer's contact information. They click submit, and the dealer supplies a quote. Simple, but effective.
4) Email Marketing - This is the tricky one in the group because most dealers THINK they are already doing it. They use their lead management, CRM tools, or even their own email software to send out fancy emails to their customers, past, present, and future. The problem is that most never make it to the inbox, whether they are spam blocked or filtered to bulk male. TRUE automotive email marketing is well beyond the capabilities of dealerships, simply because they aren't aware that there is so much more involved than just type and click. They can't spam, though most do. They can't send multi-media emails, though most do. They need help.
In the next couple of weeks, I will be putting together an Automotive Internet Marketing website that will focus on these three (and other) products. While this post can be construde as self-promoting, please accept my apologies. I normally try to offer genuine information. This, too, is genuine, but there is a business reason for posting this article as well.
Again, please forgive me. It won't happen often.
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Comments: 3
i agree. SEO, SEM and other Marketing techniques are important for all online business.