Here Comes Everybody – The Pending Death of Automotive SEO

by David Tingley

Where's the robot dude at the front of the line going?Not all that long ago it wasn’t difficult to have your dealership ranking well on  search engines. Few dealers were doing any search engine marketing. Those who did, easily found the top of the page.

Today the SEO and PPC “experts” seem to outnumber car dealers.

The days of being able to just write a cheque to an Automotive SEO company, (or your website vendor), to get ranked will soon end. (It already has in some Canadian Markets).

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been in the business long enough to remember how things were before Craig Newmark came along and forever changed the world of local classified advertising. [click to continue…]

{ 7 comments }

What’s It Going To Take?

by David Tingley

Every dealer I speak with who wants to dial up their Internet sales will eventually ask me some variation of the following questions;

“What do I need in order to dominate my local market online? What’s it going to take to make this thing fly? ”

“An Evangelist “

… [click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }

Google Reviews | Do’s and Don’ts for Car Dealers

by David Tingley

I wonder how many dealers have looked at their online reviews recently and asked?

 “Hey ! Where’d they all go?”

If you are one of them, you’re not alone. It seems the automotive industry was hit particularly hard with this most recent round of changes to Google reviews over the summer.

One of our clients sent us a link to a blog post by a large Suzuki Dealer in the USA who went from over 400 reviews to just 9. Below is the link to the full story.

[click to continue…]

{ 4 comments }

Machines Don’t Buy Cars

by David Tingley

Robot buying a car.I’ve been reading a lot lately about all the awesome software and tools available to help car dealers automate their link building activity to generate more traffic to their websites. (Dealers often forward me “pitches” they receive. I see several of these each month).

“They” say technology has made it possible for a small dealer in rural Saskatchewan to create an online presence that looks much like a big city dealer in Calgary or Edmonton. [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

WWBBD: What Would Billy Beane Do?

by David Tingley

Billy Beane

Billy Beane (Wikipedia.org)

In 2002 Oakland A’s General Manager turned the world of baseball upside down by applying “SaberMetrics” to the squad selection process.

For those who’ve yet to see Moneyball, it’s the true story of how Billy Beane, (played by Brad Pitt in the movie),  transformed “average” players and “benchwarmers” into what became one of the most winning teams in baseball history.

If Mr. Beane were putting together an Internet sales team today, I wonder which metrics he would consider most important ? [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

How Do You Pay Your Internet Sales Manager?

by David Tingley

Pay Plan Internet Sales ManagerDealer:  “I want to give the Sales Managers at my dealership a new pay plan.”

Me: “Why?”

Dealer:  “Because I want to help motivate them to close more deals and sell more cars.”

Me:  “And you believe you can accomplish this with a new pay plan?”

Dealer:  “Yes.”

Me:  ‘Why do you believe that?” [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

Fire Him. Wait. Give Him a Raise.

by David Tingley

You're Fired

 

“My dealership has a closing ratio of 5% on leads. Is my Internet Sales Manager doing a bad job?”

 

“That depends. Tell me more.” [click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }

Canadian Car Dealers, A Dead Guy, and YouTube

by David Tingley

G.K. ChestertonWhen this guy died in 1936 he already knew more than most car dealers in Canada today do about how to make a great YouTube video review.

“But Dave, YouTube wasn’t invented until 2005. What could this old dude possibly have known that we don’t?”

His name was G.K. Chesterton and he famously said,

“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly, until you get it right”

[click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }

Start With the A’s – Ask Them All to Buy a Car

by David Tingley

Phone BookIn 1986 I was a new salesman working at a Hyundai dealership in Calgary.

Although there were a lot of people buying the new Pony in 86, (the msrp was around $6,000), there were also a lot of salesmen at the store. The competition for ups and sales calls was extreme.

My first day on the job I watch a few Joe Girard videos, was issued a d-plate, and got a desk in a dark windowless office at the back of the showroom, (which I shared with another new guy).

When I finished watching the training videos I asked my manager where I should start.

He pointed to the phone book and said,

“Start with the A’s.  Call everybody. Ask them all to buy a car” [click to continue…]

{ 1 comment }

Who Gets Internet Leads at Your Dealership, At Midnight ?

by David Tingley

You’re the Internet Sales Manager at a Mazda store in Edmonton .

You’re one of those guys who needs to see what’s happening with all leads so you set up a text alert to notify you every time one arrives.

It’s very late when you here the familiar chime from your iPhone.

You glance down at your watch.

It’s one minute to midnight… [click to continue…]

{ 4 comments }

← Previous Entries