Pub. 12 2013-2014 Issue 1

N e w J e r s e y C o a l i t i o n O f A u t o m o t i v e R e t a i l e r s S p r i n g 2 0 1 3 20 new jersey auto retailer The Automotive Online Advertising Checklist By Brian Pasch New Jersey dealers operate in one of the most competitive marketplaces in the United States for car sales. Franchise dealers have multiple same brand competitors within a 30-minute drive, making it imperative for each dealer to differentiate themselves to local in-market car shoppers. G arden State dealers know far too well that radio and televi- sion costs in the New York metro area are expensive and the return on investment is hard to quantify. Dealers who want the impact that traditional media delivered in the past, at a lower cost, should read on. New Jersey dealers are using digital advertising in conjunction with traditional media but rarely does a dealership make the com- mitment to measure ALL forms of marketing to drive incremental car sales. Only a handful of dealers are using their website analytics and vendor reports to document the effective return on investment (ROI) of each investment in order to sell more cars. Dealers should invest in a detailed marketing audit, which in most cases is an eye opening experience. Dealers know that at least 50% of their marketing budget is working, however they don’t always know WHICH 50% deserves the credit. Online Marketing Checklist Dealers who want to maximize their influence on consumers who are in the market shopping for a new or used vehicle must have an innovative online marketing strategy. Failing to test new marketing strategies will hinder your ability to increase sales at a lower cost per retail sale. New Jersey dealers seeking to increase the ROI of their marketing dollars should be investing in the following eight strategies: 1. Owning a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Compliant Website Platform – Dealers should conduct an audit of their dealership website to make sure that it is compliant with basic SEO guidelines established by Google. Do not simply believe the claims of the website provider that their websites are fully optimized for Google search. Over 50%of websites tested fail fundamental search optimization guidelines. Dealers should work with their website vendor to fix SEO errors to increase organic search rankings. 2. Search Engine Marketing Campaigns That Generate Quality Traffic – Dealers need to have a strong presence on the most popular search engines when consumers use automo- tive keywords in search queries that signal buying intent. This is not a new concept, but dealers need to inspect if those clicks are generating website traffic that will trigger incremental car sales. Dealers must change their focus from total clicks and cost per click (CPC) and start to inspect the quality of the visit. Dealers should inspect all paid search campaigns, for new and used cars, to see what percentage of paid clicks generate visitors who actually look at Vehicle Detail Pages (VDP). VDP views and time on VDP are key indicators to quality traffic and future car sales. 3. Marketing to ConsumersWho Visited Your Website – It is surprising just howmany dealers are not leveraging the most cost effective online advertising channel; retargeting. When a consumer leaves the dealership’s website, dealers have the ability to display their banner advertisement and video messages over the next few days or months, as consumers search online, to keep their brand “top of mind” with local consumers. The dealer is only charged when the consumer clicks to come back to the dealership website! Successful retargeting campaigns skillfully match marketing mes- sages to website landing pages to increase conversion. Generic banner messages that drive traffic to the dealership home page are significantly less effective so inspect your strategy.