I would love to tell you that this is breaking information, the type of news that you absolutely must hear in order to succeed in 2014, and that if you don't heed my advice your dealership will probably crumble in the earthquake of financial ruin by mid-March, but I just can't say that. This is a subtle post. It's a reminder of things that you should know, but just…

Continue

As I've said on many occasions, there are only a handful of social media websites that you need to focus on at your dealership. Despite claims that you need to be on dozens of them, the real ones that are making an impact today and in the near future are Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest with Instagram, Foursquare, Tumblr, and LinkedIn sitting comfortably in…

Continue

In April, 2012, Google began rolling out major changes to their search algorithm. The update, known as "Penguin", had dramatic effects on many of the searches that people do on a regular basis. In the automotive industry, the effects were felt by thousands of dealers. Some moved up if they had quality SEO practices being employed on their sites. As a result, others moved down.

This graphic goes into a little detail about the philosophies that dealers and their search partners should…

Continue

In all of my years of doing presentations at conferences, I don't believe I've put one together that was as important as this one. Google's adjustments from just a few days ago are changing the game for many in the automotive industry. Sites are moving up. Sites are moving down. Being on the right side of the moves comes down to some simply yet important actions that dealers and their vendors need to make as soon as…

Continue

If you thought reviews were important before, be ready. The importance just become exponentially higher.



Google's recent changes of integrating and highlighting reviews into their organic listings is making many of the most high-volume local searches a draw for people to click through to see what others are saying about dealers. Most dealers are starting to focus on DealerRater and other review sites, but some are taking it down the wrong path.



This video shows why diversity… Continue

The recent changes at Google have everyone hustling to understand what it means and what they need to do to take advantage of it. This video, the 1st in a 7-part series, focuses on the easiest and highest-impact action that dealers can take today: editing and maximizing their Google Places Profile.



We will be post on dE daily until all of the tips and tricks are out there. Watch it and then take action… Continue

SEO for Car Dealers has been hugely important for years now, but the recent changes at Google have made strong SEO that much more powerful in driving traffic to your websites.



The changes really come down to three things:

• Places (the maps listings) have moved to the right sidebar and stay persistent with the page as you scroll down.
• The organic ranking algorithm now controls the rankings on Places.
• Reviews are now visible on your standard Google…

Continue