More and more automotive brands are recognizing the value of live chat and OEMs such as Nissan and GM are suggesting that their dealerships use allocated funds towards chat. At ActivEngage, we are our own largest customer.  We use the very same …

I would like to share some feedback from Internet Sales Managers at a number of very successful dealerships that have seen their sales numbers grow with the implementation of 360-degree spins/panoramas on their sites.

“360’s do a great job of giving our customers the ability to explore any vehicle. They give them that virtual opportunity to see the details if they are not actually here at the dealership. We are confident 360’s make them feel more comfortable and raises…

This one is a huge game changer. Too long did you hear left and right that Cobalt's website design was antique and close to a cookie cutter design (even so you could still configure a website of their in 1700+ different ways - but only a few knew). With the new "FLEX WEBSITE" design the dealer, eCommerce Director or webmaster will be in charge on how he wants to see his virtual store, and how she/he can differentiate the dealer website from the competition.…

A friend of mine asked for my help in leasing a new SUV the other day, she had settled on a Toyota.  I coached her to look up a car on buyatoyota.com.  There she found the 4runner she wanted and the next day went to the dealership that had it in…

(alternatively titled: "I never want to see a screwdriver again."

I've been surfing the internet again. 

This usually ends in one of two ways.



A) I find something that I don't need, but buy it anyway

B) I find something that I really want, but can't figure out how to buy it.

My new favorite thing, except for catch up on Season 3 of Dexter, is to browse the internet for car dealer websites. There are hundreds of…

Nicki Allen of Classic Mazda and Classic Chrysler Dodge Jeep of Denton gives new perspective to some traditional ideas in the automotive business.  A focus on new technology defines a new attitude for these Texas dealerships. Click the image above for the full feature.

I popped open my DealerKnows email this morning and saw that Google Analytics sent out a Benchmark Newsletter.  (See below).  If you recall, when signing up for your Google Analytics account, you were offered to "opt-in" to anonymous data-sharing with Google.  Well they've consolidated the data and are making some modifications to their standard benchmarking report.  The information is revealing, but how does the…

Last October at the Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas keynote speaker Chip Perry, the CEO of AutoTrader.com, addressed a capacity crowd of dealer principals, GM’s, Parts Managers/Directors and e-commerce personnel declaring  dealer ad costs (per-vehicle) are projected to go down over the next four years.

Have you ever heard an advertising executive predict ad costs to go down? Neither…

Dr. Neil Gale has started a subsidiary company of DrGale.com in order to focus on website marketing. The new company, Gale Web Marketing, concentrates on the SEO, SEM, and PPC side of lead generation for car dealers.

Additionally, Gale Web Marketing offers a unique approach to using search engine marketing to increase lead and sales generation.  Our Single…

In marketing for auto dealers around the country, we spend time analyzing their competition to see how they’re doing with everything from social media marketing to website lead management. In order to beat your competition out in sales, your dealership needs to take the time to look at what competitors are doing. Here are a few quick tips to analyze…

This weekend, I was comparing website analytics for 2010 vs 2009 for one of our dealers, which got me to thinking about how 2009 compared to 2010. Before I knew it, I was digging into analytics for 2008 and 2007.

Limiting myself to just one dealer's analytics could taint my findings with the improvement of the website, lead generation, SEO, SEM, etc. So to ensure the most accurate…

I posted that one of my goals was to help 12 dealers increase their marketshare and decrease their marketing expences.  I am happy to say that one dealer so far is well on their way towards market share improvement.

We developed an agressive campaign.  One that includes facebook, twitter, first page on Google and other search engines.  There are key-word ads as well as intuitive placement on hundreds of popular web sites.  We will also send the information on this dealer out through…

Car-Mercial has developed a way to squeeze others off of the first page of search results. The results made my chin drop! They do this by producing a large amount of custom professional videos for each of their clients. These videos are matched with an extensive key word list (unique to each brand/vehicle/location) and uploaded to numerous video search engines. From there the videos get picked up by thousands of additional sites and displayed all over…

1. Car Dealer Websites
2. Third Party Automotive Advertising Websites
3. OEM Websites

1.…