Third party lead providers have been successful in getting their websites in front of consumers searching on the Internet and collecting their information and car buying preferences.

Their automotive advertising and digital marketing strategies have been beating car dealers at their own game for years.

In recent years, lead collectors have branched into the car inventory advertising business.  Some of these models are free and others are paid services.  Car dealers were not fully told what would happen when they gave their inventory to these national websites to advertise.  They were told that it was good for their business and they believed that.

Once third party websites collect consumer information, these leads are then sold to multiple car dealers.  The lead distribution process negatively affects the closing ratio of third party leads because multiple dealers are competing at the same time for the buyer’s attention.

As dealers have realized that their own websites are being pushed off Google Page One for popular searches, some dealers have decided to fight back. These dealers were looking to increase first party leads and exclusive leads that will increase their closing ratios and gross profit.  They embarked on new Automotive Advertising strategies which have met with mixed success.

 However, these same dealers have found that taking on third party lead collectors and advertising websites is a difficult challenge.  Third party lead collectors have had a 10 year head start and their websites are highly ranked because of their age, traffic and the number of sites that link to their pages.  Dealers’ biggest challenge is to find ways to increase links and traffic to their primary website.

Third Party Marketing Hurts Dealer Visibility

Third party lead collectors also have clever tactics to increase the visibility of their websites and grab leads from local consumers that are searching for a local car dealer.  Some of these tactics include:

1. Creating a business directory page for every car dealer in the United States.  These optimized pages on the dealership name have lead collection forms which are sold to competitors.
2. Establishing car dealer review program that has a review page for every car dealer in the United States.  These optimized pages on the dealership name have lead collection forms and advertising from competitors.
3. Publishing blind inventory listing pages for every car dealer in the US which appear to list cars from the dealer but in fact it lists cars from competing local car dealers.
4. Creating website pages for every brand of car and every city in the United States which are optimized to appear when consumers type in broad searches for cars in the towns that surround a dealer’s location.
5. Purchasing OEM keywords using Google Adwords to make their website appear to be local when in fact they are choosing keywords to benefit from local dealers advertising budgets.
6. Advertising car dealer’s inventory and including ads from competitors and OEM’s to create multiple opportunities to capture leads and divert traffic using car dealer assets.

A car dealer’s most valuable asset is their brand name.  Their business name is being used against them by third parties using clever search engine optimization strategies.  For most car dealers, doing a search on their business name will reveal multiple third party lead collection websites on Google Page One. 

Dealers who search for their OEM brand (make and model) and the local city name will also be shocked to see how many Adwords campaigns are targeting their store. This occurrence is not by chance and is not illegal; it’s just an eye opener on those who seek to leverage a dealer’s name and OEM brand for profit.

The second most valuable asset is a car dealer’s inventory.  Dealers have been take advantage of by many so called “free” advertising websites that list car dealer inventory.  These free advertising models promised greater leads and visibility for car dealers. Most have fallen far short of that promise and in fact are just generating advertising revenue for the website owner.  By participating in some third party advertising models they have weakened their search dominance in their local markets.

Car Dealers Fight Back

Dealers have resorted to Search Engine Marketing (Google Adwords) to fight back against third party lead collectors but this can be expensive in most markets.  As soon as spending stops so does the dealers visibility. 

Dealers have also attempted to use Search Engine Optimization (Automotive SEO) to fight back but this is a long term strategy and third party lead collectors have a head start.  Dealers often abandon SEO investments because they have measured results based on changes in their rankings over 30, 60 and 90 days.   A strong SEO strategy is best measured in years not months. Third party lead collectors another edge; they are counting on dealers to be inpatient with SEO because it’s their secret weapon built over the past 10 years. 

Webinar Outline

Car dealers wanting to increase first party leads are not without hope.    Brian Pasch will guide car dealers on strategies that will allow them to increase first party leads and increase the search authority of their websites.  The webinar will introduce new automotive inventory advertising solutions that add value, authority and visibility. 

Brian will also share best practices for website optimization that can be implemented at no cost to dealers using their existing staff and resources.  Don’t be one of the dealers that are defeated by third party attacks.  Fight back and attend this important webinar.

On July 22, 2010 webinar attendees will learn:

1. How to identify the sources that are attacking your dealership brand and equity.
2. Establishing processes to resolve each source of attack.
3. How to measure the effectiveness of inventory advertising vendors that may be pushing your website off Google Page One.
4. How to create an offense strategy to regain Page One dominance for your local markets.
5. How to create a defensive strategy against future attacks on your brand name and the cars you sell.
6. How to increase high quality links to your primary website to increase its search authority.
7. How to create powerful local advertising websites for the cars that you sell to compliment sales from your primary website.

To register, click here:  Dealers Edge Webinar

Bonus

Dealers interested in have their websites reviewed by Brian Pasch prior to the webinar  can send their primary website names to brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com with the subject DealersEdge Webinar Analysis.  Brian and his team will review some elements of your search marketing authority and include some direct feedback prior to the webinar.  Deadline for submissions is July 19, 2010.

Car dealers who are looking for clear answers on how to increase sales for your new and used cars online should be first to register.

So join Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing, on May 18th for a free webinar. Space is limited to 100 rooftops so please go online and register today.

If you are not confident that you can attend, please register for a future webinar since the demand for this top webinar will be strong. Car dealers are looking for ways new ways to leverage their most valuable assets: their cars.

Presented by Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing, “Supercharged Marketing For Your New and Used Cars Online” fill focus on the newest marketing strategies for new and used car dealers to get more traffic and sales from their internet-based media and advertising.

The webinar will also address recent research that shows how dealers must be selective when sending their inventory out to so called “free” advertising websites. You can read Brian’s position paper on this link: Warning About Free Advertising Websites.

PCG will be offering clients new webinar topics each month so that your team can keep ahead of your competition.

The PCG webinars will be 2 hours in length as is ideal for any stakeholders in the dealership who want to increase leads and traffic for new and used car inventory – and will include a Q&A session.

Questions can be sent directly to Brian at brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com .

Learn more about the newest Digital Marketing Strategies and SEO Tips visit us online at http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Internet Sales Managers are also recommend that they join www.internetsalesmanager.org

Make Your Voice Count - Click Here For Survey

The initial data has been flowing in and the initial results are jaw dropping.  So, if you work at car dealership, we invite you to participate in the study.

With the 2010 NADA Convention less than 40 days away, the survey data will surely be a highlight of attendees and vendors when the data is published.  The initial data suggests that there are many large opportunities in 2010 for car dealers and vendors supporting the industry.

The initial survey data also speaks to a growing digital divide in the current organizational structure of US car dealers.   We are confident that the survey data will yield a number of follow-up surveys and discussions in the year ahead.

Click to participate today:  Take 2010 Digital Marketing Survey

The Automotive Marketing Boot Camp is designed for dealer staff that want hands-on training so that they can either implement marketing strategies themselves or to inspect the work of their vendors.

The Automotive Marketing Boot Camp is an intensive day of training which is bookmarked with two meals on Thursday Night and Saturday Morning.  

Here is a peak at the schedule:

Thursday February 11, 2010

• 5:00 pm Boot Camp Registration
• 6:00 pm Cocktail Reception
• 7:00 pm Boot Camp Dinner
  • Keynote Speaker: Jared Hamiltion from DrivingSales.com
• 9:00 Everyone is sent to their barracks

Friday February 12, 2010

• 7:00 am  Boot Camp Breakfast
• 8:00 am – 12:30 Morning Sessions
• 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Boot Camp Lunch
• 2:00 pm – 6:30 pm Afternoon Session
• 7:30 pm – Boot Camp Dinner
  • Keynote Speaker
• 10:00 pm – Everyone is sent to their barracks

Saturday February 13, 2010

• 6:30 am  Early Bird Final Courses
• 8:00 am  Industry Breakfast & Graduation Ceremony
  • Keynote Speaker – Brian Pasch, Pasch Consulting Group
• 10:00 am   Q&A Opportunity

NADA Workshops start at 11:00 am on Saturday

Register Online

You can register online as well as check out the entire program by visiting: http://www.automotivemarketingbootcamp.com .  I hope to see you there.  People who register by December 5th will save $100.