Best Practices – DealerOn

The Art of the Gimmick: 5 Things You Should Consider Before Using One to Market Your Business

Justin Robinson-Prickett — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 15:12:36 +0000

Designing a gimmick for your dealership can be a great way to drive sales. But is it the right choice for you? For better or for worse, The Karate Kid is one of Gen X’s defining movies. When it received a revival two years ago, I was skeptical, despite spending a portion of my youth absolutely convinced in the efficacy...

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5 Ways Emotional Intelligence Can Help Your Sales

Justin Robinson-Prickett — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 16:23:11 +0000

Purchasing a car is consistently rated as one of the most stressful and unpleasant experiences by consumers. It goes without saying that you want to change this perception. Never fret, employing a bit of emotional intelligence will go a long way. “Emotional intelligence” is a term getting thrown around with increasing regularity in business circles. It’s a general term for...

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Crash Course in Technical SEO for 2019

Kelcey Drapp — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 23:03:28 +0000

Technical SEO definitely isn’t easy, and it often befuddles us; but it’s just as important as the more creative elements of optimization for search engines. Check out this video, so you can “get techy with it” in 2019. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from DealerOn. When trying to get the most out of SEO for your site,...

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The secret to recovering filtered Yelp reviews

Greg Gifford — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 15:00:09 +0000

Let’s face it, we all hate dealing with Yelp. Thanks to the aggressive filter, dealerships lose out on hundreds of awesome positive reviews. In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, I share a secret tactic that can help you recover a significant number of those positive reviews. They’ll show publicly, raising your review count and giving you a better aggregate rating. VIDEO...

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Do you have magical customer service?

Greg Gifford — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 22:54:01 +0000

In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, I share some insight from my recent trip to Disneyland. The entire Disney park experience is magical, and they’ve carefully crafted the customer experience to help wow every guest at the park. From scientific testing of trash can placement to careful training on how to interact with guests, they’ve built an amazing example of customer...

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The most popular videos of 2018

Greg Gifford — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 15:00:53 +0000

It’s the end of 2018, so we’re continuing our annual tradition of sharing the most popular videos of the year. You can watch the video, or simply click the links below to watch the videos yourself. Here’s our list of the most popular videos of 2018, in reverse order: 10. Pay attention to Google Q&A 9. 5 tips for optimizing...

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Catch DealerOn at a local event this fall!

Greg Gifford — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 16:52:14 +0000

Fall conference season is in full swing, and DealerOn is out on the road! In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we’re sharing a list of all the events we’re attending over the next few months… If there’s one near you, come check out all the amazing digital marketing tips we’ll be sharing to help your dealership rock in 2019! VIDEO...

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How do you optimize your blog posts?

Greg Gifford — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 13:40:41 +0000

Blogs are no longer a luxury add-on, they’re an absolute necessity for every dealership. We get tons of questions from dealers who want to know how to optimize their blog posts, so this week we’re here to help! Watch this week’s Wednesday Workshop video to learn how to use the Yoast SEO plugin to do your own SEO on your...

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It’s important to keep your team motivated and happy

Greg Gifford — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 14:58:10 +0000

In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, we talk about the fact that success isn’t only about digital marketing. Your staff is a key component… If your team is educated, motivated, and happy, you’ll be more successful. In the spirit of happy, motivated team members, we also share some highlights of DealerOn’s first ever SEOlympics, a team-building event held in the Dallas...

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Google’s Latest Ad Updates

Aurko Chatterjee — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 21:20:03 +0000

In case you haven’t heard, Google is rebranding Google AdWords as Google Ads, and with that change will come a slew of great new features that can help dealers sell more cars. In our new blog post, we highlight some of the most important changes that your dealership should begin leveraging IMMEDIATELY. If you haven’t linked Google Ads and Google My...

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Pods vs. Banners

Mike Somerville — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 17:20:51 +0000

The curiosity is killing you, we know. What’s the verdict, pods or banners? Well, before we say it’s time to lean towards pods, let’s explain why. What are pods? Pods are simply larger scale images or hyperlinks that define user flow into a few designated areas on a website. This creates tactical conversion path creation. Pods tend to create the...

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How to use a call tracking number in your Google My Business listing

Greg Gifford — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 15:52:39 +0000

For years, it was always a bad idea to put a tracking number in your Google listing because it screwed up your NAP (name, address, phone) consistency signal for Google’s algorithm. Finally, Google changed things and now it’s perfectly OK to use a tracking number in Google My Business. In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we walk you through the...

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How to Handle Negative Reviews

Greg Gifford — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 14:06:10 +0000

Damage Control: How to Handle Negative Reviews Reviews aren’t just a way 88% of users decide if a business is trustworthy or not, but they also have a pretty big impact on your local SEO. So, this means you should probably give those review sites some attention, and take the time to ask for reviews from your customers and start...

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Why is Google Advocating for HTTPS?

Michael DeVito — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 18:27:41 +0000

About a year ago, DealerOn made the switch to have all of our sites serve over HTTPS. This decision was made in order to create a more secure environment for our dealers and their customers, since HTTPs sites prevent intruders from doctoring data like IP addresses, geography, and device type. Google has long advocated to have all sites serving over...

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SEM KPIs That Actually Sell Cars

Greg Pearce — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 20:52:45 +0000

If you are not measuring and optimizing your campaigns toward metrics that really matter, like units sold, customer paid RO’s and ROI, you might be hurting your business. Are you frustrated of getting reports from your digital advertising provider every month that show excellent improvements in all of the KPIs they have deemed important? But when you look at your...

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These Mobile Mistakes Are Costing You Money

Mike Martinez — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 14:09:37 +0000

It’s not rocket science: doing the same over and over again isn’t going to improve your results, so if you’re making the same mobile mistake over and over again, it’s going to keep costing you money. But I’m here to help. I’m going to talk about a few common mobile mistakes that can cost you some serious cash. First things...

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Can-I-Afford-It-Moments: The Digital Tools You’ll Need

Amir Amirrezvani — Thu, 31 May 2018 15:30:21 +0000

We’re diving deep into the car-buying journey over the next few weeks and giving you an inside look at the tools and strategies that line up with each micro-moment. You can check out our previous post here, which gives you a brief overview of the micro-moments dealers should pay attention to, as well as some useful tips to get you...

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How to Reach Customers at the End of the Car-Buying Journey

Amir Amirrezvani — Mon, 21 May 2018 15:59:34 +0000

Let’s be real, there are a lot of digital marketing tools out there for dealers. But they’re basically worthless if you don’t know when to use them. You can have strategic SEO, carefully researched advertising campaigns, and a website that’s been optimized for conversion – but all that high-tech digital weaponry in your arsenal won’t amount to much if you...

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The quality of your video matters…

Greg Gifford — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 14:45:33 +0000

Video is becoming a vital tool for dealership marketing, and as more and more dealerships are investing in video, we see more and more REALLY bad quality videos. In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, we’re talking about video quality and the difference it makes when a video is a customer’s first impression of the dealership. You don’t need super expensive studio...

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4 Awesome Tips to Help Dealers Online

Greg Gifford — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 17:40:23 +0000

For this week’s Wednesday Workshop, we’ve got a special treat! Our VP of Customer Service was visiting the SEO team in Dallas, so I grabbed him and put him on the spot… He shares 4 awesome tips to help dealers online. Watch and learn some simple tips that will help your dealership excel online (and in the future). VIDEO TRANSCRIPT...

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Have you heard about the new car subscription service?

Greg Gifford — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 21:47:40 +0000

If you haven’t heard, the Jeff Wyler Automotive Group has recently released a car subscription service. So basically, it’s kinda like Dollar Shave Club, but way more than a dollar and you get cars instead of razors… Like everyone else in the industry, we were intrigued. I’m friends with Kevin Frye, the eCommerce Director for the group, so I set...

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Awesome Digital Marketing Conferences You Should Attend in 2018

Greg Gifford — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 16:26:25 +0000

In this week’s video, we share our annual list of the best digital marketing conferences you should consider attending this year. We know that a lot of you handle the SEO and PPC for your dealership, or your group, so we always release our list of suggested conferences at the beginning of every year. We know that most of you...

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The ADA Update is Almost Here. How Accessible is Your Site?

DealerOn — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:51:19 +0000

With an upcoming update for the ADA (American with Disabilities Act), let’s take just a few minutes and talk about what this means for website owners. The ADA was signed into law in 1990, and was designed to prevent discrimination against marginalized groups. When you see a ramp next to a set of stairs or sign language interpreter, you’re seeing...

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How To Navigate Error Pages Like An Expert

Mike Somerville — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 14:41:44 +0000

To err is human, and to get an error page is just another part of having a website. We’re all uncomfortably familiar with the 404 error page, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of other ways you can cause an error on your website, and a few things your visitors can do too. If you...

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Target the RIGHT Keywords

Greg Gifford — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 14:30:41 +0000

Last month, my column at Search Engine Land tackled a topic that the SEO industry sometimes struggles with: educating clients. I still believe that a well-educated client is a happy one, and if you ever struggle to understand exactly what it is your SEO vendor does, it might be time for an honest conversation with them. As SEO professionals, we should stay transparent about...

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It’s time for a company refresh meeting…

Greg Gifford — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 17:31:24 +0000

This week’s video is short and sweet, because we’re smack dab in the middle of our company-wide “refresh” meeting today… But for today’s Wednesday Workshop, we wanted to ask – have you ever had a similar meeting for your dealership? Your employees will be re-focused and your customers will love what you’re doing…

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We’re headed to Charlotte!

DealerOn — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 14:25:17 +0000

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Have you seen the expanded sitelinks in AdWords?

Greg Gifford — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 14:00:27 +0000

In this week’s video, we share information about the new expanded sitelinks that have rolled out in AdWords. Watch and learn about the awesome new feature that will help you convert even more customers!

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Don’t Neglect Your Service Department

Jeff Clark — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 22:10:42 +0000

Adapting to a digital marketplace is important when marketing all parts of the automotive industry, but as I pointed out in “Screen Test” at Fixed Ops Journal, it’s especially necessary for your service department. Dealers spend a lot of money on digital advertising to build more leads and sell more cars, but it’s important that you also concentrate on building...

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We’re coming to Chicago!

Greg Gifford — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 14:55:58 +0000

This week’s video is a short one, cause Shaun and I are both in Philadelphia speaking at Sean Bradley’s Internet Sales 20 Group conference. We stepped out of the conference this morning to shoot the video at the top of the iconic Rocky stairs, so we could let you know that we’re bringing our Topgolf event series to Chicago! We’ll...

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Take the time to make a difference

Greg Gifford — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 18:01:33 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop is a life tip, not a digital marketing tip. Take the time to make a difference in someone’s life. It’s that simple. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Welcome back to another Wednesday workshop from DealerOn. This week we’re doing something a little bit different… That’s right, we thought we’d take a break from the regular digital marketing improvement tips...

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Site Search: To Filter or Not to Filter?

Michael DeVito — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 21:32:59 +0000

Let’s be upfront about this: I advocate filtered site search as opposed to free form search, and here’s why. When it comes to finding things on your website, your customers are either clicking buttons or using a search box. This is true whether you sell cars, cookies, or clothes. Nearly every single person on your website looking for a particular...

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Massive fine for fake reviews

Greg Gifford — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 18:49:55 +0000

This week’s video shares the terrifying story of a dealership group in California that was recently fined $3.6 million for fake reviews. Don’t get caught posting fake reviews, or even influencing what customers write in their reviews – watch and learn more… VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from DealerOn. This week, the Beard and I are up...

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Website Conversion 101: Homepage

Mike Somerville — Wed, 17 May 2017 04:01:38 +0000

In a previous post, we talked about website optimization as a general concept and laid out some ground rules for A/B testing to gauge how visitors interact with your site. Driving traffic to your site is a worthwhile effort, but it can quickly become worthless if you never track which buttons are being clicked, which pages are being viewed, and...

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6 Ways Not to Spend Your PPC Budget

Shaun Raines — Wed, 10 May 2017 18:27:43 +0000

Managing a PPC campaign can sometimes seem like a free-for-all effort. There are lots of options and lots of ways to spend your money – but not all of them are worth your time. I’ve spent years in the SEM/PPC world, and I’ve noticed a trend in the way ad budgets are structured. Here are 6 ways to avoid wasting...

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Awesome Tips From Digital Dealer 22

Greg Gifford — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 18:37:14 +0000

The Hair and I took a stroll around the convention center floor last week at Digital Dealer 22, talking to vendors and dealers about how things are changing in 2017. We had some amazing conversations, laughed a lot (you’ll see the fun stuff in next week’s video), and collected some incredible tips for dealers to help them to make this...

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Website Conversion 101

Mike Somerville — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 16:41:36 +0000

You know what’s cool? Having a website that shows how awesome you are. Even cooler than that? Having a website that gets clicks & conversions. Ice Cube may have been All About the Benjamins, but if you’re hoping to do some business on your website, then you need to be All About the Conversions. What is it? So what...

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When Is PPC the Right Move?

Shaun Raines — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 14:00:57 +0000

The internet is a big place, and there are lots of digital advertising options. So how do you decide when it’s best to direct your ad budget to PPC, or pay-per-click advertising? That’s a good question, and I’m glad you asked. In this short blog post, I’m going to share a few things that will help you decide when you should...

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Come see us at Digital Dealer 22 next week!

Greg Gifford — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:05:59 +0000

Heading to Digital Dealer 22 in Tampa next week? This week’s video shares all the info about the awesome speaking sessions you’ll need to be sure to see. We’ve even got the first ever DOUBLE SESSION, and it’s going to be all about Local SEO. Come see us at booth 411 if you’re gonna be in Tampa – we’d love...

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Split Your Split Testing

Michael DeVito — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 21:08:04 +0000

Let’s talk some website optimization. Everyone knows that A/B testing (or split testing) is vital to finding out which elements of your site convert best. It’s the fine art of showing your website visitors variables of things like CTAs, banner ads, click-to-call buttons, and more so that you can pick the ones that performs the very best. But, are...

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2 Things You Need to Know About Local SEO in 2017

Greg Gifford — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 22:51:15 +0000

Last week, we packed up the DealerOn van and headed to San Jose to take in the glorious SMX West conference, programmed by our wonderful friends at Search Engine Land. There was a TON of great knowledge about SEO and SEM at the conference, but there were two things in particular that stuck out to me. So, naturally, I...

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6 Ways To Optimize Your Content for Local

DealerOn — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 18:36:16 +0000

Today, we’re going to get a little technical with it. We’re talking about optimizing your website for local signals, and we’ve got 6 specific spots on your website to focus on. If you didn’t know that having a solid Local SEO strategy was crucial to your visibility in the search engines, then you might want to read this article...

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How to Write Awesome Content For Your Website

Greg Gifford — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 14:16:40 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop shares some awesome in-depth tips on how to write amazing content for your dealership’s website. Steve, one of our SEO Managers, was asked to speak at Pubcon Florida last month, and his slides were so awesome, we had to share them here on a Wednesday Workshop video. If you’re writing the content for your dealership’s site,...

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Use Twitter to Contact Google My Business Support!

DealerOn — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:27:32 +0000

Instead of talking about the usual (websites, SEO, PPC, and optimization), we thought you might like to know about this cool trick for contacting Google My Business. It comes from our Director of Search and Social, Greg Gifford. He wrote about it first over at Search Engine Land, where you can read the article in its entirety. Want to...

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Micro-Moments: Get There Early (and bring pics!)

DealerOn — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 23:42:26 +0000

Last week, we talked about Google’s “micro-moments” and how a typical automotive shopper uses their phone or computer to move further in the purchasing funnel. As they learn more about the car they’re interested in, customer research gets more and more detailed. We’ve all heard the Google mantra, “Be there, be useful, and be quick.” But after reading this blog...

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Micro-Moments and Your Mobile Website

Greg Gifford — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 16:15:17 +0000

It’s no secret that the once-linear path to purchase has been fragmented with the advent of online shopping, but it’s been fragmented even further with mobile internet usage on the rise. In fact, we’ve said this before, but as of January 2017, nearly 50% of dealership website traffic was from a mobile device. That’s a lot. As per usual,...

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Should It Stay or Should It Go? A Guide to What Goes On Your Mobile Site

DealerOn — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 20:19:06 +0000

5 Things That Don’t Go On Your Mobile Site (and 5 Things that Do) If you’ve been living under a rock, then you might not know that people are starting to use their mobile devices for browsing websites more than they use their desktops. That’s right, all that information and data, shrunk down onto a tiny phone or tablet screen....

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6 Tips To Make Your Reviews Better

Greg Gifford — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 17:54:29 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop shares 6 tips to help make your reviews better in 2017. I’ve been doing a lot of SEO audits with our NADA follow-ups, and we’ve seen a disturbing trend – lots of dealers are faking their reviews! We talk about fake reviews in this week’s video, and share several tips to help make your reviews more...

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Let’s Make 2017 the Year of Honest Reviews!

DealerOn — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 21:26:31 +0000

Well, 2017 is upon us and our fearless Director of Search and Social, Greg Gifford, has got some more best SEO best practices for us. He wrote a helpful little article over at Search Engine Land, and it’s all about how to manage your business’s online reviews. The problem is that plenty of folks still have less-than-best practices when it...

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Ranking reports don’t show SEO success

Greg Gifford — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 19:39:32 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop video shares some important info about SEO reports. At NADA a few weeks ago, we talked to a ton of dealers who still get super old-school ranking reports from their SEO providers. Ranking reports do NOT show yo how well you’re doing with SEO, and they don’t tie in to the bottom line of the dealership....

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Coming to NADA? Check this out…

Greg Gifford — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 15:24:00 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop is a short one, cause we know that everyone’s getting ready for NADA in New Orleans. DealerOn will be there in full force, so make sure you check out the video to see when our team will be presenting, and come see us at booth 1611 to say hi (we’ll have a full bar!) and check...

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Can Hot Wheels help you sell more cars?

Shaun Raines — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 15:19:25 +0000

In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, Shaun shares his Hot Wheels story… If you’ve ever seen him speak at a conference or 20 group, you’ve heard the story – but if you haven’t, it’s incredibly insightful. We don’t want to spoil the story, so you’ll have to watch the video and learn his incredibly creative way of connecting with customers that...

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Content Silos and Blog Posts

DealerOn — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 21:56:17 +0000

When you’ve got new content to add to your website, where does it go? If your answer was, “Our blog,” then you might want to reconsider. Why? Because that kind of site structure isn’t always the best for SEO purposes, and there’s a much better strategy. That’s right, we’re talking about using silos to group & store content on your...

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Local SEO Is About So Much More Than Tools

DealerOn — Tue, 03 Jan 2017 22:16:52 +0000

Hey, check it out, our very own Greg Gifford is on his soapbox again over at Search Engine Land. The topic of the rant? Letting online SEO tools do all the work for you, instead of using them to help you do SEO work. It’s time to rage against the machine, folks. The computer machine, that is, because the...

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The Top 10 Videos of 2016

Greg Gifford — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 14:26:24 +0000

It’s the last Wednesday Workshop of 2017! To finish up an amazing year, we’re sharing the list of the most-watched Wednesday Workshop videos of 2017: 10. Learn more about the recent Google updates 9. Man on the street interviews from NADA 2016 8. How long does SEO take? 7. Local SEO presentation from Digital Dealer 21 6. Prove you need...

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Tales from the Trenches – Don’t let a vendor hold you hostage!

Greg Gifford — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 17:28:02 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop shares another crazy story from the trenches… This time, it’s a scary story about a vendor holding a dealership hostage! You’ll have to watch the video to get the full story – but make sure you’re not letting any of your vendors dictate how you run your dealership! VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Welcome back to another Wednesday workshop...

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A Special Thanksgiving Wednesday Workshop

Greg Gifford — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 17:53:25 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop video is a special holiday-themed message… It’s a bit different than what we’ve done in the past, we hope you’ll enjoy it! If you’d like to watch the companion video – Watch Martha here VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hey there it’s Shaun and Greg, also known as the Hair and the Beard – and you are so lucky...

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Is Your Digital Advertising Ready for the Holidays?

DealerOn — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 21:22:06 +0000

Winter is coming and so are large consumer appetites1. Consumer trends have always indicated a willingness for deal-hunting at the end of the year. Google’s own data in 2015 showed that mobile queries grew by 52% in the last three months of the year2. This statistic is even more interesting when you compare it against actual car sales at...

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Check out our new Local SEO Guide

Greg Gifford — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 15:59:15 +0000

Grab a copy of our SEO guide today! Download the guide now In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we talk about the release of our new book about Local SEO… OK, so it’s an e-book, and we’re not done writing it yet – but the first section is finished, and we’re releasing it as a stand-alone guide! The first section...

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You can still learn from our speakers…

Greg Gifford — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 19:29:51 +0000

The year’s almost over, but you’ve still got time to learn amazing tips from our expert speakers… In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, we list the remaining events we’ll be attending in November and December. You’ve still got several chances to learn the latest tips from several of our experts to help you finish out the year strong and roll in...

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How to add subtitles to your Facebook videos

Greg Gifford — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 19:52:39 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop video shares instructions for adding subtitles to your videos. The file needed for adding captions is the same, regardless of video host – but they’re especially effective on Facebook, since the audio is muted by default on all auto-play videos. Check out the video for detailed instructions on creating your subtitle file – if you’ve got...

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Forget about unique content. Try actually BEING local!

DealerOn — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 16:42:19 +0000

We’ve got another helpful article to send your way! The SEO industry is full of changes, and what worked 5 years ago doesn’t necessarily work today. Heck, 2015’s best practices have even changed in 2016, just take a look at the recent Possum, & Penguin updates. Greg Gifford, our Director of Search and Social, has some more tips and...

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Three Easy Ways to Start Building Local Links

DealerOn — Tue, 04 Oct 2016 20:42:33 +0000

This post was written by our Search and Social Team Manager, Steve Shackelford. To hear his recent webinar, “SEO for Noobs,” click this link. So, you’ve decided to start building local links. Welcome to the wide, wonderful world of competitive link building. The good news: your dealership is probably already doing a lot of great things that are helping...

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Details about the recent Possum and Penguin updates from Google

Greg Gifford — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 16:33:24 +0000

In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we explain the details about the two major updates released by Google this month. It’s not often that two major updates are pushed out in the same month, so we wanted to explain what’s changed so dealers understand what’s different. What’s been dubbed the Possum update rolled out a few weeks ago, and it’s...

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Stop Advertising to Millennials (and here’s why)

DealerOn — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 21:59:59 +0000

Well, okay, maybe not stop altogether. But here’s the deal, your advertising campaigns aimed at the younger generation might not be working. Why? The simple answer is that millennials are not responsive to the same kinds of advertising methods that worked on previous generations. Now, if you’re already tired of reading this post, here’s the main point: Stop trying...

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Prioritize your marketing channels

Shaun Raines — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 17:01:12 +0000

The Beard and the Hair are back for this week’s Wednesday Workshop video! This week, we’re talking about prioritizing your marketing channels so you get maximum return. All marketing channels are not created equal. Some work better for B2B, yet fail miserably in B2C situations. You’ve got to find the right marketing channels for your dealership and prioritize the ones...

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How to Make Your Content Even Better

Greg Gifford — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 21:24:51 +0000

For this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we continue on the same subject of writing amazing content for your dealership’s website. Last week we shared a tip that helps come up with amazing content, and this week the tip will help you make sure the content is written well. It’s a simple tip – just read your content out loud! If...

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The Secret to Writing Awesome Local Content

DealerOn — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 19:47:26 +0000

Do you read your web content out loud before hitting “publish?” This week, Greg Gifford has another blog post for us over at Search Engine Land asking this very question. The fact of the matter is that even though content signals from your website are arguably the most important part of your local SEO strategy, not many websites actually have quality content. In fact,...

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The most important question to ask for SEO

Greg Gifford — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:22:33 +0000

https://dealeron-1.wistia.com/medias/qg56y9vp1d?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=907 In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we share the most important question to ask when you’re doing SEO. Of all the signals that influence how a site shows up in search results, the content of the site is most important. When you ask yourself this all-important question and answer it well, your content will be amazing… VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Welcome...

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Facebook Wants Your Site to Be Mobile-Friendly

DealerOn — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 22:34:02 +0000

If you pay attention to the world of technology and digital marketing, you’d know that anytime an internet giant like Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc talks about updating their platform, people take notice. Last week, Facebook said via its Business News Page that they will start to “prioritize” (i.e., limit) advertising space available to businesses based on how “mobile-friendly” the advertiser’s website is....

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Advanced SEO Presentation from Digital Dealer 21

Greg Gifford — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 20:04:28 +0000

https://dealeron-1.wistia.com/medias/hptkoenf3t?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=907 In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we’re sharing my awesome advanced SEO presentation from Digital Dealer 21. It’s a bit longer than our usual Wednesday videos, so make sure you’ve got the time to kick back and watch… I share some basic tips for Local SEO, then move on and talk about some advanced tips that I’ve never shared...

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How to Bring Your Service Bays to Life with Paid Search

Aurko Chatterjee — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 17:09:13 +0000

In early 2015, Ward’s Auto published an article that had an interesting data-point from Cars.com, wherein Cars.com1 found that consumer ratings for the dealer’s service department were a key factor in the final buying decision. If you’ve been in the car business a while, this shouldn’t surprise you. It is also no surprise to anyone that a dealer’s fixed...

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Can you sell cars with Pokemon Go?

Greg Gifford — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 21:36:19 +0000

Can you actually sell cars with Pokemon Go? This week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we share the experience of a dealership in Amarillo, Texas… Long story short – you CAN sell cars with Pokemon Go! Check out the video for all the details… VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop with DealerOn. This one’s a day late, cause I was...

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Awesome Tips for Dealers from Digital Dealer 21

Greg Gifford — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 17:39:24 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop video comes to you LIVE from Digital Dealer 21 in Las Vegas. We walked around the expo hall and asked several vendors, dealers, and friends for one awesome tip for dealers to take home from the conference. Check out the awesome tips (and a few laughs), and if you have another amazing tip to share, leave...

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The Key to Local SEO

DealerOn — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 15:54:59 +0000

Everybody wants a great relationship with their clients, but it’s not always easy when your clients (or your bosses) don’t understand local SEO and the incredible amount of work it takes to optimize a website. If you ask our Director of Search and Social, Greg Gifford, it’s because most of us in the SEO business are so entrenched in...

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The biggest mistake on auto dealer websites – and how to avoid it

Shaun Raines — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 13:41:57 +0000

Want to know about the biggest mistake dealers make with their websites? This week’s Wednesday Workshop video shares the answer… Far too many dealers choose their website based on how it looks – instead of how it performs. Your website has one job, and that’s to convert visitors into leads. Watch the video for more information about why it’s absolutely...

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The Most Important Question To Ask In Local SEO

DealerOn — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 17:00:18 +0000

Over at Search Engine Land, we have another helpful guest blog post from Greg Gifford, DealerOn’s Director of Search and Social. The topic of Local SEO is oh-so-important to businesses trying to rank in their geographic areas, so don’t miss out if your dealership is having trouble beating out the local competition. The question of the day is, “Why...

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Make Sure Your Website is Responsive and Adaptive

Michael DeVito — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 20:42:47 +0000

Remember that little screen that shows up right before a movie plays? It says “This film has been modified from its original version…” Why is that important? Well, formatting makes the difference between a super stretched-out image on your TV and a nice, square fit where you can actually see what’s going on. It’s what makes the aliens in...

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You May Actually WANT a High Bounce Rate!

Greg Gifford — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:09:38 +0000

https://dealeron-1.wistia.com/medias/jyg7qsnefy?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=907 In this week’s Wednesday Workshop, we explain (gasp!) why your dealership might actually want a high bounce rate… Most people don’t understand how bounce rate is actually calculated by Google Analytics, so we start with an explanation. Once the calculation is explained, we explain why a high bounce rate isn’t always a bad thing – and could sometimes be...

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Prove you need SEO with simple math

Greg Gifford — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 19:40:39 +0000

For this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we’re sharing a simple tip for proving the necessity for SEO. We’ve shared the pizza delivery SEO example in a past video, but that only showed how Local SEO works. This time, the simple example shows exactly why SEO is important for your dealership. It’s a simple math equation, so even if someone doesn’t...

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We Don’t Sell Jeeps! A story from the PPC trenches…

Shaun Raines — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 16:30:17 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop video shares a story from a recent conversation with a dealer. In the middle of explaining the results of a PPC audit, our team mentioned Jeeps several times. The dealer finally stopped us and said, “We don’t sell Jeeps!” Watch the video to find out what happened… (it wasn’t our fault, and the dealer wasn’t mad...

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Down With Misleading Dealership Reports!

Greg Gifford — Thu, 26 May 2016 21:32:28 +0000

Sorry for the delay – this should have gone up yesterday, but I was flying back from the DMSC conference in Napa, and my plane got REALLY delayed in San Francisco… This week’s video takes a look at some of the shady, misleading reports that dealers need to avoid. If you get a weird report from a prospective vendor, or...

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10 tips for avoiding shady SEO providers

DealerOn — Tue, 10 May 2016 14:59:20 +0000

Our very own Greg Gifford is at it again, blowing up the internet with his latest post on Search Engine Land. This month, he tackled the ever-present threat of the “shady SEO provider” which sadly, plagues the auto industry. His article highlights 10 tips that you can use to spot these types of shady practices and give you the ability...

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NADA 2016 – Speaker Presentations

DealerOn — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 15:41:28 +0000

NADA is over, but the learning never stops. Three top DealerOn execs took the stage and delivered some great thought leadership presentations. We heard from lots of dealers that the knowledge they dropped was wildly helpful. Now, we know that not everyone could make it to NADA and some of those that did go made the wrong decision and skipped...

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Presentation from Brighton SEO [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 13:52:36 +0000

I just got back from speaking at the largest SEO conference in the UK, and as always, we wanted to share the presentation with you. This time, we’ve got a video from the actual presentation… They streamed it live online, and we took the recording and added it to the slides (that’s why the video player is wider than normal)....

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Wednesday Workshop – Mean Tweets from NADA

Greg Gifford — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 17:10:58 +0000

We had a blast at NADA last weekend, and we shot a ton of video footage at our booth. Inspired by a late night comedy bit (which you’re probably familiar with), we had a few dealers and vendors read mean tweets about themselves. We even had a few of our own employees suffer through some tweets join in the fun....

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Changing Ad Formats: The future of mobile search

Aurko Chatterjee — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 14:23:41 +0000

In May 2015, Google announced a flurry of new ad formats emphasizing what it called “moments” and officially launched them today. Amidst this, it also launched what are dubbed automotive ads – a rich, immersive ad format that has been showing up with increasing frequency over the last few months and almost certainly will impact how you need to...

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Why you Should be A/B Testing

DealerOn — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 16:52:25 +0000

There has been some buzz around the conversion topic lately. Most internet marketers should know that conversion rate optimization (CRO) is important to their efforts online. Whether you think website conversion rate per form submission is the ultimate measuring stick for website performance or if you have a difference of opinion to what is measured as a conversion. We...

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Facebook’s New Like Button [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 22:06:44 +0000

Facebook rolled out a global update this morning to the ubiquitous Like button. After years of hearing complaints that there was no “dislike” button, Facebook has added several new Reactions to the like button. This week’s video explains how to access the new reactions on both desktop and mobile, along with showing what each one looks like. Check out the...

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5 website creditability killers. Are you guilty?

Amir Amirrezvani — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 20:26:35 +0000

In last year’s Gallup poll, ranking the honesty and ethics in different professions, “Car Salespeople” tied for second to last along with members of Congress and Telemarketers. Lobbyists took the top (or bottom) spot as least credible. Let that reality sink in. Even after all the effort dealerships have made to be transparent with their customers, as recent as...

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Are you using mobile preferred ads? [VIDEO]

Shaun Raines — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 17:45:19 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop video covers mobile ads for PPC. IF you handle your own AdWords account at the dealership, you’ll definitely want to watch and make sure you’re using these incredibly effective ad types. If you use a vendor instead, you’ll still want to watch, because you’ll want to be sure your vendor is using the most up to...

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PPC Presentation From Digital Dealer 20 [VIDEO]

Shaun Raines — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 16:15:28 +0000

Download the slides here, This week’s Wednesday Workshop video is a recording of my rockin’ presentation from Digital Dealer 20 in Orlando. As always, we wanted to share it here on our blog so everyone could have access to the info. The presentation’s about 25 minutes long, and it’s filled with awesome tips to help you take your PPC up...

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10 Local Link Building Tips for 2016

Greg Gifford — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 17:16:02 +0000

My monthly column on Search Engine Land just went up and I wanted to share it with all of you fine dealers. This month, I focus on specific link building strategies for auto dealers. If you’re handling the SEO for your dealership, this post will be a life-saver. For this month, rather than just talk about why it’s important...

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Mobile Lead Conversion Presentation from Digital Dealer 20 [VIDEO]

Jeff Clark — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 19:12:45 +0000

Download the slides here We wanted to share a recording of Jeff Clark’s popular session from Digital Dealer 20 last week, so here’s the video! Tons of dealers were asking for the slides or a recording, so we wanted to share it on the blog so everyone has access. As always, if you have any questions, just give us a...

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Targeting Mobile Shoppers Presentation From Digital Dealer 20 [VIDEO]

Michael DeVito — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 19:03:37 +0000

Download the slides here For everyone who didn’t make it down to Orlando last week, or for anyone who sat in on the session and wanted to watch again, here’s the recording of Mike DeVito’s Digital Dealer 20 presentation. Learn how to target mobile shoppers in 2016, and what your dealership’s website needs to have in order to compete in...

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SEO Presentation from Digital Dealer 20 [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 22:26:27 +0000

Download the slides here Whether you didn’t make it down to Florida for Digital Dealer or you just want to watch it again, here’s a copy of my SEO presentation from last week. It’s about 50 minutes long, so make sure you’ve got time to watch, but I share several advanced tips that I’ve never talked about before. You definitely...

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Live From Digital Dealer 20 [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 20:35:58 +0000

This week’s Wednesday Workshop video is coming at you LIVE (sorta) from Digital Dealer 20 in Orlando. Shaun and I took a quick break from the booth to shoot a video in the warm sunny Florida weather – we hope you enjoy! We’ll be back in the office next week with another Wednesday Workshop!

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Differentiate Your Way to Better Mobile Ads

Michael DeVito — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 22:19:32 +0000

Your dealership wants to attract local shoppers, and more and more frequently, those local shoppers are searching for you on a mobile device. Hopefully, your dealership has begun to invest in mobile PPC and SEO. However, if you’re treating those campaigns exactly like your traditional campaigns, you’re probably not getting as high of a return as you could. Is...

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DealerOn to rock out Digital Dealer 20. Are you going?

DealerOn — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 22:07:50 +0000

On January 19, an amazing team of DealerOn superstars descends upon Orlando and Digital Dealer 20. Will we have a booth? Heck yes, Napoleon How about speakers? How about 4! But for real, will there be a party? Oh, there will be a party Our speakers are going to tear the roof off of Digital Dealer 20: Greg Gifford...

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Yes. Your New Year’s resolutions will fail.

Jeff Clark — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:24:38 +0000

Starting a new year is exciting. It’s always filled with promise, enthusiasm and the hope that everything will be better than the year before. Many of us jump into the year with the tried and true “New Year’s resolutions” list of things that won’t ever get done. There’s been much written about why the typical resolution of “eat better”...

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The Best SEO Conferences to Attend in 2016 [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 00:09:43 +0000

It’s time for the final Wednesday Workshop video of 2015! Since we’re just a few days away from the new year, we wanted to share a list of the best SEO conferences to attend in 2016. We know that a lot of dealers prefer to handle their own SEO, and the best way to stay up to date on best...

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Your Testimonials Page is Worthless [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 14:26:45 +0000

Did you know that customers don’t care about your testimonials page? Sure, they want to read reviews about your dealership, but they don’t care about all the glowing 5-star reviews you’ve listed on your site. People want to read honest, unbiased third party reviews on other websites. Your customers know that you only post the best of the best reviews...

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SEO Keynote Presentation From Kain Automotive Workshop

Greg Gifford — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 17:02:53 +0000

Want to learn the latest Local SEO tips that will help your dealership get more visibility online in 2016? Check out this video of my keynote presentation at the recent Kain Automotive Workshop in Lexington. I share all the latest Local SEO tips, as well as general tips that will help you with dealership branding and marketing. If you use...

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Writing content for your site? Read it out loud [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 16:24:04 +0000

The content on your dealership’s website is the most important signal of relevancy for Google. If you want more visibility in local searches, you’ve got to have amazing content – content that answers any questions potential customers might have… Content that makes you stand out from all of your competitors… Content that’s unique, relevant, and useful. Most dealerships have pretty...

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The Consequences of AdWords for Dummies [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 17:06:35 +0000

Does your dealership (or your SEM vendor) run a fully automated SEM management platform? Sure, they’re easy and convenient, but the AdWords for Dummies approach misses several important factors that will help your campaigns be more successful. This week’s Wednesday Workshop video explains the elements that the automated platforms miss and explains why some human interaction in your AdWords account...

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Local SEO Presentation From Confluence Conference

Greg Gifford — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 21:29:04 +0000

For this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we’re sharing another recent presentation on Local SEO. I presented at the Confluence Conference in Oklahoma City recently, and this time they filmed my presentation. We’re sharing the video here on the blog so you can see the actual session – it’s almost like you were there! The slides are a little dark in...

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The Six Degrees of Automotive SEO [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 23:53:37 +0000

Last week, I presented at Digital Dealer 19 in Las Vegas. Even though I got interrupted (twice!) by a fire alarm, the presentation was a huge hit with attendees. We wanted to share the presentation with everyone out there who wasn’t able to attend the conference, so we’re posting it here as this week’s Wednesday Workshop video. Since it’s a...

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Digital Dealer 19 Preview – Wednesday Workshop

Greg Gifford — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:55:22 +0000

Heading to Digital Dealer in Las Vegas next week? This week’s Wednesday Workshop gives you info on all the DealerOn speakers, events, and giveaways… make sure you watch and get all the details! VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Hey, and welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop with DealerOn. This week’s video is short and sweet, because we’re getting ready to head to Vegas...

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How to Use PPC Impression Share

Shaun Raines — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 20:51:39 +0000

If Google AdWords were a piece of juicy pie, your impression share would be the size of your dealership’s slice… Tracking impression share is important, since it shows exactly how much you’re showing up in local searches. If you’re not measuring how big your slice of pie is, you won’t know if it could (or should) be bigger! Watch our...

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Google’s Recent Map Pack Update [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 16:56:48 +0000

You’ve probably noticed the recent update to the map pack on Google’s local search results. We all had a collective freak-out when we saw that the traditional 7-pack had been replaced by the new 3-pack that doesn’t show addresses or phone numbers. Even worse, a click on a pack listing now leads to the new Local Finder page, where competitors...

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How To Do Barnacle SEO [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 16:55:20 +0000

Have you ever noticed that a ton of directories and 3rd party sites show up in a lot of the automotive searches in your city? That’s one of the results of last summer’s Pigeon update. While all of your competitors are still sitting around whining about the fact that there are fewer spots on page one of Google than ever...

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85 Gnarly Local SEO Tips for Auto Dealers [VIDEO]

Greg Gifford — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 14:55:00 +0000

In case you missed it yesterday, we wanted to share the recording of my epic SEO webinar yesterday. I share 85 Local SEO tips to help your dealership show up better in local searches in Google. You’ll learn about on site optimization, link building, citations, reviews, and social media. I also point out many common mistakes that car dealers...

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Local SEO vs. Traditional SEO

Greg Gifford — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 14:23:32 +0000

Did you know that Google treats some businesses differently than others? In this week’s Wednesday Workshop video, we explain how Local SEO is different from Traditional SEO… using pizza. Watch the video and learn an incredibly simple way to demonstrate how Google serves up local search results, even if a city isn’t included in the search query. Since Google treats...

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The High Cost of Poor Process

Shaun Raines — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 19:04:14 +0000

The lifetime value of a car dealership customer is between $250,000 and several million dollars. Stay with me… Far too many dealers are living in a bubble, knowing a lot, but doing a little. When dealers fail to execute, the lost dollars add up quickly. I speak with Dealer Principals, General Managers and various internet personnel on a regular basis...

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The Importance of a Good Reputation

Shaun Raines — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 19:48:26 +0000

Level Set Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Charlie Sheen, Celebrities, Politicians, Musicians and… BUSINESSES. If this is the first time you’ve heard that your business reputation is important you should consider early retirement. Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but the truth still suggests 99.999% of those reading this understand the critical importance of a good business reputation. Why Is Reputation...

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DealerOn Weekly Webinar Winners

Ali Amirrezvani — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 01:47:25 +0000

Michael Speigl, Nick Miller, Josh Cole, Steve Duff, and Ashley Lopez were the winners of this week’s webinar prize! Each will a receive an entire year of Dataium’s INSITE Standard tool, a completely independent reporting tool, FREE! Each prize is valued at $1299 – all just for participating in our weekly webinar series! Congratulations to all of our winners –...

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Winning Answer from the DealerOn Webinar with Bill Wittenmyer, VP of ELEAD One

Ali Amirrezvani — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 01:45:17 +0000

Katie Wagner, ISM at Swant Graber Chevrolet-Dodge-Ram-Ford, was the winner of a 500 name GoldDigger Campaign Gift Certificate, valued at $1750, during today’s weekly DealerOn webinar. The prize was donated by ELEAD One – they also lent us their VP, Bill Wittenmyer, to present CRM strategies dealerships can use to maximize their profits. Listeners were asked to share the most...

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DealerOn, Dataium, and Digital Dealer Webinar on Website Conversion Rate Optimization

Ali Amirrezvani — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:31:28 +0000

I’m so excited to be a sponsor and a part of an upcoming Digital Dealer Webinar. DealerOn co-founder, Amir Amirrezvani, will be presenting with Jason Ezell from Dataium on Website Conversion Rate Optimization best practices used by dealerships like Ideal Nissan (the 2012 Digital Dealer Website Excellence Overall Award Winner and DealerOn customer). A typical dealer implementing the full spectrum...

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Tips for Auto Dealership Email Marketing Campaigns

Ali Amirrezvani — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:25:21 +0000

While some dealerships are successful with their email marketing campaigns, it is a task that can easily fall to the back burner or be neglected. When done correctly, email marketing is an effective way to stay in touch with existing customers, and build a relationship with potential car buyers. If your dealership has let your email marketing efforts go...

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How to Hurt Your Google Places Listings

Ali Amirrezvani — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:12:37 +0000

I’ve written multiple pieces on how to properly set up and maintain your Google Places listing and account, but haven’t touched on the mistakes you could be making, hurting your car dealership online marketing strategy. Here are the places where you could really screw up your listing if you aren’t careful: Don’t use a post office box. Even if this...

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Tips for Auto Dealers to Avoid Email Spam Filters

Ali Amirrezvani — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:28:19 +0000

It is so frustrating when trying to send a legitimate, valuable email to a customer (future or current), and have it be blocked by a spam filter. While there are some auto dealers that do send emails that might be properly classified as spam, most dealers who have spam issues are sending real emails to real customers. Their email campaigns...

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Protect Your Dealership from Being Marked “Closed” on Google Places

Ali Amirrezvani — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:08:05 +0000

What is designed to be a way for users to let Google know when a business has been closed is, in some cases, being abused by local competitors. Since it is so easy to mark a business closed in Google Places, some business are being tagged as closed when they aren’t. When enough people mark a business as closed, Google...

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What Would it Take for You to Leave the Auto Industry?

Ali Amirrezvani — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:58:22 +0000

I try to spend at least a little time each day reading forums and blogs from outside the auto industry because I think there is a lot to learn from other business communities. Today, I found an interesting question up for discussion, and would like to pose the same to you. What would it take for you to leave the...

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Google Buys Zagat as a “Cornerstone” of Their Local Offering

Ali Amirrezvani — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:51:34 +0000

Google has just bought Zagat, a company that provides ratings and reviews of restaurants, entertainment venues, and travel locations. Known primarily for their yearly restaurant book guides, they have been doing quite well with their online subscription based site and community. Google plans for Zagat to be the “cornerstone of our local offering”, helping them to compete directly with Yelp...

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Will Google’s Trusted Store Be Just Another Push for Reviews?

Ali Amirrezvani — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:02:01 +0000

Google is at it again. According to the Google Operating System Blog, an unofficial source of news and tips about Google, the search engine giant will soon be launching Google Trusted Stores. This new service is designed to make it “easy for online shoppers to identify stores that provide an excellent online shopping experience.” I have to wonder how closely...

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In Case of Emergency–Would Your Dealership Be Prepared?

Ali Amirrezvani — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:15:22 +0000

Within the past year, Maryland has been hit by an earthquake and a hurricane (in the same week!), as well as a huge snowstorm, all fairly uncommon occurrences in our state. While DealerOn, both the office and our employees, were lucky enough to dodge any real damage, it definitely made us all think about how prepared we are for these...

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QR Code Marketing Best Practices

Ali Amirrezvani — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 01:27:52 +0000

Some of DealerOn’s car dealer website customers are incorporating QR codes on their sites, though it remains a technology that’s still maturing. While others in the industry have debated the benefits of using QR codes as a part of your dealership’s marketing strategy, I wanted to share some tips for running a QR Code campaign if your dealership is going...

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"Optimize Your Online Presence" – Webinar Recap and Slides

Ali Amirrezvani — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:26:40 +0000

Yesterday, our very own Amir Rezvani, VP of Performance at DealerOn, had the opportunity to lead a webinar with ResponseLogix. For those that couldn’t make the webinar, I wanted to share some of the highlights from his presentation and provide a link to the slides and audio as well. Amir provided a quick overview of how a dealer can immediately...

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Google Offers–Just Another Groupon?

Ali Amirrezvani — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:03:02 +0000

Last week I wrote a post about Google Local Portal in Portland. If you’ve already read it, you might have seen mention of Google’s new service for businesses: Google Offers. Google Offers appears to be similar to Groupon and other discount offering services — it allows you, as a small business owner, to get your business “in front of thousands...

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Google Browser Size Tool

Acacia Grant — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:27:13 +0000

It can be easy for ISM’s to forget that not everyone has the fastest Internet connections or the biggest monitors when looking at their auto dealer website. In order to maximize the power of your dealership website’s calls to action, inventory links, and specials, try using the Google Browser Size tool. This webtool allows you to enter the URL of...

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Generating Referrals and Effective Followup

Acacia Grant — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 02:39:11 +0000

Everyone wants referrals, but a lot of salespeople are reluctant to ask for them. It can be off-putting to some customers, and there seems to be a sense that if a referral comes without having to ask for it, it is more “deserved.” There is nothing wrong with asking for a referral from customers that are satisfied after doing business...

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How to Increase Car Dealer Referrals

Acacia Grant — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:22:24 +0000

Every sales person I have ever met is always looking for referrals. Referrals tend to come with a level of built-in trust, which especially in the auto industry, can make it much easier for you to sell them their next car. The struggle comes in knowing how to get your existing customers and salespeople (referral sources) to recognize potential referrals....

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Automotive Blogging – How To

Acacia Grant — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:11:53 +0000

I wrote a post last week about the search engine optimization (SEO) stats your dealership needs to track, and wanted to expand a bit. Your dealership website needs to allow you to track more than just SEO statistics. The 6 things your dealership website provider needs to measure are: Traffic—this should include all sources like organic, paid (PPC), OEM, referring...

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Customer Satisfaction in a Down Economy

Acacia Grant — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:05:26 +0000

Every dealership is after the (often) illusive repeat customers. With people buying less often, earning the loyalty of the customers you do sell to can pay off. Once you’ve earned the business of repeat customers, the next step is to turn them into evangelists—those who recommend your dealership and ultimately send more sales into your showroom. These types of customers...

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Dealership Grammar

Acacia Grant — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:59:26 +0000

There are always classes in school that make you wonder, “When will I ever need to know this?” For me, that class was English. Have you ever needed to know when to use a past participle, or what a homonym is? Neither have I…but the more I write and get involved online (conducting business via email, writing this blog, participating...

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Dealership Lead Nurturing

Acacia Grant — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:44:59 +0000

According to the 2008 Cobalt Automotive eShopper Experience Study, the “traditional” dealership gives up on a lead after three days, no longer actively pursuing them as an in-market buyer. This just doesn’t make sense, considering that J.D. Powers reports in their 2008 New Autoshopper.com Study that those in market for a new vehicle begin using the Internet to research their...

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Automotive Sales Targeting

Ali Amirrezvani — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:47:46 +0000

Get to Know Your Customer The 2008 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index® U.S. Auto Industry Study set out to study how customers were treated while shopping for new vehicles. They used mystery shoppers to visit auto dealerships nationwide who reported back about the customer service they received. Among many other, interesting facts, the study found that auto sales people were...

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Automotive Market Segmenting

Ali Amirrezvani — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:41:37 +0000

Dealership Market Segmentation 101 One of our most visited blog posts talks about using market segmentation and customer profiles to attract used car buyers. The study was pretty general, and split pre-owned car buyers into only four categories. Since there seems to be an interest in the concept of market segmentation, I wanted to give a brief, simplified overview of...

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Automotive Trust Building

Ali Amirrezvani — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:34:17 +0000

Use Your Dealer Website to Earn the Trust of Prospects Many people are hesitant to give up their contact information online, especially to auto dealerships. They are concerned about things like identity theft and email SPAM. Because of these fears, getting a visitor to raise their hand can be difficult. Diminishing the fears that many have about providing their contact...

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Lessons to Automotive from the Computer Industry

Ali Amirrezvani — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:22:13 +0000

According to recent reports, the private investment firm of Michael Dell, founder of Dell Inc, is entering the automotive retailing industry. Jeffrey Rachor, former Pep Boys chief will be running their future dealerships of MSD Capital. In a recent meeting of the Detroit Economic Club, Dell was asked about the outlook for Detroit’s auto industry. “I think,” he said, “there...

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