Opportunity:
9 in 10 consumers begin their automotive shopping process on search engines and dealers are scrambling to figure out how they can appear on top before their competitors. While the ‘first wave’ of dealer Internet marketing was focused on buying third-party leads and paid search engine marketing, now the smart dealers have strategies to appear on top of search engines for free and they are improving their online reputation on the most popular consumer review sites that have gained in visibility over the last few years.
“Outstanding organic placement and a strong online reputation are critical components for a winning internet strategy”. Said Joe Orr, GM of Dick Hannah Honda. “When a customer sees a review, positive or negative, it influences them-so the key is to get happy customers submitting reviews. Nothing is more sobering than reading a handful of negative online reviews about your business and doing something positive to create an online rep to be proud of is a strong solution.”
eXteres Auto, is a digital marketing company that specializes in what they call “Search Asset Management” or “SAM”. “SAM” helps dealers appear on top of the search engines for free while also protecting and promoting their online reputation on pier-pier consumer review sites that influence customers buying decisions.
Their ‘Search Asset Management” technology platform positions dealers on the front page for the 1200 most important keyword phrases in their market and automates the management of their online reputation through 3rd party review sites. “Dealers who are not paying attention to online reviews are getting hurt because peer-to-peer reviews often appear on the first page and 75% of automotive shoppers read them on websites and directories such as Google, Yahoo and Dealer Rater,” said Richard Wench.
eXteres promises to give dealers the most potent, positive online visibility wherever potential customers happen to be searching in their ten-city market. The SAM technology platform makes it easy for dealers to manage intricate campaigns that would be cost prohibitive if done manually.
Case Study Results:
Average results for advanced SEO: increase from 14% first-page search placement rates before eXtéresAUTO, to 76% after - directly driving hundreds of incremental calls, and the lion’s share of their web traffic, every month.
Early-adopters of Online Reputation Management (ORM), on average, have generated hundreds of new reviews, with a much higher overall rating (from roughly 2.5/5 'stars' to 4.7/5). This has led directly to far more review-generated calls: from under 10 calls/month before eXtéresAUTO, to 120/month after. Dealers combining SEO with ORM report that 53% of their total Internet-generated calls are now coming directly from search engines and review sites, with a cost of under $2 per lead.
With eXtéresAUTO…
Dick Hannah Honda, Vancouver, WA:
- First-page search placement jumps from 18% to 72%
- 40% of total sales now come through Internet
- Consistently driving 500-plus calls/leads through search engines and review sites every month
- Improved from 18 reviews, with a 2.7/5 star rating, to 900-plus reviews with a 4.9/5 rating
- Jumped from #3/#4 position in their major metro market, to #1/#2 spots across 2009
- Slashed PPC spend $60,000 a year, while cutting nearly 100% of traditional advertising
