Two experts from Google took the stage at the Driving Sales Executive Summit conference yesterday in Las Vegas, Nevada to give dealers tips on how to drive more traffic and convert more online visitors into offline sales.
Jonika Hoomes, Google's head of automotive partnerships gave dealers tips at the Driving Sales Executive Summit in Las Vegas.
Jonika Hoomes, Google’s head of automotive partnerships and Tae E. Kim, head of SEM/Platform partnerships shared research about what Google sees from automotive shoppers searching the web.
The 400 plus delegates from across the United States (and some from Canada who skipped Thanksgiving to attend) were paying close attention to the insights and research findings. Dealers and their advisors are constantly struggling to find ways to improve their search rankings and to master the half art, half science of search engine optimization.
With one billion searches being performed a day, and with Google constantly changing its rules and algorithms for ranking results, improving dealer rankings is a never-ending quest. Dealers can go from the top of the heap to the middle of the pack and not have a clue what happened.
Google is also changing the way it indexes and ranks things such as vehicle reviews, opting to build more support for its own Google reviews. Its new Google Plus rating system similar to Facebook’s “Like” functionality threatens to once again change the rules of the game.
Constantly searching
During her presentation, Hoomes said auto purchasers turn to search for everything. She shared useful Google metrics that shed light on how consumers look for cars online:
* 40% use 10 or more queries when searching;
* 60% use search to find comparisons of similar vehicles;
* 49% use search to find independent reviews of vehicles.
* 74% of auto shoppers are in market for over one month;
* 24% of shoppers switched manufacturers based on their research;
* 47% use search to find a local dealership.
Perhaps most importantly for dealers, is the last statistic about shoppers using search to find their local dealerships. If your customers are doing their homework online, pricing cars, narrowing their selections, then by the time they search for your dealership they mean business.
For dealers, search is just the starting point. “Online is not just where it’s at,” says Hoomes during her overview. The online search activities drive offline behaviour and lead to calls and dealership visits. The experience you offer visitors once they hit your website is crucial to converting shoppers to buyers.
According to Google data, 35% of the time that consumers are doing automotive related searches on Google is when dealerships are closed (from 7 p.m. – 7 a.m.). Mobile search also peaks on weekends when people are on the go and away from their computers. This means dealers need to ensure their websites are effective virtual showrooms 24/7.
Go mobile or go home
According to Google, mobile is now a huge component of their search traffic and getting bigger all the time. Google says that:
* 32% use their smartphone to find a dealership;
* 44% use their device for price comparison on the dealer lot;
* 48% looked up dealer information;
* 23% use them to contact dealerships; and
* nearly 8 in 10 use their smartphone to car shop.
Consider that smartphone sales surpassed the sales of personal computers in the fourth quarter of 2010. “Mobile is truly a platform that can truly stand on its own two feet,” says Tae E. Kim, Google’s head of SEM/Platform, adding that by mid 2012, more people will connect to the Internet via a mobile device than through a computer.
This means dealers need to ensure their websites are mobile optimized. An informal show of hands among the more than 400 delegates showed many dealers still haven’t taken this step.
A mobile optimized site will load faster, (avoid using flash), create actions and doesn’t just present content. A good mobile optimized site makes it easy for people to contact you and find basic information. If it’s a slow or cumbersome mobile experience, users will click away — possibly to another dealer’s site.
Dealers need to test what their sites look like on a BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, iPad, or any of the host of new tablets coming to the market. If it looks like a dog’s breakfast, then you have work to do.
Have a video strategy
With 35 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube a minute, the consumer appetite for videos is insatiable. “Video is huge,” says Hoomes. In the automotive market, videos also lead to online and in-person actions.
Results of viewing online automotive videos:
* Visited a dealership: 61%;
* Visited an OEM site: 55%;
* Searched dealer inventory: 55%;
* Visited dealer website: 52%;
* Build and price online: 52%, and
* Consult with family and friends: 50%.
Kim also said dealers should create a YouTube channel and populate it with video content, link back to your website, and market yourself to new customers. “YouTube is hugely important and not to be missed,” says Kim.
Google tips for dealers
In his presentation on strategies for digital success, Kim gave dealers tips on how to make the most use of the tools Google can provide them. “Being visible is key,” says Kim.
In simplest terms dealers need to:
* Be found.
* Be relevant.
* Be engaging.
* Be metrics driven.
Google is metrics driven almost to the point of obsession, says Kim. “You should see what type of leads you are getting, what types of conversion you are getting and where they are coming from,” says Kim.
Kim said there are three main areas dealers need to focus on:
* Google Organic Search: create content Google can index to help boost your rankings;
* Google Paid Search: purchasing keywords through Google’s AdWords;
* Google Places: claim your free Google Places listing and populate it with information.
“All three of these are important,” says Kim. “Be relevant on Google properties.”
Kim also provided some tips on Google tools that dealers can use, including:
* Google Alerts: sign up for certain keywords or search phrases and be automatically emailed when they show up on the web;
* Google Insights for Search: find out what keywords people are searching for to find your products or related ones;
* Google Correlate: type in keywords such as “fuel efficient car”, and it will show you other terms correlated to that search term.
Dealers should also use some other Google tools such as ad extensions and site links to help get better results from their Google marketing, says Kim.
For more information about the Driving Sales Executive Summit, visit www.drivingsales.com/
