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Let me open this article by saying that automotive advertising platforms like Autotrader.com, Cars.com, and the Automotive Advertising Network (AAN) provide marketing platforms that should be considered in a comprehensive dealership marketing strategy.  Car dealers need to evaluate existing and new methodologies to connect consumers with the cars that they have for sale.

The Internet has become more expensive to attract clicks than ever before as more dealers participate in Google Adwords and similar online marketing services. When I look at local competition in the search engines for a car dealer,  one consistent competitor appears.  Dealers are under attack  by their own OEM automotive advertising campaigns. This can come from national advertising campaigns or Tier 2 regional advertising campaigns, and I have some examples to share below.

Banner Ads of Vehicle Detail Pages

Let me give you an example of what gets my blood boiling.  A dealer makes an investment to list their cars on automotive advertising websites for many reasons.  One reason is that consumers, outside of their normal area of responsibility or PMA, may connect with a car that they have in stock.  The key point here is that for out of area shoppers, their zip code would normally be a part of another dealer’s PMA.

If you look at this example below, a Tier 2 Banner ad runs on the top and right side of this dealer’s Vehicle Detail Page (VDP).  The other areas are also advertising leaks, but not associated with a GM advertising campaign. That’s another topic called Dealer Centricity Scores that you should engage.

When you click on the top Silverado HD Banner or the right side Silverado banner, you are taken off-page to a Tier 2 Chevy website design for lead collection.  If a consumer engages with this Tier 2 website, and completes a lead form, the lead most likely will not be sent to the dealer listed on this page, rather it will go to the dealer covering their zip code.  Does anyone have a problem with this model?

So the OEM endorsed advertising campaign or Tier 2 created advertising campaign, is working against this one dealer for any consumer outside of his market.  It seems to me that this is just counter productive and is using the dealers inventory against him.

If a dealer is paying to list this car, on this site, why would he want an interactive Ajax banner ad running, that catches the consumer’s attention, to drive them to another Chevy website.   Could you say that this dealer’s advertising investment is funneling leads to his local competitors?

This is not limited to Cars.com as you can see from this Autotrader.com VDP.  Once again, a national OEM sponsored banner campaign is taking prime real estate to drive consumers to the national Cadillac website.  Anytime a consumer gets to a national site, the dealer can not be assured that the lead will be routed to their CRM system.  It’s all based on zip code or consumer choice but the action was based on this dealer’s advertising investment.

Inspecting Your Automotive Advertising Investments

I’m not sure if any other dealers agree with me that this a topic that should be discussed at OEM Marketing meetings.  A bigger issue to remind car dealers is to inspect their advertising investments.  When you take the time to inspect how your brand is being marketed online, many light bulbs start to go off.

PCG Digital Marketing welcomes Keffer Kia of Mooresville, N.C. into its family of automotive dealerships.

Keffer Kia, which also serves Charlotte Kia customers, has partnered with PCG to handle its online marketing initiatives, including managing its activity on Social Media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter and implementing Search Engine Optimization strategies.

Keffer Kia’s online visibility will increase through on-site and off-site SEO strategies, content development and the opportunity to join PCG’s exclusive Automotive Advertising Network (AAN).

The AAN combines PCG Digital Marketing’s proven strategies in Search Engine Optimization, content marketing, social media and blogging to provide dealers with an industry-leading solution for lead generation and direct sales.

Additional PCG services will include: press release writing, link building, video uploads, customer review posting, Google SEO compliance, and maintaining Google Maps and Analytics.

The goal of this new Internet Marketing campaign is to increase the frequency with which Keffer Kia vehicles appear in local and regional search results and to generate additional traffic and leads.

PCG will also work with the Internet sales staff at Keffer Kia to eventually handle these responsibilities on their own, creating an in-house team of Internet Marketing and SEO experts.

For more information on Keffer Kia, one of the top dealers serving Charlotte Kia shoppers, please visit: http://www.kefferkia.net/

About PCG Digital Marketing

PCG Digital Marketing provides comprehensive Internet Marketing and SEO strategies to car dealers across the United States and Canada. For additional information on their services and marketing packages, visit http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com

AutoSuccess Magazine, a leading sales improvement magazine for automotive professionals, allocated a prominent two-page spread highlighting the newest automotive digital advertising platform, the Automotive Advertising NetworkÔ (AAN).

After its debut during the 2010 NADA convention in Orlando, the AAN has caught the widespread attention of industry experts, digital marketing veterans and dealer professionals nationwide.

Developed by industry experts Brian Pasch, Sean Wolfington, David Boice and Ananth Godavari, the AAN is a comprehensive digital marketing and branding platform that utilizes proven practices in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), inventory advertising, social media and content publishing.

Using these proven SEO strategies, the AAN helps dealers establish high quality, exclusive leads for less money, translating into higher closing ratios and lower costs for the dealers.  Plus, unlike traditional third party lead collectors, the dealer’s own inventory-listing pages are free of competing ads.

According to Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing and CO-Founder of the AAN, the Network gives member dealers a national, regional, and local footprint on the search engines so they appear on top of the search results for the vehicles they sell. “The Automotive Advertising Network leverages the power of consumer search and social media to present more opportunities for car shoppers to see their cars,” said Pasch.

The AAN has changed the playing field for dealers who have typically had to compete with national third- party lead providers who have long had an advantage on the search engines because of their national footprint and corresponding search authority.

To learn more about the AAN, it’s member benefits and features, please call Carrie Hemphill at 732-450-8200.