SEM - It's Not Rocket Science - Part 1

SEM (Search Engine Marketing) - It's Not Rocket Science.  Rocket Science is pretty consistent and doesn't change just because you're logged on to Google+.  You can use some of the codes that were used years ago with Rocket Science and they will still apply today.  When you learn Rocket Science, what you learn won't be obsolete 3 months from now.  Most importantly, you can test Rocket Science by seeing if the rocket reaches its goal safely.  SEM, not so much.

The problem with having a company handle your SEM is that the only thing they are really interested in is showing that you're getting plenty of clicks and conversions for what people are clicking on.  But here's the key question, could you get the same results with SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? And how many clicks are you paying for that aren't beneficial at all?

Let me give you an example.  The name of one of my dealerships is Salem Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram.  We had about 6 or 7 campaigns including Salem Chrysler, Salem Jeep ..... you get the idea.  With our paid ads (SEM) we were showing up right at the top of the Google search. AWESOME!  Guess who showed up first in the organic (organic is your SEO) search.  Yep, you guessed it.  We did.

Now let's act like an average consumer who knows nothing about SEM.  I type in Salem Chrysler and the first one that comes up is the one I'm looking for, I click on it.  Do I know or care if  it costs the dealership money for that click?  NO!  It got me to what I wanted and that's good enough for me.  So what are we doing?  Paying eight dollars a click for something we could be getting for free.

Some times it does make sense to pay for your city and make.  Let's say, for example you are a dealership in Champion, Ohio that sells Chevrolet (which there is). But your billing address is Warren, Ohio.  Well, you better be doing some awesome SEO to get to the top of that search because you are competing with some other dealerships to get that spot.  As a matter of fact, there is no Warren Chevrolet so everyone is competing for that spot.  If I run that search in Google here's what I get.

Well we don't see the dealership in Champion, Ohio but we do see that Diane Sauer Chevrolet is dominating the page.  That's because Diane Sauer is in downtown Warren Ohio (I said there's no Warren Chevrolet, this is Diane Sauer Chevrolet) and the only Chevrolet dealer in Warren.  The other ones are in cities outside of Warren.  Cole Valley, for example, is in Newton Falls Ohio.  At least they are giving the consumer a chance to click on their paid ad.  Do you think that our Champion store might be missing some business because they are not paying for Warren Ohio?  Very well might be.

But here is the other question.  Does Diane Sauer Chevrolet need to pay for an ad when she is showing up all over the page from the beginning?  Maybe, if she really wants to dominate the page.  But she should be informed that she's going to be paying for clicks that she didn't have to (I've never heard that from a SEM/SEO company).

Ok now search your dealership city and make and see where you show up.  Are you surprised or not?  Now I know we are only using Google to do our searches but, at this point, they are the engine that most people use.  They are the search engine you're going to want to dominate.

If you are going to do SEM I would suggest using a company that specializes in it other than trying to do it by yourself.  You just don't have the time or the people to do it correctly.  One person is just not enough no matter how good they think they are.  But I would suggest to have a person in place that can monitor the results.  Set up a Google Analytics and monitor your results.  Use the back end tools with your web hosting and check your reports to see the results you are getting.

Next week we will continue with SEM and why you may want to cancel out some of the long tailed searches as well as some make and model searches where you're competing with your OEM.  Look for SEM - It's Not Rocket Science - Part 2!

Internet Marketing for the Automobile Industry - About Me

This blog will be about advertising online.  Specifically, advertising your automobiles online.  Now I can guess what you're thinking, "Not another person that's going to try to sell me something like a service or their online advertising."  Here's what I want to explain, I have no agenda.  I'm not trying to sell you anything.  I just want to share my years of experience to try to help you save some money on things that are not beneficial to your dealership as well as ideas to help you be more successful.  You're probably wondering what I bring to the table.  Well, here is some information about myself.

I have been in the computer industry in one way or another since the 1980s.  Programming was my major interests but, growing up in sales (my father owned a lawn and garden business) I always enjoyed working with the public. I started selling cars and motorcycles in the mid 80s and became familiar with the auto industry.  I decided to get out of the auto industry and get a degree in computer technology while working at a distribution center.  Shortly after I obtained my degree I went back to work in the auto industry in 2002 as an Internet Manager as well as the New Car Manager at a Lincoln Mercury Jeep dealership in Pennsylvania.  It's amazing how far the Internet has come since 2002.  Many dealers didn't even have a website.  I know we didn't.  I designed the website, signed up with AutoTrader.com as well as DealerSpecialties for pictures.  I think back then we got New cars listed for free on AutoTrader.com.  I worked with my brother at that dealership for about a year and a half before we moved to a Buick GMC Nissan dealership in Ohio.  I was still the Internet Manager but I had come up with a few other thing to help me be successful.  One thing I did was have the my email notify my cell phone when I got an internet lead through text.  I also set up an autoresponder.  The great thing was if I wasn't with a customer and I got a lead I was calling them right after they submitted the lead.  Customers weren't used to that.  Sometimes I even caught them off guard.  There weren't many quality CRMs back then and this worked out great.  Shortly after I used my programming skills to create a CRM for the automobile industry called INetDealer.com.  My brother and I brainstormed to come up with a system that worked best for the dealership.  I did all of the programming but the sales was never there to support us even though the system worked great so we had to close it down after about 2 1/2 years.  At that point I worked for AutoTrader.com as an Advertising Consultant for 6 1/2 years, did a short stint with Cars.com and am now back as an Internet Coordinator for a dealership group.

My experience with computers and the internet started before the internet caught on with the public.  When we were using 14400 modems (you know, the ones that worked through the phone line and screamed at you) I ran a BBS out of my house so people could share files, play games and communicate with each other.  I am an entertainer and I was one of the first to hard code in HTML to design my own website to promote my ventriloquism and magic.  I remember doing a search one time on AOL and there were only a few ventriloquist websites including me, Jeff Dunham and a website that taught ventriloquism.  Now if you type ventriloquist in Google there are about 745,000 results.  I have been studying the internet since before most people even knew what it was.  I remember using AOL when it was called PC Link while my Uncles used to get on the internet with Compuserve and Prodigy.  That was back when 64 and 128k was a big deal and if you had a 40 meg hard drive you were rich! 

It's been a fun ride.  It's been an experience and it's been an eye opener.  I can still learn something new at every internet training I go to.  I don't know it all by any means but I do know the internet has change the car industry by leaps and bounds.  Gone are the days where you knew more than the customer both about the new car and their trade.  Now the dealership has to be transparent.  When a customer calls today and asks for your best price you'd better give it to them.  Chances are they just called 3 other dealers and they already have Invoice minus Hold Back plus all the incentives.  You want to make sure they don't come in?  Don't give them a price or try to schedule an appointment without a price.  They may make the appointment but make sure you tell them to ask for Blue Boy because you'll be holding your breath waiting for them to come in.

All this to say I have studied and done a lot of research online as well as in life itself with my job and I want to give you the best advice about what works best, how to make it work better and where you might be throwing your money away.  Well, I really wanted to get in to internet advertising but I've gone on long enough for today.  Next time I'll discuss SEO/SEM.