Automotive SEO

I've been actively writing about the weekly changes that seem to be impacting Google SERP and Google Places.  Are you getting dizzy by the work needed to keep Google Places up to date?  I won't even mention the pain that many dealers have been having with Merged Listings!

One of the MOST crazy changes is that in many markets, the Google Places Business Name is being over-written with the dealer's Home Page Title tag.  This makes no sense since many websites are not optimized and have no proper Title Tag in place.  

The Denver dealers listed below now have CRAPPY business names and descriptions?  Why is Google asking for the business name and description in Google Places and not using it??  

Obviously, the Google team needs to step back and get feedback from the business community.

Until this is fixed and if this applies to your listing, I would update the HOME PAGE title and meta description on your website immediately.

Local Search Results Getting Stronger and Cleaner

Today I was looking at some searches in the Miami market, and a search phrase like "Honda Miami" did NOT pull up Google Places.  It normally does.

In other markets, like typing in "Honda Denver" Google Places does show.  Google Places is not consistent, have you noticed?

But the point I want to make is that when Google Places does not show, the results are very "clean".  Oddly clean.

The results were just like Google Places, in that the results were WAY TO CLEAN and ORDERED for my trained eye.  What I mean is that 9 out of 10 of the organic listings were the primary websites of OEM Honda dealers.  

These sterilized results are not representative of what Google SERP have looked like a year ago.   

It is clear that Google is localizing search better and may be using third party validation and not just SEO to create a SERP.  In the past, this page would have third party classified websites, press releases, and blog posts.  

What is consistent, is that the only non dealer primary website in list is an exact matching microsite. (http://www.hondamiami.org)   Now I have watched the video Matt Cutts filmed that said that Google will "weight' domain names less in organic search, but my experience is different.

Digital Marketing Vigilance

I bring this up to make the point that Google seems to be making visible changes on a weekly basis that impact your digital marketing strategy.  Google Places has become a magnetic for organic clicks which is reducing visitors to third party microsites that once easily apepared on Page One.

SEO strategies need to evolve and get more aggressive and that include more of an emphasis on Video SEO strategies. 

Have you seen how much organic search results have been changing?   If you need a better mousetrap, give me a call.

Share you challenges and success stories here.

Brian 

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences
Brian Pasch

Today Google reported blow-out earnings which surprised Wall Street.   It did not surprise me!

After hours trading had the shares up 35+ dollars and close to $600 a share. Just this past week, Google was at $500 a share so this stock has surged 100 points through the earnings week.

According to Google's press release:

...the company reported earnings excluding items of $9.72 a share, up from from $7.64 per share a year ago. Net income rose to $2.73 billion from $2.17 billion.

Net revenue, which excludes fees that Google shares with partner websites, increased 37 percent to $7.51 billion from $5.48 billion last year.

Aggregate paid clicks, which come from ads on Google sites and its AdSense partners, rose 28 percent from a year earlier and the average cost-per-click increased 5 percent from a year earlier.

Automotive Advertising Trends on Google

In the past year, automotive advertising clients of PCG Digital Marketing have been moving more of their budgets to online spending with Google.  

The biggest increases are in Google Adwords, Adwords Express, Mobile Adwords Campaigns, and Retargeting.

Auto dealers are also increasing spending on Facebook but to a lesser degree when compared to Google investments.

Google's  automotive advertising strategies are connecting dealers with in-market car buyers and increasing dealer sales and profits.  

This of course assumes that the campaigns are setup properly to track conversion and optimize results.

The shift by car dealers tracked by PCG is confirmed by today's earnings announcement from Google.  The upside earnings announcement was no surprise to me!

PCG Digital Marketing is assisting dealers review their advertising budgets and strategies and recommending changes to better connect with consumers during the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), a phrase coined by Jim Leciniski at Google.

Readers can download a free copy of Jim Leciniski's book at www.zeromomentoftruth.com

Shifting from Stimulus to ZMOT Investments

Car dealers still are overweighted in stimulus spending; radio, TV, and print.   On average, car dealers have 75-80% of their budget investment in traditional stimulus advertising.

When I travel to 20 Group or dealerships across the country to educate dealers on consumer shopping trends and ZMOT, the shift to increase digital spending is clear.  

Investments in Google advertising are measurable and can be tested to improve conversion and ROI.  This is an opportunity not afforded by traditional stimulus investments.

Dealers looking for more information on the best mixture of traditional and online advertising investments are invited to join the Automotive Zero Moment of Truth study which begins October 25, 2011.  

The free study is open to Dealer Principals, General Managers, and Marketing Managers of automotive dealerships in the US and Canada.

More information on the Automotive ZMOT study can be found at: http://www.automotivezeromomentoftruth.com

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Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences

Brian Pasch

Edmonton Toyota Oil Change

Bailey invites Toyota owners in Edmonton AB to visit Kingsway Toyota for their next Oil Change Service.  She attended a marketing workshop in Vancouver to learn how to use video to market their Edmonton Toyota dealership.

Schedule Your Oil Change

Just complete the form below and the service professionals at Kingway Toyota will be waiting for you in our clean, comfortable service lounge. Don't risk having your Toyota serviced by independent service centers that may not use factory original parts or hire trained Toyota technicians.

Edmonton Oil Change Centers

Car owners in Edmonton AB have many choices where they can get an oil change. Consider Kingsway Toyota for outstanding service, trained technicians that care about your safety, and money saving offers on all car services.

I'm looking forward to sharing with progressive dealers my latest research and strategies for automotive search engine optimization.  Google has been making so many changes to how search engine result pages (SERP) are displayed that it is hard to know what is important and what is just fluff.  

The job of an Automotive SEO strategist is not getting any easier!

DSES Workshop on Search Marketing

On Monday October 10th at 1:30 PM I will be conducting an exclusive workshop at the 2011 DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) and sharing my findings.  The title of my DSES workshop is:

"The Most Important Ranking Factors for Your Dealership in 2012".

You'll be surprised what are the most important ranking factors for today's digital marketing terrain. The content of my workshop is a perfect match for DSES.  The conference attracts the leaders in the field of social media, digital marketing, SEO, SEM, ecommerce, and sales training who share the latest trends and strategies for success.

DSES is an intimate conference with just the right balance of workshops, keynotes, and panel discussions.  Jared Hamilton has done an excellent job of attracting national experts in and outside the automotive industry to inspire dealers to greater success in the year ahead.

I strongly encourage you to join me in Las Vegas by registering today for DSES.  The registration link can be found at: http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com/2011_registration/

If you register by August 31st you can save on registration costs.  It's a steal at $699 but that rate is only good till the end of August!

Las Vegas Automotive Conferences

This year DSES is positioned between two veteran conferences, DD11 and JD Powers.  I know that if you attended all three conferences you would be out of the office 10 days, so pick wisely.  The dates for all the Las Vegas shows in October are as follows:

• DD11 - October 5-7th 
• AWA - October 7th
• DSES - October 9-11th
• JD Powers - October 12-13th

If you have not attended DSES in the past, this is the year to invest in a new experience that stands alone in value and design.  If you want a new approach to digital marketing and social media, you will get the "meat" at the DSES Conference.   Just check out the lineup of keynote speakers on this page: http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com/2011_speakers/

Automotive Website Awards

Another perk at traveling out to Las Vegas this year will be the opportunity to attend the 2011 Automotive Website Awards ceremony which is being held at Ceasars Casino on Friday Night October 7th at 6:00 pm.

The awards recognize the best companies that provide website platforms and digital marketing prpducts for car dealers.  Come out and be the first to congratulate the winners.

You can reserve your tickets to attend the awards ceremony and VIP cocktail reception by visiting the official awards website at:  http://www.automotivewebsiteawards.com.  

Tickets are limited, so if you will be in Las Vegas on the 7th, reserve your tickets now.

See you in October!

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences
Brian Pasch

Before I share this recent change I noticed in Google, I have to say that Google is making frequent  changes to organic and paid search results and dealers have to stay connected with these changes.  Your Automotive SEO strategy can not be STATIC, it has to be dynamic.

It is great to see that a number of automotive leaders are sharing what they are seeing.

Dave Page, from Dealer eProcess, shared yesterday how Google is changing organic SERP results with the additional of a new "box", shown in green, that contain hotlinks to related BROAD search results, as shown below:

I'll be sharing more information about this special case scenario for broad searches in the near future.

Google Enhances Sitelinks

Today I was searching a dealership name, and it looks like another change is being presented that is important for members of this community to know.  

The old "site links" section has been expanded to INCLUDE the META Title and Description tags as shown below:

If you take a look at the first LINK labeled "Used" you can see that the META Title and META Description is feeding that data, and I highlighted the text:

Automotive SEO Action Plan

You need to search your dealership name and see how the new sitelinks for your dealership are being displayed.  You should make sure that these LINKS and TEXT are clear for consumer action.

This will require some edits to your key pages that are included in the SiteLinks.  These edits will be for only those pages shown in the sitelinks and you will need to edit the Page Titles and META description tags.

If you DO NOT want specific pages listed in your sitelinks, you can delete them using Google Webmaster Tools.   You CAN NOT add pages to the sitelinks, but you can BLOCK pages, as shown below.

Are You Ahead Or Behind?

These constant changes are why dealers need to have a proactive search marketing strategy in place that can leverage the latest changes to gain a competitive edge on their local competition.

If your digital marketing partners are NOT keeping pace with these changes, give the team at PCG a call at 732.450.8200.  We would love to create a customized digital marketing strategy for your dealership.  Stay ahead of the competition and create a market DOMINATING strategy with PCG.

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences

Brian Pasch

Like a proud father who is moved with emotion as he sees his child graduate from college, I was filled with pride when Westbury Jeep secured their graduation honors. In July Westbury Jeep was recognized as the #1 Jeep Chrysler Dodge dealer in the United States for June 2011.

Being #1 in the US for any brand is a great reward and a double blessing for a passionate and engaging dealer principal. Many factors go into achieving that level of success and the entire Westbury Jeep team should be congratulated. Creating a team that executes on all levels is not an easy accomplishment.

PCG Digital Marketing has assisted Westbury Jeep define and implement their digital marketing strategy for the past three years. We have also developed a great relationship with Joel and his team based on keeping them ahead of their competition in regards to digital marketing.  

Joel Sporn is a rare dealer principal that sought to understand all digital marketing concepts so he could adapt them to his specific vision for his franchise store. Joel is a student of strategy and fiercely competitive. He chose to accept the responsibility of crafting his digital strategy and build a great team of marketing partners.

Joel sought out and connected with people who could help him learn, execute, and integrate that knowledge. Joel was patient to see the rewards of his digital investments, which is the main theme of this article.

Too often the executive leadership of a dealership is disconnected from the staff that are tasked to research, select, implement, and manage a digital strategy. This disconnect can cause dealer principals to be impatient.

It is not uncommon for digital investments to be pulled off the budget before they bear fruit in as little as 60 days.

Search Engine Optimization Is Not For Short Term Planners

Digital marketing investments can have an immediate and clear ROI for dealers like adding 24x7 managed chat to a website, adding pop-up coupons, or operating a pay-per-click campaign with well-designed conversion pages. These digital strategies have an immediate pay-off and, when measured, create a comfort level with bean counters.

Other digital strategies require patience to create a market dominating success story. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most misunderstood investments. Joel took the time to learn, craft, and implement a market dominating SEO strategy and the payoff is clear today.

Since an aggressive SEO strategy can take over a year to implement and refine, few dealers ever see the fruits of their SEO investment. Automotive SEO strategies are continually changing. Just recently Google added the “+1 Button” to search engine listing pages and this one change will have a major impact on click rates to dealer websites.

The Google launch of their social media platform “Google+” also creates new opportunities to drive social links and traffic to a dealer’s website.

Despite all these new opportunities, I caution dealers that have little patience to start an aggressive SEO strategy. If you are looking for SEO to make significant changes in online visibility and traffic in 90 days, don’t start.

Patience in Reputation Management

Patience is also required for Internet Reputation Management (IRM) processes, which yield an increase in online review counts each month. These reviews are visible to tens of thousands of in-market shoppers each month.

Dealers who ignore their online reputation “scores” are in effect using their monthly advertising budgets to send consumers to their nearest competitors. Dealers who want to fully leverage the digital divide must implement an in-store and post sale review gathering process.

Implementation does not come without resistance from dealer employees. They are also uninformed and impatient on the benefits of doing “more” work in their already hectic workday. The ROI to a commitment to IRM does not necessarily come in 30, 60, or 90 days, but when a dealership has 200+ more reviews than their nearest competitor, the pay-off starts to become very clear.

When consumers call and ask for sales professionals they never met because of an online review, your sales team will take notice.

Unfortunately, I have already started to see dealers give up on IRM process investments. I’ve been told that it’s too hard to ask happy customers to take 60 seconds to post a review inside the store. I’ve been told that none of their customers have Google accounts. Both are excuses and lies.

Dealers, what lies are you and your employees believing that are holding back your online marketing success?

Digital marketing takes a well-defined strategy and as I have outlined; patience. Success also takes a commitment to learn and lead from the top executives of the company.

We have mentored Brickell Honda, located in Miami Florida, over the past 2 years and they have over 800 reviews posted directly on Google Places. They have a market dominating digital marketing strategy that includes a strong belief in presenting a positive online brand image.

With the correct leadership it is amazing what can be accomplished.

Do You Have Patience?

Westbury Jeep and Brickell Honda have demonstrated patience in crafting and implementing their digital marketing strategy. Success did not happen overnight.

Their success came from having a strategy that reviewed all their current marketing investments, which resulted in an action plan. These two dealers are examples of a new breed of automotive professionals that are making the investment to develop a strategy that includes technology, training, and the willingness to be ahead of their peers.

Has your dealership made a commitment to create a dominating digital marketing strategy?

If dealers continue to measure success in 30, 60, or 90-day intervals they will never reap the rewards, which are produced from implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

I am not implying that your digital investments should not be measured each month. I am saying that until dealership executives invest in digital marketing education for themselves and their team, they will never have the patience to win the race.  They may win a short sprint but never the marathon.

Running A Dealership Is Like Running A Marathon

Successful car dealers are marathon runners.  If you are looking for a new trainer, give us a call.

PCG Digital Marketing can offer a full assessment of your advertising budget and blueprint for success.  

The marketing blueprint will build the confidence that you will cross the finish line with a broad smile.    

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences.

 Brian Pasch

The tsunami of changes that are coming from Google these days is without parallel. I look back to October 2010 when Google Places was integrated into organic search results and since that major shift, the team at Google has been keeping Automotive SEO strategists on their toes. It is clear that organic search results shown on Google Page One are being influence by social media posts, likes, fans, and now +1.

Just this week I noticed that a dealer's Facebook page moved to the second spot on Google Page One over well aged and well linked microsites. This dealer has over 35,000 likes to his Facebook dealership page. The highly trafficked Facebook Page outweighs the SEO strength of his other web assets. Change is here and documented!

Google +1 Implementation

Now we have Google +1 to play with and people are asking how they can leverage this new search "stamping" tool. According to Google's website: "Click +1 to publicly give something your stamp of approval. Your +1's can help friends, contacts, and others on the web find the best stuff when they search." Do you believe that your business provides great products and service to local consumers? Do your employees feel the same way?

If the answer to both questions are "YES", then what strategy do you have in place to educate and energize each employee to +1 your key digital assets. These assets are MORE than your website. Your Google +1 strategy should include your Youtube Videos, microsites, press releases, slideshare docs, etc. Any web assets that will help consumers connect with your brand and that show your company in a positive light.

Have you started tagging your web assets with the +1? What are you waiting for then!

Empowering Your Customers

Once you and your employees have been educated and a strategy put in place, next comes family, friends, and customers. This means that you email templates and communication process for soliciting reviews can be enhanced to leverage the Google +1 tag.

Have you added the +1 toolbar on all your blogs like the one at the top of this page? This toolbar makes it easier to get your readers and fans to engage in your +1 strategy. By the way, have your new customers been encouraged to +1 tag your Google Adwords ads?

By the way, before you leave this page, use the toolbar at the top to +1 the article and share it with your network. What are friends for, correct?

When You Use Google +1 - SERP's Change

Here is a quick task, please follow along with me. Log into your Google Account. Go to Google and search "Automotive SEO". Here is what you will see if you are logged into your Google account:

The first two listings should be www.dealer-seo.com and www.automotiveseo.co.

Click on the +1 button for these two listings. What happens after your +1'd these two listings, the next time you search for this same phrase "Automotive SEO". What changed? Now was that hard to do? You know the top search phrases that consumers use to find your goods and services. If your website is not at the top of search listings, these +1 tags from local consumers can make your listing stand out. Do you want your website assets to stand out?

The Bigger Picture - Socialized SERP's

Google is aligning business interests and search engine result pages (SERPS) to get more consumers to create a Google account and use Google tools. Once Google decided to get into the review business, a clear signal was sent. Reviews posted with GOOGLE accounts can be leveraged top increase SERP visibility and traffic; that's Google Boost.

Now that Google allows consumers to "mark" their favorite search engine result pages, once again businesses will educate and encourage consumers to mark THEIR listings to create a more visible SERP listing. The future of SERP's is socialized and personalized results for local markets. The sooner your business engages with a proactive review collection process and now a proactive +1 process, the faster your SERP listings will be standing out.

The faster your PPC campaigns can be enhanced with "stars".

Do You Have A Search Strategy

If you need assistance implementing a strong search marketing strategy that includes reputation management, SEO, Google Adwords, or Google Boost, we would love to discuss your needs and come up with a customized plan for your market. Call our team at 732.450.8200 and ask for Matt O'Such for a free consultation.  

Google has always enabled you to track what people say about you online with Google Alerts but they have now made it easier for anyone to track their online reputation with a new feature in the Google Dashboard called "Me on the Web".

I've stated this many times but it is worth repeating.  All advertising dollars that drive consumers to Google to search your business name or the goods you sell are impacted by your online reputation.  Google has socialized the web experience and your "stars" will impact whether a consumer will engage with your business or call a competitor.

Free IRM Tools

The new set of tools makes it easier for anyone to see what is posted on the web using their name. The dashboard also has features that includes a link entitled "How to Remove Unwanted Content" which will assist companies dealing with their online reputation management.

Here is an exerpt from that page:

"If you find content online--say, your telephone number or an embarrassing photo of you--that you don't want to appear online, first determine whether you or someone else controls the content. For example, if the photo you want to hide is part of your Picasa account, you can simply change your photo visibility settings. If, however, the unwanted content resides on a site or page you don't control, you can follow our tips on removing personal information from the web and removing a page from Google's search results."

Me On The Web

The Google Accounts dashboard, shown below, has the "Me on the Web" summary and helpful links:  

To access this feature, login to your Google Account Dashboard and it will be active.

The introduction of this feature is a clear signal to any business that Internet Reputation Management is a mandatory business process that should be part their standard operation procedures manual.

This feature will also help to educate the general public on reputation management.  In fact, on XM and local radio, you may have been hearing commercials from a company called "Reputation Defender".  Reputation Management is going mainstream and our phone has been overheating with companies asking for help with their online reputation management.

So, check out the new features and I am confident that this will be expanded in the year ahead to make it easier for people to check what people are saying about them online.

If you need assistance with synchronizing your business information on all directory sites and implementing a reputation management process, give our team at call at 732.450.8200.

Chicago area car dealers are pleased to see the PCG Pit Stop digital marketing conference come to Chicago on June 11th and 12th. The conference will be held at the Palmer House in downtown Chicago.

This is the first time that local Chicago car dealers can gain access to high quality digital marketing training offered by PCG Digital Marketing without a flight out of town!

Car dealers looking to learn more about effective Automotive SEO strategies will be able to participate in workshops lead by Brian Pasch, a leader in Automotive SEO strategies.

Dealers looking for updated strategies for SEO, SEM, Social Media, Reputation Management, CRM Lead Handling, Chat, Fixed Operations, and Improving Sales should mark their calendars and register today.

Why Should Chicago Dealers Attend?

Please Answer These Questions:

• Are you leveraging the new communication channels provided by social media?
• Do you have an integrated digital marketing strategy for your dealership?
• Is your website conversion rate increasing each month?
• Could you be handling your calls and Internet leads better?
• Would you like a 2-4% average increase in closing ratios to to phone and Internet leads?
• Is your Fixed Operations Budget using SEM, SEO, and Social Media?
• Are you looking for advice on how to structure your entire advertising budget?
• Are you ready to implement free advertising strategies to increase website traffic?

Get the answers, advice, and strategies from industry pros at the PCG Pit Stop Conference in Chicago.

Register to attend the next PCG Pit Stop^® that is conveniently located in Chicago that you can easily travel to and enjoy the workshop experience offered by PCG Education.  Six other cities are included in the 2011 tour so if you can't make the Chicago date, hop of a plane and get to a conference in another city.

Chicago area dealers need more than just their 20 Group Meetings and annual conferences to stay connected with the latest changes in our industry. Google has been making significant changes to Internet marketing every few months so don’t get left behind.

Details on the automotive conference can be found in the color brochure below:

In the past 60 days, OEM compliance inspections of dealer blogs, microsites, and press releases have significantly increased.  From the guideline documents that I have reviewed, it is clear that the OEM marketing teams have been poorly advised on how dealers should be leveraging all marketing opportunities on the Internet.

There is a double standard that OEM's have created in regards to automotive marketing.  Let's look at the Boston Massachusetts market, where many dealers serve this large city, but where only one dealer has an actual Boston address.  The other dealers are separated by 10-15 miles and physically located in a smaller suburb, with its own city name.

Dealers in the suburbs can take out print ads in the Boston Herald, which advertises their services to consumers well beyond their PMA.  These ads can use the words "Boston" in the printed text. and can even show driving directions from Boston to their suburbia location.

These same dealers can also take out radio ads or television spots that cross all PMA lines and saturate the greater Boston market. Both of these communication channels are available for co-op funds and can mention the Boston metro area in the ad script.

Dealers can also create Google Adwords campaigns that have advertising radiuses outside their PMA, and these campaigns are also available for co-op money.  These advertising campaigns can also use the word "Boston" as a keyword or any other city in a reasonable driving distance.

When Confused, Kick the SEO Dog

However, some dealers are now being restricted and penalized for implementing SEO strategies that use the same geo-targeting strategies that other approved channels can utilize.  If dealers can appear on radio, television, and print in towns outside a dealer’s official PMA, why not in organic search as well?

Specifically, dealers are being penalized if any of their organic marketing strategies include:

1. Including the name of ANY city outside of where their dealership is located in Title Tags, META descriptions, or in body text.  This applies to any website page with their name on it.
2. If dealers choose to use a city name outside of their physical location in a Title Tag or META Description, it has to be preceded by the word "Serving". 
3. Hyper-linking words in the body of any page that includes ANY city name outside of their physical location is prohibited.  This means you can't hyperlink Boston Toyota Service if your dealership is in Worcester.  You can't even hyperlink 'Serving Boston Toyota Owners" in a sentence.
4. Some OEM's have policies that prevent dealers from owning domains that have ANY city name in it that is not your city.  You can't own it even if there is NO competing dealer in that city.
5. Some OEM's have policies that prevent dealers from owning microsites that don't have your official business name as part of the domain name.

And the list goes on.  So, OEM's have created a virtual marketing wall for the Internet SEO strategies, which in fact only hurts their own franchise dealers.  Someone has an agenda against Automotive SEO strategies at the OEM level and it's only hurting their own dealer base.

Great News For 3rd Party Lead Collectors

This is great news for third party advertising sites and independent used car dealers.  Independents will so have unrestricted access to creating strong used car marketing platforms that are geo-targeted. 

OEM's are forcing dealers to transfer all domains that don't comply into their ownership.  The result of non-compliance is costly.

These OEM policies are GREAT news for third party lead collectors since they do not have any restrictions on domain names, content, or linking strategies.  Third party lead collection vendors must be jumping for joy, and it's even possible that they are the ones advising their OEM community!

These Internet content policies also increases dealer's dependence on inventory advertising sites like Autotrader.com, Cars.com, or Everycarlisted.com or PPC strategies.  These are all valid advertising strategies, but it looks like the OEM marketing teams are trying to limit competition, innovation, and free markets.

For many OEM's, dealers CAN NOT create a second used car inventory marketing site.  They can send their cars to 3rd parties but they CAN NOT do it themselves.  Interesting!  For many dealers, they are told that they can only have one website.  Period.

Since OEM's hold hundreds of thousands of dollars of dealers heads for compliance fines or bonus money, dealers have no choice but to comply. 

Time to crank up those PPC budgets!  Time to hire a few more inventory-advertising partners and increase your ad budgets.  Your days of SEO innovation must move to another area of marketing.

P.S.  SEO still works and dealers need an SEO strategy.  SEO is not dead. Dealers need to have a compliant SEO strategy while we wait for OEM marketing executives to reach out to industry experts on this topic.