What SEO & Online Reputation Management Companies are NOT telling YOU

DeliveryMaxx has acquired an insider who is an expert in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Local Search Engine Optimization (LSEO), Online Reputation Management (ORM), Pay per Click, and Social Media Marketing (SMM).  This individual has over 30 years of success in the automotive industry including running internet programs for publically traded companies, and owning dealerships.

We are choosing not to identify him publicly at this time because the information he is about to give to the public will upset a lot of the “big boys” who continue to charge dealerships for services that should not be charged for.  DeliveryMaxx is a growing company which was founded by people who have been executives in the automotive industry.  We make it a practice to hire experts who enjoy helping the automotive industry become familiar innovative ways to market and talk to today’s consumer.

 

Below is an excerpt from who DeliveryMaxx is calling “The Bureau”.  Have fun with the read, and stay tuned for more to come:
 
'Before I climb onto my Soapbox I want to clear something up. SEM is Search Engine Marketing not Pay Per Click (or even paper clips) SEM is the art (yes art) of utilizing the search engines (SEs) for your business’s advantage which can include PPC (Pay Per Click) campaigns.

Now give me a moment to climb on to my soapbox.

For years now we have heard that PPC was an absolute to be successful in any business in the Market Place. There is some truth in my opinion in this statement but do you really know what you are getting for your advertising dollars?

You just think you do!

Think about these points:
• How many impressions does my PPC ad get?
• What search engine do my impressions come from?
• What is the position are my ads displayed on the search engines?
• What time of day do my ads display to the public?
• Do my ads show on Mobile Devices?
• Are my PPC Ads pointed to a proxy website or my website?
• Is a Proxy Phone Number displayed in the PPC Ad?
• Is a Proxy Phone Number on my Local Area Listings?
• Do I have access to a real reporting tool so I monitor my ads?
• How do I know the reports on my ads are not skewed?

This list could go on and on but this should be enough to raise some pretty interesting conversations with your marketer or marketing company. Be prepared to see the “Deer in the Head Lights” look. I can almost guarantee it.

1. Let’s start with Ad Impressions… Impressions are how many times your ads were displayed on a search engine, right? Well there is a bit more to it than that. What if your ad is in the number 8 position on Google. Which most of the time is below the fold (the fold is the bottom of the webpage before you scroll down). If your ad is not in the top 5 then you LOOSE! You will receive an impression, but not receive the benefit of it being viewed by the public… this skews the reporting numbers - Marketing 101 right here.

 
2. Impressions and Search Engines. Most people assume (remember that word assume) that their Marketer or Marketing Company is placing ads on Google and Maybe Bing or Yahoo…. WRONG! To get cheap clicks most Marketers and Marketing Companies place your ads on Second Tier Search Engines such as 7Search, Lycos, Kanoodle and Enhance as well… Never heard them, of course not, but Marketers or Marketing Companies know about them. These clicks can cost as little as 2 cents, but produce nothing other than cheap click… now here is the kicker… Many Marketers and Marketing Companies don’t report the impression from these Search Engines, which elevates the click thru rate…

3. What is position of my PPC Ad? – Do you know, have you looked… if they tell you we can keep you in the number 2 position all the time, you better call them out. Because all PPC campaigns work on a bid system there is no way they can guarantee position. You might be number 1 at 10:00am and number 10 by 11am… and if your campaign contains several hundred word and 10 to 20 ads… well do the math… It is not possible… that’s why they get you an average position report at the end of the month.

 
4. What time of day do my ads display – We hope during business hours, Right? Most of the time your ads are gone by 2 or 3 in the afternoon do to budget restrictions… most marketers or marketing companies don’t advise their clients properly and give them an accurate estimate of a daily budget. A Car Dealership in a major metropolitan area can easy spend $300.00 per day in real money (not their marked up budget) on Google alone to stay in the top 5 during business hours. (Remember most Marketers and Marketing Companies keep 55 to 60% of the PPC money you spend)

 
5. Mobile Devices – Some Companies do not turn this feature on for their clients, because it can burn thru cash very quickly. Which in turn can have you dark in a matter of a few hours, that means your ads will not display because your budget is depleted for that day.

 
6. Proxy Websites – This is a great one – Most Companies use proxies (mirrored image of your site, but you don’t get organic credit for it because it sit on their server) because they say it is the way from them to get an true report on how your marketing dollars are spent. NOT TRUE, this the way they skew the number to their benefit to keep you as their client. Ask them if they ever hear of Java Script Source Tracking.

 
7. Proxy Phone Number – This is the same thing as Who’s Calling, Call Source or Call Bright… they are recording the calls to justify the ad spend. The real question it, where do these calls really come from? Once you read number 8 you’ll realize how they skew these numbers as well.

8. Locals, Places and Area Network Sites – You will know them as Google Places, Yahoo Local, Local.com, City Search, YP and so on. Do you know most marketer and marketing companies create these listings for you and place their Proxy Phone Numbers on these sites to enhance their call reporting… Have you ever noticed that you may have 3 or 4 or even more duplicate listing in some for these places and you can’t understand why…. Well here is the reason… if you have worked with several PPC companies of the years… there is no doubt you have duplicates spread across hundreds of sites.

9. Access to Real Reporting – As you can see there is no such thing with Marketers or Marketing Companies… think about… Have you ever called your buddy at another store and ask how many cars they have out… how accurate do you think that number is? Same thing here, only they package it up for you with bright colors and cool charts and graphs. We all know how Car Dealers love Bright and Shiny things!

 
10. Reports are Skew – After all of this I think is fairly accurate to say if you don’t manage your ads and use a Marketing Company the reports are skewed in one fashion or another.

The reason I wrote this today is I read a blog from an Automotive Marketing Company that was singing praises for SEM while talking about PPC… and I thought … These people are misleading (I had to edit misleading from stealing) the dealers with their nonsense. I my opinion again this company is clueless and people are buying into it…

I’m not saying at PPC is not something a dealer shouldn’t invest in. What I am saying is be very careful and pay attention to what they are reporting to you. Ask and have them prove to you they are a proven company or better yet, hire someone that can manage these types of functions for you. Believe it or not with some basic knowledge of how Digital Marketing works and with the implementation of some best practices it is not that hard. It is common sense!

Now let me climb down off my soap box….

I’m sure you are asking yourself “Who is the guy”? I have spent 3 decades in the car business starting in the 70s as a lot boy (for you younger set that’s what we called porters). I have developed some of the largest Internet Departments in the country and have worked for several Major Dealer Groups at the Regional or Divisional Level. Matter of fact I would bet several of you are using some of my old customer reply templates that I developed in the 90s. Several of the major CRM companies are using them in one form or another still today.

I have retired from the car business several years ago to have a life with my family and just now starting to remerge after discovering I really enjoy the car business. (Who I’m I kidding… I miss it). I’m not going back to retail or corporate, but I would like to help the dealer navigate their way through all the garage so they choose a marketing concept that really works for their dealership.'

from,

The Bureau

DeliveryMaxx is an innovative leader providing dealerships with solutions to increase CSI Scores, improve public branding and online reputation, dominating the world wide web through social media, add additional revenue for fixed operations, and provide real results for sales both repeat and referral business.  DeliveryMaxx’s business is turning the potential one-time customer into a raving fan for the dealership creating “Customers for Life”.

To find out more, please visit our website at www.deliverymaxx.com

 

Can Facebook & Social Media Help GM Sell More Vehicles

On May 22, 2012 I wrote a blog asking the public if GM made a wise choice dropping its 10 million dollar advertising spend from Facebook.  (For the entire blog visit: http://deliverymaxx.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/did-gm-make-a-wise-decision-dropping-facebook-as-an-advertising-medium/ )  My position then as it is now is that GM and many automotive dealerships are not utilizing Social Media Marketing correctly in particular Facebook.

In my youth, I lived in a small country town in Texas for a few years.  Often, I would hear the expression, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig…”Decisions regarding advertising by GM look like they are changing, but marketing strategy looks to be the same when you wipe away the “lipstick”.

Often, I quote Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity which is “doing the same action continuously and expecting different results.”

Companies have two schools of thought as to whether it’s worth the investment for paid advertising on Facebook or bypass it and continue using their business fan page which doesn’t cost anything to use instead.  This blog is not entertaining this debate; it is stating that to take part in this particular debate would be the wrong battle to fight altogether.

Advertising 101 says that the more eyes that view your product will give you the exposure to help you sell your product.  It is a law of numbers.  Marketing 101 tells us that the best message that resonates with your audience will help you sell more of your product.  When GM spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in their next advertising & marketing retreat developing the direction of their message, I can’t help to think about how the answer is right in front of their nose.

Advertising 101

Let’s discuss Advertising 101 first.  The more eyes that view your product will give you the exposure to help you sell your product.  Taking this principle to the core- Facebook has over 900 million active users.  Facebook is the world’s largest URL.  Facebook has captured over 75% of Social Media Users.  Your read this correctly.  FACEBOOK is NOT the ONLY GAME in TOWN!  Business must utilize Social Networking sites to market to their potential consumers.  GM needs to develop a strategy that encompasses all of the market.  Most companies try a shot gun approach without truly diving into the analytics of consumer behavior within the confines of Social Networking Sites.  Web 2.0 will allow companies to create a strategy that will weave throughout the web to reach your desired audience.  The key is to create a net large enough that will reach all of your potential consumers.

Marketing 101

Now for the Marketing 101 discussion, I am not going to pretend to have all of the answers for every company’s needed message that they should deliver to the audience.  However, I will stick to the basics.  If a company has a good product or service, a fair price, and exceptional customer care then their brand and reputation will fly through the air like a Michigan cold front in October. The consumer will be the companies best (or worst if one of the three business principles are not met) marketer.

Business 101

Assuming a company has a good product or service, fair price, and exceptional customer care it is necessary to combined Advertising and Marketing like peanut butter and jelly into a strategy that will create the unique taste the consumer is looking for.  Companies need to look at creating a forum (see advertising 101) for their consumer (see marketing 101) to share the benefits and advantages of their product or service.

Results

Key results for automotive dealerships (but you can replace automotive dealerships with any type of company) include strong CSI scores, increased sales, repeat business, more referrals, additional fixed operation revenue, domination of the web or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) value, published positive online reviews or strong Online Reputation Management (ORM), and overall exceptional Customer Loyalty and Retention.  It is about the emotion of the sale isn’t it?  Why not take advantage of what you do the best, and have your customers work to help you sell more vehicles (or product).

About DeliveryMaxx

DeliveryMaxx understands the needs of Automotive Dealerships.  They create real customized solutions that utilize both traditional media and innovative technology that helps dealerships realize tremendous results in turning “one-time customers” into “LIFE-TIME CUSTOMERS”.

For more information, visit http://deliverymaxx.com

DeliveryMaxx Helps U.S. Companies & the Economy

DeliveryMaxx prides itself on being a small business giving new opportunities to individuals who would like to make a difference in the way consumers feel about their percieved value of their purchases.

We live in a society that places value on the size of our homes, type of vehicle we use for transportation, time pieces we wear on our wrist, and the brands of suits that makes up our attire.  Americans spend more time working for these worldly possessions on average than we do with our families at home.

Thus, DeliveryMaxx was formed to help businesses, particularly the automotive industry, an opportunity to show appreciation to their consumers for making these purchases.  DeliveryMaxx creates a Social Media Marketing program (SMM) to publically thank their customers on a daily basis.  Included in this marketing program, DeliveryMaxx is able to increase Search Engine Optimization(SEO) value, Online Reputation Management (ORM), and help businesses acquire positive reviews and branding.  The end result utilizing DeliveryMaxx's Images of Success program is an increase in customer loyalty and satisfaction.  This program is truly a complete comprehensive automotive dealership consumer care program.

Founded by Josh Deaton, and James Schaefer, DeliveryMaxx has quickly become a tremendous value to the Automotive Industry utilizing a proprietary system called Images of Success that is able to advertise to the world on how dealerships treat and value their customers.  The results speak for themselves.

Dealerships reported an increase in sales, positive online reviews, higher CSI scores, additional fixed operation revenue, stronger store branding, and a dramatic increase in referrals and repeat business.

Both Mr. Deaton and Mr. Schaefer have served successfully in corporate management in years passed, but each saw a deficiency in the way consumers were acknowledged, or lack thereof, for their business.  In addition to these organizations not providing the level of customer service one should expect, employees did not feel valued throughout the organization.  Before DeliveryMaxx's first client was acquired, the founders decided on creating a best place to work.  That meant allowing employees to have flexible work schedules, and encouragement to put family and public service first.  Furthermore, DeliveryMaxx created a fair wage schedule that allows every employee to be financially rewarded as the company grows.  Each account that is added and all revenue that is earned is shared amongst all active employees.  As the company earns more, so does every employee within the DeliveryMaxx organization.  This concept has empowered every employee at DeliveryMaxx to help make decision that will better serve their clients.

For more information on DeliveryMaxx, visit: www.deliverymaxx.com

Both Mr. Deaton, and Mr. Schaefer remain steadfast in helping the economy.  They strongly believe that small businesses have a direct effect on employment rate and consumer confidence. Consumer confidence is an economic indicator which measures the degree of optimism that consumers feel about the overall state of the economy and their personal financial situation. How confident people feel about stability of their incomes determines their spending activity and therefore serves as one of the key indicators for the overall shape of the economy. In essence, if the economy expands causing consumer confidence to be higher, consumers will be making more purchases. On the other hand, if the economy contracts or is in bad shape, confidence is lower, and consumers tend to save more and spend less. A month-to-month diminishing trend in consumer confidence suggests that in the current state of the economy most consumers have a negative outlook on their ability to find and retain good jobs.

James Schaefer & Josh Deaton have dinner with Congressman Ralph Hall to discuss the local economy and small business advantages.

Investors, manufacturers, retailers, banks and government agencies use various assessments of consumer confidence in planning their actions. The ability to predict major changes in consumer confidence allows businesses to gauge the willingness of consumers to make new purchases. As a result, businesses can adjust their operations and the government can prepare for changing tax revenue. If confidence is dropping and consumers are expected to reduce their spending, most producers will tend to reduce their production volumes accordingly. For example, if manufacturers anticipate consumers will reduce retail purchases, especially for expensive and durable goods, they will cut down their inventories in advance and may delay investing in new projects and facilities. Similarly, if banks expect consumers to decrease their spending, they will prepare for the reduction in lending activities, such as mortgage applications and credit card use. Builders will plan for the decline in home construction volumes. The government will get ready for the reduction in future tax revenues. On the other hand, if consumer confidence is improving, people are expected to increase their purchases of goods and services. In anticipation of that change, manufacturers can boost production and inventories. Employers can increase hiring rates. Builders can prepare for higher housing construction rates. Banks can plan for a rise in demand for credit products.

Government can expect improved tax revenues based on the increase in consumer spending.

How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

Small firms:

• Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
• Employ about half of all private sector employees.
• Pay more than 45 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
• Have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade.
• Create more than half of nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
• Supplied 22.8 percent of the total value of federal prime contracts in FY 2006.
• Hire 40 percent of high tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer workers).
• Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises.
• Made up 97 percent of all identified exporters and pro­duced 28.6 percent of the known export value in FY 2004.
• Small innovative firms produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms, and their patents are twice as likely as large firm patents to be among the one percent most cited.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; Advocacy-funded research by Kathryn Kobe, Economic Consulting Services, LLC, 2007, Federal

Procurement Data System ; Advocacy-funded research by CHI Research, 2003, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population

Survey; U.S. Dept. of Commerce, International Trade Administration.

How many new jobs do small firms create?

Over the past decade, small businesses created 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs. In the most recent year with data (2004), small firms accounted or all of the net new jobs. Firms with fewer than 500 employees had a net gain of 1.86 million new jobs. Large firms with 500 or more employees lost more jobs than they created, for a net loss of 181,122 jobs.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census information on employment dynamics by firm size from 1989 to 2004 .

DeliveryMaxx pledges to conduct business ethically, provide opportunities for motivated individuals who desire to make a difference in the world, and create a great place to work.  DeliveryMaxx will continue to provide a great service to companies that wish to grow their business and increase customer satisfaction.  DeliveryMaxx desires to help improve the economy administering these sound principles.