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
