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Dealer Tips

Not All Dealer Websites Are Created Equal

There are a lot of bad websites out there, especially for used car dealers. So how do you pick the best? One way is to examine the features that you should and shouldn’t have. Here are a few things to look out for.

  1. Website Templates
  2. The same look for every dealership doesn’t brand your web presence and it looks cheap. Shrewd internet users will notice that you haven’t taken the time to present yourself as a distinct business to them, and will correlate a lack of effort here with a lack of effort in other aspects of your business. Choose a company that will take the time to work with your brand to create a custom or semi-custom website for you.

  3. Mobile
  4. The amount of users accessing the web from their mobile phones continues to grow at a staggering pace, and you can bet that people are using them when they shop for a car. So how does your website look on a smart phone? Is it just a small version of your website that is hard to read and navigate? Or is it easy to browse and interact with without much effort? Choose a company that continues to optimize for this very important internet segment.

  5. Simple and Powerful
  6. Your inventory manager should be available from any computer, accessed via HTTPS for a secure connection, easy to navigate and simple to use. Powerful features like Vin Decoding, Bulk important from Karpower or your dealer DMS like Desk Manager would be included. Posting help to sites like Ebay, Craigslist, and OVE, should all be standard. Your vehicle should be automatically sent to third party free sites like Oodle, Vast, and Backpage, as well as any sites you pay for like Cars.com, Autotrader, and Vehix.

  7. SEO
  8. Because search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing make it so easy to find information, customers use these to find the website they are looking for, instead of trying to remember the URL. If you want your website to appear at the top for your customer, then search engine optimization is a must. Pick a company that knows the right blend of meta tags, keywords, and content to use to make sure your site comes up where it should.

  9. Affordable
  10. Dealers know that advertising is one thing they can’t afford to cut out completely if they want to stay in business. Why not start with one of the most affordable systems in the industry so you don’t have to worry about cutting back? Auto Ad Manager has been designed with the small independent dealer in mind, so costs are kept low from the start.

We feel that our internet application hits all of these marks.

Find out more about how Auto Ad Manager can help your dealership by clicking here.