7.5 Marketing Myths
on the Internet

Support & Resources > Dealer Articles > 7.5 Marketing Myths on the Internet

February 12, 2007
By Peter Cameron-Inglis

Myth #1: If you provide less info in your listings on the Internet you'll get more Internet "Ups".
Reality #1: You may think you're saving some time by not entering those details and photos for every vehicle, but, you're not. Studies done by many respected groups including NADA, have shown that the largest percentage of consumers respond to dealerships who display multiple photos, and a lot of details about the options on their vehicle listings. You may get a higher number of "tire kickers" responding to less information, but they'll just be wasting your time asking questions about what's on the vehicle. Weren't you trying to save time in the first place? Get a WOW from your website visitors not a WHOA! For more qualified leads put more info and photos on your Internet listings NOT less.

Myth #2: Internet selling is all about high volume and low price for the consumer
Reality #2: This is partly right. It is about high volume. Over 90% of consumers today for both new and used vehicles are doing their shopping online. But, it's NOT about low price. Most dealers have got this completely wrong and that is, in part, why they think the Internet doesn't work. For the consumer it's about three things: educating themselves; saving time; and finding a better way to buy a car (a better experience). They're shopping not just for the right car, but also for the right salesperson, and the right dealership. I can give you a long list of dealers across Canada in both small and large communities that are doing a high volume of Internet sales AND they're getting a higher than average gross. It doesn't matter if the dealership is large or small, domestic or import, what matters is a quick response with good information and great customer service.

Myth #3: Your website and advertising success comes from the number of Hits you get.
Reality #3: Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! This is just the BS that advertising companies and website developers feed you. It's NOT about "Hits". Instead it's about three things: Unique Visitors, Internet "Ups", and Sales. Don't let anyone tell you anything different. So what's a Hit? A hit is a request for a file from the web server. The number of hits received by a website is frequently cited to assert its popularity, but this number is extremely misleading, and dramatically over-estimates popularity. A single web-page typically consists of multiple (often dozens) of discreet files, each of which is counted as a Hit as the page is downloaded. The number of Hits is really an arbitrary number, more reflective of the complexity of individual pages on the website versus the website's actual popularity. Instead, you should be seeing at least 100 unique visitors a day to your website. This should translate into at least 3-7 Internet "Ups" per day (90-210 per month) and 27 to 63 Internet sales per month. If you're not achieving these numbers give me a call toll free at 1-866-955-2255 and we will look at the reasons.

Myth #4: Your Internet website only affects your Internet related sales.
Reality #4: It's very sad to see how few dealerships are actually measuring their sales results and from where they are originating. A few months ago several dealership including Universal Ford of Calgary polled all of their customers from a 90 day period and found something very alarming. Over 90% of their customers had visited their dealership website before ever coming to the dealership. Less than 20% had actually generated an "Internet Up". How important do you think their website is to them now?

Myth #5: All Internet leads are relatively the same.
Reality #5: Recent studies done JD Powers & Associates and many other organizations have shown that you are 50% to 66% more likely to close a sale through "Ups" off your own independent website versus "Ups" from your manufacturer's website or a third party portal.

Myth #6: It's okay for your "Internet people" to register your domain name(s) for you.
Reality #6: Is your website domain registered in your name? Dealerships often fall victim to the companies that provide them Internet related services. Many companies will register your domain name for you but they will register it in their name. This doesn't create a significant problem until you want to change providers, and then it can get quite nasty with your Internet service company holding you hostage. You can fight it, but it can become time consuming and complicated especially if your domain name is generic, like bcusedcarfinance.com or bcautosearch.com. Many dealerships may also inadvertently register their domain name(s) in one of their employees' names rather than the name of the dealership. This can also pose a problem if the dealership loses that employee.

Myth #7: Canadian companies should just use Canadian .ca domain names.
Reality #7: While it is true that you should register the .ca version of your domain name it is better to use a .com as your main website. Most consumers, software and search engines assume the .com by default. Search engines have been known to show preferential treatment to websites with .com versus .ca domain names. The best rule of thumb is to make sure you have registered both and point the .ca version at your .com website.

Myth #7.5: If you have more domain names you'll get more search engine traffic.
Reality #7.5: Just registering a whole lot of domain names is not enough. There are many factors that determine what your rankings will be in the search engines. If your domain names do not have separate websites with content and "link popularity" (links from other websites) then they will not be seeing search engine traffic any time soon. Still, I'd like to point out that one of the best uses of multiple domain names is to use them as methods of tracking your advertising. For each advertisement use a different domain name. If you have your website company setup statistical tracking on each domain and forward the traffic to your main website then you can run many different advertisements and track which ones are most effective.

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Need some fresh, free content for your web site or e-zine? You are welcome to reprint this article on your web site or in your e-zine. We simply ask that you let us know where the article will be appearing, and include our byline with a link to the ASLInternet.com website.

Peter Cameron-Inglis is a co-founder and the Vice-President of Marketing & Operations at ASL (Aged Stock Ltd), a company that provides Internet and sales systems for automotive dealers to increase traffic, increase leads and increase the sales closing ratio.

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7.5 Marketing Mythson the Internet

7.5 Marketing Myths
on the Internet