Good Dealer Websites Are Not Free.
When looking at all the car dealer website software vendors out there, it’s no wonder independent vehicle dealer owners will scratch their heads.
Then, if that is not enough, the variety of choices in what can make up the body of your website are so vast, it can seem endless and overwhelming.
The good news is, there are only these following 5 critical points to follow. Therefore, if you choose to follow them, you will find the dealer website provider that’s right for you.
Your Dealer Website Provider Should Have 5 Answers to These 5 Questions:
- Can You Reach a Live Person to Help You?
- Will the Website be Mobile First and Responsive?
- How Fast will the Website Load?
- Can Your Website Software Support Export of Your Dealer Inventory?
- Will Your Website Creator Communicate with Your DMS (Dealer Management System)?
It’s not necessarily the fact that your best dealer website creator software option will be difficult to use.
What is important, however, is when you dive into the platform, they are there for you. You will be spending money on this thing, a thing that can mean the difference between a prospect and a customer. It is immensely reassuring to know that there is a web team with real people that you can contact. Even if it is as simple as how to change a background color, knowing someone has your back is priceless.
Did you know that first time visitors to your website will be browsing from their mobile device?
This is the industry standard and norm. Google wants an optimum user experience, and so they are going to have some strict criteria on what is required to create that optimum mobile experience. Thus, to have a favorable rank in a search result where you show up, it is important to follow the rules laid out by Google.
Google wants the content to be relevant, they want the page to load fast, they want all the content to match, and most importantly, they want your website to be mobile first and responsive.
Mobile first means that website technology development will start from a mobile user’s point-of-view first. Therefore, a number of mobile related questions will be answered. Does the visitor have to zoom in and out and move the page a lot? How long does it take for the page to load? Will clicking the phone# on the screen allow you to make a call? The answer to these types of questions will determine whether or not your website is optimized for mobile.
Responsive just means that no matter the screen size, your website will scale-to-fit perfectly.
Website loading speed is also a big deal for dealers. Let’s say you select an auto dealer website template that you like, but it means that your site takes forever to launch; then that is a problem. You probably just lost a site visitor. It is of paramount importance to minimize any reasons for a bounce. A dealer website should load in under 3 seconds no matter what. People have a short attention span, and if your site doesn’t load fast enough, they will just go on to the next site.
In order to make a website load fast, requires a lot of preparation from the website developer. Google definitely had a hand in this criteria as well.
Most importantly, it goes without saying, that you want to get the most exposure you can for your inventory. This means, that the website creation software you choose, needs to have a feature that allows you to export your vehicle inventory to the various online car marketplaces and websites, such as:
- CarGurus.com
- AutoTrader.com
- Cars.com
- eBay
- Craigslist
- …etc.
AutoManager offers all the above as well as access to their upcoming Facebook Automotive Marketplace integration for WebManager subscribers; so that is something to consider.
Think like this; you have an online showroom, and your website is the storefront, while exports, reviews, and testimonials flesh out your online presence.
Lastly, you want to make sure your DMS (Dealer Management System) can successfully communicate with your Website and its’ inventory.
This way, when a car is sold, it is removed from the website, and when you get new inventory, those vehicles are added to your website. All done without a hassle. This requires solid connectivity with your DMS. WebManager happens to have DeskManager, however, with other vendor choices you consider, this kind of connectivity is immensely important,
Vehicle dealer web marketing is also an important thing to consider, however, the above 5 things will steer you in the right direction. Most of the metrics that are made available to dealers are available across most platforms. One thing that might set one vendor from another, is a feature, such as being able to compare the pricing of similar vehicles in your area, before you have your vehicle go live.
Having a great dealer website does not have to be overwhelming, just follow the 5 things up above, especially #1.
That’s why it is #1.
