by Ben Brockhaus-Hall, Cobalt SEO Specialist

Google has gotten smarter. Just this past September, they surprised everyone with a complete algorithm overhaul, called Hummingbird. Essentially, it changed the way Google ranks dealer websites and displays data. The new algorithm is based on semantic search, focusing on user intent versus individual search terms, in hopes of providing searchers with higher quality content more specific to what the searcher is actually searching for.

Whether you're an SEO…

By Brian Pasch

This week, Automotive News posted a story, written by David Barkholz and Amy Wilson, covering AutoNation's decision to reduce their dependance on third party classified websites and lead providers.

This is an interesting public statement since AutoNation had previously owned AutoUSA for a number a years, which generated exclusive 3rd party leads for their dealer network. Excess leads generated by AutoUSA were sold on the…

Why Work Harder For Less?

On this week's Think Tank Tuesday:
  ✓ Learn how to identify your clients
  ✓ Find out what you need to be spending time on
  ✓ Determine key mistakes in your sales process

 Perfection is unsustainable, while personal progress is obtainable.

Stay green and let yourself grow!

When someone claims to be “green”, what first comes to your mind?  They are making an effort to reduce their carbon foot print on mother earth?  Maybe they are a vegetarian?  Or they are actively recycling?

When I hear the word “green” used to describe someone, the first thought that comes to mind is "green pea" or the newly hired automotive sales staff at a dealership.  Like a struggling seedling pushing their way up through all the heavy soil around them, to reach for the life giving sun.

Seedlings tend to:

• Adapt…

A fascinating article in Forbes shared a concept that is increasingly winning over customers. In the article, the author described what he termed “anticipatory customer service” as “a customer experience that manages to serve even the unexpressed wishes and needs of your customers through the use of technology and automation.”

People are busy. A gesture such as an emailed service reminder that a customer can view when they have time in their hectic schedule, is certainly appreciated by many. However, Anticipatory Customer Service takes this to another level. Depending on the circumstances and the customer preferences, not only would you…

I really don't know who I'm going to offend on this one. We've been researching so many vendors over the last couple of months that work with chat, lead-gen widgets, and website platforms themselves that we haven't taken the time to explore PPC vendors. Maybe that's why I was blindsided to find out that there are at least two vendors out there charging 20% and one that we found who is charging 25%.

Is it me or is this insane? We'll put aside the 25% vendor for now. I'm hopeful that it's some sort of accounting mistake or something. Focusing on the 20% charge, it really bugs me that this may be more common than I ever knew. I've always hung around the organic side of search, so PPC hasn't been a focus. With that said, I've managed dozens of PPC campaigns over the years and I could never…

By Brian Pasch

Have you started to test Twitter promoted tweets for your business?  You should because there are many opportunities for car dealers and the vendor community on Twitter.  The cost of Twitter promoted tweets is not expensive, but any expense without proper tracking is wasted money.

If you have not investigated the Twitter advertising section of the website, click on the wheel in the upper right hand corner, and then click on "Twitter Ads", as shown below:

Twitter will provide basic ad reporting on their promoted tweet campaigns based on clicks, replies, re-tweets,…

Processes save lives. It’s true. It is especially true when you are lying in a hospital bed with a doctor and a nurse talking to you about how their processes will save your life…which was where I found myself in the not too distant past.

Actually, I found it rather odd that I was being talked to about processes. Usually, I was the one explaining why a process, when properly implemented, would save a customer’s life. (Not to mention the dealership’s life.)

So, there I lay. “We are going to check your vitals every 2 hours until you have made some progress.” That seemed reasonable to me. I might have needed a little extra monitoring to get well. It made total sense.

In our business,…