Casual observations mid month Janurary 2009

My business is really picking up to a point where it is getting hard to keep up so I have hired two people to work for me and am so glad I did. Two of the biggest projects I am working on right now are for the same dealer. I am building them microsites/blogs. New Jersey Hyundai Dealer and New Jersey Used Cars

On another note I am redirecting the content of my flagship site to incorporate more automotive seo content just because there is so much smoke and mirrors out there in regards to this topic and also have an Internet sales manager that is going to collaborate with me now.

I also am helping a competitor to improve their rankings for automotive crm software and have had people tell me I am crazy for doing it. Our products are so diversely different and we just have one offering that overlaps so really with the reciprocal help we are giving each other it is a no brainer.

On another note dealer.com has not followed up like they said they would after they got upset about my article on dealer search engine marketing but I really did not expect them to follow through with anything. They are to bloated to make changes and two arrogant to listen to a voice of reason.

Ooops - It Happens

I did a recent post that caused an uproar with an automotive vendor about Dealer Search Engine Marketing and had an interaction that was less than professional on both ends.  Since then there has been a meeting of the minds of sorts.

Well after the first interaction with them I blocked their IP address from my content and thought I had removed it.  I did on one property and forgot to do it on another so they were still getting a custom error message.  Well I have now fixed this error but it may have done irreparable damage to any future relationship.

Now what is kinda funny is they are stalking all of my content in an effort I guess to figure out how I was able to out rank them for dealer.com search engine marketing

dealer.com search engine marketing < LINK TO FLICKR

It is child's play to win these non competitive keywords it is even even easier to get them to stick if I really want them to.  They are spending an exorbitant amount of time stalking my content and trying to figure it out.  What is even better is they are taking time to correct my spelling my mistakes on a very obscure blog that really is more an exercise in search engine reputation management than it is anything else.

I appreciate the traffic and they really do not understand what that does for search engine optimization of a property.  As much time as they are wasting trying to figure out how I did it they would be a head of the game just to contact me and help them really learn SEO.

Where to go from here?

I am working on several projects right now and plan to use social networking to present these services to the online automotive community.  My main project is going to be a craigslist tool for car dealers.  My goal after that is to design a wordpress theme to build dealer micro sites on.

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors but out there by various vendors but car dealer micro site vendors in the space today really do not have a clue about the best way to SEO these properties or how to optimize them for multiple keywords.

It is time for the industry to wake up and smell the roses.  The big vendors and the ones who do not continually look for ways to improve their skills will soon be left in the dust. 

Trying to develop a search engine presence to market specific vehicles with is really a waste of time and resources if you are doing it with multiple sites.  Having multiple properties to deliver a branding message and useful content to the masses is a great way to market a dealership but certain aspects of the business should be kept to one or two main properties then leverage other platforms to deliver traffic.

One good example is a credit related site I have seen recently pop up trying to draw search engine traffic in for NJ bad credit car loans.

dealer micro sites, automotive micro sites, craigslist for car dealers, nj bad credit car loans

Can You Change Your Philosophy?

I am working on a project for Frank Myers Auto Maxx.  They have been a North Carolina used car dealer for several years and their flagship has always been "Everybody Rides".  Now I get the feeling they are wanting to change their marketing paradigm which is fine, but what is the effect?

If you are branded as a type of business such as a dealer that specializes in bad credit then try to turn on the faucet to attract a different type of customer you will miss your bread and butter.  The customer types types are a dichotomy and it would be almost impossible to serve them both and maintain a market share.

The real decision is which is more profitable and gives you a higher ROI.  I know which customers I would chase if I had the outlets in place to get them financed!!

The Importance of the Long Tail

Trying to rank for competitive search terms is difficult however many place great emphasis on trying to shoot for the sun moon and stars on highly competitive terms.  One of my friends that runs a used car blog has been successful in ranking for some very competitive terms, but in my opinion it was due to the fact that he started out going for the long tail and the competitive terms came as a result of the long tail rankings and traffic.

Automotive SEO is not rocket science it just requires a lot of work in both content and link building.  That is what is missed in the everyday car dealer website.  I firmly believe that you can use a blog to capture traffic for some very competitive search terms and if people decide they want to do business with you they will visit your inventory.  Car dealers really need to learn about blog marketing.  That is why I am excited about one of the projects I am working on now.

A blog tied in with other forms of user generated content will kick ass and drive a tremedous amout of traffic to a dealers website.  To bad I could not get the Kingsland used car dealer to understand this.  Someone can chip away at their non competitive search terms and own the serps for anyone looking for used cars in Kingsland or even the whole state of Georgia.
 

Getting My Game On!!

I have been working very hard to help build the best automotive marketing blog in the world very diligently over the last few months.  I has caused me to put some things in perspective.  I love affiliate marketing and I love networking and I never thought I would ever be paid to network.  So in that since it is awesome, while at the same time most of my affiliate marketing properties are suffering.

I missed the opportunity to go to Digital Dealer V but from what I hear it was a wash out.  So maybe it was not a complete waste.  However I was wanting to visit a with a few of my online if I got there.  One that is a Dallas cosmetic dentist and the other who works for a Tulsa Chevrolet Dealer.

Oh well sometimes missed opportunities open other doors.  You just have to drive on and make the most of it!!

Torn, Beleagured and Tired

Well that is how I feel right now. I am working on a pretty major project it the Automotive Digital Marketing space and found out today that I will not be attending a conference that I was planning on attending. All of that is well in good because a home we were trying to buy fell through and it will allow me to spend more time with my family.

My family is the most important thing in my life. They are the absolute all in what I do day in and day out. The opportunity I have been presented with is keeping me from returning to "In the Trenches" and I am very grateful for that. I just hope that at the end of the day it is worth it for all parties concerned.

Just sometimes it feels like the harder I work the further behind I get and it opens people up for disappointments.  I really don't like that at all.  I find myself concerned with what is next and working harder to meet my obligations.  Oh well til next time .....

automotive digital marketing, in the trenches, paul rushing