Why Does Your Auto Dealership Need A Well-Optimized Website?

For automobile dealerships to be successful, the importance of being highly competitive and ‘visible’ on the online space can hardly be overemphasised. Digital marketing optimization for automobile dealerships is a whole different game altogether. The auto-purchase journey starts online for most buyers (the number of buyers who start their research on the web is more than double of those who directly visit a dealership). On average, people browse through more than 4 dealership websites, before getting in touch with any particular seller. The presence of an easily accessible, information-rich, user-friendly and regularly updated website invariably enhances the general perception about a dealership – enhancing the overall reliability & authenticity of the latter.

Let us here explain in detail why your auto dealership simply must have a well-optimised website:

Dealership Websites Build The Trust-Factor

Survey Reports That Websites Act as Relevant Source of Information

A vehicle purchase is an extremely important investment decision. Trust and reliability play vital roles in this context. A recent survey revealed that, for nearly 37% respondents, auto dealership websites serve as the most trustworthy source of information. In fact, a responsive & updated dealership website is often viewed as more reliable than the web portal of OEMs – and equally important as references from family/friends. It’s pretty clear that having a website makes an auto dealership more ‘authentic’.

The Need For Dealership Website Optimisation

On average, buyers spend close to 14 hours online, for doing the necessary research about the cars they wish to purchase. While that brings the importance of creating & maintaining a dealership website (to connect with these buyers) right at the forefront – there is a point of disconnect. For 1 out of every 2 buyers, the dealership websites are able to ‘just meet expectations’ – falling way short of the smooth & immersive online experience that dealerships should focus on delivering. This is precisely where the importance of website optimisation comes into the picture. Don’t just build a website for the heck of it – make sure people get what they want from your portal.

Eliminating The Over-Reliance On Third-Party Marketplaces

Among many dealerships, there is a general perception that being present (i.e., being listed) on the third-party online marketplaces is a pre-requisite for business success. This belief is fueled by the fact that close to 79% buyers do refer to such sites for information. However, relying too much on such external marketplaces is often damaging from a financial perspective – eating into the dealership ROI & profit figures. With the help of an optimised and easily accessible website, auto dealerships can make the same information available to potential buyers – without having to incur the additional costs.

What Information Should Dealership Websites Contain?

Dealership websites have the potential to ensure easy & early information access for customers. However, this purpose can only be served when the website actually contains all the information the visitors might be looking for. Right from detailed vehicle information & specifications, to HQ photos (having multiple photos of each vehicle is advisable) and the option to compare the features/prices of different vehicles – a dealership website should ensure that people find all the relevant information at one place. Make sure that the details of the latest deals & special offers are available on the website. Given that many buyers avail car loans to make the purchase, a built-in loan calculator on the website would also come in handy.

User-Friendly Websites Boost Dealership Visits and Pull Up Sales

People are, more often than not, undecided when they kickstart their online car buying journeys. With the help of professionally designed, user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing and information-rich websites, auto dealerships can easily capture the attention and mindshare of prospective buyers. As such, an optimised dealership website can very well be considered as an important ‘sales tool’. The objective of any good auto dealership website is to engage readers – and finally, transform them into showroom visitors and paying customers. The cost of each automotive lead is, on average, more than $200 – and an ‘optimised’ dealer website can ensure minimal lead losses.

That Thing Called CONVENIENCE

Even before the pandemic struck and ‘new normal’ became a thing, the importance of dealership websites was high – particularly for establishing the credibility of the dealer, and as an information source. In the post-pandemic world, this importance has gone up even further. Dealerships have to make sure that people should be able to look up their business information at any time and from anywhere, as per their convenience. Prior to arriving at a purchase-decision, buyers – understandably – like to have a clear idea about the brand and the dealership (helping them form clear expectations about the services).

Dealership Websites Help Auto Business To Stay Connected With Buyers

AI or Live Chat Helps Auto Dealers to Respond Quickly

Brochures, business cards and advertisements all serve as valuable communication tools for auto dealerships. However, people can have queries at any time, which need to be resolved quickly (failing which, buyers can simply switch to a competitor). This brings the spotlight on dealership websites with built-in web chat features. There are rooms for improvement in this regard – with less than 45% of auto dealership websites having this 24×7 live chat functionality. More than half of all buyer queries come in outside of regular business hours – and round-the-clock human-powered chat support can make sure that potentially fruitful leads are not lost.

Optimised Websites = Better Customer Experiences

Optimized Websites Smooth 70% of Auto Purchase Process

Most of the touchpoints in an average car-buyer’s journey are digital. In such a scenario, the overall online experience that a dealership manages to provide its potential buyers makes a huge difference. Fully optimised dealership websites, with a touch of innovation & uniqueness, can easily engage the online traffic – and, more often than not, they offer seamless personalised experiences. The dealership website in particular, and digital platforms in general, make up more than 70% of the vehicle-purchase process of buyers. By the time they start interacting with a salesperson, they have already advanced in the overall auto sales funnel.

The Importance Of Responsive Websites

Auto Dealership Websites Should be Responsive & Mobile-Optimised

Nearly 84% of the global population on smartphones. As such, it is hardly surprising that a huge chunk of the buyer-journey touchpoints happen on mobile devices. Dealerships need to make sure that their corporate websites are fully responsive and have fluid, ‘mobile-optimised’ designs. Bringing updated information right to the fingertips of customers is absolutely essential in the B2B industry – and the automobile sector is no exception to this.

The Value Of Quality Information

While setting up their business websites, dealerships need to keep an eye out on the quality of information that is being published online (i.e., stored on the website). Researches have shown that, 6 out of every 10 people actively look for further information about a product after reading about it. More importantly, high-quality, valuable, focused website content helps in the creation of a positive perception about the dealership. The website is the best platform to convey information about an auto dealership’s USPs.

The online research process for 1 out of every 3 potential automobile buyers culminates on the dealership website. With the website often serving as a first point of contact between a prospective buyer and a car dealership, it is imperative to make sure that the website delivers optimal user-experience to all visitors, and helps in making that all-important favourable first-impression. Ours is a mobile-first world, and dealerships also have to ensure that their website – along with other business communications – are available across devices as well. The automobile sector is becoming more and more competitive – and unless a dealership manages to be ‘always connected‘, it runs the risk of falling behind.

The presence of a properly optimised website is no longer just an option for your auto dealership. You simply must have one, to get more leads and make your business go ‘vroom‘!