Q&A With Google Adwords Expert at TOAST Vancouver: What We Learned

We know that not everyone could make it to our special TOAST + Google session in Vancouver on May 21, but it’s not every day that we get the story straight from the source. Read on for the key points of our Q&A Session with Google Adwords Expert Kristoffer Sorensen, and our take on how it affects your car dealership online: Speaker Background: Kristoffer Sorensen

Google Representative for Ann Arbor, Michigan (Greater Detroit Area), AdWords Expert and developer for Google’s online marketing strategies for Search, Display, YouTube and Mobile platforms.

“Consumers are not brand loyal anymore”

• I am on my fourth car and fourth brand myself. With loyalty at a minimum, you can’t count on customers to come back to your dealership. You have to work for them, and improving your online presence will help.

“We live in a multi-screen world”

• People are always connected, and they do most of their research online. Take that family standing on your showroom floor: they could be researching a vehicle from their phone right now. How do you know they aren’t on a competitor’s website?

Only 20% of shoppers actually buy the first vehicle they research – Google/Compete/Polk Cross-Shopping Analysis, July 2012

Provide your customers with all of the information they need on your own site and they will be less likely to walk onto a competitor’s car lot. This is  why having a mobile website, especially when other dealerships don’t, will give you an edge.

“Customers use 18 different sources of information”

• That’s a lot for your sales team to stay on top of, which is why you should put the information that your customers need on your website.

Car reviews, vehicle information, and even reviews of your dealership may influence their decision to buy a vehicle from you. Having information readily available online will keep customers on your site and attract them to your dealership.

“It is still not too late to be early”

• Did you know that Roger’s still does not have a mobile site? Get out ahead of your competitors by embracing new technology. It’s better to be an early adopter than the last one to the party.

“Customer interest never closes” 

• Over 35% of automotive searches occur when the dealership is closed. Even if your dealership is closed and your staff are on holiday, your online showroom never closes for business.

“Searches for Auto Dealers are up 42%”

• That is just in one year, between 2011 and 2012. With more and more people searching online, now is the time for your dealership to take advantage of this growing industry and capture the market while it’s fresh!

“Serve people the right ad at the right time”

• If I’m drinking my morning coffee while reading the sports section and come across a car ad in the newspaper, it is unlikely to grab my attention (unless it’s particularly clever). But if I’m sitting at my computer and type in “What car should I buy?” into Google, there’s a good chance I will click on one of the first few websites at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) offering information on the subject. If your dealership is in those first few results, then I am one step closer to walking in the door.

For the record, “What car should I buy” is a real search phrase that many people have entered and that your dealership could capitalize on:

Keep an eye open for upcoming TOAST sessions and gain more valuable insights into how your car dealership can succeed online! While this was the first time that a Google representative has joined us, we don’t believe it will be the last. Duncan Cochrane & Michael Fisher