ReachLocal helps auto dealerships connect online by combining local digital media and local Internet marketing consultants with technology. The firm has been servicing the auto industry since 2007.

Wall Street skeptics doubt that similar small businesses like Yodle will follow suit with the same returns, criticizing them for their low margin, high cost business models, but IPO specialists claim that their vertical business strategy is built on margins more so than percentages, similar to Amazon, which despite low percentage profits, brings in $1 billion annually.

Businesses, Car Dealerships included, can not be everywhere in Search and so you must be selective about where you position your website. If you focus entirely on where your competition is then you are missing out on opportunities to reach market share where you competition is not. By the same token, if you focus solely on where your competition is not then you will miss out on a lot of your market share. Alas, you need a balanced strategy for both.

This is where data and research become important. There is data available and there are tools that are accessible for determining where and how to position your website. For instance, Axandra and Web CEO which are two of the more popular software programs for researching and managing SEO (and to some extent your PPC efforts). There are also good online tools such as Webmaster Toolkit which are good for researching Search Markets too.

Car Dealerships have two choices…they can invest time and training into utilizing these tools effectively, or else they can rely on trusting providers to assist with or even manage these things on their behalf. Regardless, someone needs to be on top of these things in order for dealerships to thrive in today’s online marketplaces. For Dealers that do rely on providers to do this, which is the majority, they still need to be responsible for where and how these providers do position their dealer customer websites.

It’s all about supply and demand and while you do want to position your site where there is an abundance of demand, you also want to position yourself where there is little supply. You can obtain a lot of market share by positioning your site in spaces that are frequented and not saturated with suppliers.

So when it comes to Search Engine Marketing for Car Dealers, remember that you do not need to be everywhere for everyone. You do need however, a well-balanced mixture of visibility within your competitor markets and the market spaces where you can be the bright and shiny star in a galaxy of infinite possibilities.

Shouts out to Andy at Vinart for forwarding the Godin article.