Google Caffeine is the name for the new method that Google uses to index web pages. In contrast to Google’s old method, Caffeine can index new web pages faster:

“Caffeine provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than our last index, and it’s the largest collection of web content we’ve offered. Whether it’s a news story, a blog or a forum post, you can now find links to relevant content much sooner after it is published than was possible ever before.”

Google changed they way in which they index the web because they want to show new pages more quickly in the search results.

What is the difference between the old system and Google Caffeine?

Google’s previous system updated the search index in batches.

“Our old index had several layers, some of which were refreshed at a faster rate than others; the main layer would update every couple of weeks.

To refresh a layer of the old index, we would analyze the entire web, which meant there was a significant delay between when we found a page and made it available to you.”

With Google Caffeine, Google’s search index is updated continually:

“With Caffeine, we analyze the web in small portions and update our search index on a continuous basis, globally. As we find new pages, or new information on existing pages, we can add these straight to the index.”

That means that new pages will be displayed in Google’s search results sooner if they are relevant to the search query.

Caffeine is not a ranking algorithm update. It does not change the way Google ranks web pages so you don’t need to do anything different from the way you do things now. Caffeine just means that new pages will be shown much quicker on Google’s result pages.

To get your own website on Google’s first result page, analyze the web pages that currently have top 10 rankings on Google. The pages that now have a top 10 ranking on Google have done everything right to please Google’s latest ranking algorithm.

Analyze the top ranked pages and check how and where they use their keywords. Also check which web pages link to the top ranked pages and how they link to the top ranked pages.

Doing this is a lot of work if you do it manually. For that reason, we suggest the Top 10 Optimizer by Axandra. The Top 10 Optimizer automatically analyzes the web pages that currently have high rankings for your keywords and it compares them to your own website.

You will also get detailed instructions on how to change the content of your web pages and the links to your site so that your site will be listed in Google’s top 10 results.

For questions or assistance with Google page rankings or with Axandra’s Top 10 Optimizer call us at 877-873-0583.

By recently launching the Automotive Advertising Network, these executives believe member dealers can secure unlimited leads and online promotion of their inventory on national, regional and local Web sites. They contend the placement would be strategically positioned to appear on top of the most popular search engines, social networks and blogs through the use of automotive internet marketing.

Brian Benstock, general manager of Paragon Honda/Acura, recapped the online dilemma many dealers face and how the Automotive Advertising Network could provide relief.

“Many third-party lead providers sell the same leads to multiple dealers, and this hurts the closing ratio and average gross profit because many dealers are chasing the same lead,” Benstock explained.

“The network gives us exclusive leads that are not sold to other dealers so the closing ratio is a lot higher,” he added.

“The network has the national and regional search authority so our vehicles appear on top of the results in our market,” Benstock went on to highlight.

“All of our vehicles that are listed on the network link back to our dealership Web site so our Web site gets more traffic and relevance on search engines because we inherit the search authority of the network,” he continued.

Brian Pasch, Sean Wolfington and David Boice outlined their goals for the Automotive Advertising Network. Basically, it can be a path to help dealers generate more leads for less cost.

“It is very difficult for dealers to come up on top of the search engines for these phrases because there are many lead providers competing for the same 10 results on the first-page,” Wolfington pointed out.

“The network’s advertising technology gives dealers broader exposure for their new and used inventory online by helping them appear where customers start their shopping process: search engines and social-media Web sites like Facebook,” said Pasch.

The network executives further highlighted their initiative at the Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Monday. They emphasized six attributes dealers can gain for a $995 membership fee:

—Unlimited leads from consumers who are actively searching for a vehicle in their market.

—Promotion of a dealership and its inventory on CarDealerSale.com, as well as regional and local Web sites in the primary markets.

—Promotion of dealership and inventory on the most popular social media sites with live inventory posted on the store’s Facebook page.

—Unlimited vehicle inventory publishing on popular blog platforms and WordPress plug-in for optimized inventory listings.

—Banner advertising on the network’s local Web sites, as well as members do not see competitor ads on their inventory listing pages. Executives contend this is the first search optimized, dealer centric advertising platform.

—Access to the networks automotive press release publishing system and unlimited press release publishing on national and regional Web sites.

Timothy Martell, Internet director of the Albrecht Group in Massachusetts, gave a brief evaluation of what the network has done for his store.

“The network helps us dominate search results for every day search phrases that are the bread and butter for organic traffic and first party leads,” Martell noted.

Management of a Toyota dealership also shared how the network helped the store overcome turmoil surrounding recalls of the certain brand vehicles.

“We have a smart strategy to optimize our own Web site to appear on top for local search, but the network helps us reach people who type in the more popular national and regional search phrases like ‘Toyota recall,’” stated Alex Snyder, an executive with Checkered Flag Toyota in Virginia Beach, Va.

“All our cars are available for consumers to see on CarDealerSale.com and the hundreds of regional and local sites that have top position on the search engines,” Snyder added.

Another dealer from the Northwest summarized what Automotive Advertising Network executives believe their system can do for dealers nationwide.

“The ad network is our best new source of leads because they have a high closing ratio and are inexpensive because we pay a flat fee no matter how many leads we receive,” explained Jon Sherrell, Internet director at the Rairdon Group of Washington.

In a new e-book, Social Media Best Practices for Automotive Dealers, GOSO president Adam Boalt explains why social media has shown such quickly mushrooming growth and what the implications are for auto dealers in this environment.

He delves into how social media can be beneficial, brand reputation, word-of-mouth or referral marketing, as well as best practices and the best channels to auto branding and reaching shoppers.

The book also includes a special section devoted to social tools like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogging.

Additionally, Boalt touches on questions that dealers commonly have when it comes to social media. For example, he addresses how dealers can measure progress, keep customers and build a plan for the content they include on social-media channels.

Continuing on, Boalt is offering his insight as a panelist at the Direct Marketing Association of Detroit’s 14th Annual Automotive Integrated Marketing Symposium on April 20. He will be joined by Michelle Morris, automotive industry director at Google; Larry Bruce, vice president of managed marketing solutions for Reynolds and Reynolds; and Lonnie Miller, vice president of marketing and industry analysis at R.L. Polk & Co.

During the Symposium, Boalt is also offering the “Integrating Social Media with Marketing” session.

Boalt is also presenting at the 8th Digital Dealer Conference and Exposition in Orlando on April 21. His presentation is titled “Evolution of a Social Media Dealer.” This will feature a performance of YouTube celebrity Judson Laipply, who will share his viral video “Evolution of Dance” that has generated more than 140 million views.

View the original article here.

One such instance has occurred which I came across today by happenstance, and it affects one of my clients. I came across a Facebook profile yesterday by the name of Holbert Dealership-Story. My initial thought was, “cool”, my client is taking a proactive stance using Facebook to communicate a non-solicitous message, something we preach over here at AutoConversion. But then this morning I receive an invite to a Facebook group that made me realize this was not so cool after all.

The Facebook group is called Dealership Experience Repository. As I read it it became clear this was a group created by a disgruntled customer, the one whose profile originally reeled me in.

I am not one for complaining, especially digitally or in print. It usually bites you in the ass down the road. So regardless of this dealership being a client, I don’t like the vibe of this group and the agenda behind this person, but I understand his frustration.

Last year I had a major setback with Verizon and wanted to denigrate them to the highest degree. However I refrained and took my beef to the top, and I mean the very top, to get things resolved with them. I just didn’t want to be another winey pest using the Web to retaliate against Verizon.

But now Holberts has a dilemma on their hands. If you look at the 42 friends this disgruntled Facebook user has you may notice a lot of them are other dealerships. I would not hold it past these dealerships that they chose to be Facebook friends with this profile with the hope to further expose this customer’s beef with Holberts. You know the old adage, “look good and make others look bad”. So I imagine this person will get plenty of buy-in from other dealerships.

What I am most curious to see is how this holds up with the Facebook user policy. It is against their policy to create profiles, pages, and groups posing as other business or misrepresenting others, which I think their profile does, but not necessarily the group. This is one of those uncharted areas of the ether web that we lack on in policy.

My guess is that Facebook will frown up on this. The last thing they want is for Facebook to become a haven for complaints and denigration on businesses and individuals. That’s what sites like DealerRater.com are for.

Anyhow, it will be curious to see where this goes, if anywhere. Regardless the circumstance definitely poses new questions in the use of Facebook for automotive SEO.

If you have a website, a blog, own or run a business, or are an expert in anything, you should consider building a Squidoo lens! A Squidoo lens is a single webpage that can point to whatever you want it to.

This makes it a great way to build traffic to your site or blog, or to promote your product or service.

There are a few keys to making sure that your lens will help you with your social marketing strategy.

Lenses should have a clear objective, be brand commensurate, and have an SEO strategy.

We offer a variety of Lens types:

1. Company Lenses
2. Product Lenses
3. Event Lenses
4. Promo Lenses
5. Competitor Lenses

Company Lenses are representative of your business. The SEO strategy is for the Lens to appear in Search when people are looking for your company or for products and services you offer. Ideally, a company lens should drive traffic to your website and more specifically to your mailing list. Here’s an example of company lens: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/peruzzitoyota.

Product Lenses are representative of a single product or a group of products. The SEO strategy is for the Lens to appear in Search when people are looking for the types of products and services you offer. Ideally, product lenses should drive traffic to your Product Promo (Landing) Pages. Here’s a great example of a product lens: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/classiccarsnissan.

Event Lenses and Promo Lenses are representative of a one-time or recurring event/promotion at your business or associated with your business. If the event/promotion is recurring then your SEO strategy should be consistent with the long term interest of the event/promotion. If it is a one-time event/promotion then there may be no need for an SEO strategy unless it is several months down the road.

Competitor Lenses are representative of your market niche. The SEO strategy is for your Lens to appear in Search when people are searching for products and service you offer, or more precisely when search for a specific competing business to yours. A good way to do this is prepare the Lens to be informative and helpful for people researching things you and your competitors offer, but making it known that your company is the entity supplying the information. You do not want to be perceived as trying to deceive your audience, rather looking out for them.

Whether you use your Squidoo lens to build traffic, sell a product, or just share your expert advice, follow these few simple tips. Have fun with it! Remember to update your lens often in order to increase your lens popularity (called ‘lensrank’).

Search engine visibility is key to a great online presence, and Squidoo is a fun way to be able to present your expertise to the world and enhance your visibility in Search.

Now join us for a free webinar that will introduce you to our List Builder program which explores the core online marketing techniques adhered to today by top marketing agencies.

Topic: Build a Lead-Generating Machine in Less than 30 days!

Date: Wednesday April 1, 2009

Time: 11:30 am – 12:30 am EST (Eastern Time)

Join Us: Register to Attend

If you aren’t using SEO, Social Media and Email Marketing in your dealership, you should know that doing so can add tremendous value to your business and help you obtain market share that you may not be getting now. Applying these useful techniques to set up and maintain an effective and efficient marketing strategy to reach potential buyers doesn’t have to be easier said than done.

The AC List Builder program is a unique blend of SEO, Email, Video, and Social Media that can be set up and put on auto pilot for your dealership or run full-service by our team of experts, creating the ultimate customer experience and producing the highest quality leads you can generate on the Web.

In this webinar you will see:

• Why and how a blog can work in conjunction with your website
• Why you want to be employing permission-based email marketing
• Examples of how to implement a good list-building strategy
• How offering coupon incentives can attract customers
• And more…

This webinar is no joke, despite being held on April Fool’s Day!

Spend an hour with us to take advantage of seeing how we do what we do and what you can expect from doing these things on your own or having us help.

The Webinar is free and open to all, but space is limited, so register now!

From 2003 to about 2006, pay-per-click advertising, particularly in the auto industry, took the field by storm. Car dealers were practically forced to spend thousands upon thousands on PPC advertising to stay in the game. Website technology evolved into a death trap for car dealers because the SEO aspect of car dealer websites was completely disregarded. As a result, when the PPC bubble deflated, car dealers were left with few choices for a truly competent website platform.

Website providers have been scrambling the past 2-3 years revamping or overhauling their platforms to meet the automotive SEO needs for car dealers. Today the SEO rat race in the automotive online retail business is about as over-saturated as CRM was 5 years ago. Mysteriously, while everyone now offers “the best SEO”, many dealers still lack vital understanding about the true role that SEO plays in one’s business.

An example of this was revealed to me during a phone with a dealer group. The dealer contacted us about our content marketing services. He explained that he did his own keyword reporting using Web CEO and that he has effectively positioned his websites across thousands of keywords. He had a good video presence going but still when he searched for a particular set of keywords, his competitor sites appeared in the top results but not his. One of which he suggested sold a whopping “6″ cars a month, which is hardly any at all.

While scoping out everything and listening it was clear that not only did this dealer know and understand all the fundamental automotive SEO practices but also was applying them to his online presence, and I told him this. I explained that he is doing everything we teach our dealers to do and that as far as I could tell he was far ahead of the game.

“But why does our competitor rank higher”, he asked.

My response was two-fold…

a.) Just because a site appears higher in a few searches you perform manually doesn’t mean it ranks higher for others nor does it mean the site ranks higher for the majority of keywords you target.
b.) Just because your competitor ranks higher doesn’t mean they sell more cars.

This second response was key. Dealers tend to approach automotive SEO as some sort of silver bullet to their sales needs. But it’s not. SEO is about attraction, visibility, and possibility. I wouldn’t even classify SEO as creating sales opportunities. That’s what conversion accomplishes. SEO creates the possibility for conversion. Big difference.

I don’t know if this is what the dealer needed to or wanted to hear. I think appearing higher in search was more important to him than having a more successful business. I could be wrong. But what I took home from that conversation was the realization of how even the more sophisticated of dealers that has his head wrapped around all this SEO stuff, can sometimes miss the significance SEO has with your business.

If you are looking at video marketing as “the next big thing” or as a silver bullet to your online marketing needs, be warned. Video is great and highly effective, but it’s time-consuming and expensive. You will need good SEO to get your videos watched, and you will also need an effective conversion mechanism. Video itself is not the best conversion tool. Those that have experimented with viral video marketing may testify to this.

I look at social media as a noise filter. The Internet exudes a tremendous amount of noise. Your website must filter that noise and convert what it can to leads. Your CRM must then organize and market to those leads and your BDC process must cultivate what it can. But what about the noise your website filtered out that did not convert. Do you wait for it to come back?

This is where your blog and other social media sites come in to play. Look at them like a buffer between the WWW and your website. You and your employees can use your/their social media profiles to develop network contacts and business opportunities much more effectively in some ways than can your CRM system. A CRM requires either a web inquiry or manual entry and you could never input the quantity of personal information that a prospects social LinkedIn or Facebook profile would have. So isn’t it more efficient to reference a customer’s social media profile?

A blog, be it an employee blog or a company blog has a distinct role too. It’s like your public hub for general information and total public awareness. Use your blog as a buffer to gather noisy Internet traffic to your website or to your social media profiles. The website will do its thing and filter leads into your CRM. Then you can use your social media networks to cultivate those relationships into eventual business.

For business owners this is natural and even for most top-level managers and executives. But for those lower on the totem pole in their dealership or workplace who have little or no vested interest to do this, a new paradigm must arise giving incentive to these workers to use these tools in this way. I see sales in the auto industry evolving to a state comparable to the Real Estate industry where automotive sales professionals are building their own brand equity under the roof of a dealership rather than just trying to use social media to sell cars.

But there are numerous applications of automotive blogging which pose a choice for car dealers today. You have guys like Alex Snyder effectively blogging for dealership awareness with his Checkered Flag blog. You also have guys like Paul Rushing of ISM in Training who blog for what I would call personal branding, which is the idea of branding yourself in alliance with a dealership, but ultimately building brand equity in yourself more so than for the dealership.

I see this as the future of a dealership sales professional, much like is done in the real estate industry where the Realtor builds a clientele that can be carried along from agency to agency. The Internet gives automotive sales professionals the possibility to do this. I don’t see the purpose of blogs to sell cars. That’s what your website is for.

I think it’s important to know and respect the basics of blogging. For one, blogging is about conversation. It’s not about shouting and yelling, or selling and soliciting. It’s an easy pit to fall into because it’s so effortless and enticing to do so.

But this doesn’t mean you can’t promote yourself with a blog. Quite the contrary because that’s really the purpose of a blog – to promote yourself. The key is you have to go about it differently from what you might be accustomed to.

Blogging requires a balanced blend of research, listening, testing or experimenting, and then in the end some execution. The nature of blogging does not stipulate the need for a business model, but if you set out to blog for your business then you need to identify the role your blog, or blogs, will play in enhancing your product.