Articles: Marketing & Sales

By Dave LaLonde

Optimizing Online Conversion and Traffic

Dave LaLonde is Senior Vice President and Search Engine Optimizer for Auto Credit Express. The ACE Group is a special finance total solutions firm offering their dealership partners entry level and advanced sub prime training, an easy to use online software, and an expert auto sales lead system.

Few technologies have spread as quickly, or become so widely used, as computers and the Internet. These information technologies are increasingly becoming common fixtures of households, opening opportunities for new marketing and communication avenues for many businesses, in particular the special finance sector. Various independent studies show the rapidly growing use of these information technologies across all demographic groups and geographic regions. Many more individuals today are using the internet as the single source to gather information prior to making a major purchase. Proper design and management of your website will ensure that you are sharing in this new economy representing billions in purchasing power.

Let's begin by reviewing online conversion. As you know, online conversion is a measurement of the number of visitors who took the action you wanted on your site divided by the total number of visitors. Improving the speed and layout of your website will improve your conversion rate and determine the success or failure of your site.

If your website pages take more than 15 seconds to load when using a dial up connection you are losing the majority of your visitors. Studies indicate that approximately 50% of the population still accesses the internet from their homes by means of slow dial up connections. To compound the issue many dealer websites are graphic intensive, which adds additional load time and makes the user experience less than memorable. Slow load times result in visitors aborting their activity and redirecting their efforts towards searching for a more user friendly site. I would suggest that if you haven't viewed your site from the eyes of the average dial-up consumer you should do so. To test this properly it's best to first clear your internet cache files and uninstall Macromedia Flash. You may be shocked at what you see - especially if your site utilizes flash technology or has words similar to "Skip Intro" on the home page.

Again proper design and management of your website will determine it effectiveness. I suggest that your site should have a webpage dedicated to sub prime financing. The page should be designed to fit browsers with a display resolution of 800 X 600 pixels as this is the default resolution on most computers. Visitors should not have to scroll from left to right to view the contents of this page. Three components should be displayed and viewable within the 800 x 600 area:

Your store's qualifications. Why is your store uniquely qualified to help the consumer?
A few simple bullet points that explain the sub prime process, no need to go into great detail. For example:
- Step 1: Complete the confidential, secure, online pre-approval questionnaire
- Step 2: We will match your confidential information with current loan offers from our exclusive nationwide lender database
- Step 3: Meet with your finance specialist, review all your loan options, select a vehicle, and close your loan. The entire process normally takes less than 24 hours, even with bad credit.
A prominent link to your special finance application, step one is a good place for this link.

Below the 800 X 600 area that is viewable place a few testimonials from previous customers and end the page with another prominent link to your credit application.

Next, let's take a look at online traffic. Web site traffic is measured in many ways, and reported traffic numbers typically include unique visitors (the number of different people who have come to a site) and page views (how many pages have been requested and loaded by a site's visitors in a given time period). Online traffic most commonly comes from three sources:

Direct response traffic from advertising (print, radio, television, direct mail)
Free, organic search engine traffic
Paid traffic (sponsored search listing, banner advertising)

Since, I currently have limited exposure with direct response traffic from advertising; I will concentrate on sharing my expertise with organic search, sponsored listing, and banner advertising.

Increasing online traffic is as much an art as it is a science. Two areas that will give you the greatest ROI for your efforts is increasing search engine traffic and effectively utilizing online paid traffic.

How To Increase Online Search Engine Traffic

You have to start with your websites home page, if your site is not search engine friendly your sub prime financing page will never be found by the search engines.

Your website's title is paramount to generating free, organic search engine traffic. Of all the things people search for on the internet the word "welcome" is not one of them. If your websites title begins with the word "welcome" or contains just the name of your store, have it changed and include your franchise, general location, keywords in the title and complete it with the name of your store. Below is a good example of a website title for John Doe Chevrolet's website, located in a suburb of Dallas.

Correct Format:

Dallas' online Chevrolet Dealership. New, Used Chevy Cars. John Doe Chevrolet.

Incorrect Format:

Welcome to John Doe Chevrolet
John Doe Chevrolet.

You should also search for your store's name on Google™, Yahoo®, and MSN®. If your site is not in the first position - your web designer probably included your stores name and contact information in a graphic. Search engines cannot read graphics. Change your stores name and contact information to text and make sure it appears on almost every page of your website.

In addition, search for the nearest major metropolitan area, the franchise you represent, and the word "dealers" on Google, Yahoo, and MSN, for example; Denver Dodge Dealers. If your website is not on the first page add a text tagline to your website which includes the nearest metropolitan area, for example Denver's online Dodge Dealership. Make sure the tag line is actual text and not included in a graphic.

A Cost Effective Way To Increase Online Paid Traffic

A fast, cost effective way to drive local traffic to your sub prime financing page is to geo target consumers using online sponsored links. I've tried most sponsored listing services as well as banner advertising. The best bang for your buck is with Google Adwords and Yahoo Search. Stay away from banner advertising, especially if you're charged per impression (CPM).

Google Adwords allows you to target broad keywords phrases, such as used cars, in your specific region or city. Your ad will only show up when surfers in your local area conduct a search. Yahoo Search also has two products available to geo target local consumers; Local Sponsored Search and Local Listings.

In addition, target keyword search terms specific to your area. There are two free resources available to view what people in your area search for online; WordTracker®.com free trial and the Yahoo Search keyword appliance. The web address' are:

http://wordtracker.com/
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

If you visit these sites to find new keywords, begin by entering the nearest metropolitan area and the word auto or car for example, Detroit Auto or Detroit Car. These engines will return the most popular search phrases that contain these words. If your local area has a nickname, such as Chicagoland, DFW, Inland Empire, or Bay Area, enter these as well. Once you're done you should have a list of very cost effective geo targeted keywords that will drive traffic to your site.

Next month I will address high and low converting keywords as well as the differences between CPM, CPC, and CPA advertising.

Published in World of Special Finance Magazine
January Issue 2006