Since the invention of the automobile, the “Holy Grail” of auto marketing has been to reach prospective customers who are actively looking for a new or used vehicle at the exact moment they are shopping. However, until recently, marketing efforts using traditional media (TV, radio, newspaper, direct mail, etc.) missed that target and dealerships have wasted thousands (if not millions) of dollars every year advertising to consumers who are not even considering a purchase.

Today, thanks to the Internet and online search engines like Google and Yahoo!, it is possible to reach the in-market car shopper at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. The problem is that almost all car dealers are scrambling to increase their market share by capturing these online consumers – mostly by buying “paid search” keywords that match a word phrase, such as Honda dealer to a result, such as Bay City Honda.

Roughly 90% of all Internet new-vehicle shoppers use a Search Engine during the car shopping process. (J.D. Power and Associates)

However, “paid search” marketing is not only expensive, it is not as effective as ‘natural or organic’ search, which is the free results that appear on the main part of a results page. In fact, independent research shows that 8 out of 10 consumers go directly to the natural or organic search results first – rather than the sponsored or paid listings.

Independent research also shows that searchers view the top-three results in natural search 100% of the time, while only 50% viewed the top ranking paid ad on the side and 40% the ad in the second placement, 30% the third, falling to 10% in the fifth spots and lower. Coming out in top three slots in organic search is also key—Rank 4 falls to 85%, Rank 6 to 50%, Rank 8 to 30% and down (Enquiro study).

Searchers view the top-three results in natural search 100% of the time, while only 50% view the top ranking paid ad on the side

The fact is, if a dealer’s not ‘coming up first’ when a local car shopper is searching for new or used inventory, dealers, service and parts…they’re losing a huge percentage of potential customers and sales to the dealer who’s achieving higher placements at the search engines.

‘Coming up first’ in search is quite simply the most effective, targeted way to bring car buyers into your dealership—especially in an age where a typical search on any given day for ‘Honda dealer Miami’ or ‘Toyota dealer San Francisco’ nets about 300,000 hits!

eXtéres’ Solution to the Search Challenge

With a keen awareness of the dramatically rising impact of search engines on a dealership’s business — and an understanding of the often ineffective and over priced paid search arena - eXtéres developed the first comprehensive organic search solution, named the Organic Search Marketing System (OSMS).

Designed for the specific needs of auto dealerships, OSMS is the first technology to combine the many facets of online search into one platform. At its core is a complex automated application (a true trade secret) that modifies a dealers’ hundreds of core keywords on the fly, as daily adjustments/changes take place at the search engines. The differentiator that makes eXtéres so successful, is the precise way the on-site optimization synchronizes with eXtéres’ high-tech, complex off-site search application.

eXtéres has spent a full year testing OSMS with a group of leading dealerships across the U.S. (30 dealers and 62 brands nationwide). The results have exceeded expectations, as these case studies demonstrate. Case Studies >>