On the way back from a dealer meeting, I had a very insightful conversation with our Digital Director at Strong, Gayle Rogers. In reviewing Internet numbers for several dealers, Gayle noted we are seeing numbers higher on SEM and SEO than we have ever viewed before. In the tracking process Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday experienced the highest visitor frequency. It was exciting to hear the goal set for overall traffic was now in the rear view mirror and we were reaching traffic numbers we never knew existed. In short – our client’s Internet traffic is spiking.
Gayle prefaced his next observation by noting Newton’s Laws of Energy: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Even though Internet activity grows significantly when the market is hot, you will not have the same visitor intensity 24/7/365. In other words, a gang-buster Internet month could be followed by a 10-15% dip in the next month.
My next question was obviously, “How do you avoid this?” Gayle’s answer validated what you would imagine, that even with a tool like the Internet, it is critical to have a complete plan to utilize its effectiveness. You cannot rely on spikes coming from any one campaign element alone. Instead, you need a complete presentation including written and video content and social media presence.
It is assured your site is going to see more traffic in the next 12 months, and for that reason you must be relentless in preparing for their first visit and subsequent revisits. Newton had 3 Laws of Motion and this is my favorite: an object at rest will stay at rest unless something gives it a shove. If you don’t have an Internet plan, get one; if you do, work it daily because even when the showroom doors are locked your store is wide open for shopping.
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John Paul Strong
John Paul Strong combines his two decades of automotive marketing experience with a team of more than 150 professionals as owner and CEO of Strong Automotive.
