The benefits of having your own website for your dealership

The online presence has become essential for any business today, including dealerships. Most people search for products and services online before making a final decision about their purchase. Therefore, if you have a dealership but do not have a website, you are missing out on a large number of opportunities.

Having an effective website can make a significant difference in the success of your car sales business. Below, we will delve into some of the main benefits of having your own website for your dealership.

Improve the visibility of your dealership

A website allows you to reach a wider audience than you could achieve through traditional or physical marketing alone. Your website is available 24/7, meaning that even when your physical store is closed, you can still attract and educate potential customers.

Furthermore, with proper search engine optimization (SEO), your website can appear on the first pages of Google results when users search for terms related to buying and selling cars. This greatly enhances the visibility of your business.

Optimizing the SEO of a dealership's website can be complicated, but there are some good practices that can be implemented, such as:

• Choosing the right keywords related to your business and your geographic location. Example: Used cars at the best price in Alicante.

• Creating quality, useful, and relevant content for your visitors. Example: A guide to the elements to consider when buying a used car.

• Improving loading speed and user experience on mobile devices to provide a better digital experience to your potential customers.

• Generating quality backlinks from other related websites to attract quality traffic from various sources.

If you succeed in ranking in the top search results for key buying and selling vehicle terms, you will be able to attract much more traffic from highly interested potential customers.

Attract more potential customers

A well-designed and user-friendly website can be a powerful tool for attracting new customers. You can use your website to showcase your available vehicles, provide detailed information about each one, and answer frequently asked questions.

Some ways to attract more traffic and leads to your dealership website include:

• Offering valuable content such as guides, tips, and informational articles

• Creating contests and giveaways to increase engagement on social networks

• Using effective calls to action to motivate contact forms and bookings

• Segmenting the database to send relevant automated emails

• Integrating with Google My Business to appear on local maps

If your website is well-optimized and provides a good user experience, it will not only help inform and educate your visitors, but it can also help you convert a greater number of them into leads or even sales.

Provide complete information about your vehicles

On your website, you can offer all the relevant information about the cars you have for sale. From technical details like mileage or age to high-quality photos of the interior and exterior of the vehicle.

This transparency not only helps the potential customer make an informed decision but also builds trust in your business. And as you know, trust is key in an industry like automotive.

Some information that should be included in each vehicle listing:

• Make and model

• Year/age

• Mileage

• Fuel type

• Power

• Equipment and accessories

• Maintenance history

• Photo gallery

• Videos

The more relevant information you can provide, the better. This will avoid disappointments or misunderstandings later in the sales process.

Make it easy for your customers to search for cars

A good web design allows the creation of intuitive systems to filter and search among all available cars at the dealership. Users can search for a specific type of car or filter by make, model, price, or other important features for them.

Implementing advanced search filters like:

• Price/price range

• Make and model

• Fuel type

• Mileage

• Year of manufacture

• Type of transmission

• Number of doors

This greatly facilitates the search process and enhances the user experience on your page. Ensuring that visitors quickly find their preferred cars increases the chances of conversion.

Allow booking appointments and test drives

In addition to displaying information about available vehicles, a website allows you to offer additional functionalities such as online booking for test drives or personalized inquiries.

Allowing users to schedule appointments or request information directly from your website through contact forms can be very valuable for both parties. Some recommendations for implementing it correctly:

• Integrate the form with your CRM to centralize leads

• Send automated confirmations and reminders via email and SMS

• Request the least amount of necessary data to avoid discouragement

• Have a clear process regarding how and when you will contact the lead

This way, potential customers can schedule a visit to your dealership at a time that suits them, which can increase the likelihood that they will ultimately make a purchase.

Build trust with quality content

A website gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge in the automotive sector. You can publish blog articles on relevant topics for your customers, such as tips for buying a used car or how to keep their vehicle in good condition.

Some types of content you can create:

• Step-by-step guides

• Lists with top recommendations

• Useful tips and tricks

• Attractive visual content like infographics

• Explanatory videos or virtual tours

• Success stories from satisfied customers

This type of content not only helps educate your visitors but also establishes your business as a trusted authority in the field. This is key to building credibility and trust in your brand.

Sell accessories and additional services

In addition to cars, you can use your website to sell accessories related to vehicles or even additional services such as maintenance, repairs, or extended warranties.

Design specific sections on your website to promote these additional services. For example:

• Accessories: wheels, upholstery, alarms, sound systems, etc.

• Services: financing, insurance, warranties, maintenance, ITV, etc.

Include descriptions, prices, and options for online purchase/contracting.

This can help you increase your revenue and provides a valuable additional service for your customers.

Collect data on potential customers

Finally, having a website allows you to gather valuable information about your visitors, such as their browsing patterns or the pages they visit most frequently.

This information can be extremely helpful for better understanding your audience and optimizing your website and marketing strategies to better meet their needs.

Some data you can analyze:

• Most visited pages

• Average time on site

• Bounce rate

• Traffic sources (organic, referrals, social, etc)

• Conversions and sales

• Behavior on mobile devices

With this actionable information, you will be able to identify both opportunities and areas for improvement on your website and digital marketing.

Optimize the user experience

Beyond content and information, it is key to optimize the user experience and navigation on your dealership’s website. Nowadays, users expect fast, responsive, user-friendly, and intuitive websites.

Some aspects to improve the experience:

• Fast loading speed

• Responsive design adapted for mobile

• Simple and intuitive navigation

• Effective internal search

• Clear and well-organized content

• Short and minimalist forms

If visitors have a good experience interacting with your website, they are more likely to return and potentially become a customer.

Integrate with social media

Today, social media is essential for any business. Integrating your website with social platforms like Facebook and Instagram can bring great benefits.

Some ways to integrate:

• Display links to your social profiles

• Include buttons to share content

• Integrate a feed of your recent posts

• Allow sign-in or registration using Facebook/Google

• Create viral contests on your networks that direct traffic to your site

Social media expands your reach and visibility. Additionally, social content like photos or videos can complement the information on your website and attract more visitors.

Boost online sales

While most dealerships still primarily sell traditionally, more and more dealerships are trusting Dealcar and providing their website with 100% transactional capabilities, featuring:

• Integrated payment gateway with secure methods

• Clear and simple buying process

• Transparent information about shipping, warranties, returns, etc.

• Quality post-sale service

• 100% digital financing options

Incorporating online sales can help you reach more customers, especially those who are more digital and comfortable with online shopping. Take advantage of this growing trend.

Conclusion

In summary, having your own website is essential if you want to maximize the success and visibility of your dealership in today's digital era. It not only allows you to reach a wider audience and provide detailed information about your available vehicles, but it also offers the opportunity to establish strong relationships with your customers by providing relevant and interactive content.

From improving SEO positioning to collecting valuable data about your visitors, a well-designed and actively managed website can make a huge difference in your business results. If you do not yet have a website for your dealership, now is the time to take the step!