What makes one website drive more leads than others? There are three critical factors that greatly contribute to website success:
1) Content
You’ve likely heard the term “content is king,” but have you followed this rule? Truth is, it can be difficult to continually create and update content on your website. The reality is you really don’t have a choice if you want to compete in today’s online environment.
Each content page (inventory, product, service, etc.) of your website should be approximately 500 words and include keywords relevant to your business’ products, brands and location. All images need to have ALT tags or coded descriptions to allow search engines to find them; otherwise they do not contribute to your website ranking whatsoever. At a minimum, this information must be updated every quarter.
To increase your online (if your dealership offers an e-commerce option) and in-store sales, your website content should include:
• Current inventory with key features, options, specifications, fitment and real-time pricing.
• Availability of additional products and services based on the buyer’s product selection.
• Prominently displayed contact information, including your dealership’s address, phone number, email, and social media icons.
• Easy-to-use forms, including requests for information, financing applications and appointment scheduling.
• Product or service promotions prominently displayed on your homepage and a specials page.
• Promote events – events both at your dealership and in your community.
Using this content and contact strategy, you deliver to your customers – and prospective customers – the information they are looking for in an easy-to-read fashion. Further, all website content is “spidered,” or indexed, by the search engines that rank your website relevancy against your competitors.
2) Website Usability
Even if your website includes up-to-date information and user-friendly features, the navigation can still make or break the user experience. An interesting test of usability is to ask someone completely unfamiliar with your website to navigate around to find a specific product. Stand behind the person as they go about their search and just watch.
Take a note of what happens: do they scoot right to the information they seek or do they click around in frustration and get lost among your website pages? If you find your website usability needs a tune-up, start with reviewing your main navigation tabs to ensure they represent the primary aspects of your business.
3) Mobile Responsiveness
Multiple device usage – whether laptop, desktop, smartphone or tablet – is now the norm. Smartphone usage is rising at lightning speed, so you need to make sure your website is fully functional on all mobile devices. Not sure? Start by viewing your website on the various mobile platforms, including Apple iOS (iPad), Android (Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola), Microsoft (Nokia, Samsung, HTC) and RIM (Blackberry). How does your website look?
Your website must allow customers to easily transition from a smartphone to a tablet or a tablet to a desktop and have the same experience. If you’re not sure if your website is mobile-optimized, contact your website provider to confirm if mobile compatibility is included with your website.
Make a plan to focus on these three core strategies to improve your website performance and it won’t be long before you’ll enjoy increased sales – both online and in-store.
Nate Lehmann is sales manager for tire and automotive at 50 Below, an ARI company. ARI creates software solutions that help more than 2,100 independent tire and wheel dealers spanning over 3,400 locations “Sell More Stuff!” – online and in-store. Nate can be reached at [email protected] or 218-740-1407.
