With most leads being generated online these days it’s easy to get confused about where you should spend your money. Portals, social media, SEO, video – it can all cost cash, but are you focussing on the basics?

‘A dealer’s website is of paramount importance, and the strapline of AutoExposure “your showroom online” shows this,’ says AutoExposure’s sales manager Robert Sudworth- Jones. ‘In this digital age, a dealer’s website is the only window a lot of dealers have got into the digital world. A dealer’s website is their shop window for customers and is how they are perceived in terms of their choice of stock and the way their business is presented.’

Within the last few years, the opportunities for dealers to maximise their online presence with their own websites has grown hugely.

‘Dealers should be getting into free tool because it shows the customer experience’

‘There was a time when manufacturers had a hang-up about what their dealers’ websites looked like, but now dealers can be a little bit more independent,’ explains Sudworth-Jones. ‘Manufacturers don’t dictate so much to their dealers anymore, allowing dealers to put their own mark and their own message on their sites. The scope to build a website with more interaction with features such as customer management tools, the ability to put photos and adverts, and integrate it with social media is huge.’

This is what AutoExposure can do for dealers. It can build a website for a dealer that has all the features consumers expect from dealers these days. Its sites come with search engine optimisation, a content management system allowing dealers to update their site whenever they like, a tracked phone number, and independent web stats. AutoExposure can also link your site up with Facebook, transform photos of your stock, and add finance tools.

We asked Sudworth-Jones on the best tips to generate the most number of leads from their website. ‘Dealers should be getting into free tools like Google Analytics because it shows the customer experience – what they were looking at and for how long for.’

Dealers need to understand search engine optimisation too. ‘Investigate Google Places – this is key,’ says Sudworth-Jones. ‘For example, if you are a used car dealer in Bristol, make sure you are known for being a dealer selling used cars in Bristol, not for being known just as a used car dealer in the UK – you will get lost in search engines, otherwise.

‘If a dealer has been established for 50 years, this should be part of their keywords on search engines. It’s all about making your dealership unique on SEO – this will drive people to your site.’

Surely this takes a lot of time? It does, admits Sudworth-Jones, but it’s worth it. He adds: ‘Dealers should be spending as much time as they can on their site. Even if it’s a case of tweaking it, uploading a few images and offers. This will keep the site looking fresh and enjoyable for a customer to use.’

Dealers should also be spending around 40 per cent of their marketing mix on their websites, believes Sudworth-Jones.

‘Think of a Facebook page as another website – another showroom for your brand’

‘Dealers should be spending as much time and money on their websites as they would on any other form of marketing. I think dealers should be spending no less than 40 per cent of their marketing budgets on their website.’

And those two words crop up again: social media. ‘We are finding that more and more of our customers are asking for social media integration on their websites – and we can easily provide this. Also, more dealers are setting up Facebook pages and Twitter accounts by themselves, because they realise that it is important.

‘Think of a Facebook page as another website – another showroom for your brand,’ he explains.

But some dealers are doing this badly, says Sudworth-Jones. Like any other form of marketing, dealers need to invest time and effort into it. The wrong use of language can ruin a Facebook page – keep it professional. ‘We interviewed 1,000 people and 37 per cent said they used social media as part of their car buying process – this is a captive audience that dealers should be talking to.’

And for that extra something to make a dealer’s website really impressive? ‘It’s called Walk on Video,’ says Sudworth-Jones. ‘On the homepage of your website, a presenter can walk out of the screen and then talk to the user explaining the site. This is excellent because it makes the customer feel as though they are unique to a dealer’s site.’