Today as I searched for Chicago Dealers and I was blown away how much Page One real estate was used for Google Maps listings.  This is the second time I saw this type of action on Page One this week, so it is time to start a discussion.

I color coded the SERP in sections to show that:

• Google Adwords was split on top and right shown in pink.
• Two organic listings were displayed above the new maps region, shown in green.
• That 7 spots were taken up with exploded Google Maps listings, shown in red.
• The remainder of the organics were shown under maps which were cut off on the screen capture.

Google Maps Changes IRM Strategies

I don’t see this type of display for all searches and maybe this is a new design for broad commercial searches but this is a game changer. What do you think?

What I can see is that Google review stars are SIGNIFICANTLY MORE VISIBLE which means that automotive reputation management processes must really be locked down. What I also see is that if you are not in the top spots for organic search, you will get crushed by this new design and experience significantly less clicks.

What I also would expect is that the Google Ads on the right side will receive less clicks. There is too much activity front and center that brings the consumers eye to the maps region. So this will also be a game changer for Adwords bidding.

Homework: Get your Google Maps listings updated with photos, videos, coupons, and make sure you have the geo-targeting set correctly. If this is a look at the future, the more complete and compelling your Google Maps listing is, the more calls and clicks you will receive.

If you need help, call: 732.450.8200.

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Of all the digital marketing concepts that one could teach to a dealer, that would impact his bottom line, POD Score™ would be in my top 10. The evolution of the “POD Score” has been a labor of love. I have assisted hundreds of dealers document and understand their visibility on the major search engines.

Over the past 5 years, the search results have produced alarming trends that most dealers are not aware of; their brand is under attack. A dealer’s POD Score™ is a measurement of how much of their brand equity is being diverted to competitors, lead collectors and uncontrolled commentary about their dealership.

Page One Defense – POD Score™

Based on feedback on numerous automotive forums regarding how a POD Score™ is calculated, I have created a revised formula for creating a POD Score™ that is designed to give dealers a quick measure of how well their name is being defended/protected online when consumers perform a “direct search” on their name in Google.

The elements in the revised POD Score™ are:

• Google Adwords Campaigns
• Google Maps
• Organic Listings

The revised formula also changes the weighted value of listings in the first five positions of Google organic results as compared to the last 5 listings on Page One.

A car dealer’s name is the number one keyword that drives traffic to their website in organic search. It can also be in the top five most clicked keywords if the dealership name is purchased in Adwords.

Consumers who search for a dealers name are most likely further along in the sales funnel than a consumer typing a broad search phrase. Consumers who search for a dealers name can be searching for a phone number, responding to an advertisement seen or heard offline, and an existing customer looking to service their car or ask a question.

Avoiding Disruptive Attacks

Since these consumers have set a search goal to connect with a dealer, it will take a disruptive event to divert a significant amount of traffic from a dealers website. I am suggesting that some of the more common disruptive events on Page One can be:

• A targeted PPC campaign showing by competitors or OEM.
• Strong negative reviews and low star ratings on Google Maps.
• Significantly higher stars on Google Maps for a competing dealer.
• A top five position for a complaint on aggressive websites like RipOffReport.com
• Targeted microsite attacking the dealers name like ww.abcdealersucks.com

Based on real life observations and data I have collected on multiple websites, I am convinced dealers should observe and take action for what appears on Page One for a search on their name. The degree of urgency will most likely depend on a dealer’s past experience with negative posts, employee attacks or aggressive competitors.

With that said, is just one element of their overall digital marketing strategy. Its beauty is that it clearly demonstrates the impact of digital marketing strategies, Automotive SEO and PPC, used to gain visibility for a car dealer’s name. Dealers will have to determine if their revised POD Score™ merits action.

What POD Scores Are Not Intended To Accomplish

• POD Score™ is not to be used to measure Page One results on random keywords. It is designed to measure the Page One results for a search on a business name.

• The POD Score™ (Page One Defense) is not designed to measure the exact financial impact of owning Page One.

• It is not a measure of the financial impact of PPC bidding or not bidding on a dealer name when no competing Adwords campaign are present.

• Most importantly, it is not meant to imply a measurement as to the net value of click traffic generated by PPC Ads vs. organic listings that show on Page One for a dealer’s name.

The Revised POD Score™ Formula

The revised formula is an acknowledgment that when a consumer types in a dealer’s name, there can be a number of things that can negatively or positively impact a dealer. The revised POD Score™ measures the dealer’s awareness of these attacks and their efforts and actions to stop brand leakage and attacks. There are three scoring elements in the revised formula, which are outlined in this document.

Special Thanks

I would like to thank the members of DrivingSales.com, DealerRefresh.com and AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com for providing feedback on the original formula and how it could be improved to relate to predictable click behavior and visual impact on Page One.

PPC Scoring Elements

In regards to PPC Ads, adding a scoring element can be tricky because budgets and schedule impact what is seen on Page One on any given moment. The dealer is in control of calculating their POD Score™ and that includes the scoring element for PPC.

Dealers can easily ask what keywords they are purchasing in Adwords.

For purposes of POD Score™, if a competitor’s ad or OEM ad is running at the top of organic search results for a dealer’s name, and if the dealer does not purchase their own name in Adwords as a defense, ten points will be taken off their score (-15). If a dealer recognizes their name is being targeted, and runs a competitive ad for their name, they will be rewarded five points (+15).

In the example above, Circle BMW get 15 points for creating a PPC campaign to mitigate the brand leakage created by BMW USA. If they did not create a PPC campaign, many leads would be siphoned off to BMW USA.

If there are no competitor PPC ads running for a search on a dealer’s name then there is no “top of page” attack and no POD need to direct funds at an Adwords campaign. That money can be spent to increase control of organic listings on Page One. Some Adwords experts have stated that buying a dealers name when no attack is present is great for lead generation. However, for the purpose of POD Score there is no reward.

Google Maps Elements

In regards to Google Maps, we firmly believe that dealers should edit and verify their own Google Maps listing. If the dealer’s Google Maps listing shows unverified, it can have incorrect data, phone numbers and website addresses. This is not a desirable event and an unverified listing will result in 10 points taken off their score (-10).

Reviews are an important element in Google Maps and highly visible when a consumer searches for a car dealer’s name. Bad reviews can be a disruptive event and can derail a consumer who was intending on doing business with the dealer.

Dealers should be defending their name by asking customers to post positive reviews. If a dealer ignores this element of Google Maps, most likely only negative reviews will show. Dealers should have dozens of positive reviews posted directly on Google Maps.

If a car dealer has at least five positive reviews directly posted into Google Maps and their average is over 3 stars in Google, they can add 15 points to their POD Score™ (+15). If a dealer has less than five positive reviews, or an average Google score under 3 stars, they will subtract 15 points (-15).

In the example above, Brickell Honda has numerous Google positive reviews so their scoring for the Map component of POD Score would be +15 points.

Dealers With Cities In Their Name

For some dealers, their dealership name includes a city like “Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills.” A search can trigger Google Maps to show multiple dealerships if a consumer types “Mercedes-Benz Beverly Hills” and leaves out the word “of.”

In this case, dealers should be aware of the relative scores presented if other Mercedes-Benz dealers appear. A dealer who has significantly less reviews and stars than their direct competitors, they are inviting the consumer to click and compare.

We understand that for some dealers, Google may not show all their ratings on third party websites. In any case, dealers should be balancing where reviews are placed and since Google controls the maps listing, posting directly to Google must be part of your Internet Reputation Management strategy and the POD Score™ reflects that need.

Organic Search Listings

Members of the automotive community suggested that all organic listings do not have the same click through rates and thus should not be viewed equally for scoring. Additional feedback included that all organic listings are not shown above the fold so unless consumers scroll through the page, some listings may not influence customers at all.

It is our conviction that all listings on Page One are important but we agree that weighting is needed to reflect the energy needed to control the most important listing positions.

Negative Review Focused Sites

For example, a RipOffReport.com or ConsumerAffairs.com listing in position 3 (shown previously for Bay Ridge Nissan) will be a more disruptive event than in position 10. This is simply because for many browsers, the listings in positions 6-10 need the user to scroll down to see them.

However, on my new Mac workstation, I can see all 10 without scrolling for most searches. The work needed to push this listing off Page One from position 3 will also require more work than if in position 10.

For POD scoring, a direct negative post, like RipOffReport.com or ConsumerAffairs.com, with the dealership name in the title that appears in the first five listing is considered disruptive event and will result in a deduction of 10 points (-10). If the review is in positions 6-10, deduct five points (-5). This can include direct attacks like www.abcbmwsucks.com which we have seen many times.

So when a dealer calculates their scores for organic listings that they have full control of, they will be weighted as follows:

• Position 1 15
• Position 2 15
• Position 3 10
• Position 4 10
• Position 5 10
• Position 6 5
• Position 7 5
• Position 8 5
• Position 9 5
• Position10 5

Total points awarded for a dealer owning all 10 organic listings on Page One is 75 points. In order to achieve a POD Score™ of 100 or higher, a dealer must gain points from their Google Maps positive reviews or their PPC defense strategy.

To clarify what counts for POD Score™ points in the organic listings we have created this table:

We would like to clearly state that third party lead collection websites or advertising websites are a vital part of the automotive community and provide valuable services to car dealers. We however, do not feel that they should be appearing on Google Page One for a search on a dealers name.

POD Score™ Point Scoring Summarized

How to Get to 100 Points

A dealer that owned all 10 organic listings, had no one attacking them using Adwords, and had good reviews would receive a score Maps (15) + Pos1-5(60) + Pos6-10(25) = 100.

A dealer can also get to 100 points by defending their name with Adwords, if attacked by someone using Adwords, and not have all the organic listings under their control.

The following pages list a few examples of how the new POD Score is calculated on car dealers that are local to our office where Adwords campaigns would be expected to show.

Red Bank Volvo POD Score

Red Bank Volvo has a POD Score of 10 because of the following three section scores:

1. Adwords - A competitor is running a Google Adwords campaign on their name and they are not running a campaign the two days we tested this local dealer. (-15)
2. Maps - They do not have five positive reviews on their Google Maps listing and the last two reviews at the top of the list were damaging. (-15)
3. Organic – They control only positions 1, 2 and 3 in the organic listings.

Gold Coast Cadillac POD Score

Gold Coast Cadillac has a POD Score of 40 because of the following three section scores:

1. Adwords - Multiple competitors are running a Google Adwords campaign on their name and they are running a defensive campaign at the top of search listings . (+15)
2. Maps - They do not have a three star average rating on their reviews on their Google Maps listing and they have only 1 direct Google review. (-15)
3. Organic – They control only positions 1, 2 and 4 in the organic listings. (+40)

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It’s Social Media Baby!

If you haven’t noticed car dealers are being pushed off of Google Page One for the cars that they sell. To throw salt in the wounds, it seems that every month another car dealer “review site” pops up.

This means when consumers type in a car dealership name, more sites are vying to capture and suck the equity out of the brand.

In reality, many of these sites are just Google Adwords and banner advertising sites that are making money from optimizing website pages on a car dealer’s name.

There is nothing illegal about this and over 60% of car dealers are allowing their name to be leveraged for other people to profit from.

In the area of car dealer reviews, have you take a minute to see just how many websites seek to be the “authority” for car dealer reviews?

Here is a quick sample of the sites that I have found that want to be found in Google, Yahoo and Bing search for the phrase “Car Dealer Reviews” or “Auto Dealer Reviews”:

Car Dealer Specific SItes

• www.mydealerreport.com
• www.cardealercheck.com
• www.dealerrater.com
• www.cardealerreviews.org
• www.prestoreviews.com
• www.dealerscene.com
• www.dealershipratings.com
• www.carsdealersreview.com
• www.autodealerreviews.com
• www.dealerreviewer.com
• www.autodealerreviews.com
• www.edmunds.com

General Review Sites

• www.my3cents.com
• www.insiderpages.com
• www.yelp.com
• www.citysearch.com
• www.judysbook.com
• www.merchantcircle.com
• www.yellowbot.com
• www.switchboard.com
• www.superpages.com

Automotive IRM Confusion

The reason I bring this trend up on this blog is because it can be confusing for a car dealer to know where to focus their Automotive Internet Reputation Management strategies.  So let me give you some practical advice:

1. Look at your own Google Maps listing and see which review websites are being summarized on your Google Maps page.  Focus on getting positive reviews posted on these sites first.
2. Of course, getting posts directly on Google Maps should be a car dealers #1 priority because the “star” ratings are directly counted if a consumer posts on Google Maps.
3. Once you have seen which review sites are being summarized on your Maps listing,  focus on getting more reviews on those sites via email, calls and in store coaching.
4. To see if other sites are having an impact on your business, Google your exact business name and see which review sites are showing on Page One and Page Two.
5. Any sites on Page One or Page Two should get some attention to build positive reviews.

If a review website is not on Page One or Page Two, I would hold off investing any labor on these sites  until the steps listed above are complete.  Then, I would add positive reviews to the largest website vendors first and ignore the lesser sites that only have their own self interests in mind.

Summary:  There are hundreds of websites trying to capitalize on your car dealership name.  Don’t get overwhelmed and just focus on the most visible websites that appear for your car dealership name or the cars you sell in your PMA.

If you need help, call 732-450-8200.

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Here’s an excerpt from Brian’s IRM workbook:

I am often asked how to deal with DUPLICATE directory listings for your business on popular directories like Google Maps and consumer review sites like Yelp, Insider Pages or CitySearch.  It is not uncommon for a business to have multiple entries on the same website if:

1. Your business has moved during the past 10 years.
2. Your business has gone through a name change.
3. Someone added a new listing without checking for previous entries
4. Someone has purposely added the business multiple times with variations on your business name.

Duplicate Entries Are Not Good

Leaving duplicate entries on the same website dilutes your Internet Reputation Management (IRM) process and may trigger the website owner to ban both accounts if they feel you are spamming their index.   Duplicate entries that a consumer may find via organic search or by searching a review website should be removed.

To find duplicates, try these steps using Google search:

1. Search Google for your business name + the name of the review site
2. Search Google for your business phone number + name of the review site
3. Search Google for your OEM brand, city  + name of the review site
4. Search or your business name inside of the website using their search tool.

So, if your dealership name is Brickell Honda, you would test for duplicates on InsiderPages.com by going to Google and typing as a search these three phrases:

1. brickell honda insiderpages
2. 866-645-7878 insiderpages
3. honda miami insiderpages

The process for removing duplicate entries varies by website.  Google Maps has an easy tool to report duplicate or erroneous map entries.  Other websites like Yelp, have a reporting process that requires a few more steps.  Invest the time in making sure all your public directory listings are correct. 

Review All Public Directory Listings

When you review your business listings, here are some suggestions:

1. Make sure you have a tracking number on the most popular websites, like Google Maps, and the review websites that show on Google Page One and Page Two for your dealership name.
2. Make sure your website address is correct
3. Make sure that you have selected the proper business category “tag” for the services you offer.
4. Make sure there are no spelling errors.
5. Make sure you take advantage of any sites that allow you to load photos or videos to your listing page.

Once all the most effective IRM websites are de-duped, record the links to all your business profile pages in a file that can be used to for IRM letters, icon placement for your primary website or to be used in a Reputation Management Portal (RMP). 

Checking What Consumers Are Saying

By having a single document that has all your profile page links, it is a basic ad no-cost way to see what has been written about your business online.  Setup a procedure where someone on your team visits these profile pages to ensure that no complaints have been posted that you are not aware of.

Setting up Google Alerts is another free tool to notify you in real-time when anything is posted online with your dealership name. However ,in case you miss some alerts, checking your manual list will be a second round of checks and balances for your overall social media strategy.

There are paid services that automate this process and save you the manual work but not everyone has extra money to spend.  So you have no excuse, other than time, not to check your current business listings and clean them up if they have duplicates on the same website.

See You In Orlando

At my DD8 seminar I will demonstrating the most effective strategies, policies and procedures to create powerful Internet Internet Reputation Management (IRM) campaign, which should be an integral part of your social media strategy.  Public review websites is one of the most powerful social media tools that consumers have decided are valuable so you can’t ignore them!

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A new website  called SurChur (http://surchur.com)  can actually be used as an Automotive Internet Reputation Management tool.

The tabs make it easy to quickly see what is being said about your dealership across the web.  This is a very convenient dashboard for what is currently being written about any search phrase and I recommend that dealers use it regularly along with Google Alerts and Google Reader.

Internet Reputation Management and monitoring will need to be part of auto retailers standard operating procedures in 2010.  If dealers are looking for assistance and training in Automotive IRM, call the Pasch Consulting Group for a free consultation at 732-450-8200.

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Consumers have tremendous power today to express their opinions about their experience at your business and make that voice heard. With dozens of popular websites containing a listing of your business that allows for consumer reviews, car dealers can no longer ignore the feedback that is being shared online.

Automotive studies have confirmed that dealers who focus on good online customer service reviews see a measurable increase in calls and leads referred from review websites. Since Google Maps is now rolling up review scores from multiple websites, the consolidated dealer “score” is front and center for any search that includes a city or state search word and the brand that you sell.

Give it a try. Type in “Denver Toyota Dealers” and see that Google Maps is at the top of the organic search results, and under each address is a review count. This data encourages consumers to see how well you are doing. When you click on your review score, are you proud of what you see?

Which Websites Should I Monitor?

There are a number of review websites that need to be monitored because of how the search engines rank their content. Google, Yahoo and Bing may show a different priority when a consumer searches for your business name. Some of the websites that I suggest you monitor include:

• DealerRater.com
• InsiderPages.com
• CitySearch.com
• Judysbook.com
• Yelp.com
• MerchantCircle.com

Since new sites are always being created, the rule of thumb is that you should monitor any websites that have review capabilities that show up on Google Page One and Page Two for a search on your dealership name. Also check searches for your OEM brand and the city name where you are doing business from.

DealerRater.com is the only site that has a paid system which gives dealers a two week window to resolve complaints with consumers before they are posted. Since DealerRater.com is highly optimized for organic search, most dealers will find the site on Google Page One for searches on their name.

The search visibility of review websites make them difficult to ignore, especially if they have unbalanced negative reviews. Let me emphasize this point again; do not ignore review websites.

How To Increase Your Positive Review Counts

Like any digital marketing endeavor, you must honestly assess if you have the proper staff in place that will not be distracted from this important task. An effective Automotive IRM program, once launched, will require about 3-4 hours a week for the first six months to really see a difference. These hours are spent contacting satisfied customers and getting their buy-in to post a review on one of your targeted review websites.

If you don’t have the right staff in place or you know that your IRM staff member will be unable to isolate time each week for this important task, hire someone to do it for you.

Dealers do not have the luxury to ignore online review websites. They have to have a process in place that ensures that online comments reflect the true percentage of positive and negative feedback in their store.

Proactive IRM Starts With a Friendly Phone Call

My staff has found that starting with a phone call makes the process more intimate and meaningful. Call through a list of customers that have purchased in the last 7 days and ask first about their experience at your dealership. Thank them for their business and find out if they need assistance.

Ask them if they would recommend your dealership to family and friends. If they say yes, explain that consumers start their car research on the Internet and that their peers will value their opinion if they found it online. Ask them to help you educate their peers by sharing their positive experience online.

If the phone call is handled professionally, most customers will agree to help. Tell them that you will make it easy by sending them an email with links to two websites where they can post their review. Don’t overwhelm them with six review websites; rotate which two sites are used so you cover all sites over time. Ask them if they can write their review in the coming week. Most will say yes. This is an important buy-in question to reinforce in your email.

Thank them specifically for their commitment to open the email and post a review in the next week. Once you send the email, keep a log on when they said they would post their review. Check back to the sites you included in your email with links and see if they made a post.

If they did not post, send them a very brief email saying that you were following up and that maybe the email was caught up in their spam filter. Remind them how easy it is to click on the link and post a review. Ask them nicely to honor their commitment to help educate others. The second notice gets more people to keep their promise. Everyone is busy and a friendly reminder is just that.

It’s A Process That Yields Results

If every week your dealership’s proactive IRM program adds two new reviews, at the end of the year you will have over 100 positive statements that you can leverage. More likely, you can get 4-5 reviews a week with a few hours of dedication. This will yield over 250 reviews in a year.

When Google Maps displays your dealership and your competitors on a list which shows that you have 100 more reviews than your closet competitor, you will be amazed at the results. If you place a unique tracking phone number on your Google Maps listing today and start this process, you will be pleased to see how an increase in positive reviews equates to more calls. These calls may even be considered “warm leads” because of the positive reviews that they have most likely read.

With an emphasis on advertising your customers positive experiences, you are well positioned when a negative comment is posted. The reality is that if you don’t start an IRM process, the majority of posts that you will read online will be negative. Life is about balance. No dealership can be perfect. For most dealers the negative customer experiences are a small percentage of their sales. Make sure your online review scores accurately reflect that same percentage.

Don’t Buy Votes

Starting December 1, 2009, a new law, which will be enforced by the FTC, has guidelines for people who write online reviews, endorsements and testimonials. The law is focused on online posts where the writer has been compensated in some way for the review. (Download FTC Rules)

Take a moment to make sure that your dealership is in full compliance. To simplify the matter, never pay for an online review or endorsement. Never offer a free oil change, a free tire rotation, a discount or a gift card in exchange for a review or testimonial. If a reviewer is compensated according to the new law, that must be disclosed in the review.

Compensation cheapens the experience for your customers and it may get you in trouble. You don’t want to be the first auto dealer that the FTC sues under this new law because a competitor reported you. Just wait, every industry will have its turn under the FTC magnifying glass.

If a customer is not compelled by a friendly voice to share their experience online, move on to another customer. Most dealers have hundreds of customers each month that they can draw upon for IRM assistance. Some dealers have utilized a business card which lists popular review sites, and they encourage their staff to get customer commitment when they deliver the car. Just make it easy to get your customer involved.

It goes without saying, never implement a system where your sales staff receives monetary or cash equivalent rewards for having their customers post the most reviews. This system will always result in cheating and fake reviews being posted by sales staff and their friends from their home computers.

Never encourage customers to post reviews from inside your Internet café since many sites will notice multiple posts from the same IP address and ban your account.

Dealers that have an active Facebook page or Twitter account can also post links to the reviews written by their satisfied customers. By praising customers who have helped spread the word, you create a desire in other customers to receive that same praise.

You can ask your followers to post a review by adding easy links to the websites previously listed. Make it easy for them to participate. People who are already online and who are asked to help promote their experience at your dealership are likely to follow a link and post a review if done properly.

Defensive Internet Reputation Management Tactics

An effective IRM program has an offensive and defensive strategy. The defensive team knows when a new comment, blog post or article has been indexed on the Internet by Google. The defensive mantra says: ” The sooner you know about a problem, the better chance you have to diffuse the matter.”

If you would like to receive email notifications when someone writes a review or a blog post that includes your dealership name, I highly recommend Google Alerts. You can use this free service to monitor your dealership name and the names of key executives. When set up, you will know via email when a new post is indexed in Google, and then decide how to respond.

There are tools on the market to automate this process. You just have to decide if you need anything more than Google Alerts. If you have an active campaign to post positive reviews each week, your staff will be on all the top review sites every week checking what has been posted.

The need to pay for a monitoring service may not be justified for a single point dealership. Larger dealer groups that have one person managing multiple dealer properties may be better served to purchase an automated tool or just outsource the process.

Internet Reputation Management = Brand Protection

I started the article with this question:

If a customer came to your dealership in the still of the night and spray painted “Liar” and “Cheat” in large letters on your street facing signage, would you leave it untouched when you arrived in the morning?

An Internet Reputation Management (IRM) program is also a brand protection process. As more of your customers start and end their car shopping experience on the Internet, your online brand becomes vitally important.

I predict that customer reviews will be further leveraged and consolidated by savvy entrepreneurs because of the influence that they yield. Imagine what would happen if someone created a customer “score” and made that score a household name.

When used car shoppers want to know about a vehicle’s history, they often ask for a CARFAX report. Imagine the impact if a company invested the money to nationally brand the concept of a DEALERSCORE report; a consolidated summary of your online customer satisfaction scores. What would your consolidated score look like?

From my search experience, less that 20% of car dealers across the USA have implemented a healthy proactive IRM program.

Over half of the dealers in America have “You Suck” written on their Internet billboards and they don’t seem to care. The rest may have no reviews at all, which means they are even more vulnerable for that first negative post.

There is no better time to get started than today.

Your competitors hope you do nothing.

Copies of This Article

If you would like a PDF copy of this article to use at your dealership, you can download it here: Automotive Internet Reputation Management

About The Author

Brian Pasch is the CEO of the Pasch Consulting Group and an active writer for the automotive community. You can find him on:

Twitter http://www.twitter.com/automotiveseo

Facebook http://facebook.com/paschconsulting

You can also reach Brian in his New Jersey offices at 732-450-8200.

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