 Yesterday Google search guru Rand Fiskin posted that "from January to December 2020, 64.82% of searches on Google (desktop and mobile combined) ended in the search results without clicking to another web property..." and today Google posted a piece on how people use search that included the paragraph above. Now more than ever business owners need to have a well-managed Google My Business profile to ensure the maximum potential of their company being seen. Your companies website is no longer the only access potential customers rely on, they have a greater chance of seeing your GMB profile first and may get enough info to make their decision on contacting or doing business with you right there.
Read Rand's post HERE
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I post a lot about the pics I share to businesses Google My Business profiles, they get tons of views but what does that mean to the business? Well, in a 28 period, it can help make the phone ring over 1400 times, and more than 800 potential customers ask for directions that's what! Calls are self-explanatory but I like to look at requests for directions as well because someone clicking that button wants to do business with you! Could your dealership use 1400 calls and 800 requests for directions from the Google My Business/Google Maps profile for your dealership? Best part is that you don't have to hire a professional photographer or pay a fee to post pics on your company GMB page, there is literally nothing stopping you from taking advantage of this feature and getting your company noticed in local search!  As a 'vendor' in the automotive space, I do my best to add as much value for the dealership accounts I work with. I have shared many times that I post pic of my visit to the dealerships Google My Business profile to help increase their visibility and when I do have a business interaction I post a review for them as well. While onsite at one of my stores back in August I had my company car serviced and had a great experience that I shared in a review, in just a few months the review has been seen thousands of times not to mention the pictures have been viewed over 50 thousand times! As a Google Local Guide the pics I post get a lot of visibility and that is a value to my accounts, how do you add value for your clients?
I am in dealerships daily working with them on increasing efficiency and improving business in all departments, recently I have had a few experiences with service departments that have made me take a bit of a different view and I wanted to share my thoughts on what I believe the real competition for your store's service drive is...
 In high school, I was in auto shop before becoming a technician at a dealership, and my heart breaks when I hear of schools ending their shop programs. Recently I stumbled across a Facebook page for a thriving high school auto shop that also has its own race team, I was immediately hooked and their Instagram page has quickly become my fav place to spend time!
Instructor Matt Almaguer took over the program in 2017. The program was established in 2007 with a donation from the retired policemen’s association. From 2007-2017 they focused on building the program and primarily raced an NE1 style front engine dragster in the ANRA series at Famoso Speedway. In 2017, the direction shifted the focus to door cars and several new goals were set for the program. The most important goal is to create a career pathway into the automotive industry. They have partnered with the NHRA Launch Program as a positive step in the right direction. Secondly, they have established local pathways with dealerships in the local area. Lastly, they have initiated contact with major manufacturers to acquire the necessary equipment to be competitive in the NHRA divisional and National events. So far their sponsorship partners include AJPE, AFR Heads, JE Pistons, Wiseco Pistons, Bullet Racing Cams, Comp Cams, Crower Cams, Scat Crankshafts, Manley Performance, Dart Machinery, RCD Engineering, Lucas Oil, Holley Performance, Cometic Gasket, K&R Engineering, Calvert Racing Suspensions, ARP Bolts, M&M Shifters, Lemons Headers, VP Racing Fuels, Manton Pushrods, and Famco Development to name a few. In February of 2020 the program had the distinction of becoming the first high school drag team to compete in an NHRA National event. This was a major milestone for the program as well as other high school programs across the country. The young folks that participate in this program truly are the future of automotive service and if I was back running a dealership I would be sponsoring this program for sure and doing everything I could to make sure these technicians of tomorrow considered my dealership as a future destination! Check out this way cool crew of car peeps on Instgarm @smhs_race_team or their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/SaintsRacing/  Hey all you active #GMB users, website Search Engine Roundtable has is reporting Google My Business video uploads for posts were recently reduced to from 100mb to 75mb, if you have been having difficulty posting double-check the file size of your video! If you aren't using video in your post, why not?
#TheMoreYouKnow Read the post HERE  When business owners hear Yelp many of them express negative comments, some might even include the word hate in them however, Yelp is used by millions of consumers and it is an important app for your online presence. Have you checked your company's Yelp profile recently to see what pics show up when your business is searched? Whether you like Yelp as a tool or not you need keep your profile up to date and post pics of your business that will get attention, the alternative is to allow Yelp to highlight pics that have been posted by customers that may not show off your business the way you would like! I can almost guarantee that a few of your employees have the Yelp app on their phone, ask them if they have checked in while at work and maybe posted some pictures they have snapped... It might be fun!
 In just three months this business has had the pictures on their Google My Business profile viewed 1.9 MILLION times! Would you say 604% more views than similar business pages could be considered dominating?? #AskingForAFriend ;)
 Car & Driver recently posted an article about the increasing average age of vehicles on the road today, in California its over 12 years now, however, it is not new or solely a result of the current pandemic. Back in May, I co-hosted a webinar with DealerBuilt - LightYear Dealer Technologies CRO Keith Baker and we discussed how, pre-COVID-19, the fixed ops department was already rising to the forefront of dealership revenue as a result of the increasing length of ownership. The Covid-19 crisis will also add to the age of vehicles for sure as people hold on to them longer trying to navigate thru this situation and dealers need to increase their attention on the Service Drive to retain existing business and attract new customers as well. If you would like to know how your dealerships DMS can do more than store data for your dealership check out the webinar here, https://lnkd.in/gEZyQYb , or give me a call! :)
The Car & Driver post with stats on vehicle age is here, https://lnkd.in/dcC-JMT  It seems like it has been forever that we have all been sharing how important your dealership's Google My Business listing is, however, a new study from Whitespark shows that there are still many dealers not getting the message. Looking at 15,503 Google Business Profiles they found that "hardly any auto dealers are taking advantage of the features in GMB. The results that are the most shocking are that of the dealer listings analyzed:
~63% have NEVER published a single Google Post (WHAT?!) ~88% of dealer listings are not using the Products feature ~32% have not even been claimed ~24% do not have a link to their website ~93% have not added an appointment link ~91% have not added product/service links ~51% have Q&A questions that haven’t been answered ~13% don’t have hours listed" It seems there may be dealer GM's or principals that are still assuming that 'someone' is taking care of their list for them with updated info but it's clear that many dealerships profiles are sadly being ignored and that means potential customers are not seeing them! The full article is an interesting read and can be found here: https://whitespark.ca/blog/auto-dealers-google-listings-are-a-wreck/ |
 Mike theCarGuy
Hey there, I'm Mike theCarGuy and here are some of my thoughts about cars, the car business and sales! Take a look around, maybe you will learn something or at the very least find your self smiling, and if you do... leave me a comment so I know I at least did something right! Thanks for stoppin by...
Need to reach me? Call or Text: (909) 213-5475 mikethecarguy@outlook.com Mike theCarGuy: 22421 Barton Rd Suite 451 Grand Terrace, CA 92313 Twitter: @MiketheCarGuy1 Instagram: MiketheCarGuy 
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