Carlover NI

With the UK Government announcing a 3-week extension to the lockdown, we’ve created a series of “level up” articles on ways you can keep busy and prepare for a strong comeback once the motor trade gets back to business. In todays final episode, we talk about the importance of a great dealer website.

I’ve been building websites and apps for almost 15 years now. It was a hobby I started as a teenager (nerd!) that later turned into a career. So today, I’m using my experience to share some hints and tips on how you can evaluate your dealer website to help build a stronger web presence.

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Episode 4 – How is Your dealer Website Performing?

Are Websites Important Anymore?

Many dealerships have asked me this question, so I thought I’d begin this article by providing some of my own thoughts on it.

It’s a question I’ve never been asked before founding Carlover. Although the majority of your leads are likely to come from elsewhere, this does not mean that your website isn’t important. In fact, it actually makes your dealer website more important!

Remember that your dealer website is the main digital representation of you and your business. Potential customers will use this to gauge whether you are legitimate, trustworthy and a business that they’re comfortable doing business with.

Your website also plays a central part in any current or future marketing activities you do. For example vehicle remarketing on Google and Facebook. Your website is the place you want to drive users to, even from social media.

The recipe for a great website goes much deeper than just the aesthetical look and feel. It needs to perform and meet modern web standards. These are all things that help your website get better results on search engines such as Google.

So let’s have a look at things you can do to gauge your websites affectiveness and how to improve them.

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Put Your dealer Website to The Test

Lots of free tools exist online that you can use to determine how good the technical aspects of your website are. This is extremely important as these are the same factors that search engines such as Google use to determine your rankings. It also plays a major part in how a visitor interacts with your website (for example, how fast your website loads and how well it performs on mobile).

An example of one of these free tools is SEOptimer.

Simply go to https://www.seoptimer.com, add your website URL and click the ‘Audit’ button. SEOptimer will quickly analyse your website and provide you with a detailed report on its findings.

Although there is lots of technical jargon in there for nerds such as myself, it will give you a high level score and categorised breakdown of how well your site has scored.

This is a perfect and simple way to understand how good your website actually is.

Tip: Your score doesn't have to perfect. It's about building a solid foundation that you can iterate and improve on over time.

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I’ve done an audit, How do Improve my score?

Improving your score will require the assitance of your web developer. It’s a technical process but any good developer can make the required changes. Sometimes this isn’t possible with some of the larger website hosts so if you can’t get help, get in touch and we will happily help.

That’s not to say that you can’t do anything yourself. Below are a few things you can do for free to improve your existing website.

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Simple things you can do to improve rankings & Search visibility

refresh and add new content

When was the last time you refreshed your content? Google loves fresh content and will promote your site through its rankings if you provide fresh, plentiful content.

If you decide to refresh your content think about including keywords that potential customers will be searching for such as ‘Used Cars Belfast’, ‘Cars for sale in Belfast’ and including manufacturer keywords also. Rich content such as this will help Google understand what you offer as a business and rank search results accordingly.

Tip: Google likes to see pages with a minimum of at least 300 words! Use Microsoft word or an online word counter to make sure you have at least this on each of your pages.

generate more BackLinks

Backlinks are exactly what they suggest, links to your site from other websites. Backlinks actually weight your search results quite heavily so making sure as many other websites link to you is very important.

Try and get your website linked to from as many sources as you can. Think about social media, blogs, forums, news articles, classifieds, charties and local football teams that you support etc.

get a Google MyBusiness Page

Many of you don’t have a Google MyBusiness page yet. This is an easy way to get better visibilty on Google search results. You’ll get a Google MyBusiness page with details on your dealership such as your address, opening hours and reviews.

It’s free to set up and only takes a few minutes. To verify your business address Google will send a letter to that address with an activation code to complete your registration.

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Great Websites are Built through Iteration

As a footnote, it’s important to know that a good website will look and function well when it’s built. However, a great website is achieved through continuous improvement.

You don’t need to make changes everyday, but coming back and regularly reviewing how your site looks, your content and audit results will help keep your website fresh and engaging. It will also open your eyes to opportunities that exist in doing more business online. Such as finance and social media targeted advertisng as a way to gain more quality enquiries.

With COVID-19 having such an impact on our industry, your digital presence has never been so important. Invest in your digital presence and prepare to flourish when things get back to normal.

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If you want to chat anything website related, get in touch. We’d be happy to chat about our dealer websites and how we can help you advertise online.

I hope you’ve found this series useful. Check back next week for a new series of video how-to’s!

With the UK Government announcing a 3-week extension to the lockdown, we’ve created a series of “level up” articles on ways you can keep busy and prepare for a strong comeback once the motor trade gets back to business. Today we’re talking about Facebook for used car dealerships.

Episode 3 – FAcebook Tips to Gain More Enquiries

Has there ever been a better time to review your Facebook presence and connect with more customers? With the ongoing pandemic and lockdown restrictions still in place, we’re seeing an uptake in online activity. Not just on Carlover, but right across the internet.

So, why not use this to your advantage and implement some simple changes that will up your social media game, build a bigger following and gain more enquiries.

#1 Keep it Regular

Providing great content for your audience is how you’ll warm new customers, encourage them to engage with you and ultimately make an enquiry.

Posting regularly plays a major part in achieving this. It will build familiarity with your brand and also trust. Even if they’re not actively looking to purchase a vehicle, you want to position yourself in their minds for when they are. Remember, your audience will quickly forget you exist if you stop engaging with them!

#2 Quality Content

I don’t know what to post about!

Everybody…

This is a statement I hear all the time. The fact is, you have more to talk about than you think! The most obvious is all the beautiful cars you have in stock. And what about those extra services you offer such as servicing and repairs?

Cycle through and use these as your ‘base’ content. You can even go back through older stock that you’ve posted previously and re-post them. Keep in mind that peoples social media memory is relatively short and not everybody will have seen your post the first time.

Now, you have basic content that can be generated on a regular basis. Easy!

Also look at how you can improve your photos and introduce video to your posts. These two elements will massively influence the engagement you get from your audience, particularly video.

Check out our other articles on how to take better photos and shoot video on a budget. If you haven’t seen these articles you should definitely have a look: –

You don’t always have to be selling something to your audience. In fact, we find people engage better with content that isn’t selling them something. Have a think about what else you can post that people will find useful.

Still unsure of what to post? Here’s a couple of ideas to get you started: –

• Industry related news & events
• Local news from your area
• Charities you’re involved with
• What you’re doing during COVID-19
• Your story (how your dealership came to be)

Be informative and helpful. Most of all, don’t be reluctant to let your personality shine through on your posts. Remember, people engage with people so have fun with it! The objective here is to build trust between you and the used car buyers of Northern Ireland. This type of content delivered on a personal level will gain trust and give your audience a reason to come back to you.

#3 Tidy Up That Facebook Page!

How you present your dealership on Facebook speaks volumes to potential customers looking to purchase a used vehicle from you.

Make sure your Facebook Page looks the best it can be. Incomplete profile information and poor quality cover/profile photos will have a negative impact on how your used car dealership is perceived. You don’t want to put off potential car buyers by not showing how good you actually are!

Fixing these things is pretty straight forward. However, if you don’t know how to do this yourself, simply drop us an email and we’ll give you a helping hand.

#4 Try Something New – Facebook Stories?

If you’re doing all the above already and want to try something new, why not try your hand at Facebook Stories? Stories are more likely to be seen by your followers and have a much higher engagement rate. Using video here will work best but you can also post images too.

Tip: You can overlay text, graphics and sound that will help your stories stand out from the rest.

I hope you’ve found this article useful. Check back next week for the final episode in this series. In the meantime, why not check some of our brilliant automated social media features that you could be using today.

With the UK Government announcing a 3-week extension to the lockdown, we’ve created a series of “level up” articles on ways you can keep busy and prepare for a strong comeback once the motor trade gets back to business.

Episode 2 – Shoot Great Video on a Budget

With the lockdown still holding and hints that restrictions will be in place for the foreseeable future, now is the time to hone in on your skills and start engaging new customers in what will be a digital transformation for the industry.

Today we are talking about video. In particular, using gimbals and adding sound to improve your walkaround videos.

Ok, let’s get started!

“What Camera and Equipment Do I Need?”

Like photography, you can spend thousands on great equipment. However, it won’t guarantee you a great video! Why? Because great video is as much about the person behind the camera than the camera itself.

You don’t need to spend thousands to get started. All you’ll need is a good smartphone and a gimbal. If you’re recording a voiceover, you should consider purchasing a microphone too.

1. Use Your Smartphone

Don’t feel the need to spend hundreds on an expensive rig. Use what you have and upgrade later.

Great video can be shot on your smartphone. If it’s relatively new and has a great camera then this is more than enough to get started. If it has a 4k camera, even better!

Who doesn’t have a smartphone these days anyway?!

2. Get a Gimbal

“What the heck is a Gimbal?!”

Simply put, a gimbal is a device that your phone or camera mounts to that helps subdue harsh movements generated when you’re moving, such as walking around your car. It will help stabilise your video and give a professional smooth glide.

With hundreds of different gimbals out there, make sure you purchase one that is compatible with your phone.

My advice, buy a quality gimbal but don’t overspend either. For example, the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 as shown above.

You can set these up in a matter of minutes and you’ll be shooting smoother videos in no time. Be sure to check your smartphones compatibility first!

Top Tip: To smooth your video even further, try stiffening your upper body and glide around the car with smooth sweeping leg movements. You may look daft from behind the camera, but it will greatly improve your video!

3. Don’t Forget About Sound

Too often sound is overlooked. Don’t ruin your great video with echoing sound, background noise or a howling wind around the microphone. Overall production quality will drop and your audience will be less engaged.

Here are two easy ways to fix this: –

Option 1 – Add Some Music

If you’re not recording a voiceover then you should add some music over the video and disable the original audio. Combined with your smooth gimbal footage, it will produce a super slick video. There are lots of free mobile apps to help you do this, such as Adobe Premiere Rush.

Option 2 – Get a Microphone

If you’re recording a voiceover as you walk around the car, consider purchasing an external microphone. This will help reduce noise interference and give a crisp, un-interuppted recording of your vehicle description.

Check out the handy little Rode microphone as shown above. Make sure to check your phones compatibility first though.

So that’s the basics covered with the minimal amount of equipment required. All you need to do now is get out and start practicing for yourself!

If you’ve found this useful, stay tuned for a follow up video on where we go into much more detail on how to use your new gimbal. You’ll soon be leaving walkaround videos behind and taking your videos to the next level, with some easy to learn ‘Gimbal Moves’ and how to edit scenes together.

See you in the next episode!

With the UK Government announcing a 3-week extension of lockdown, we’ve created a series of “level up” articles on how you can keep busy and prepare for a strong comeback once the motor trade gets back to business.

Episode 1 – Take Photographs Like a Pro!

In such a competitive market, making your vehicle stand out amongst all the others is critical in generating that all important lead from a potential buyer.

A poor set of photographs will drastically reduce the chance of a potential buyer making an enquiry on your car Vs the beautifully photographed one from another dealership.

So, let’s look at the basics of how to take great photographs with little effort. Just follow these simple rules and you’ll be shooting like a pro in no time!

#1 Framing

First, find a great angle that you’ll use as a starting point for every car. Our favourite is an angled shot of the front/drivers side between a 20 and 45 degree angle.

Frame your vehicles within the photograph equally. In other words, the gap between the car and the edge of the photo should be equal left/right and top/bottom respectively.

This is an easy way to keep consistency in your photos and make sure your car always displays nicely across the different platforms in which you advertise.

Now, use these same principles when taking the rest of the exterior shots. Keep in mind the background (more on this below), as keeping this consistent will add to the overall presentation. You may need to rotate the car, but the end result will look fantastic.

#2 Background

Your backdrop should be consistent through all your exterior photographs, so choose it carefully. Keep it simple as not to detract the buyers attention away from the car.

A consistent look is vital. To help take the same photo every time, try rotating the car rather than the camera. Again, this will help add to the presentation quality.

Tip: place a mark on the ground so you know where to place the car and your feet for each photo you take.

#3 Details

Detail shots really enhance the presentation of a car. They emit a level if quality that’s difficult to get across in just your vehicle description text.

Close up shots of badges, trim, alloy wheels, headlights, grills, steering wheels etc look amazing and are a great way of convincing buyers that your car is the one for them. After all, if your car and a competitors are like for like in terms of spec and price, who’s the buyer going to contact first? You… because your car looks amazing!

Focus on small details rather than the bigger picture like the example above. Your camera may even have a special ‘Macro’ setting depicted as a flower icon specifically for this.

#4 Lighting

With 4 seasons in a day, photographing outside in Northern Ireland can be tricky. If you have indoor space fitted with LED or fluorescent lighting then lucky you! For the rest of us, we’ll have to battle the elements.

Bright sunny days are great, but can be difficult to photograph in. If possible, take your photos in a shaded area away from direct sunlight. Bright reflections will bounce off the car and flare your camera lens reducing the quality of the overall photograph.

My personal rule of thumb….. if it’s a good day to polish the car, it’s a good day to photograph it! Bright, dry and away from direct sunlight will show the cars body and paintwork in its best possible form.

#5 Camera

“You can’t take a great photo without a great camera”

I hear this statement A LOT. For me, this is definitely a myth. It’s true that modern DSLR cameras are amazing and will help take great shots, but this doesn’t guarantee a great photograph. A great photograph is down to how you as the photographer take the shot.

My take – if you already have a DSLR then that’s great. If not, don’t worry about investing hundreds of pounds on kit just yet. Instead, practice your shots using the guide above and invest in your skills as a photographer first. The latest modern smartphones shoot high-res photos that are more than ample for use online.

I hope you have found this helpful. Keep an eye out for our next article on how to shoot quality video on a budget.

See you in the next episode!