Classic Cars’ Neighborhood

The ebb and flow of automotive website design is starting to settle in.  At first, the boring billboard style was hot, as dealers had not quite embraced the idea of selling cars online.  They had a web presence that consisted of a logo, possible a motto, a phone number and directions to the dealership.

When the early adopters started looking into more attractive websites, many started going overboard.  "The more flash, the better" was the standard for anyone who could afford the high prices for a fancy site.  This gave way in recent years to the search engines' demand for content.

Once they started demanding it, more dealers started switching to websites that were HTML content based.  The rich, visual website was replaced with the search-engine-friendly but absolutely boring website.  They were easy to find, but they didn't compel action on the part of the potential customer.

In 2008, a flash/HTML hybrid is the way to go.  Be found AND be stimulating.  TK Carsites, a dealer web design firm, has perfected the mixed art of getting people to the website and building custom websites that compel visitors to submit leads.  Below, you will see some recent examples of their work:

If you want to give your customers everything you can right from the homepage, you should check out Team Auto Center at Denver Chevrolet Dealers.  Right, left, top, and bottom, visitors have an opportunity to turn in a lead regardless of their needs or interests.

For the corporate look, compare the American Honda website to Macon Honda Dealers.  The similarities are obvious and the ability to generate leads is very strong.

 Now, take a look at Houston Chevy.  As soon as you get to the website, you are greeted with one of the most important things that people are looking for when they go to a dealer's website.  Right from the start, you get to take a peak at the specials.  This innovation has proven to be extremely effective at building trust in the website and keeping the customers there instead of searching the competitors.

For pure simplicity, it's tough to beat Texarkana Mercedes Benz Dealers.  There is nothing on the site that can offend the visitor.  They can go there, find a car, and move along to othe business.  Easy!

If innovation is what you're after, check out Memphis Auto Market.  This new website has an appearance that is subtle, yet beautiful.  Visitors cannot help but want to explore it and find the car they are looking for.

Regardless of what you need in a website, finding the right custom website provider who offers the nice mix of flash and HTML is absolutely the way to go in 2008.

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Read more about Custom Automotive Websites on this blog.

Automotive marketing is tough.  You have hundreds of dealers and third party sites vying for the front page of a hanful of search terms in each metro area.  Having a marketing firm who can get your website found on the search engines is paramount in today's competitive market.

Below, you will find several websites being optimized by TK Carsites.  They are primarily a website design firm, but their automotive SEO department is quickly emerging as the top in the industry.  Take a look at these websites to see how a dealership can rank exceptionally well.

Simple and attractive is the name of the game for Honda Los Angeles.  The site is nice, but the optimization of the site is one of the top in the area.  When you are on the outskirts of LA, it is a huge enough market to "stretch" for.  Do a search on Google for Los Angeles Honda and you'll see why they are able to take from the market even though they are miles outside of a city with many other Honda dealers right in the middle.

Up north, Nissan Dealers Seattle is in a similar situation.  This website represents the simplicity of a site that must comply with Nissan's strict code for websites while still stepping up the ability to generate leads.  Outside of Seattle, Adantage must rely on reaching for the business to be as successful as they have been.

Down in Mississippi, Boyte Usry Honda is faced with a a newer website trying to compete in a metro area that has a well established dealership already embedded into the top position on the search engines.  Honda Jackson Mississippi faces tough competition, but with TK, they will be able to meet the challenge.

In the midwest, dealers really have to spread their wings when it comes to marketing.  One example, Des Moines Ford, is in a low population density area.  Getting every possible Ford customer is extremely important.  Some dealers are in between a couple of metro areas, such as Toledo Used Cars.

Some dealers have to cross over to different states.  In Scottsbluff, NE, Team Auto Center has to be able to take Cheyenne Nissan Dealers business.  Being present in a city 100 miles away is tough when it comes to converting leads into sales, but every opportunity must be met head on.

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Read more about automotive internet marketing right at this blog.