120 Broadus Ave., Greenville, SC 29601

(864) 248-0886 | DOM360.com

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Expiration

Is Your

WEBSITE Past Its

Date?

120 Broadus Ave., Greenville, SC 29601

(864) 248-0886 | DOM360.com

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It may not be a question you’ve really considered before. After all, you’ve done all the things you were supposed to

do. A decade or so back, when websites became a clear source for leads and sales, you went along with the trend and

got a URL of your own. You even upgraded to responsive design a year ago so your site looked good on tablets and

smartphones. Shouldn’t that be good enough?

The simple answer is: no.

Over the last 50 years, the average lifespan of S&P 500 companies has shrunk from around 60 years to closer to 18 years.(1)

But what about the life expectancy of a business website? There isn’t a hard and fast rule about how long a website

can last you. One rule of thumb offered by a computer networking and website hosting company says a site

that keeps up with the industry’s latest technologies can last from two to four years. Meanwhile, a site that is left

untouched will be out of date in just 12 to 18 months.(4)

While online shelf life can be difficult to determine, sites clearly aren’t made to last forever. Think about it.

Sites like AltaVista, Encarta, even MySpace, have gone from hugely popular to virtually non-existent.(2) Experts

predict even Facebook’s enormous popularity could come to an end as early as 2017.(3)

To make sure your site is still vital and relevant,

ask yourself these questions:

1 Has our customer focus shifted?

2 Have we rebranded?

3 Does the site look or feel out of date?

4 Is the information on the site out of date?

5 Is our search rank suffering?

6 Are we using Flash?**

If the answer to any of these question is yes, it’s time to

consider revamping your site. If your site isn’t responsive

or mobile-friendly, an update is imperative to long-term

success.(5)

**A quick note about Flash. It’s dying. Earlier this month,

Mozilla Firefox announced they would be blocking Flash by default within the browser. Google Chrome

automatically pauses Flash videos, but Firefox has gone a step further, blocking all versions of Flash without options.

Even Facebook’s chief security officer publicly asked Adobe to kill off Flash once and for all. So if you’re using Flash,

stop. Your content isn’t being seen by the vast majority of web traffic.(5b)

Let’s say you’ve determined it’s time for a site update. What’s next?

IS YOUR WEBSITE PAST ITS EXPIRATION DATE?

Earlier this month, Mozilla Firefox

announced they would be

blocking Flash by default within

the browser. Google Chrome

automatically pauses Flash

videos, but Firefox has gone a

step further, blocking all versions

of Flash without options.

120 Broadus Ave., Greenville, SC 29601

(864) 248-0886 | DOM360.com

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First, determine what parts of your old site were effective and which weren’t. Use website analytics to find the

content that is converting for you.

Heat mapping can show you where visitors are clicking to move deeper into your site.

Once you’ve determined what is working, replicate those buttons, menus, slides and features on your new site.

In addition to finding what works, decide what you liked about the old site and what you can do without. Be sure to

cover all profit centers: sales, parts, service, finance and body shop. Include plenty of calls to action and “why buys”

—those key factors that potential buyers need to know about your store.

Here’s a quick checklist you can use to make sure you have all the elements you need for online success:

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4 Responsive design for optimum performance on all devices

4 The right menus and tools

4 A great look and feel

4 Useful forms for inquiries and user input

4 Media that loads fast and scales

4 Content optimized for search engines

4 Content that lends itself to discovery and distribution

Anyone who uses the World Wide Web to generate income or leads should use Web analytics... Today, even free Web analytics tools—software that analyzes the behavior of site visitors—offer the nitty-gritty details about what, when, from where and why visitors come to your site.

“ “

120 Broadus Ave., Greenville, SC 29601

(864) 248-0886 | DOM360.com

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Your new site needs to offer numerous conversion opportunities, social media integration, and SEO-rich content

in a responsive format, so it looks its best on mobile devices as well as desktops. Optimize your conversion rate

by offering visitors places throughout the site where they can request a price, book a test drive, receive more

information, and schedule service. You should also list a special tracking phone number so you can monitor the

number of leads coming from your website.

INVENTORY

When it comes to automotive website success, it is key that you optimize your vehicle listing page (VLP) for maximum

conversions. Think about what your customers are looking for and then fulfill and exceed those expectations.

Give potential buyers multiple ways to filter their search: model, year, price, mileage, stock number or color. Keep in

mind that consumers may have different search priorities than you’d expect. In fact, in a recent survey, 100% of car

shoppers said they filter vehicles by color before any other feature—including price, rebate or transmission type. In

that same survey, only 26% of dealers correctly answered color was a customer’s #1 priority. In fact, 63% guessed

price as the most important factor.(6)

Your VLP should include all the information a browsing customer would want to see. When it comes to pricing

structure, show customers the deal they can get by purchasing through your site.

Options include:

Special button graphics are great ways to expand consumers’ sensation of savings. Plus they provide an additional

conversion opportunity and can be used as a lead information form. Potential buyers who want to see the “rock

bottom price” on a vehicle simply click the button, fill out a brief info form, and then get to see extra special discounts

and savings just for them!

MSRP $36,000

Discount -$4,000

Your price $32,000

MSRP $36,000 New Price

$32,000

MSRP $36,000Discount -$4,000Your price $32,000

E-price button4

120 Broadus Ave., Greenville, SC 29601

(864) 248-0886 | DOM360.com

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Be sure to include a link to a Vehicle Details Page (VDP). Each VDP should include features of the vehicle, a video

walk around, model reviews and multiple photos of the actual car. You may think stock images of the vehicle are

preferable since they were taken in optimum lighting by professional photographers. However, research has shown

that 74% of vehicle shoppers say they are more likely to visit a dealership if they are able to view pictures of an actual

vehicle currently available on the lot, rather than stock photos.(7)

THE BUILD

Now it’s time to to actually build out the new site. Make sure you don’t lose your site’s search engine ranking and link

credibility by completely starting from scratch. Move all existing content from the old site that is still relevant and

makes sense. The content may have to be reformatted to fit the new site template, but if the content still works, bring

it over.

When building your site, keep search engine optimization (SEO) in mind at all times. You’ve heard about SEO for years

but may not have a clear understanding of all that it entails. At its most fundamental level, SEO is simply using what

we know about how search engines find and deliver answers to search queries and then making sure we are fulfilling

all the requirements needed to be the top result.

Anytime content is added to your new site, use our

“10 Rules of SEO”to make sure each page performs its best.

1 Choose a keyword phrase of 1 to 3 words based on how

people naturally search

2 Make sure your page’s keyword comes first in the title tag

3 Include your keyword in the page’s URL structure

4 Try to keep page titles under 55 characters(1*)

5 Include your keyword in the page’s meta tag description,

keeping it under 160 characters(2*)

6 Make sure the page’s H1 tag contains your keyword

7 Mention your keyword within the first 100 words of your post(3*)

8 Naturally work your keyword into the post 2 to 5 more times

9 Provide any images with a relevant alt attributes

10 Make sure images are sized properly to optimize load times

(1*): https://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag

(2*): https://moz.com/learn/seo/meta-description

(3*): http://backlinko.com/on-page-seo

120 Broadus Ave., Greenville, SC 29601

(864) 248-0886 | DOM360.com

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As you can see in Rule #1, the first step in the process is selecting your correct keywords. We took an in-depth look

at the process for choosing keywords in our last research paper, “Boost Your Google Rank: 6 Things You Need to

Know.” Access the paper here: http://www.dom360.com/marketing-downloads-and-resources/

In reference to Rule #3, your URL structure can be a key element to scoring high organic search rankings. Don’t let a

default series of numbers and letters hurt your SEO. Instead, be sure to include the page’s biggest, most important

pieces of information in your URL.

Rule #5 references meta tags. Meta descriptions (or meta description tags) are the snippets of information that

appear in search results, describing the content on your site. This isn’t information that appears on your site. Instead,

it is found in the code of each page. It’s vitally important that you use the proper keywords in your meta descriptions

to make your page more appealing to viewers, increasing the chance they will click on it. In an area that is often

overlooked, meta tags called meta keyword attributes need to be included on all video content on your site. That

ensures your videos can be properly indexed by search bots.

YourStore.com/18cdfmrj392

YourStore.com/make-model-city-state

WEAK

VALUABLE

Meta tag description

<meta name=”description” content=”DOM360 is your complete digital marketing agency, able to deliver all that you need, with superior customer service!”/><link rel=”canonical” href=”http://www.dom360.com/” /><meta property=”og:locale” content=”en_US” /><meta property=”og:type” content=”website” /><meta property=”og:title” content=”Digital Marketing Agency” /><meta property=”og:description” content=”DOM360 is your complete digital marketing agency, able to deliver all that you need, with superior customer service!” />

Meta tags

120 Broadus Ave., Greenville, SC 29601

(864) 248-0886 | DOM360.com

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Meta tags are related to but different than the alt attributes mentioned in Rule #9. Alt attributes describe an image, making it

possible for a search engine to index and also providing information to a viewer for whom the photo or graphic doesn’t load.

TIME FOR THE UNVEILING

A website is an ever-evolving work in progress. A healthy website is updated and refreshed

regularly. That means there is never a time when your site is truly “done.” So don’t wait for

it to be completed to make it live. That day may never come. Instead, when you feel like

you’re 75% of the way there, LAUNCH IT! You can (and should) make changes and

tweaks once the site is active. Continue using web analytics to see which pages are

performing best. Assess what is making those pages successful and replicate those

elements on other pages throughout the site.

MERCHANDISING

Rebate offers, 0% financing, parts and service specials—these are all part of your website’s merchandising message.

For new cars, utilize a good mix of offers including purchase, lease, APR, and sale price. For fixed ops, include a

mix of specials from your core categories—batteries, tires, brakes and oil changes—plus holiday or seasonal deals,

accessory specials and incentives for specialty customer groups like military, seniors and women. For best results,

keep the offers fresh and follow the Rules of SEO we laid out earlier.

<div id=”logo”> <h3 class=”logo”><a href=”http://www.dom360.com”> <img src=”http://www.dom360.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/main-logo-300x47.png” alt=”DOM360” /></a></h3>

Alt attributes

120 Broadus Ave., Greenville, SC 29601

(864) 248-0886 | DOM360.com

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CONCLUSION

Your website can be a powerful marketing and lead generation tool that works for you 24 hours a day. Utilizing the

tips and rules we’ve covered, you can determine if and when it is time for a site overhaul, assess what information

needs to be included on your site, and optimize your online content for maximum leads and conversions.

To learn more about SEO, responsive web design, conversion rate optimization, and website content creation, contact

DOM360 at 800-984-4172 or contact@dom360.com.

Sources

[1] https://hbr.org/2014/04/the-art-of-corporate-endurance

[2] http://bismarcktribune.com/news/columnists/keith-darnay/a-look-at-website-lifespans/article_1d879ae6-851a-11e3-8bd1-0019bb2963f4.htmle

[3] http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/01/23/facebook-could-lose-80-percent-users-by-2017-report-claims/

[4] http://www.infinitytechnology.com/blog/2015/4/14/the-life-expectancy-of-your-website,-keeping-up-with-technology/

[5] http://www.expert.co.nz/Site/blog/Refresh-your-website.aspx

[5b] http://gizmodo.com/firefox-now-blocks-flash-by-default-1717664482?rev=1436855183084&utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_

source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

[6] Web Analytics for Dummies By Pedro Sostre, Jennifer LeClaire

[6] http://www.dealerrefresh.com/is-your-dealership-color-blind/

[7] http://mediaroom.kbb.com/index.php?s=32243&item=105637