Auto Dealer Websites Need to Check the “Vitals” To Close the Deal FAST
BIRMINGHAM, Mich., Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Auto dealer websites are desperately engaged in battle to transition site visitors to customers. However, according to Shift Digital, a Birmingham, Mich.-based company providing technology solutions, advanced analytics, and support services in the automotive, powersports, heavy equipment, marine, hospitality and manufacturer sectors, those dealers may be getting stuck in a different sort of web.
Shift Digital’s latest Shopper Survey found that the continued adoption of more digital retail tools and plug-ins, such as trade-in calculators, service schedules and chat tools have made dealer websites more complicated and slower.
Shift Digital also found there is an opportunity to increase speed and performance of dealer websites to improve user experience and advertising efficiency. For every one second a dealers’ mobile site functions faster, the result is an 11-percent higher engagement from the customer.
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In October, Shift Digital assessed organic traffic to more than 3,300 mobile U.S. dealer websites, supported by nine different website platform providers. It found better performing dealer sites can experience over 25 percent more customers to engage and stay on their website. |
“Think of being in a grocery store checkout line behind two customers with full shopping carts,” said Matt VanDyke, president, Shift Digital. “The line next to you has an individual with a handful of items and is laying them out on the conveyor. You immediately slide over to that line to get checked out faster.”
VanDyke says the scenario plays out similarly on an auto dealer website. Customers visit the site for information, to shop or to schedule a service appointment, and if they get bogged down due to the site’s inefficiency, they will “bounce” – heading directly to a competitor’s site with faster functionality.
According to Dan Reynolds, who heads Shift Digital’s Advanced Analytics team, the key to dealer website speed for customers is regular self-assessment to find site improvements. Reynolds suggests compressing or removing large unoptimized images and videos to speed load time. Or dealers may be providing links and functions related to vendors they may not have worked with in years, as well as needing to remove unused campaign tags.
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“It’s about knowing where to look to make the improvements and those changes benefit the entire system – the customer gets a far better user experience, and the dealer is fixing what is an annual leaky budget bucket by being more efficient with their marketing dollars,” Reynolds said.
“Shift Digital found that for every $100 spent on advertising by a dealer, $70 goes to actual advertising and $30 goes to covering poor website performance.” |
The good news according to Shift Digital, is the existence of the Google Core Website Vitals to use with dealer sites, providing a standardized set of metrics measuring real-world user experience in three main areas: Loading Speed, Interactivity Speed and Visual Stability.
“Dealer marketing budgets are always challenged and to make that website investment truly work, it’s critical dealers frame a site where customers can engage vs. bouncing in frustration,” VanDyke said. “Using the web Vitals to balance function, style and branding, dealers can identify key performance metrics to improve user experience and impact sales conversions.”
Download the complete report at:
https://www.shiftdigital.com/2024-Q4-Auto-Report
About Shift Digital:
Shift Digital is a leader in marketing optimization and data activation. Our comprehensive data management technologies and support services help national brands and local retailers transform their digital marketing and sales initiatives. Shift Digital’s technology helps customers eliminate blind spots in digital marketing programs by providing actionable insights. Backed by extensive research and continuous improvement, Shift Digital’s cutting-edge technology empowers businesses to gain a comprehensive view of their customers’ data, unveiling new ways to supercharge digital marketing efforts.
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SOURCE Shift Digital
