Three Key Tools for Internet Sales Managers

Internet Sales Managers want to drive traffic to the dealership websites. You may have optimized your website to be indexed for Google's organic searches and every ISM uses Google to conduct research on vehicles, competitors, vendors and so on. There is much more you can do.

Google offers a number of tools that can help you sell vehicles on the Internet. Here are three every Internet Sales Manager should be using:

Google Places: There may be nothing else you can do that will promote your dealership more effectively than being listed on the map. You can include a photo of your dealership, hours of operation, videos, coupons, vehicle specials and more. If you haven’t claimed your business on Google’s Maps you should stop everything and do it now.

Sign up for Google Alerts: Get an email notification every time your dealership is mentioned in blogs, reviews, the news or anywhere else on the Internet (provided it is indexed by Google). Wouldn’t you like to get an email alert every time your dealerships name, URL, customer or competitor mentions you online?

It’s one thing to sign up for alerts, but using the information is another. The best way to stay on top of it is to have the alert sent to your phone. This will encourage you to act on what may need your attention and not become just another item on your list of things to do.

Google Analytics: Every ISM wants more leads. How many visitors go to your dealership website, but take no action? Analytics will help you convert visitors to leads by pointing out entry and exit pages and the amount of time spent on each page. Do you have more visitors this month than last month; more visitors this year than last year? Get the data you need, organized the way you want, then act on it!

There are many other tools Google offers that will boost both visitors and leads making your website even more profitable, but if you aren't using these three it’s time to get started now!