Mobile Page Speed Benchmarks for Your Dealer Website

What is the mobile page speed of your car dealer website? Does it load in two seconds or less? Three seconds? Four? “2 seconds is the threshold for ecommerce website acceptability. At Google, we aim for under a half second.” That came from Maile Ohye, who oversaw Google’s Search Console product until 2017.  She’s now … Read more

Is Clutter Drowning Your Car Dealer Website’s Calls to Action?

“In a world where we have too many choices and too little time, the obvious thing to do is just ignore stuff,” says marketing master Seth Godin in a 2003 Ted Talk. He then goes on to say that unless something is “remarkable” it’s going to be ignored.  Times haven’t changed. These words have real … Read more

How Valuable is a Shopper’s Mobile Phone to Your Dealership?

Smartphones have truly changed the world. From purchasing plane tickets to watching movies, people now use these mobile devices for things we could not have imagined 20 years ago.. With the internet being such an important part of our everyday life, a smartphone has become a bare necessity for many people. It’s usually within an … Read more

How to Respond to Reviews

You must have a plan to respond to reviews because good reviews are money in the bank. Don’t believe me?  According to Podium, a leading interaction and localized reputation management company, when a prospective customer sees a good Google review, they are 38% more likely to visit your location and 29% more likely to consider … Read more

How to Get Better Google Reviews

If you don’t have a process in place for managing your reviews, you are potentially costing yourself lost leads and money.  A high volume of good reviews with great responses is one of the simplest and cheapest ways you can use to attract people to your showroom or service bay.  Google loves them as does … Read more

Is There a “Right Balance” For SEO vs SEM Spending For Your Dealer Website?

Many car dealers use a mixture of search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click search engine marketing (PPC SEM) to promote their websites. As a dealer, to maximize your return on investment, it’s crucial to find the right balance when you decide how much money to budget for each method. Balanced Spending Most marketing experts recommend … Read more

The Need for Speed – Why Your Dealer Website Must be Fast

The speed of your dealership’s website can have a huge impact on its profitability. Load times hold are important for desktops, but even more so for mobile sites. Fifty-three percent of mobile internet users immediately vacate web pages when load times exceed three seconds, according to Google’s DoubleClick division. Think about it. Half your visitors… … Read more

10 “Simple” Ways to Make Your Dealership More Secure Against Hacks, Viruses, and Malware

For any business owner, keeping your dealership secure is vital. You need to do all you can to protect your records, marketing data, legal documents, and cash as well as your employees. You lock your doors and create security policies, but do you have the same vigilance with your digital doors and policies? Your 10 … Read more

The Birth of SurgeMetrix – Big Journeys Begin with Small Steps

A New Beginning…of Sorts I view starting a new company as similar to childbirth. While some might argue (like my wife) that childbirth is a risky metaphor for starting a new company, I see it differently. Childbirth, and the family building that follows, takes passion, commitment, hard work, pain, and a whole lot of love. … Read more