As a dealership, the design and functionality of your website is probably controlled by one of a number of dealership website providers. These providers generally offer various templates and functionality based on what is included in your monthly package. They throw in bells and whistles which (most often) ooh and aah the customer into thinking he or she has a solid website. Now don’t get me wrong, I love “flashy” stuff as much as the next person, but believe me when I say that the average customer doesn’t care about a two minute video intro to your dealership website.
In a perfect world, a solid website would have two targets in mind: 1) the visitor and 2) the search engines. Most SEOs would agree that there exists a delicate balance when it comes to how you work at obtaining higher rankings on the search engines through your on-site optimization. However, the sad thing is that most of the sites I analyze on a daily basis only give the appearance of a good user experience instead of actually delivering a good user experience. This post will focus on 5 tips that will help you create a better experience for your users. Some of this will be hard to take, but trust me…it will be worth it!
1. Lose the talking heads. Nothing is more frustrating than visiting a dealership website and having some lady follow me around thanking me for visiting the website or letting me know that I can click on any of the tabs above to get more information. I realize that this tool is meant to be helpful, but lose it. It’s not helpful and in fact distracts from the profit centers your visitors should be clicking on. Which brings me to my next point….
2. Lose the sounds. I know it sounds awesome in theory to have some futuristic noise play any time someone scrolls over a tab on your site. It makes it feel like a spaceship! The problem lies when you have a potential buyer searching on a computer where they shouldn’t have sound. For example, the library, Starbucks, the workplace (I know you never do personal browsing at work, but other people might…). The first instinct people have when music pops on suddenly is to close out of the browser. In the initial research stages for a new vehicle, they will probably just move on to the next site that doesn’t have sound and do their research there.
3. Lose unnecessary pages. Simple is the new busy. I know it seems like the more information you provide your clients, the more they will want to do business with you. I mean, why wouldn’t they want to visit the “Awards” page to find out that you were voted the number one service shop in 1996! Even though you have the functionality to add more pages, don’t add pages to add pages. It just makes a website look busier and makes the important things harder to find. Lose any extra pages that serve no function. Think to yourself, “Is this page going to directly affect the leads through my website or increase the effectiveness of my on-site search engine optimization tactics?” If the answer is no, lose it. Don’t get me wrong, adding highly relevant, keyword-targeted pages can have very positive effects on your website given proper structure. Analyze your current pages and decide what should stay and what should go. Time for a little housekeeping.
4. Make everything easier to find. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a car dealer website and it’s taken me more than 3 minutes to find what I’m looking for. You should always identify goals within your website and establish the fastest way for someone to reach that goal. Especially with a dealership website, one could assume they are visiting the site to search new inventory, used inventory, service or parts. So don’t make the pages difficult to find through a sea of pictures and scrolling banners. Make it clean, simple and one click away from your goal. This will ensure your user is getting to the page they are looking for in the least amount of clicks possible.
5. Use an updated template. Check with your web provider to make sure that your template is always up-to-date. There is nothing more unappealing than coming to a website that looks like it was created in the early 90s. Most shoppers are prone to doing their car research online. Since this is done among numerous car dealerships, buyers might be put off by your lack of attention to updating your site design when your competitor’s site looks sharp and clean.
There are obviously a number of changes you could implement on your website to make it more user-friendly; certainly more than those that are listed here. These five tips should get you started on the road to a user-friendly website. You should keep in mind that your site should really be evaluated every couple of months to make sure that the integrity is still in tact and to see if there is anything else that could be improved for usability.
" Kyle is the L2T Social Media Guru and is a purveyor of 90's music. His complete dedication to his work was exhibited when he ate the entire Wendy's Value Menu in one business day. " |
