By Brian Pasch

There is much misinformation about changing website platforms, and if you plan properly, the transition can go very smoothly. The key is to get all the parties together to discuss integration to your dealership's DMS, inventory management tools, CRM platform, advertising partners, and third party merchandising tools.

Here are 10 things to keep in mind:

1. Google indexes dealership websites very quickly, so you will not see a major drop in traffic if you upgrade to an excellent responsive/adaptive technology.  In fact, since your new website will serve desktop and mobile shoppers better, you should see an increase in impressions, indexed pages, and overall lead activity.
2. You should make a list of custom content pages that you have created on your website that are getting good traction in the search engines. You can use Google Analytics to see the pages that are respected by Google and that are engaging consumers. Take these content pages and make sure your website provider moves them to the new site.
3. Create a detailed list of all third party plugins on your website and make sure you include them in the testing of the new platform before you go live. Popular plugins include KBB, PureCars, Black Book, Chat, Unity Works, DealerRater, and Trade-in Velocity.
4. When you switch platforms, make sure you use the same Google Analytics account number on the new website. This will allow you to see the changes in traffic, and shopper behavior before and after the cutover.
5. The new website vendor should configure 301 redirects for at least the top 30 pages of indexed content in Google's index. (Google shows you how)
6. Inspect inbound links to pages using Webmaster Tools and make a list of websites, blog posts, and directories that need to be updated with new links. If there are too many places to correct, use the 301 redirect method to fix external links to pages that no longer exist.
7. When you switch platforms, re-test all leads forms on the website and make sure that all leads are properly tagged in the website and CRM reports. You must avoid lead "evaporation" because it is very costly to find later!
8. Make sure that your auto-responders and all CRM templates have the new links to product pages, special pages, dealership directions, and staff pages.
9. Make sure all  paid advertising campaigns (Adwords, Facebook, Twitter) are updated with new landing page URLs. Make sure that the conversion code has been transferred to the new website to record all conversions properly.
10. You should not let OEM Co-op funds be the determination of which website platform to choose.  The amount of co-op funds can be a very small amount of money compared to the revenue you are losing, because of outdated website technology and poorly designed website pages.

Inspecting Google Changes Post Cutover

All website vendors will tell you that switching to their technology will be better for the dealership. But how do you know if the change really was a smart choice? There are many reports that can be analyzed to make that determination but for this post I wanted to talk about the "Google Impact" of a switch in technology.  You will need to have access to Google Webmaster Tools to see your own data after the website change takes place.

One of our customers recently changed website providers. I was very interested to see how Google responded to this change.  The dealer's previous website had a separate mobile website from their desktop website.  The desktop website did not utilize responsive or adaptive technology.  The new website utilizes adaptive technology.

Number of Indexed Pages

Using Google Webmaster Tools, you can see a website cutover very clearly by the "update" line that Google shows in the chart. The exact date of the change is not accurately reflected, but it was within a 10 day window.  This is because Webmaster Tools does not update their interface daily.

The Google Webmaster Tools report is showing that after the "Update" there was a significant increase in indexed pages; a 50% jump. This is a positive event for the dealer because it means that Google is respecting the quality and quantity of the new website pages.

Number of Impressions

A second way to inspect your new website platform is by looking at the number of "impressions" after the cutover.  In this case, the dealer's old website was getting approximately 1,500 impressions per month (red arrow) and after the cutover, that number increased by over 200%. (green arrow)

This means that the pages on the dealership's new website are appearing more often in Google Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). The visibility for this dealership has significantly improved based on this change in website technology.

Inspecting Other Reports

Google Webmaster Tools reports is only one "post cutover" set of reports to inspect.  Here are a few other reports you should be inspecting:

• Google Analytics reports to see changes in Average Time on Site, Number of Pages Viewed Per Visit, Bounce Rate, and number of leads submitted.
• You should see if VDP engagement is increasing and that the merchandising tools for the VDPs are generating more leads and calls.
• Call tracking reports to see if call volume has increased from mobile shoppers.
• Google Adwords reports to see if conversion rates have increased.
• CRM reports to see if lead submissions for sales and service have increased.

Your website cutover documentation should include a firm date for post cutover analysis to be completed. Hold your new website provider accountable for the claims that they make during the sales process.  You will only know if your choice to change website platforms was a "smart choice" when you complete the post cutover analysis.

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Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Consulting

732.672.2356

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