The AWA review team recently had the opportunity to get a firsthand look at the upcoming TK Carsites technology roadmap as well as some of the new features that will be released in Q1 of 2011. Their new platform will give dealers unlimited design and layout choices, which seems to be a direction that the industry is heading. That said, their current platform was impressive.

It is exciting to see the wave of change that will be coming to automotive websites in 2011 and TK Carsites is part of that Tsunami.

TK Carsites was a dual award winner in the 2009 ASMA Awards and so we were very interested to see how they have improved on their website platform. This article is not a full review of their technology however TK CarSites will be evaluated in the 2010 AWA Whitepaper that will be released on October 12, 2010 when the award winners for Search Marketing, Design and Technology are announced.

Readers of my blog know that in recent weeks the concept of POD Score™ has been developed to place score on the control a dealer has on Google Page One for a search on their name. This score was developed to help car dealers understand the importance of managing Page One results since it impacts all car dealer advertising investments.

We had a chance to see the latest updates and strategies on the TK CarSites Power of Five technology which gives car dealers a primary website and four additional microsites. These microsites can be created to increase fixed ops revenue, used car sales, car financing, or any profit center the dealer wants targeted. Car dealers using the Power of Five technology control more Google Page One listings because all sites are also optimized for the dealer’s name.

Power of Five in Action

A popular example of the Power of Five in action is to conduct a search for “Marlboro Nissan” in Google. In addition to their main TK website appearing one Page One which is www.marlbornissan.com, you can also see other TK sites that include www.nissan-service.net, www.nissancarsmass.com, and www.usednissanboston.com. The control of Page One is shown below in red:

TK Carsites is not the first to utilize microsites for car dealers but they are the only vendor we reviewed this year that has a pre-packaged microsite solution offered as a standard marketing strategy for car dealers. In this example, Marlboro Nissan controls Google Page One with the remaining spots being taken up by the social media accounts, blogs, and their Dealerrater page that show hundreds of positive reviews.

In the past year TK Carsites has continued to update their inventory listing module which is search engine friendly. Years ago TK has a framed inventory solution that was not search engine friendly so for dealers that have not looked at their technology recently, there has been many changes worthy of a second look.

One of the other things that impressed our team was their move away from custom flash sites which has two benefits. One, flash technology is not support on all mobile devices and secondly, it has lowered the costs of TK Carsites products to car dealers. According to TK, their websites which once had a premium for custom flash programming, are now streamlined to give dealers flexibility of design and a much lower cost.

Keyword Targeted Home Page Banners

Another feature that we liked on the TK Carsites home page was the ability to have customer banners based on what the consumer searched. For example, if a consumer typed into Google “2010 Altima Boston” and arrives on a TK website, the home page banner can show the dealer’s current Altima sales promotion or lease payment. According to TK, this has increased page views and lead conversion by taking consumers right to the offer page and inventory listings.

As we reviewed a number of TK CarSites examples, we found that the navigation was clean and the quote forms required minimal data from a consumer. Studies by PCG Digital Marketing has shown that putting too many fields on quote forms reduces conversion so we liked the simplicity of their website designs and their efficient use of space.

TK Carsites has a reputation of building websites that leverage the power of Automotive SEO strategies to generate unparalleled search visibility . From what we have seen with their current platform, anyone looking to upgrade their Page One visibility should keep TK Carsites on their short list of vendors to call.

PCG Digital Marketing expanded the 2010 Automotive Website Awards (AWA) to include three design awards.  The AWA for Design will select the best designed car dealer website, automotive manufacturer website, and a third party automotive advertising website.

PCG Digital Marketing has invited members of the design industry to participate in the judging process which will enhance the automotive website review process.  PCG Digital Marketing is proud to welcome Steven Mautone and Michael D. Arsenault to the review panel for the 2010 AWA Design awards.

Steven Mautone is a front-end Web developer and production manager with a passion for mobile computing. He holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from the Medoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame as well as a Masters of Science in Management Information Technology from Indiana University, specializing in Web Content Management Systems.

Steven has previously worked in the Digital Media departments for BBC America and Showtime Networks in New York City, and is now the owner of inverted® Web, a Web development and interactive marketing firm located in Miami. Steven currently teaches Web Design and Multimedia Design in the School of Communication at the University of Miami.

With a background in information management and system design, Steven’s vision for Web development focuses on a strong content strategy with consistent information architecture and interface design.

Michael D. Arsenault

Michael D. Arsenault is the Chairperson of Graphics Design at the Digital Media Arts College located in Boca Raton, Florida. 

Michael is responsible for the supervision and maintenance of all faculty members in his departments and also maintaining and developing of the Graphic Design (MFA, BFA), Advertising Design (BFA), Foundations curriculums (BFA), and all Professional Certificate Programs.

2010 AWA Awards Presentation

The 2010 AWA awards presentation is scheduled for Tuesday morning, October 12, 2010 at 8:00 am at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.  Tickets for the awards presentation can be purchased by contacting Carrie Hemphill at PCG Digital Marketing at 732.450.8200 extension 2.

For additional information on the 2010 Automotive Website Awards at http://www.automotivewebsiteawards.com

The 2010 Automotive Website Awards (AWA) will be presented on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 8:00 am at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas in Grand Ballroom D. Details on the awards ceremony have been finalized by PCG Digital Marketing.

Members of the automotive industry that would like to attend the awards breakfast should follow the guidelines below:

1. All attendees MUST be pre-registered since seating is limited.

2. The breakfast will be sold out so walk-in attendance will not be permitted.

3. If your company is listed below, you are entitled to two complimentary tickets for the event, as long as the attendees are members of your company and they register with Carrie Hemphill By October 4, 2010.

4. If your company is listed above and you need to purchase additional tickets, contact Carrie Hemphill by October 4, 2010. Tickets to the breakfast are $45 per person and you can reach Carrie at 732.450.8200 ext 2.

5. If you would like to attend and are not an employee of the companies listed above, please contact Carrie Hemphill at 732.450.8200 to purchase your tickets.

6. The breakfast reception holds 75 people so we expect that between the companies being considered for the awards plus industry press, media and dignitaries that the 2010 AWA Awards Breakfast will be sold out quickly.

Members of the Automotive News Media can request press passes from PCG Digital Marketing by supplying the appropriate credentials.

We are encouraging the CEO of the companies being considered to attend the breakfast along with the head of the website development team. This will allow PCG to take meaningful photos of the awards being presented to the winning companies.