PCG Digital Marketing announced today the list of 45 companies that will be included in their research reports on automotive website technology. 

The website platforms of all companies in this year’s study will be put through a series of tests and the results compiled and published in a whitepaper for the automotive industry.

The automotive website platforms that excel in various categories will be recognized in the report as well as select companies being chosen to received the coveted ASMA award of excellence. 

In 2009 35 website companies were reviewed and only 9 were selected to receive an ASMA award.   Three of the nine companies had the distinction of being a dual award winner.  Last year’s dual award winners were Dealer.com, TKCarsites.com,  and DealerTrend.com.

The 2010 ASMA awards ceremony will be held On Wednesday October 13, 2010 at the 9th Digital Dealer Convention & Exposition.  PCG is sponsoring the conference cocktail reception where the awards will be presented to an audience of over 1,000 automotive professionals.  The Digital Dealer Conference is the largest automotive conference and exhibition specifically focused on digital marketing and technology.

List of Companies in the 2010 ASMA Study

The companies that will be included in this year’s ASMA whitepaper , in alphabetical order, are:

For additional information on the 2010 ASMA visit: www.asmaawards.org or call Carrie Hemphill, ASMA Coordinator, at 732.450.8200.

The 2010 ASMA report will be exciting and all members of the automotive community should remind their website vendors that the initial applications are due on Monday August 2, 2010. Final data submissions and completed applications are due on August 27, 2010.

Applications received between August 3-6th will be assessed a late fee of $300.

Applications after August 6th will not be accepted.

If you work at car dealership and love your website platform, make sure your website vendor enters to be part of this annual award of excellence. We will be once again selecting the best website platforms to assist dealers with their search marketing needs.

Digital marketing is THE place for growth in spending in 2010 and 2011 and the 2010 ASMA report will assist car dealers in selecting a platform that will reward that increased investment with a stronger ROI.

ASMA Vendor Features Grid

Some questions have been asked by automotive website vendors about the extended list of website platform feature questions in this year’s application.  In the 2010 ASMA report we will be creating for the first time a master grid of website features and applications offered by vendors.

For example, some vendors offer Video SEO and some do not. Some offer unlimited page building and other don’t. Some offer integrated chat and others do not. There is no master list that lines up platforms and features, but there will now, as a bonus in the 2010 ASMA report.

We also added some functionality questions that do not affect SEO like integrated CRM. We were asked why this question was included and our response is that it enhances the features grid. It is not being asked to add any weight in the award selection process for integrated CRM.

A few vendors offers their own CRM product and others use third parties. This does not impact the search visibility of a website but having that feature column will help dealers compare vendors for specific criteria they may be interested in.

ASMA Award Integrity

The 2010 ASMA report is unique in that it combines vendor provided data as well as independently verified data by our ASMA review staff. The report is funded by PCG Digital Marketing and is wholly managed and owned by PCG.  Here are some additional points of clarification:

• If vendors do not submit an application for the awards it does not mean that the ASMA team will not perform  an analysis from public information and our own testing. In this case, the vendor has chosen not to clearly answer the matrix of questions about their products.
• We will review ALL vendors again who were in the 2009 ASMA report regardless of their formal participation and application submission. Any vendors that did not feel that their platform was accurately represented in 2009 should participate in the formal application process.
• Without vendor particpation in the application process, the ASMA team may be reviewing old technology. This is because we will pick websites at random unless otherwise dictated from formal applications.
• If there is a question on the application you do not want to or cannot  answer – leave them blank. If any question you feel would compromise your technological advantage, leave it blank.

Our independent analysis and honest reporting has won the respect of the automotive industry and this year will be no different.  Each year the ASMA study and awards will seek to be relevant to the needs of car dealers and the changing landscape of the automotive industry.  We encourage all members of the automotive community in website design to participate.

ASMA Applications can be obtained by contacting Carrie Hemphill at: 732-450-8200

The 2010 Automotive Search Marketing Architecture (ASMA) study, underwritten by PCG Digital Marketing (PCG), is the automotive industry’s premier recognition for automotive website providers.  Applications are now available to automotive website design companies to submit their technology for review.   The annual ASMA study recognizes the best automotive website platforms for automotive digital marketing visibility and strength.

Automotive website companies or their automotive advertising agencies are encouraged to contact Carrie Hemphill, ASMA Award Coordinator, to request the application and data entry forms via email.

ASMA Application Deadline: August 2nd

Participants in the 2010 ASMA Awards must submit their application by August 2, 2010.  This deadline is for all companies that plan to particpate and submit their technology and questionnaire.

The completed ASMA data form with all survey data completed is due by August 27, 2010.  The 2010 ASMA will be expanded to include survey data for mobile applications, chat, video technology and iPad applications.

The 2010 study results will be announced at the 9th Digital Dealer Conference which will be held in Las Vegas from October 12-14th.  A special ceremony for the award winners will be conducted during the conference luncheon sponsored by PCG Digital Marketing.  

In 2009, nine companies out of the 35 included in the study received ASMA awards.   The award is the most prestigious industry award for website design companies.  

2010 ASMA Awards

The ASMA study seeks to assist car dealers with evaluating automotive website platforms and integrated marketing tools.  The 2010 ASMA Awards will include a comprehensive grid of website features, tools and architecture of all vendors.  The report is the industry’s only comprehensive comparison of automotive digital marketing website technology.

Each year, over 50 automotive website platforms are considers for Automotive SEO compliance, data integration, user interface, and search marketing visibility.  in 2009, only 35 were included in the ASMA report and only a fraction receive an ASMA award for excellence.

All of the companies included in the annual study are given the opportunity to submit their most recent examples of technology for review.  This year, the participants can also elect to conduct a two hour presentation of their website and marketing technology to the ASMA review team.

2009 Winner Spotlight – Dealer.com

One of the dual award winners in 2009 was Dealer.com.  Dean Evans from Dealer.com and Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing, are photographed during the awards presentation.

For additional information on the 2010 ASMA Awards, contact:

Carrie Hemphill
ASMA Coordinator
PCG Digital Marketing
732.450.8200

http://www.asmaawards.org/