It’s been awhile since I’ve seen any research on how search engines are doing. When Bing first came out there was a lot written about how much market share they would take. As it turned out the answer is not much, Google is still getting over 60% of search traffic.
This research chart reminds us that consumers still rely on search engines, more than anything else to find out information about local businesses.
As a marketer you should remind your dealers to check and update their free listings in all directories. But the real new business comes from good Google adword campaigns. Unfortunately, most retailers don’t have the resources to understand how Google adword campaigns work and there isn’t anyone around locally that can help them. That’s why it’s important for brands to help dealers market digitally and specifically on Google.
Your online marketing portal is the place to educate and provide dealers with the tools they need to win the digital advertising competition. If you don’t do it, you’re helping them waste your co-op money on traditional advertising or, worse yet, your competitors are leading your dealers to new media and leaving your message behind.