This is the second in our series of videos covering our recent integration of YouTube videos into the AutoRevo system. This video covers the three vital bits of information that will help get your YouTube videos to explode your site traffic and online sales.

Help us stump Erik the Intern! We’ve had a few questions come in so far, but they’ve all been really easy to answer - we really want to try to stump him, so send us some tougher questions! No matter how random or off-the-wall it is, we really want to see him squirm! Email your questions to askerik@autorevo.com.

Don’t forget - we’ll be publishing a new Tip video every Tuesday, so make sure you subscribe to the blog if you use a reader, or check back every week if you don’t… If you’d like to see something talked about in the videos, email us at tipoftheweek@autorevo.com. See you next week!

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AutoRevo has just announced a partnership with YouTube, integrating the YouTube service into the AutoRevo system. Now you can attach videos to vehicles to help engage more customers, and you can do it all from inside the AutoRevo interface… you can even upload videos to your YouTube account without ever logging in to YouTube!

We’ll be putting out a series of tips regarding the YouTube integration, starting with this week’s tip about how to set up your account and attach a video to a vehicle.

We’ll be publishing a new Tip video every Tuesday, so make sure you subscribe to the blog if you use a reader, or check back every week if you don’t… If you’d like to see something talked about in the videos, email us at tipoftheweek@autorevo.com. If you’ve got a really random, off-the-wall question you’d like to try to stump our design intern with, email it to askerik@autorevo.com. See you next week!

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The Senate approved the “Cash for Clunkers” program yesterday, so now the bill goes to the President for his final approval… This is exciting news for all the dealers out there, as it is expected to produce a huge influx of business. If you’re a participating dealer, here’s a list of important preparations to make that will help maximize your potential sales from the “Cash for Clunkers” program:

1) Prepare your website - Potential buyers are already hitting the Internet to find out more information about the program.  You should create a custom page on your site to help educate potential buyers about the program… explain the qualifications and the difference between the $3,500 vouchers and the $4,500 vouchers.  Not only will your site benefit from featuring fresh content, you’re more likely to snag a few extra visitors who are looking for information on the program. Most consumers out there don’t even know what vehicles will qualify, so providing that simple information can result in significant increases in web traffic.

2) Prepare your staff - You’re bound to get a lot of calls from potential buyers who want to know more about the program.  You’ll also have a lot of in-person questions to answer, and you want to be sure that your staff is fully up to speed on all of the program details.  Don’t lose any sales because your employees can’t answer a potential buyer’s questions!

3) Prepare your inventory - Since the program will award vouchers based off of gas mileage, make sure you’ve got window stickers prominently displayed on all of your inventory with better gas mileage.  You might even want to order special window sticker stock to use for the 3-4 months that the program will run. Get your staff ready to showcase all of the available inventory to potential CFC buyers.

4) Prepare your strategy - The program is only slated to run for a few months, so you need to be able to hit the ground running.  You’ll want to be sure that you get the most out of the program, so it’s all about short term profitablilty - there’s no long term plan needed here - just prepare your staff and your inventory to ensure maximum effectiveness.

As always, comments are encouraged - if you’ve got any other ideas that will help maximize the results of the “Cash for Clunkers” program, let us know!

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Hold on to your hats, the Tip of the Week video is back! We’ll be publishing a new Tip video every Tuesday, so make sure you subscribe to the blog if you use a reader, or check back every week if you don’t… If you’d like to see something talked about in the videos, email us at tipoftheweek@autorevo.com. If you’ve got a really random, off-the-wall question you’d like to try to stump our design intern with, email it to askerik@autorevo.com. See you next week!

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Press release hit today from the SBA.  Great news for some dealers!

SBA Will Offer Floor Plan Financing to Auto, RV, Other Dealerships Beginning July 1
KOKOMO, IND. – The U.S. Small Business Administration will offer government guaranteed loans to finance inventory for eligible auto, recreational vehicle, boat and other dealerships under a new pilot program announced today by SBA Administrator Karen Mills.
Dealer Floor Plan (DFP) financing will be available beginning July 1, according to Mills. She announced the new program during a visit to Kokomo, Ind., with Dr. Ed Montgomery, President Barack Obama’s Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers.

“Countless small businesses, including dealerships, across the country are facing significant challenges as a result of the uncertainty in the auto industry,” Mills said. “Floor plan financing can offer some dealerships the opportunity to get through these tough economic times by allowing them to keep their inventory and cash flow intact, as well as save the jobs these small businesses provide.”

Mills and Montgomery discussed the new DFP pilot program, as well as other resources offered by SBA and the federal government to help small businesses in communities impacted by the troubles facing the auto industry.

“Small businesses are the engine of our economic growth,” Dr. Montgomery said. “We are committed to finding ways the federal government can cut through red tape and get resources to these companies quickly during these tough economic times. From supporting nearly $4 billion in lending to small businesses across the country since February to the Dealer Floor Plan financing announced today, the SBA is making the resources provided in the Recovery Act accessible and working to provided needed credit. The President is committed to continuing to work with federal officials to identify resources like these that make a real difference in the lives of our auto communities and workers.”

Floor plan financing is a line of credit that allows dealers to borrow against their inventory, and then repay that debt as they sell their inventory or borrow against the line of credit again to add new inventory.

Under the DFP pilot program, the SBA will provide loan guarantees for lines of credit through its 7(a) program. DFP loans will be made through SBA lenders only for titleable inventory, including autos, RVs, manufactured homes, boats and motorcycles. The pilot program will begin July 1 and will be available through Sept. 30, 2010, at which time the SBA will make the determination of whether or not to extend the program.

DFP loans will be available for a minimum of $500,000 up to the $2 million allowable under the 7(a) program. With a maximum repayment term of five years, the loans will come with a 75 percent government guarantee. Borrowers will also benefit from the temporary elimination of fees on 7(a) loans made possible by the America’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

During a roundtable discussion later in the afternoon with local small business owners Mills provided information on other SBA loan programs and benefits provided by the Recovery Act. Specifically, small business owners can take advantage of higher government guarantees on some 7(a) loans, as well as reduced fees on both 7(a) and 504 loans. The agency is also providing more tools to help small businesses compete for federal government contracts, along with technical assistance and counseling for business owners and entrepreneurs to help them deal with the economic challenges they face.

“We are committed to being the real partner small businesses need at this critical time,” Mills said. “Floor plan financing is just the latest tool in our toolbox to help small businesses in communities like Kokomo weather this recession and drive our nation’s economic recovery.”

Learn more here:
SBA Floor Plan Financing
FAQ
Fact Sheet
Press Release

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National Vehicle Certification Program Group (NVCP) and CARFAX have teamed up to provide Independent Dealers a Certified pre-owned program!  Read the full story on AutoRemarketing.

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Yes, we are always adding 3rd party sites we integrate with and we have 4 new ones this week.  If your dealership is using any of these please call or email us to get set up.

Izmocars.com
iSeeCars.com
CarFinder.com
Local-Cars.com

Check out how we integrate dealer websites with any automotive shopping site!

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Wow, what an encouraging read! I was going through my morning blog list and found a great post that explains why the used car business in America is actually going to explode BECAUSE of the recession. It all has to do with a drastically lower used car pool and a drastically higher demand for used cars…

You can read the full post here: BOOM TIMES COMING IN THE USED CAR MARKET

Obviously, this is great news for our dealers…

As always, comments are welcome - what do you guys think about this?

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We got an email this week from one of our dealers that we’d like to share.  Not that we want to toot our own horn, but we always strive to give the best possible customer service… and a glowing testimonial from a satisfied customer is the best way to show how our dedication to each and every customer sets us apart in the industry.

I wanted to share with you something we noticed…. after updating and redesigning our page, we are getting so much more traffic to our site.   One of the best things we ever did was sign up with AutoRevo for a website.   I’m glad you never quit on us - after we signed up, you could have stopped and left us alone, but you didn’t.   You took ownership of our account and kept pushing for us to do what you saw we could do… even though we couldn’t see it ourselves.

I’m just glad you’re on our team.  Thank you for pushing and not giving up on us.

Sandy Stewart
American Auto Brokers

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So I know it sounds like I’m talking crazy talk, but bear with me…

We all know that we’re in a recession. We all know that car sales are lower than they’ve been in years. The important point is this - because of the tough economy, fewer people are buying cars… but that can be a good thing! People want to be sure that their money is well-spent, so they’re doing more online research before making a purchase than ever before.

Consumers want to buy a car that not only satisfies their needs, they want to pay the right price and buy it from someone they can build a rapport with.

Getting found in the search engines can be your white knight that saves you from the evil dragon of the recession.

Here are three tips that will help you boost your site to a higher level:

1. Local business is key. While the good ol’ days of people driving around and browsing for cars is long gone, consumers still tend to purchase locally. Your address is already on your site, but make sure you have text on your Home page and your About Us page that mentions where you’re located. People like to know that once they find a car they like, they can come by and take a look in person.

2. Your inventory should be your focus. Your inventory is already working for you - all of our inventory pages have unique URLs, title tags, and meta data, which is vitally important for helping to rank higher in the search engines. What’s important here is to write good descriptions for all of your vehicles - the VIN exploded information isn’t enough, you want to add a personal description that will catch a potential buyer’s eye. Our automatic description builder can help with this, but it’s always a good idea to add your own personal touch.

3. Make sure your site is appealing. Your site is an extension of your business, and you want people to see your site and WANT to buy from you. Your home page should have nice graphics and well-written text. Your site should be informative and easy to look at.  Appealing graphics are extremely important, not only on your home page, but on your inventory pages as well. Taking the time to get great photos of each car will make a huge difference when it comes to sales.

Our sites are highly optimized to help with search engine rankings right out of the box, but if you follow these tips, you’ll be maximizing your site’s potential.

As always, comments are welcome - let us know if you’ve done something with your site that’s boosted business so we can share your success with others.

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