Is your listing right?
Search engines and directory sites pull data from many sources to determine what information they display to their users. If you do not control your listings properly then they can be populated with incorrect information like the listing shown here.
The info is correct except the most important part, the phone number. This is costing the dealer several lost opportunities per day in sales and service. The saving grace is the surfer clicks through it is taken to the dealers website where the right information will be presented to them.
If the dealer cared about their online presence then this would not be a problem.
Another Bad Google Map Listing
Your google map listing is probably the most important online directory listing, but it definitely is not the only one. There are hundreds if not thousands of directory sites that populate business information.
In the example shown above if you were to dig down into their google map listing you will also find a listing for their old location. That shows their correct local phone number but has an incorrect address.
When your directory listings are not properly managed then other sites pick up and display bad data. It would be the same as having the wrong phone number or address listed in the phone book. It will also create lost opportunities when others are search for competitors as well.
Data aggregation companies will pull listings from different locations and resell that information which further propagates bad information. Your online listings should should be the same across all mediums. The challenges that a dealer would face is finding every location that their information is displayed or even worse not displayed at all.
We have a very low cost service that distributes your business profile to major data services and directory sites so your listings display proper contact info and branding or you can track them all down. If you want to know more give us a call 800-406-1794 or use the contact form below.
Paul,
I noticed you included an image of the DealerDex.com listing for Carl Gregory Hyundai of Brunswick with an annotation that the phone number is incorrect.
Not only does this phone number match the Internet Sales Phone on the official website:
http://www.carlgregoryhyundaiofbrunswick.com/
but this phone number was changed to the current listed phone number at your request.
Jeff
-Founder, DealerDex.com
The number on the website is incorrect as well. I suggest you call it up and listen to the fast busy customers get. That number was owned by me and dealer told me it was ok to put it on there when I was their Internet manager. It was not my responsibility after I left, at their request during the Jim Ziegler Incident, to correct their mess.
Maybe dealerdex needs to do some Q&A on their listings since they are the one reporting bad info and you are overly concerned about it.
Thank you for bringing that to my attention. The phone number for Carl Gregory Hyundai has been updated.
We make dozens of changes every week (phone numbers, websites, emails). Without a staff of 10 people doing nothing but calling dealers it is a challenge to stay on top of all the changes that occur at more than 20,000 dealers nationwide, especially after the turbulent year we’ve had in the industry.
That being said, we do strive to have the most current, complete dealership information to help direct consumers to their local dealer.
The irony in your post/my response was that you were calling out a phone number that was bad — a change that was made at your specific request. This is yet another problem in the industry – dealership personnel come and go, changes are made to websites, phone numbers and emails – most of the time the dealership is unaware of these “broken” links.
The average dealer is probably unaware how to update their Google Maps listing, let alone manage their business data across all of the websites out there. The service you provide could be very useful to help dealers maintain accurate business data across the internet.
If you are interested, we would welcome your “data feed” of dealers using your directory listing service. We will update all listings at no charge to you or your dealers.
Jeff
I would advise dealers to not have their data displayed on sites like Dealerdex until they properly own their name in the search engines. The only reason to have it there then is to pick up traffic on their competitors names.
The primary purpose of your site is lead gen, adsense and ebay commisions it is not to market dealers. Way to many distractions for the surfer to be directed in the wrong direction.