Monday, May 22, 2006
Easier, Faster Online Car Shopping
We just launched a significant enhancement to MotorAlley, our little version of the new car shopping world...we call it... (drumroll). Take a look and then read further if you care to read a rant about Google's algorithm.
Like a good pool filter, it removes all the "impure" elements. With as many as 30 entries in every category, clutter is a problem because, realistically, who can test drive 30 sedans? For example, click on Sedan, and then you can sort out all the cars that don't fit your browsing need using price category and review grades. Want to switch to minivans? One click does it.
Right now, we're killing fleas with a howitzer, so the next generation of filter will go to more granular levels; e.g. SUVs with 7 passenger seating, Sportscars with more than 300 hp, Sedans with All Wheel Drive and over 300 hp, etc. But first, the team (Dan Terry, Todd Ridley and P.J.) need to rest and recover from the first filter.
Does any other site offer this ease of shopping? MotorAlley let's you target cars that fit your needs quickly...and then find out what, if any, best deals are being offered directly from the dealership. We even list most of the dealers in the United States along with their awards and qualifications (if they won customer satisfaction awards, for example). No other site offers the combination of those elements. Let us know how we can improve.
On a related note, we're thinking of blocking all search engine indexes of our site to prove a point. If we block Google from indexing our site, we can actually make the claim that we are the only new car site that has a database of the best dealer advertised specials -- and that you won't find our data anywhere else...including Google, Yahoo and MSN. So don't waste your time going there.
The whole, chasing Google SEO traffic has gotten extremely tiresome. Why do we have to "increase our inbound links" to prove we have unique/better data? It simply is better. What? You prefer filling out a form at SuperBargainNewCars.com to find out what the dealer has to offer? Now you've given up personal info in the hope of getting back something useful. Our site already has that information. Do your research at MotorAlley, then, fill out the form IF you want to see if a dealer can beat the best deal you can find on our site. Now that is helpful. No wonder over 95% of consumers drop out of new car forms.
The "algorithm" is forcing sites with interesting/unique data, to prove to Google they have good data by creating ever increasing inbound links. That kind of thinking is what causes some sites to commit fraud by creating inbound links. We see them everyday.
The Google algorithm rewards older sites/URLs with inbound links (and often, lots of B.S. inbound links) and punishes newer sites (like ours) with new ideas on data (best deals database, dealer awards, car review summaries) and browsing (new car filter). We don't have linkfarms nor do we own 152 machine generated sites, with b.s. content, all pointing back to motoralley.com to increase our "inbound links" and "pagerank." We have unique data and tools to help new car shoppers. We post our phone # and physical address and let consumers instant message us if they have a question. Quickly, name a new car shopping site that offers all of that?
In other words, we're a real business, trying to help consumers find the best deal, on the best car, from the best dealer.
The New Car Filter
Like a good pool filter, it removes all the "impure" elements. With as many as 30 entries in every category, clutter is a problem because, realistically, who can test drive 30 sedans? For example, click on Sedan, and then you can sort out all the cars that don't fit your browsing need using price category and review grades. Want to switch to minivans? One click does it.Right now, we're killing fleas with a howitzer, so the next generation of filter will go to more granular levels; e.g. SUVs with 7 passenger seating, Sportscars with more than 300 hp, Sedans with All Wheel Drive and over 300 hp, etc. But first, the team (Dan Terry, Todd Ridley and P.J.) need to rest and recover from the first filter.
Does any other site offer this ease of shopping? MotorAlley let's you target cars that fit your needs quickly...and then find out what, if any, best deals are being offered directly from the dealership. We even list most of the dealers in the United States along with their awards and qualifications (if they won customer satisfaction awards, for example). No other site offers the combination of those elements. Let us know how we can improve.
On a related note, we're thinking of blocking all search engine indexes of our site to prove a point. If we block Google from indexing our site, we can actually make the claim that we are the only new car site that has a database of the best dealer advertised specials -- and that you won't find our data anywhere else...including Google, Yahoo and MSN. So don't waste your time going there.
The whole, chasing Google SEO traffic has gotten extremely tiresome. Why do we have to "increase our inbound links" to prove we have unique/better data? It simply is better. What? You prefer filling out a form at SuperBargainNewCars.com to find out what the dealer has to offer? Now you've given up personal info in the hope of getting back something useful. Our site already has that information. Do your research at MotorAlley, then, fill out the form IF you want to see if a dealer can beat the best deal you can find on our site. Now that is helpful. No wonder over 95% of consumers drop out of new car forms.
The "algorithm" is forcing sites with interesting/unique data, to prove to Google they have good data by creating ever increasing inbound links. That kind of thinking is what causes some sites to commit fraud by creating inbound links. We see them everyday.
The Google algorithm rewards older sites/URLs with inbound links (and often, lots of B.S. inbound links) and punishes newer sites (like ours) with new ideas on data (best deals database, dealer awards, car review summaries) and browsing (new car filter). We don't have linkfarms nor do we own 152 machine generated sites, with b.s. content, all pointing back to motoralley.com to increase our "inbound links" and "pagerank." We have unique data and tools to help new car shoppers. We post our phone # and physical address and let consumers instant message us if they have a question. Quickly, name a new car shopping site that offers all of that?
In other words, we're a real business, trying to help consumers find the best deal, on the best car, from the best dealer.
