September 12, 2021

Why Dealers Must Optimize for Mobile Experience

Why must dealers optimize their websites for the mobile experience? 

In 2015 and according to our data, only 25% of dealership website visitors came in from mobile phones. In 2021, that number increased by 148% to 62% of their visitors.

In 2015, 44% of trade-in leads were from mobile. In 2021, 75% of their trade in leads came from phones. Tablet usage also fell off a cliff between 2015 and 2021.

TradePending Users and Leads by device

That’s a massive change in user behavior! Dealers must adapt and optimize their websites to be focused on the mobile experience. 

But what does optimize mean? 

  • Make it easy for people to use your site
  • Make it easy for search engines to read your site

Yes, there are entire strategies and agencies devoted to those two tasks. We’re not going to cover all of that here. 

Instead, we’ll focus on the first bullet, with an emphasis on content. Dealers have to be smart about knowing where to focus their optimization efforts, which means knowing what consumers want, and then giving it to them.

Well, here’s what consumers want to do when they land on your website.

#1 Research new and used inventory

#2 Research the value of a trade-in

#3 Schedule a service appointment

TradePending's annual consumer survey of trade-in tools, chart 1

 

Methodology: conducted by Google Consumer Surveys, January 2021. N = 1,469.

 

#1 and #3 are out of TradePending’s control, but if you’re not using TradePending’s Trade for #2, you’re not using the best website conversion tool for trade-in leads. We handle just about everything to ensure your trade-in tool works seamlessly on mobile. In a few clicks and 10 seconds, your website visitors will have their trade-in value.

“I’ve seen all the tools available for dealership websites, and Trade is hands down the simplest and most effective product for conversion and lead generation.” – Justin Brun, Acton Toyota Of Littleton, Director Of Marketing And E-commerce

“We absolutely love the Trade tool and have been using it as our preferred trade-in website tool since 2016! Every month it’s one of our top lead providers across the group and has been essential in helping us acquire more inventory. We’ve built entire processes and marketing campaigns around the tool and continue to see more and more success.” – Kurtis Anderson – Internet Director, Knight Automotive Group

Make those 3 things easy to do on mobile, and you’ll be on your way to better website conversion rates, more trade-in leads, more inventory sourced, and more sales.