What sets CarGurus apart in the US
Purchasing a used car can be a stressful experience, especially when you’re unsure of the car’s exact value. But new technology, including what’s offered through third-party marketplaces, is playing a big role in helping to make the used car buying experience easier and more transparent.
On CarGurus, car shopping is simple and user-friendly. We make it easy for consumers to find great deals from top-rated dealers. Our focus on transparency and efficiency results in informed, engaged shoppers that drive results for dealers.
Long tail keywords: why they’re worth getting right
At the head of the search results, a very small number of keywords— the top 100 or 500—have monthly search volumes in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Those are searches like “Honda Civic” or “Ford truck.” They’re very high volume, they’re easy to identify, and they’re fairly short: 1 or 2 words, generally.
In contrast, long tail keywords are searched much less frequently: single digits per month, in many cases. And, instead of a few hundred terms, you’re looking at millions of different keywords, mostly longer, more complex searches. So why should you care about them at all?
The long tail isn’t just about volume: it’s about value. What you find in the long tail are buyers who know what they want and are closer to taking action. This concept dominates search, both organic and paid, with long tail keywords making up over 70% of search traffic.
Next wave of Navigate speakers announced: hear from leaders at TripAdvisor, Google, and more
We hope you have your calendars marked for Navigate, CarGurus’ first-ever automotive conference coming this October.
This one-of-a-kind event is designed for dealers and is sure to become the go-to place to get inspired and gain valuable industry insights, year after year. We’ve got an outstanding agenda planned, networking opportunities galore, and we’re thrilled to announce a new wave of top-notch speakers at Navigate. They come from some of the most recognizable brands and others that are pushing the envelope in marketing and sales.
Industry Pulse: Could forgiveness of student loans lead to a new peak in new and CPO vehicle sales?
Our Director of Automotive Industry and Economic Analysis, George Augustaitis, provides insight into how forgiveness of student loans could impact vehicle sales in the US.
Debt continues to increase while wages lag, and many Americans struggle to purchase a new car. In fact, affordability represents the most severe headwind causing the decline in vehicle sales, which are down 2.0% calendar year to date (CYTD) 2019.
A recent survey from Bankrate finds that 58% of Millennials and 56% of all Americans lose sleep over money troubles. Today, 40% of Millennials earn at least half their income from a side hustle. Millennials are the largest living adult generation as of 2019, and they represent a key demographic in the success of the new and certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle market. However, an increasing number of Millennials indicate that cost pushes them away from purchasing a new vehicle. Knowing this, increasing Millennial disposable income would lead to a rise in the new-vehicle market.
For Millennials, student loans represent the primary reason for their low disposable income. An estimated 44.7 million people in the US have student debt, which amounts to 1 in 4 Americans. With the estimated student debt at $1.49 trillion and the average monthly payment at $393, the increasing amount of student debt shapes affordability significantly more than wages, housing costs, and the rising price of vehicles.
2019 so far: CarGurus product updates, new features, and more
Our engineering and product teams have worked throughout the past few months to improve our platform and create more opportunities to drive more results for CarGurus dealers. We recently launched a number of updates that should make it easier for dealers to maximize their success on our site. Here are some of the key additions:
Navigate 2019 early bird ticket pricing extended until July 31st
Regret missing the early bird ticket sale for Navigate 2019? Due to popular demand, we’re extending the deadline. From now until July 31st, a limited number of early bird tickets will be available online. That’s about two more weeks to save 30% on tickets to Navigate, CarGurus’ inaugural automotive conference packed with industry trends and insights for helping your dealership get better results.
Product update: add your Instagram profile to your CarGurus account
Social media platforms help you connect with customers, increase awareness about your dealership, and ultimately, boost your leads and sales. And with nearly 3 billion social media users worldwide, it’s clear that social media should be an essential part of your digital marketing strategy. That’s why we let you link to your dealership’s social media profiles right from your CarGurus listings.
Daymond John to take the stage at Navigate 2019
This October, hundreds of dealers, partners, and industry experts will flock to Boston for Navigate 2019. CarGurus’ first-ever automotive conference, the event will be two days packed with learning and networking, including a captivating keynote session from Daymond John, CEO and Founder of FUBU and co-star of Shark Tank on ABC.
An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, Daymond John has come a long way from taking out a $100,000 mortgage on his mother’s house and moving his operation into the basement. Today, he runs FUBU, a much-celebrated global lifestyle brand, and is a pioneer in the fashion industry with over $6 billion in product sales.
Automotive News on the impact of the dearth of recession-era vehicles
Because of the new-vehicle sales slowdown during the Great Recession, finding affordable used-vehicle inventory has been a challenge for today’s dealers. Automotive News dug into CarGurus analysis to offer insight into the impact on the current car-buying market. Check out the full article:
Setting the record straight on CarGurus and SEO
In recent weeks there’s been some inaccurate information being shared about how we approach search engine optimization (SEO). We don’t usually respond to deceptive accusations from competitors, but this topic continues to come up and for the sake of our dealer customers we wanted to clear up any possible confusion.
Let us be clear: We do not engage in so-called “black hat” tactics. We don’t buy backlinks, we don’t cloak content, and we have not been manually penalized by Google. Period.
It is true that a change to Google’s algorithm earlier this year had an impact on our organic search traffic. Despite that, in Q1, we had almost 3X the monthly visits and 1.6X the monthly unique visitors as our next closest competitor, according to comScore MediaMetrix Multi-Platform, Automotive.