If you are one of the many dealers in the country who is starting to market on the Internet, you should consider adding banner advertising on local media Websites.

Certainly many dealers pay a lead generation company for leads, but now some dealers are adding their own lead generation efforts-by incorporating the Internet.

Newspaper advertising is becoming increasingly expensive and less effective. Part of this problem comes from the consumers move to the Internet. Many people get their news and community information by going to local newspaper, television, or radio stations Websites. To reach this growing group, you must have a presence on these sites-usually in the form of a banner ad. Banner ads are intended to grab the attention of a person in the market for a vehicle. When that person sees the banner and clicks on it, you have an interested buyer. But how do you turn that interested buyer into an actual customer in your showroom?

Here is an idea to help you capture that buyer. Most banner advertisers link their banners to their Website. When the shopper sees your banner and clicks, they travel to the home page of your Website- this may not be the best way to capture them. When you drop someone on a home page, they typically explore the site a little, look at the vehicle that interests them, and check prices. If you are lucky, they might fill out a form in your inventory section and let you know who they are and what they are looking for- or they may not.

Many dealers are moving to what is called a landing page. This is a Web page specifically designed for people coming from a banner ad. The landing page immediately shows them the vehicle they are looking for and a sales offer. Landing pages can also have a short video by a nice looking person inviting them to fill out the form below and we will send you info on the vehicle you are seeking. These videos and forms have a much higher success rate for collecting consumer contact info than the normal process of dumping them on the home page. Successful landing pages sometimes offer an automatic entry in the drawing for a prize, or even promise a small prize simply for filling out the form.

Notice that the focus is on collecting the contact info. You cannot sell a car to someone if you never make contact with him or her. On the Internet, making contact is up to the consumer. Strive to make your landing page generate leads in the form of contact info, and make sure your sales staff follows-up immediately on all leads. They need to call or email the person now. One hour later gives the shopper time to go to another dealers site. As you start to use Website banners to advertise, try creating a special landing page. The landing page still allows them to connect to your Website, but it serves as a first attempt to collect their contact information.