How dealers can use Car & Driving reviews to improve new & used car content

It’s not new news – we know that reviews and social proof can help sell cars. In fact, it’s something that is so deeply entrenched in the industry that we have rafts of websites and magazines dedicated to the industry. Whilst plenty is hobby related, we all know that customers start their research for their next car (new OR used) months before they arrive on a dealer website.

What’s a bit newer, however, is dealers making the most of this content on their website. Sharing vehicle reviews and insight is an obvious way to boost your car dealer website’s content, but the uptake is surprisingly low.

Here at Bluesky Interactive, we think that you should ideally have two key types of social proof on your website:

Whether you use our own Google Reviews widget (give us a shout to find out more!), or one of the many industry third parties, dealership ratings by actual customers ensure that customers feel confident interacting with you as a business.

Quick note – with lockdown after lockdown and the ever-growing uptake of online reservations and click and collect, this kind of confidence-inducing content is even more important.

Bluesky work with a range of partners and providers, meaning that you can choose a ratings provider that fits your business processes.

This is where our partnership with industry experts Car & Driving comes into play (let us know if you want an introduction). Together, we offer the ability to offer reviews and in-depth “research-supporting” content to customers on the most relevant pages on your website. In short, your vehicle details pages, whether for new or used cars, should ideally feature content that removes the need for hesitant customers to leave your site.

With a wide range of video reviews, text content and an impressive image database, Car & Driving are the ideal choice to provide this content on your digital showroom. Instead of visiting manufacturer sites, the customer can get all the reassurance (and insight) that they need.

But as well as social proof, Car & Driving actually has another benefit that reviews customers can take advantage of – they also have a huge range of images of the cars they review. This means that if you are struggling for visuals to enrich a landing page, the Car & Driving integration can automatically populate a gallery or supplement other functionality.

We’ve seen this used to particularly impressive effect on new car “available now” pages, which typically lack imagery, as well as on Leasing Pages – which often have a similar problem.

Like what you hear? Speak to your Account Manager today for an introduction to Car & Driving’s packages.