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with a car domain

Make Money with a Car Domain Selling Aftermarket Goods and Services

The automobile aftermarket sector offers great opportunities. In the US alone over 4.5 million people are employed in the automobile aftermarket industry, and the industry as a whole sees an average of $257 billion dollars of revenue every year. Such a large industry cries out for an online presence, and aftermarket providers are rushing to meet that need. An aftermarket car domain can reach nationwide, or even international, customers depending on the goods and services offered through the site.

The automobile aftermarket includes any product that replaces a vehicle's original parts, alters the appearance or performance of a vehicle, or services or repairs a vehicle. The first two criteria, replacement and alteration, involve goods rather than services, and are the more likely focus for any online aftermarket car domain.

As with any industry, smaller online automobile aftermarket businesses often do better if they specialize in niche markets, rather than that seeking to compete in the mass market. While megasites may sell every conceivable aftermarket product for multiple makes and models of automobiles, the smaller business is more likely to succeed if it focuses on either specific types of vehicles or specific aftermarket products.

No matter what your choice, a thorough knowledge of your chosen area is vital for online success. A specialized aftermarket car domain should offer instructional content and articles in addition to products. You need visitors to your website to trust your expertise, whether you sell engine modification products or car deodorizers.

Automobile hobbyists and enthusiasts have strong senses of community, and it is therefore beneficial to provide a message board or chat room dedicated to automobile topics that revolve around your product. Site visitors are more likely to revisit and use your car domain if they keep returning to the online community you provide.

While aftermarket goods can be sold nationwide through an online store, aftermarket services are usually only offered locally. An online presence can increase aftermarket service customers by providing opportunities to book online appointments and view available products or services within your car domain.

An Online Marketing Guide for Used Car Businesses

Between a quarter to a third of all used car purchases are now made over the Internet, and consumers looking to make a car purchase are looking for used cars twice as often as they're looking for new cars.

Creating a web presence is increasingly important for used car dealers, but many are unsure how to succeed online. Online users are notoriously fickle. If you don't catch their attention in the first few seconds, they'll surf to a competitor's site. How do you keep their interest long enough to make a sale? Here are some basic guidelines for the newcomer to online used car domains.

• Provide as much information as possible. Visitors to a car domain want as much information as possible- price, gas mileage, car history, the works. Consumers are accustomed to using the Internet to access information, and a car website that doesn't provide the facts a visitor wants won't sell cars. Dealers should also be careful with pricing. Online customers are accomplished comparison shoppers, and are quick to spot overpriced vehicles.
• Don't restrict yourself to providing only information about specific vehicles. The more helpful content you include on a site, the more likely visitors are to stick around. Create site "stickiness" by including articles on car maintenance, insurance, road safety, and other topics of interest to car owners.
• Include car pictures. Often it's an image that catches visitors' eyes and keeps them on a car domain. Provide pictures of all cars listed on the site. Take some time setting up the picture: clean the car, and move it out of the lot to take the picture. Remember to photograph the interior; potential customers want to see as much detail as possible.
• Update regularly. Once a car is sold, remove it from the website immediately. Imagine the irritation of a customer who makes a trip to the dealership only to discover that the car listed on the website was sold a week ago. As soon as a sale is finalized, remove the car from your online inventory.
• Make contact information easy to find. The flashiest website online won't make sales if users can't find contact information quickly and easily. Treat every car ad as a separate entity, and put your contact information on every single page. This includes the dealer's name, physical address, phone number, e-mail, and fax. Make yourself as easy to find as possible.