DealerMark Magazine: wrong and misleading
One of the reasons I started this website was because the automotive marketing magazines that dealers read every month contain articles that are piss poor. This month’s Dealer Marketing Magazine is no exception. The cover story offers incorrect information and quotes an “expert” from Autobytel that helps reinforce the inaccuracy.
Search engine marketing is not paid search. Why this is not obvious is beyond me. Marketing does not equal “buying ads,” so how could something something marketing mean buying ads on something something? I expect a trade publication to conduct the small amount of research required to ensure they are not fabricating definitions and misleading their readers.
You might be thinking, “Ok, but are you being a little picky about one word, Corey?” No, this is not about one word. The article claims that SEM is an “elevated level of search optimization” that gets you placement in the paid results sections of search results. This leads readers to believe that some mystical “elevated” skill or knowledge is required to make a site appear in the paid spots, and this is exactly the type of bullshit that convinces dealers that they have to pay a search engine company to appear at the top. It is simply not true. Anyone with $5 and the will to learn can open an account and begin advertising on a search engine.
This mistake might have started with one of the “experts” that were consulted for the story. Autobytel’s senior vice president of dealer strategy and operations, Mark Garms, is quoted rather awkwardly on the following page. 
His statement only makes sense after you have learned the bogus definition of SEM. I do not think that Mark is an idiot, and it is obvious (to me) that he is talking about pay-per-click advertising costs. It is unfortunate that he has been quoted saying something goofy like dealers are not trying to increase their traffic from search engines, but is that the worst part? I think the largest oops here is the fact that the writer of this article, Jim Leman, took his quote and multiplied the mistake, and none of the editors of the magazine knew better to sort it out.
Search engine marketing is the act of promoting a website to (increase search engine traffic, whether that means buying ads, optimizing content or a employing a strategy to) improve rankings in non-paid, organic search results. Anyone can get into the paid spots, even if they have no “elevated level” knowledge.
You are not being picky at all. It is important for dealers to understand the difference SEM, SEO, and PPC. It is even more important for providers like us and ABT to provide good information. I am glad to see you called out such a good example of misinformation.
Now, your last paragraph concerns me. You are suggesting that SEM is exclusive to organic search. My message to dealers is that “SEO” and “PPC” are both forms of SEM. And that SEO is the practice of keeping your web assets properly optimized for your SEM strategy which includes PPC and SEO.
Thanks, Ryan. A critic loves a critique.
I agree with you, and I think if I were to neglect your suggestion I would be no better off than the very people I have faulted here.
I should avoid publishing on Fridays in the future. I have ripped out pages from a lot of these dealer magazines to critique, but time always escapes me. I would rather not post about an article that hit the steets 2 months ago, so most of these gripes never materialize on the blog. I tried to jump on this one and get it up as quickly as possible, and the result of that rush was a goof nearly as bad as the one that pissed me off in the first place.
I will edit the article to demonstate why Dealer Marketing Magazine should still make me an editor. =)
Most dealers don’t understand SEO or SEM in the first place, and the DMM article certainly won’t help to educate them properly.
Ouch. This really hurts. As if we didn’t have a hard enough time already clearing up misconceptions about what SEO & SEM is, now we have to tell dealers their authority was wrong too!
The article claims that SEM is an “elevated level of search optimization”. This is BAD BAD information. I too get frustrated with all the dealer magazines and their false information.
Surely a consensus, but what can be done? I’m sure all of us could put together a better magazine based on the blog posts we read (or have written!) in our spare time.
I wonder if we could get $150 a square inch/$8000 a page for advertising like DMM does?
I have updated this post with a link because this issue is now available online. Don’t turn the pages too fast, though, or their fancy magazine-in-a-web-page viewer will crash your browser!
I’m the writer of the Dealer Marketing mag issue sited. Yes, perhaps should know better precisely what all the web marketing acroynms are out there — and am willing to learn to ensure I’m talking the right talk should I write about SEM, SEO and all the rest again. Who wants to educate me?
Jim, I’ll be glad to help. Your comment has arrived at an interesting point in time. I am about to publish another post on this website about the most recent issue. I believe the page I scanned is the editor’s note.
I would like to write about your publication more often, but the flash application that displays your online version cannot be linked as a reference from other websites.
I promise to be nicer, enlightening and generous in recommending other sources of information and strategy that are free to consume.
Corey — If you can pull my e-mail from this forum, call me about your Feb. 15 reply to my Feb. 15 post. Jim Leman
Corey — am working on another SEM story for the auto dealer market…would like to talk with you to clarify what you indicated were errors in my earlier article on this topic. Jim Leman