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Essex Auto Group (EAG) has seen a 25% year-on-year increase in online visitors after re-launching its website at the end of 2012. Organic traffic increased by 53% and used car views rose by 25%.

The new website, which uses GForces software, is more user-friendly for visitors on tablets and mobile devices. In the past 18-24 months, the number of users visiting the website on a mobile device has risen from under 10% to more than 50%.

The majority (86%) of leads come in via telephone, after consumers have been on the website.

“Four years ago, people were happy to fill in an online form but now they are impatient,” said Matt Brown, group marketing director. “It’s an ‘I want it now’ culture. We have a one-hour response time.”

Reevoo is a fundamental function of the new EAG website.“People won’t trust you otherwise,” said Brown. Customers are staying three times longer on the site after reading a Reevoo review.

The website also includes photos of employees that have worked for EAG for the past 20 years, again engendering trust. “We’re not just pushing product,” said Brown. “We show that we are a privately run, family-owned business.”

Online marketing is handled in-house by a copywriter – a social media specialist who uses Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest – plus a designer and marketing assistant.

“We use social media to talk about new car releases or topical things such as the Lego cars in the Lego Movie to try and spark a response rather than pushing offers,” said Brown.

Video views on the site are up 167% year on year (to 92, 239). “We sponsor Essex Cricket Club so we shoot videos with players and our cars to try and capture cricket fans,” said Brown.

Four or five videos are uploaded every month and at least half are internally produced.

EAG also invests in PPC and re-targeting, as well as traditional marketing channels such as radio and press. “We push the brand across offline places to get people to the website,” said Brown.

But Brown believes that the key thing is good, quality relevant content that is regularly updated.  

“Content is king,” he said.