Wheels.ca grows with CarThink products
Metroland Media Group’s redesigned and relaunched Wheels.ca has grown from 46 Ontario-based auto dealers to 750, with the help of CarThink marketing and data management software. Page views have almost doubled, to 2.7 million monthly, since the July 2009 relaunch. Those who come to Wheels.ca directly have grown from 6 percent of all visitors to 30 percent.
“We’re offering a new and unique business model,” said Kevin Rose, CarThink CEO, in the announcement. “Our system includes a comprehensive tool set that’s far superior to services offered by any other vendor.”
CarThink tools include the ability to print window stickers, upload vehicle data and photos, and post inventory on classified auto verticals. Dealers can choose an e-mil lead manager as well as a Web site setup. The system also offers a reverse publishing advertising product.
Vehicle buyers can instantly scan tens of thousands of listings, refined by customizable proximity search criteria to find a car close to home or work. Searches can be by category – as in SUV, crossover and so forth, or by multiple makes, models or years. Private party sellers can post vehicles for free on Wheels.ca, including up to eight photos.
Metroland, a Torstar subsidiary, publishes 97 community newspapers. CarThink, based in Boca Raton, Fla., provides Web marketing software and services to North American auto dealers.
Kijiji Canada charging ahead, Wheels uses print advantage
The competitive balance in Canada’s online auto vertical continues to shift. Kijiji Autos — which has by far the most private-party listings but is far behind AutoTrader.ca in dealer inventory — has begun charging dealers for listings. Rates per vehicle for a 31-day listing range from C$9.99 in Quebec & B.C. (where Trader’s LesPAC and BuySell are dominant) to $11.99 across the country and $14.99 in the Greater Toronto Area. (“Dealers” are defined as anyone with more than two vehicles for sale.) Kijiji Canada has been offering dealer packages since late 2009, working with inventory partners Strathcom, Boost Motors, Evolio and EDealer, but apparently now will block any attempts at “free” commercial postings. An impressive ComScore chart shows Kijiji’s market-leading traffic; the challenge is convincing dealers that its traffic turns into meaningful leads. Meanwhile, the Metroland / Torstar-owned Wheels.ca is flooding its Ontario markets with four-page, full-color print editions displaying inventory from each local market. Nearly 2 million copies are delivered, either with the local newspaper or by alternative methods where no Metroland paper is published. The combination of online and mass-delivered print is, while an expensive investment, a weapon that’s virtually impossible for competitors to match.
Metroland revamps Wheels.ca
Wheels.ca, the online automotive vertical for Torstar’s Metroland community newspapers, has taken on a new look, and many new features.
Buyers can now scan thousands of dealer listings then refine their search close to home using the site’s customizable proximity search criteria. The site’s enhanced search tools enable those looking for a car to zero in on their individual choices – from a broad overview of dealer vehicles plus those posted free on the site by private sellers.
These private sellers can upload up to eight photos; inputting their VIN number, they can also automatically populate all of the vehicle’s features. Searches can be done by vehicle category – family car, sports car, SUV, crossover, and so forth – or by make, model, or year. Users can customize price range and simultaneously compare multiple makes and models.
Wheels.ca also offers automotive content and vehicle reviews by Canadian automotive experts. Special tabs divide up environmental news, consumer information, motorcycles, auto shows and even motorsport – everything from new cars to tires, oil and road manners.
“We asked car buyers what they wanted and designed the new Wheels.ca to meet their needs,” says Cam Milne, director of digital automotive with Digital Media Group, a division of Metroland Media Group, in the announcement.
G&M goes to the dogs as Wheels relaunches in Canada
AutoHound.ca — the used-vehicles site from Boost Motor Group, partnered with The Globe and Mail — is playing to the User-Generated-Video audience with MyDogsGotTalent.ca. Top funny-dog video wins $20,000 toward a used car; the contest is promoted with full-page ads in the newspaper. (So far, our favorite is Water Conservation Officer, with 430 views.) Meanwhile, down the street in Toronto, The Star and its Metroland community newspaper sibling have co-operated to relaunch Wheels.ca, with vastly improved used-car search functionality. The site received rather grudging editorial coverage in The Star’s market-dominating printed Wheels section on Saturday, Aug. 1. Both print-backed auto sites have a lot of catching up to do; AIM Group’s proprietary research shows AutoHound with about 10,000 vehicles and Wheels with 35,000 in July, compared to Auto Trader and Kijiji each with more than 200,000. Admittedly, those two are both Canada-wide, while AutoHound & Wheels so far are concentrated in Southern Ontario. It’s a real dogfight…
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