Dealers need to learn how to become effective storytellers to increase web visits and maximise page rankings, according to Terry Hogan, managing director of new and used car buying advice and review website Motoring.co.uk.

Hogan will lead a workshop at AM’s Digital Dealer Conference which takes place at The Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, Warwickshire, on September 4 showing dealers how they can emanate Motoring.co.uk’s success when it attracted a staggering half-a-million visits to its website after it created a piece of content which resonated among internet users to the extent it was shared worldwide.

Motoring.co.uk posted an article which explored the relationship between the motorist and the cyclist on Britain’s roads and, being a topic which typically rouses heated debate, high emotions and intense passion, it was shared so extensively it resulted in 500,000 web views.

Hogan said: “The way people search has changed dramatically. Traditional SEO search strategies, which relied heavily on links, no longer achieve previous levels of reach or engagement. Social sites which are content dominated offer a great way to attract new visitors, but not without a lot of trial and error.

“When people are actively looking for a new car, then car reviews are important but that’s not going to get the internet community reading and sharing our content so we had to find another way to increase our engagement.

"We keep a close eye on Twitter and we look at the topics which are trending and then tailor our content accordingly so we immediately raise our chances of our blog posts, tweets, Facebook posts and other social media content being shared.

“Dealers need to find topics they are comfortable writing about, offer insight and a different perspective. Dealers should not be afraid to be controversial as the content is more likely to be shared.

"Any motoring issues can make good content from any car tax changes to potholes.”

The organisation is now enhancing its own website in line with lessons learned over the past few years to cover the entire ownership experience and to make it easier and more attractive to share content alongside its reviews and its buying and selling features.

Tickets to the AM Digital Dealer Conference are available to dealers and manufacturers.

To book, please contact Emma-Louise Kinnaird on 01733 395133 or email emma-louise.kinnaird@bauermedia.co.uk  or visit www.amdigitaldealer.co.uk