Mobile usage will soon outweigh desktop usage, meaning companies must make it easy for customers to find their websites on mobile devices.

Before you can improve your company’s website, first measure how many unique visitors you have, according to Craig Cervenka from PowerSports Network, who presented the recent SEMA webinar entitled, “Web Site Analysis & Five Tips to Improve Your Website.”

Analyze Your Website

Unique visitors are users who enter your website once per day. How much time do they spend on your website, and does more time mean they cannot find what they are looking for? The idea is to minimize your bounce rate, which are visitors who click on your website and leave immediately. If your website has a high bounce rate, take a look at its navigability, style and design.

Back to the Basics

Don’t forget your basic information, including your name, address and phone number. It should be easy to find out where your company and retail stores are located. Use meta tags, also referred to as keywords or site branding. If you don’t include these, the search engine will create them for you, which is not always a good thing. If you have an online store, is it easy to make purchases? When comparing your store to your competitors, what is the highest common denominator and how close are you to it?

Leverage Social Media

Website content, including photos, descriptions and videos, is still king. Many companies promote their Facebook page instead of their website, yet only 25% of small-business owners use some form of social media. It can be time-consuming, so delegate this responsibility to a younger employee already on your staff.

YouTube is the second-largest utility used for searches on the Internet and can be used for installations, modifications and how-to videos. Create a YouTube video that introduces yourself, your products and the services you offer to your web site visitors and use social media, such as Facebook, as leverage to showcase happy customers. Don’t forget to monitor online forums about the products you sell to see what people are saying about you.

Going Mobile

Mobile usage will soon outweigh desktop usage, so be easily available for customers to find you on their mobile devices. Are you searchable on mobile search engines?

Get Ready for the Holidays

Ensure your website is ready for holiday shoppers. Make it a virtual supermarket. Build a gift registry for your customers and send e-mail blasts to them highlighting some of your products and offer coupons.

SEMA webinars are free to SEMA members and only $29 for non-members.

Follow this link for more information on this webinar.

For more information on the SEMA Webinar Program and to view a list of all upcoming SEMA webinars, click here.

Mobile usage will soon outweigh desktop usage, meaning companies must make it easy for customers to find their websites on mobile devices.

Before you can improve your company’s website, first measure how many unique visitors you have, according to Craig Cervenka from PowerSports Network, who presented the recent SEMA webinar entitled, “Web Site Analysis & Five Tips to Improve Your Website.”

Analyze Your Website

Unique visitors are users who enter your website once per day. How much time do they spend on your website, and does more time mean they cannot find what they are looking for? The idea is to minimize your bounce rate, which are visitors who click on your website and leave immediately. If your website has a high bounce rate, take a look at its navigability, style and design.

Back to the Basics

Don’t forget your basic information, including your name, address and phone number. It should be easy to find out where your company and retail stores are located. Use meta tags, also referred to as keywords or site branding. If you don’t include these, the search engine will create them for you, which is not always a good thing. If you have an online store, is it easy to make purchases? When comparing your store to your competitors, what is the highest common denominator and how close are you to it?

Leverage Social Media

Website content, including photos, descriptions and videos, is still king. Many companies promote their Facebook page instead of their website, yet only 25% of small-business owners use some form of social media. It can be time-consuming, so delegate this responsibility to a younger employee already on your staff.

YouTube is the second-largest utility used for searches on the Internet and can be used for installations, modifications and how-to videos. Create a YouTube video that introduces yourself, your products and the services you offer to your web site visitors and use social media, such as Facebook, as leverage to showcase happy customers. Don’t forget to monitor online forums about the products you sell to see what people are saying about you.

Going Mobile

Mobile usage will soon outweigh desktop usage, so be easily available for customers to find you on their mobile devices. Are you searchable on mobile search engines?

Get Ready for the Holidays

Ensure your website is ready for holiday shoppers. Make it a virtual supermarket. Build a gift registry for your customers and send e-mail blasts to them highlighting some of your products and offer coupons.

SEMA webinars are free to SEMA members and only $29 for non-members.

Follow this link for more information on this webinar.

For more information on the SEMA Webinar Program and to view a list of all upcoming SEMA webinars, click here.

THE BEST: Chip Ganassi, based on his outstanding season as a car owner, was selected by the staff of National Speed Sport News as the 2010 Economaki Champion of Champions. For more, click here.

SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE: Mazda has signed on as the title sponsor of the Road to Indy developmental ladder.

AMERICAN GUARD: J.R. Hildebrand will join Panther Racing and drive the No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda in the IZOD IndyCar Series next year.

REVIVAL: The United States Auto Club (USAC) will revive Thursday Night Thunder at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Indiana, next year. The series will feature the USAC Pavement Sprint Car Series exclusively.

NOW ALLOWED: The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has removed from the 2011 World Driving Championship regulations the ban forbidding Formula One teams from issuing team orders.

SIGN AND DRIVE: Nelson Piquet Jr. will drive full time for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next season.

SPLIT CITY: The USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series will feature an all-dirt slate next year, with pavement sprint cars getting their own championship series in 2011.

NOW IN CHARGE: Penske Racing has appointed Travis Geisler as the competition director for the organization’s NASCAR racing programs.

WELCOME BACK: Martin Brundle, a former winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1988, will return to Daytona in January as part of the United Autosports Daytona Prototype team with co-drivers Zak Brown, Mark Blundell and Mark Patterson.

NEW PACKAGE: A new rules package has been approved for use by teams in the Formula One World Championship in 2013, bringing an end to the normally aspirated engine era.

NATIONAL LEVEL: USAC will partner with the ARCA Racing Series to present National Championship weekend at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway October 15–16, 2011. USAC’s Silver Crown Series and the ARCA Racing Series will each crown their champions that weekend.

SUBSCRIBE: National Speed Sport News has been published weekly since 1934. To subscribe to National Speed Sport News, visit www.nationalspeedsportnews.com.

THE BEST: Chip Ganassi, based on his outstanding season as a car owner, was selected by the staff of National Speed Sport News as the 2010 Economaki Champion of Champions. For more, click here.

SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE: Mazda has signed on as the title sponsor of the Road to Indy developmental ladder.

AMERICAN GUARD: J.R. Hildebrand will join Panther Racing and drive the No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda in the IZOD IndyCar Series next year.

REVIVAL: The United States Auto Club (USAC) will revive Thursday Night Thunder at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Indiana, next year. The series will feature the USAC Pavement Sprint Car Series exclusively.

NOW ALLOWED: The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has removed from the 2011 World Driving Championship regulations the ban forbidding Formula One teams from issuing team orders.

SIGN AND DRIVE: Nelson Piquet Jr. will drive full time for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next season.

SPLIT CITY: The USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series will feature an all-dirt slate next year, with pavement sprint cars getting their own championship series in 2011.

NOW IN CHARGE: Penske Racing has appointed Travis Geisler as the competition director for the organization’s NASCAR racing programs.

WELCOME BACK: Martin Brundle, a former winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1988, will return to Daytona in January as part of the United Autosports Daytona Prototype team with co-drivers Zak Brown, Mark Blundell and Mark Patterson.

NEW PACKAGE: A new rules package has been approved for use by teams in the Formula One World Championship in 2013, bringing an end to the normally aspirated engine era.

NATIONAL LEVEL: USAC will partner with the ARCA Racing Series to present National Championship weekend at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway October 15–16, 2011. USAC’s Silver Crown Series and the ARCA Racing Series will each crown their champions that weekend.

SUBSCRIBE: National Speed Sport News has been published weekly since 1934. To subscribe to National Speed Sport News, visit www.nationalspeedsportnews.com.

Are you hunting for a new job? The “Positions Available” section in the SEMA Member Classifieds lists more than 50 job openings around the country. Here are some of the latest classifieds posted to the website.

New Car Dealership Aftermarket Operation Manager
A long-standing aftermarket products company is seeking an ambitious, self-starting individual to run an independent profit center in a dual-brand, high-volume luxury car dealership in one of Dallas' wealthiest communities.

Public Relations Agency Account Executive
JMPR Public Relations is currently looking to hire a dynamic account executive-level staffer with proven PR agency experience. The company is only interested in candidates who have a minimum of two to three years experience at a PR firm and handle no fewer than four accounts concurrently.

Performance Account Development Specialist
American Tire has openings in the following locations for a performance account development specialist: Detroit, Seattle and Chicago. The primary and ultimate responsibility of the performance account development specialist is to attain an annual sales plan within their territory. The performance account development specialist will be assigned a sales objective for the custom wheel and accessory business within their assigned territory.

Are you hunting for a new job? The “Positions Available” section in the SEMA Member Classifieds lists more than 50 job openings around the country. Here are some of the latest classifieds posted to the website.

New Car Dealership Aftermarket Operation Manager
A long-standing aftermarket products company is seeking an ambitious, self-starting individual to run an independent profit center in a dual-brand, high-volume luxury car dealership in one of Dallas' wealthiest communities.

Public Relations Agency Account Executive
JMPR Public Relations is currently looking to hire a dynamic account executive-level staffer with proven PR agency experience. The company is only interested in candidates who have a minimum of two to three years experience at a PR firm and handle no fewer than four accounts concurrently.

Performance Account Development Specialist
American Tire has openings in the following locations for a performance account development specialist: Detroit, Seattle and Chicago. The primary and ultimate responsibility of the performance account development specialist is to attain an annual sales plan within their territory. The performance account development specialist will be assigned a sales objective for the custom wheel and accessory business within their assigned territory.

While technology has been an undeniable force in the evolution of the automobile, it has determined how cars and car parts are sold. From the first handbills to newspaper and magazine advertising to broadcast media and now the Internet, technology inevitably changes the way manufacturers, distributors and retailers sell their wares. As electronic cataloging has evolved over the past decade, the availability of parts suppliers, sellers and end users to source and find parts has gone from tedious to instantaneous—so long as sufficient and correct product information is available. Simply put, ample and easily understood information helps sell products. [Read more]

While technology has been an undeniable force in the evolution of the automobile, it has determined how cars and car parts are sold. From the first handbills to newspaper and magazine advertising to broadcast media and now the Internet, technology inevitably changes the way manufacturers, distributors and retailers sell their wares. As electronic cataloging has evolved over the past decade, the availability of parts suppliers, sellers and end users to source and find parts has gone from tedious to instantaneous—so long as sufficient and correct product information is available. Simply put, ample and easily understood information helps sell products. [Read more]

Although primarily a motorsports museum that displays everything from early dry-lake race cars to modern top-fuel dragsters, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California, had long desired to host a stars' cars and guitars exhibit. The necessary impetus came with the 60th anniversary of the Fender Telecaster guitar. According to Cris Mirabella of Mirabella Guitars, "The Telecaster laid the groundwork for many of the modern custom designs of today. And even with all of these modern concepts, the original design still remains a very valid and needed instrument." [Read more]

Although primarily a motorsports museum that displays everything from early dry-lake race cars to modern top-fuel dragsters, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California, had long desired to host a stars' cars and guitars exhibit. The necessary impetus came with the 60th anniversary of the Fender Telecaster guitar. According to Cris Mirabella of Mirabella Guitars, "The Telecaster laid the groundwork for many of the modern custom designs of today. And even with all of these modern concepts, the original design still remains a very valid and needed instrument." [Read more]