Automotive Website Compliance – 8 Tips for Creating Brand Compliant Landing Pages for Digital Marketing

When running a digital marketing campaign, it’s important to understand not only how to correctly market your material online, but also how to stay compliant with the manufacturer’s advertising guidelines while doing so. Compliance is especially important when a car dealership receives co-op funds from the manufacturer to spend on digital marketing. Car dealer websites that don’t pass compliance can receive a strike from the manufacturer and potentially lose their funding.

Any good digital marketing campaign will feature new website content updates and page creation. Follow these 8 tips to stay compliant and keep the co-op funds rolling in:

  • Obtain the current manufacturer’s Advertising Guidelines:

First things first, you can’t build compliant pages if you don’t know the rules. Don’t just assume that your site is fine since you looked them over a few years ago. Manufacturers can make significant changes at any time, and it’s important that you are aware of these changes and make the necessary updates on your website. This goes for new and existing pages on your website.

  • Don’t use the manufacturer’s website as a compliance guide:

While it would make sense that if the manufacturer is doing it on their website, it must be compliant, but unfortunately this is not always the case. Always use the most current digital advertising guidelines instead of using another website as a guide.

  • Use manufacturer or CC0 images:

When adding images into your website, using images directly from the manufacturer is the best option. Make sure to also use the correct year and model trim that you wrote about in your content. Never use random images that you find on Google as they can trigger a cease and desist order from the original owner. If you need more unique images that you cannot find through a manufacturer, use images that are listed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This simply means you can copy, modify, or distribute the image for free, even in commercial use, and no attribution is required.

  • Use your manufacturer logo correctly:

Manufacturers are very specific on how you use their logo. On website pages, these errors are generally seen in custom-built images. Common errors include size, placement, background colors, and logo color.

  • Avoid Distressed Language:

In your copy, language you use can set off the compliance alarm when it cheapens the brand, sets improper expectations, or creates competition between dealers from the same brand. Avoid adding words like cheap or discount (especially with luxury brands), using vague specials or misleading deals, or saying that you’ll beat any dealership’s price.

  • Always include Trademarks:

If you mention anything that is trademarked in your content, it’s best to use the respective symbol at every occurrence. Keep in mind that the Registered ® and Trademark (™) symbols are not interchangeable, as one is legally registered through the United States Patent and Trademark Office and one is not, so it’s important to use the correct one.

  • Add disclaimers when necessary:

If you mention a vehicle price, special offer, or your manufacturer uses another brand (like Bluetooth or brand-name speakers) in your page’s content, you typically must add a disclaimer. The disclaimer can provide additional information, legal protection, and proper citation, so it is important to not leave them out. Adding the disclaimer to the bottom of the new page is an acceptable means of inclusion.

  • Be aware of geo-targeting restrictions:

Many automotive brands have location guidelines on where you can target. This is to limit dealerships competing for the same cities. If you are trying to target surrounding locations through your website, check whether your manufacturer allows such targeting and your limitations prior to building those pages.

While these are a few common compliance issues with new page creation, there are many additional issues that you can run into depending on your specific manufacturer. At Aronson Advertising, we not only provide over 15 years of automotive compliance experience, but we also thoroughly understand your current manufacturer digital communication guidelines. We also submit all new pages to your manufacturer’s compliance team before posting the page live.

Are you looking for a competent compliance partner for your automotive digital marketing? Contact us and learn more about how we can elevate your online campaign!

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