The Power of Real Vehicle Photos for Auto Dealerships

When it comes to selling cars, auto dealerships have to take every opportunity to attract potential buyers. One of the most important aspects of selling a car is presenting it in the best possible way online – this is where the use of real, quality vehicle photography comes in. In today’s world, where almost everything is available online, photos play a significant role in generating leads and driving sales. 

However, not all auto dealerships utilize real photos of their vehicles on their websites, regardless of whether they shoot photos for themselves or partner with a vendor. Some prefer to use automated images or even worse, not include any images at all. There’s definitely a use-case for cloning vehicles so you can get them online before they arrive and go through all the preparations before they can be shot, but in most cases customers are going to prefer real photos when they’re shopping online. So let’s dive into why this can make such a big difference.

Let’s be honest – buying a car is a serious investment for most people, and they’re naturally going to want to make sure that they are making the right decision. One of the most crucial factors in this decision-making process is trust. When a potential buyer sees real photos of a vehicle, it builds trust between the buyer and the dealership. This applies to new cars as well as used ones (including showing the real condition of used cars).

Real photos give potential buyers a realistic idea of what they are getting. On the other hand, automated images or missing images give potential buyers the impression that the dealership isn’t being transparent about the vehicle’s condition or may have something to hide. This lack of transparency can cause shoppers to look elsewhere for their purchase, which is a big issue when the market is as competitive as it is today.

Every vehicle is unique, and real photos allow potential buyers to see those little unique features that set a particular vehicle apart from others. This could be anything from color to interior fabric, touchscreen GPS, music platforms like Sirius XM, you name it. 

It gets overlooked sometimes, but these features may not be visible in automated images (and definitely not with missing images), and potential buyers are pretty likely to miss out, which would otherwise help you with sales. Real photos, on the other hand, allow potential buyers to see every unique feature of the vehicle, which can help them make a decision to purchase the car.

When potential buyers see real photos of a vehicle, they can also visualize themselves driving it. Real photos help a shopper imagine what it would be like to actually own the vehicle and how it would fit into their lifestyle. This visualization is essential because it helps them to connect emotionally with the vehicle – making them significantly more likely to make a purchase. Automated images or missing images just don’t have the same emotional impact.

It’s a simple fact: when dealerships use real photos of vehicles on their websites, they attract more qualified leads. These are critical for a few reasons – most importantly, it makes sure that your customer is actually interested in making a purchase, as opposed to just browsing around or “kicking tires” when they reach out for more information. Automated images or missing images are much more likely to attract unqualified leads who aren’t serious about buying a vehicle (or may just not be a good fit for the car). This wastes the time of your salespeople and taxes your resources, ultimately impacting overall sales and lead generation.

It’s also important to remember that being real and transparent will always help a dealership’s online reputation, and that’s crucial for the success of any business. Real vehicle photos help enhance the way a dealership is considered when people look at reviews and feedback on their buying experience, and just helps you appear better online when you’re being shopped. It’s always a good idea to demonstrate that your dealership is willing to go the extra mile to provide potential buyers with all the information they need to make a decision. This attention to detail can really set you apart in a tight market.

We’ve talked about it before, but quality photos can really help to improve search engine optimization, or SEO, as well. In short, SEO is the process of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages, including not just keywords and the descriptions of your photos, but also listing on search engine image results pages. 

One of the most important factors in SEO is high-quality, original content, and real photos of vehicles on auto dealership websites can provide just that. Real photos (and videos) can also include alt tags, descriptions, and other metadata, which can improve the website’s SEO and make it more visible to potential buyers searching for a specific vehicle or dealership.