Press Release: Double in car review website traffic confirms growth of internet use as a research tool

Stockport, UK. March 18, 2009.

Double in car review website traffic confirms growth of internet use as a research tool

Leading car review website, RoadTestReports.co.uk has seen its website traffic more than double since the start of the year. Since Christmas 2008, the number of website visitors has grown from an average 2,300 a day to 4,704* a day, with an anticipated 130,000 visitors in March alone.

Although this can partly be explained by a post Christmas boom in motorists researching their next car purchase ahead of the introduction of the new ’09 registrations, it is also confirms a longer-term trend which has seen the website’s traffic rocket since its launch in June 2007.

Faye Sunderland one of RoadTestReports.co.uk’s journalists explains the why the website has proven so popular;

“RoadTestReports.co.uk is part of a wider internet trend which has seen surfers increasingly use websites which involve an element of social networking. This adds weight behind common recognition that the internet now plays a vital part of the car buying process as the public engage with each other to determine their choice of vehicle.”
Websites such as RoadTestReports.co.uk allow users to interact with each other and share their knowledge and experiences of cars or vans they have driven. Sometimes referred to as the ‘wisdom of the masses’ this process now forms a central part of the research process leading to a purchase. The internet is the main influence which determines a consumer’s car purchase, recent research from Microsoft Advertising** concluded while it also proved the internet plays a crucial role early on in the decision making process and throughout the course of planning the purchase of a car. Throughout the last four years, use of the internet has come to the fore to become the main source used when buying a car, over taking the role of friends, family and dealers by 2008.

According to the survey of 621 people, 62 per cent agreed that the internet is the most important source used when looking to purchase a car while 79 per cent said they used the internet throughout the decision making process. Additionally 39 per cent of those who bought a car in the last six months said they had not decided on the category of car before coming online, with 55 per cent said they were still undecided over the brand and 61 per cent over the model. Additionally, 70 per cent said they feel more confident walking into a dealership if they have researched online first.

RoadTestReports.co.uk fulfils a unique role, enabling website visitors to access a hub of car consumer information while creating a networking opportunity. Additionally the website has the expert voices of motoring journalists, who add to the establishment of motoring opinion.

“Websites such as RoadTestReports.co.uk empower the consumer, allowing them to find unbiased advice among each other. The website is becoming increasingly influential among car buyers, allowing website visitors to see the whole picture of a particular make and model before parting with their cash,” concludes Sunderland.

 

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1 * Independently verified by Hitwise.

2. ** Taken from Microsoft Advertising research report ‘Digitally Driven: Understanding today’s automotive purchase process’ published February 2009.

3. About RoadTestReports.co.uk: Launched in June 2007, RoadTestReports.co.uk offers road test on all the major cars and vans plus consumer reviews. The website provides “featured” reviews written by motoring journalists and reviews from consumers who tell us exactly what it is like to drive the vehicles day-in and day-out and the real practical implications of buying them. Anyone can submit a review, which gives it great appeal to website visitors and vehicle manufacturers. Currently the website attracts over 115,000 monthly users and over 260,000 monthly page views; these statistics have improved month in, month out and will continue to improve as more feature and consumer vehicle reviews are added.

RoadTestReports.co.uk is owned and maintained by Really Good Domains Ltd, who runs more motoring websites than any other company in the UK. As the UK’s largest motoring related internet advertising and marketing company, Really Good Domains also run the popular websites ContractHireAndLeasing.com, TheVanWebsite.co.uk, TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk, CarSupermarkets.co.uk, SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk and FleetDirectory.co.uk to name a few.

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