Evaluating automotive website performance through Digital Due Diligence: read our in-depth analysis on the top 20 car brands' digital strategies and website performance.
Lóránt Erős
Digital Strategist
This article is part of our Automotive DDD series, where we explore the power of Digital Due Diligence in the automotive industry. Read on to uncover the fascinating link between the digital strategies of today’s top 20 most valued car brands and their overall brand value.
KEY POINTS:
Tesla and Ford lead the pack when it comes to organic search penetration, thanks to their robust backlink profiles and domain strength.
BYD stands out for its mobile user experience despite ranking lower in domain authority.
Mobile performance seems to be a weak spot for most automotive brands, which requires improvement.
Dashboard Diagnostics: A Deep Dive into Website Performance
There's a notable difference in how well automotive company websites perform based on factors such as authority score (a metric that grades the overall quality and SEO performance of a website), backlinks (how many other websites link to them), domain strength, and content relevance. All these factors considered, BMW's website scored the highest on desktop (94), while BYD’s excelled on mobile (83). However, the average mobile performance score for automotive brand webpages is 51 out of 100, indicating that these pages are moderately fast according to Google PageSpeed Insights.
Mobile and desktop performance scores
Evaluating website performance for automotive brands involves assessing compliance with best practiceson mobile and desktop devices. These practices are directly linked to providing a positive user experience. Performance metrics are then utilised to measure the website's effectiveness across both device types. The score a website gets based on these metrics ultimately helps identify areas for improvement and optimise the user experience.
is like a website report card. It gives scores for how fast and smoothly a website runs on both desktop and mobile. Higher scores mean the website runs smoother and ranks better in searches ( 90+ = good, 50–90 = needs work, below 50 = poor)!
Desktop and mobile performance scores
BYD’s webpage offers the best user experience according to Google’s speed and performance standards. Taking a closer look at mobile performance, the DDD revealed an interesting trend: there's room for significant improvement for many automotive brand websites, with 18 out of 19 brands receiving low scores. For the analysed brands, it's worth looking into mobile optimisation, because a website that performs well on mobile devices can enhance user experience and potentially boost search engine rankings.
Cruising to the Top: Organic Performance of Automotive Giants
In terms of organic performance among automotive brands, Tesla and Ford zoom past the competition in organic penetration. Backlinks, domain strength, and content quality play crucial roles in determining organic performance, so brands with better keyword rankings, relevant content, and strong backlink profiles tend to receive higher scores.
Organic penetration
As mentioned earlier, BYD stands out with the best user experience on its webpage according to Google's speed and performance standards. However, it ranks second to last in domain authority, indicating that while the site is technically excellent, it may not be as popular due to lower visitor traffic and fewer quality backlinks. This contrast highlights BYD's ambition to expand its digital presence despite its current challenges in domain authority.
Key Insights from Organic and Web Performance Analysis
So, what did the DDD reveal about the organic and webpage performance of automotive brands? Here’s a recap of the key findings:
Tesla and Ford are cruising ahead in organic penetration! This means people searching for cars online are more likely to find their websites first.
Most automotive companies need a pit stop when it comes to mobile versions of their websites, to optimise and improve performance.
BYD’s website might not be the most frequently visited amongst the analysed brands, but it offers the best user experience on its webpage according to Google's speed and performance standards.
BMW takes the checkered flag in desktop performance, while BYD leads in mobile performance among the competitors.
Overall, the DDD highlights the importance of a well-rounded digital presence for automotive brands to succeed in the online landscape. By taking such insights into account, any brand can develop a data-driven approach to optimising their webpage performance and ultimately achieve their digital goals
The present analysis utilises data collected in January 2023. Our selection of the top 20 automotive brands is based on Brand Finance's Automotive Industry (2022) Report. The DDD focuses on the digital performance of these brands across the EU, USA, Oceania, Japan, and South Korea.
While this blog series showcases the core pillars of our DDD methodology, it is important to note that it represents a snapshot based on data collected in January 2023. Our complete analysis, customised for your organisation, includes an in-depth examination of business-specific data and offers a detailed perspective of your industry landscape.
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