This isn’t just an aesthetic preference; the background you choose influences how search engines categorize your listings and how potential buyers perceive your vehicles. Let’s explore the strategic advantages and potential pitfalls of each approach, revealing how the backdrop of your photos can significantly impact your online visibility and ultimately, your sales.
The Foundational Rule: Always Include a Background
The most important thing is that there is something in the background of your dealership photos, because this will enable the various Search Engines (and the people using them) to determine that this is in fact the vehicle that they are looking for. When you remove the background, you are often removing key contextual clues that customers and search engines look at when making the decision of, “whose vehicles should this person see first.”
The Pitfall of AI Background Removal
One of our clients saw a full 60% drop in monthly VDP Clicks when we swapped over to AI background photo removal. We didn’t keep it going there long enough to find out if that trend was going to continue!
Exterior Shots are Key: Go Outside!
We recommend that you take all of your exterior shots outside. We have seen countless examples where dealerships have to take two separate photos of a single exterior side of the vehicle, because their indoor photo areas are not built for a clean broadside shot. This doesn’t mean that you should abandon your indoor photo area. In fact, we love the consistent lighting and shadow that is created by having a roof over your head and minimal excess light coming from the mirrors, interior trim, or puddles.
However, when it comes to the backdrop of your exterior shots, you have two primary choices: either in front of the marquee of the building, showing off all of the branding that goes along with what you are selling. Or, a natural background somewhere out of the way with good natural light throughout the day. This can be incredibly challenging for someone who is not a professional photographer, but the tangible sales results often speak for themselves.
Natural Backgrounds – Natural, Organic Search Wins
Using Seasonality to Your Advantage
Natural backgrounds also give a sense of timeliness. For example, if there are 6ft tall snow drifts in all of your photos, and it’s June, that is a dead giveaway that your inventory is getting old. Reshooting your inventory in seasonal changes is a great tactic to make sure that your vehicles don’t hang around for too long.
Choosing the Right Natural Background
When finding a good natural background, you do not want it to be busy, cluttered, or full of dead wholesale pieces. You want the vehicle that you are photographing to be the only manufactured thing in that shot if you can. You also want it to be big enough to be able to rotate the vehicle to be able to get the constant background effect, and well lit enough so that you can work there at all hours of the day. We have even pitched planting fast growing White Spruce trees in the background of some photo areas to give this consistent background!
Most of the time dealerships will have an established photo area, but if the lighting conditions are not optimal in certain seasons or lighting conditions, alternatives need to be found.
The Dealership Marquee – Branding, Supercharged
Photographing vehicles with the dealership marquee as a backdrop requires navigating the often busy environment at the front of the dealership. Despite the logistical hurdles presented by high traffic, the consistent exposure of your dealership’s name in all exterior photos offers powerful brand reinforcement. Successfully executing this approach typically involves managing vehicle flow and coordinating with sales staff to gain access.
Ready to Elevate Your Merchandising Photography?
Ultimately, whether you opt for the organic appeal of a natural backdrop or the branding power of your dealership’s marquee, the key to success lies in consistent, high-quality photography that provides crucial context to potential buyers.
If achieving this level of effective merchandising feels like a challenge, the team at Surfwrench is ready to help you elevate your online presence and get back to focusing on what you do best – selling cars.
Contact us today at 877-653-5828 or email us at info@surfwrench.com to learn more about our digital marketing solutions tailored for automotive dealerships.
