Ford and Lincoln Certified Websites: A Dealer Guide

Ford and Lincoln shoppers expect the dealer’s website to match what they’ve already seen from Ford: the same models, the same trims, the same offers this month. When your site shows last month’s incentive or a trim that’s no longer built, the shopper notices, and trusts your other numbers a little less.

A certified Ford or Lincoln website keeps the OEM side accurate and compliant, so your team can focus on your own inventory, offers and people. Here’s what one includes and how to get the most from it.

What a certified website takes care of

A certified Carpages website for Ford and Lincoln stores brings in:

• Accurate pricing and incentives, updated as Ford and Lincoln change them.
• Finance rates and vehicle specs for new models, so shoppers can compare trims on your site instead of leaving for someone else’s.
• Ford and Lincoln brand compliance that stays current as the standards change.

The site is still yours. You choose custom colours within the brand guidelines and update content through a WordPress CMS, and new and used inventory comes straight from the Carpages Dealer Dashboard. You can see a live example at Key West Ford, built and supported by Carpages.

Accurate prices protect you, too

New-vehicle pricing online is advertising, and in Ontario the advertised price must be all-in: freight, PDI and dealer fees included, with only HST and licensing left out (OMVIC). OMVIC’s guideline also makes the dealer responsible for ads in its name, including ones built from manufacturer templates (OMVIC). Make sure your provider can show compliant all-in prices on OEM content as well as on your own inventory.

SEO for Ford and Lincoln dealerships

Certified content gives you accurate model pages. Ranking for “Ford dealer near me” or “Lincoln Aviator Calgary” still takes local work:

• Separate Business Profiles by brand. Google lets a new-car dealer create a Business Profile for each brand it sells new, plus profiles for service and parts (Google). A Ford and Lincoln store can show up for both brands.
• Use your real names. Profile names must match your signage, with no added keywords (Google).
• Write unique content. OEM model pages are the same for every dealer in the program. Your inventory descriptions, local pages, team pages and reviews are what set your site apart.
• Keep it fast. Google recommends good Core Web Vitals scores (Google). Heavy model galleries and video can slow pages down, so check your top pages on a phone.

Our local SEO guide has a 30-day checklist.

Support that knows your store

Every Ford and Lincoln website comes with a dedicated Client Success Advisor: a response to any website issue within two business hours, monthly performance calls, and status updates on every open project.

Inventory and advertising built in

The Carpages Dealer Dashboard and mobile app handle your inventory, with a VIN decoder, window sheet printing and real-time monthly reports, and the Carpages inventory tools plug straight in. DealerEdge+ runs Google and Facebook campaigns built from your live inventory to bring shoppers to your site.

Questions to ask any provider

• Is your website certified for Ford and Lincoln in Canada?
• How quickly do new incentives and model changes appear on my site?
• Can I show all-in prices on OEM content?
• Who do I call when something breaks, and how fast do they respond?

For more, see our guide to choosing a dealer website provider, or the Ford and Lincoln program page.