Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising can vary greatly from industry-to-industry. PPC for car dealerships requires a special understanding of the nuances of the market. You can’t just use the same approach as any other business types.
In this blog post, we’ll dig into the specifics around why PPC is different for car dealerships, and how to manage it the right way.
Let’s get right to it…
Unique Challenges of PPC for Car Dealerships
Before we look at how to manage your Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns in this space, I want you to understand the environment you’ll be competing in.
Here are the issues you need to take into account before building and deploying your PPC campaign.
High Competition
If you’ve spent any time marketing or selling for car dealerships, you already know that this is one of THE most competitive niches across the board.
For digital marketing efforts, we’ve observed a rapid pace of advancement among tactics and strategies.
It makes sense when you think about it. Inventories remain low and prices remain high post-pandemic.
Buyers are in a position of power since there are so many dealerships all vying for their attention.
You need to be better and more creative than the other dealers if you really want to stand out.
Limited Budgets
As an opposing force to battling in a crowded space, most car dealerships operate with very limited marketing budgets.
This puts smaller car dealerships at a disadvantage to bigger players with deeper pockets.
You’ll have to prioritize metrics such as Return On Investment (ROI) or Cost Per Acquisition (CPA, or cost per conversion) much higher if you want to benefit from a smaller PPC budget. Every dollar matters even more in this case.
Local Audience Focused
As opposed to larger companies who can afford national campaigns, local car dealerships have to hyper-focus on getting local customers in the door.
I’ve seen some solid examples of PPC for car dealerships that couples well with email nurturing after initial contact.
You have to think past the first click. But you’ll benefit from highly targeting who you pursue in the first place.
Be sure to consider demographics, geolocation, and search intent when setting bids, budgets, and bid strategies.
Setting Up a PPC Campaign for Car Dealerships
Choosing the Right Keywords
Keywords are one way that PPC for car dealerships resembles that of other industries.
In this space, however, specificity matters much more.
Make sure to target specific keywords related to car models, makes, and services that potential customers are searching for.
Avoid broad searches like “buy a used car.” You’ll never outbid the major national brands, and you may end up with the wrong customers anyway.
Let them filter and sort it out on the back end and spend your limited funds more wisely.
Creating Ad Groups and Ads
As in any industry, you’ll have to build rock solid ad groups around your target keywords to succeed.
Start by clustering similar verbiage. You want to have keywords show up in your ad texts, so don’t just drop a bunch of random terms into the same ad group and pray.
And of course, be sure to prioritize the most relevant and specific keywords when planning out the structure.
By keeping your ad group structure tightly managed around keywords with similar verbiage, you’ll be able to boost quality scores across keywords and ad texts.
Better quality scores helps you show up higher on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), without having to pay premium bid rates to do so.
Setting Bids and Budgets
With setting bids and budgets, aim to strike a balance between bidding competitively to secure top ad placements and managing your budget effectively.
When you first build out your campaign, you should start with “maximize clicks” and set the maximum amount you want to pay per click.
This is how you can collect data and track conversions over time.
You’ll need to have enough history of clicks and conversions to feed Google’s Machine Learning later, once you’re ready to move to more efficient strategies such as “maximize conversions” or “Target CPA” bidding.
As you move forward, keep tabs on performance and make adjustments as needed.
You can’t take a “set it and forget it” mindset with PPC for car dealerships and still have it run properly.
Ad Copy Tips for Car Dealerships
Highlight Deals and Promotions
In addition to optimizing headlines and descriptions for quality score, you will also need to include marketing and sales messaging.
One great way to stand out and earn clicks is to highlight any deals or promotions you have available.
This time-bound call-to-action approach will create urgency, which will in turn boost your click thru rates.
Your promotions can be anything from a discount to special financing. Anything that grabs attention is fair game in this case.
It’s hard for buyers to find a good deal on a vehicle and/or financing for it. Use that to your advantage.
Emphasize Brand and Quality
Let’s face it, aside from their homes, a new or used car is the second biggest purchase many consumers will have to make.
You will need them to trust both the vehicle brand and your car dealership for them to take the leap.
Use language that helps establish trust and credibility. Be sure to lean on brand reputation and vehicle reliability when it makes sense.
These are the things that help you stand out from other car dealerships and rise above the heavy competition.
If you’ve won awards or been recognized for excellence, don’t be too shy to brag about it.
And of course, customer testimonials are golden for this purpose. Customers trust other customers much more than anyone selling anything to them. Use that to your advantage.
Create a Sense of Urgency
I mentioned urgency earlier, but I want to revisit that concept more holistically.
Promotions and special deals are great ways to create urgency. But they aren’t the only ways.
You can choose language that motivates prospects to take action. Things like “act now” or “limited inventory” nudge them to contact you sooner rather than later.
With PPC for car dealerships, FOMO is your friend. Use it whenever you can.
By creating a sense of urgency, your car dealership can increase click-through rates and drive more qualified leads to your website.
Understand your Customers
With all of the above stated, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you to fully understand your customers.
Many industries create buyer personas for this purpose. Do you have any? If not, perhaps you should start putting some together.
By tailoring ad messaging to address specific pain points and desires, you can create compelling PPC campaigns that resonate with your target audience and drive results.
Landing Page Optimization for Car Dealerships
Ensure Relevance to Ad Copy
Landing pages also factor heavily into your quality score on Google Ads.
You need to ensure the landing page is very relevant to the ad copy and keywords themselves.
Messaging is very important — never send clicks to a page that doesn’t even mention a keyword you’re targeting.
Imagery and page experience are also factors in how your quality score will be calculated.
Page elements such as headlines, images, and offers should mirror what users clicked on in the ad.
This consistency creates a seamless experience and increases the likelihood of conversion.
Plus, it can boost your quality score to reduce CPCs, allowing for more clicks at the same budget level.
Showcase Inventory and Prices
Any car dealership landing page should prominently showcase inventory and prices. Include high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and transparent pricing information.
This helps build trust with potential customers and allows them to make informed decisions.
Highlight unique selling propositions, such as special offers or financing options. And also be sure to incorporate strong calls-to-action that encourage users to take the next step.
Streamline Conversion Paths
Make it easy for visitors to schedule a test drive, request a quote, or contact the dealership.
By using clear and prominent contact forms or buttons, you can guide users towards conversion.
You’ll need to ensure a smooth user experience by minimizing distractions, optimizing load times, and providing clear navigation.
With all of these tweaks, you can significantly impact conversion rates for your landing pages.
Targeting and Retargeting for Car Dealerships
Use Location Targeting
Car dealerships have to rely heavily on location targeting in their PPC campaigns.
By focusing on specific geographical areas, you can reach local customers who are more likely to visit your dealership in person.
And really, 90%+ of your target audience will need to show up in person, aside from a select few people who will buy online.
Those people will find you based on your standard SEO in any case.
Retarget Website Visitors
Your car dealership can retarget website visitors who have shown interest in a particular car or service that you carry.
With the right tracking cookies in place (and visitor permission, of course), you can show them tailored ads to remind them of their interest and encourage them to return to the website.
By strategically placing ads that remind visitors about the cars they viewed or services they were interested in, you can significantly increase the chances you’ll close a deal with them.
Use Lookalike Audiences
If you are running demand gen campaigns on Google Ads, you can use lookalike audiences to find new prospects.
With this feature, you would create a profile of existing customers and ask the AI to find similar individuals.
This way, you can target a new set of potential customers who are likely to be interested in their offerings.
This strategy can result in higher conversion rates and increased sales for your dealership.
Measuring and Optimizing PPC Performance for Car Dealerships
Track Conversions and Lead Quality
To get the most out of PPC for car dealerships you’ll need more than conversions. You need QUALITY conversions.
With tools like Google Analytics and CRM systems, you can monitor which ads are driving the highest quality leads.
And those high quality leads are the most likely to convert into sales.
Using this data, you will be able to optimize your PPC campaigns for the best possible results.
Analyze Keyword Performance
You will need to identify which keywords are bringing in the most relevant traffic and conversions in order to refine your targeting.
Be sure to allocate time for monitoring the click-through rates, cost per click, and conversion rates for each keyword.
Regularly review and update your keyword list based on performance data. This is how you can ensure your PPC campaigns are cost-effectively reaching the right audience.
A/B Testing for Ad Copy and Landing Pages
Testing is the best way to boost your PPC performance. You want to use the optimal ad text copy and landing page structure / messaging.
Try conducting A/B tests on different ad variations and landing pages.
This practice will help you determine which versions resonate best with your target audience, leading to more conversions.
An iterative testing process will also help you continually refine your advertising tactics for better results.
Conclusion: PPC for Car Dealerships is Unique and Challenging
So, as we’ve explored the world of PPC for car dealerships, you can now understand how this niche has its unique challenges and opportunities.
From understanding the importance of local targeting to optimizing ad copy for specific models, your car dealership needs to approach PPC with precision and creativity.
By tailoring campaigns to meet the distinct needs of potential buyers in this industry, you can drive more traffic, increase leads, and ultimately boost sales.
With the right approach, PPC for car dealerships can be a powerful tool for you to stand out in a competitive market.
Tommy Landry
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