There are many different marketing strategies that car dealerships can use but one of the most effective is potentially Google Ads. Google Ads is a PPC system that allows you to create targeted adverts for your dealership that can be seen by thousands of people. If you are looking to give your dealership a boost and stimulate sales we have created a simple guide on Google Ads below.
A Simple Introduction to Google Ads for Car Dealers
- So what is Google Ads and why can it be beneficial for your automotive business? This is a service created by Google that allows you to bid for advertising space on their huge network including Google Search pages, YouTube, and mobile apps.
- You create the adverts using the platform and base them on specific keywords relating to your car dealership. The adverts are then placed on relevant pages, apps, videos, and searches.
- The beauty of Google Ads is that it uses a PPC (pay-per-click) model which means that you only ever pay Google when you get a successful lead from an advert (like someone clicking on an advert through to a sales page for a car you have listed). This basically means no money is wasted and your online marketing is more effective.
Five Things to Consider When Creating Your Ads
The potential of Google Ads is immense but it does take a little time and effort to make your adverts successful. You can’t simply go in blind and start creating adverts for your vehicles for sale without any planning and forethought.
We give you a crash course in Google Ads below and what to consider to utilize the platform for your car dealership.
1. You must have conversion tracking set up
We have seen many businesses create their Google Ads and expect fantastic results without any follow up. This isn’t how it works! You need to monitor the adverts to see which ones are successful and if you are actually getting any business from them.
Google Ads has some excellent tracking data so you can see how your ads are performing but by default most of these are disabled. You, therefore, need to enable conversion tracking which is an advanced category of analytics that shows actual actions customers have taken after clicking on one of your adverts.
2. Use targeted keywords to reach your ideal customers
Did you know that approximately 74% of people use search engines to find car dealerships and buy cars? This shows the potential power Google Ads have but you need to use the right keywords to tap into your potential customers.
Keywords are what people search for to find your business and adverts so they need to be targeted. For example, you may want to concentrate on local keywords to bring in customers from the region your dealership is in. You can use companion tools like Google Keywords Planner to find suitable keywords for your adverts.
3. Understand the different Ad types
Google Ads are displayed on many platforms and this means there is a variety of advert types. You need to be aware of these and think about which are the most suitable for your car dealership.
Examples include Gmail (adverts that show in someone’s Gmail account), Shopping (Adverts that show specific products your company provides), YouTube (Shown as videos play or in-between videos), Display (Text and image adverts shown on the huge Google Display Network).
4. Create variations of your Ads and compare the results
Your adverts won’t be successful if you just create one variation and expect it to work. What happens if the advert you create uses a poor keyword or simply isn’t appealing? Your entire advert campaign is essentially null!
Instead, you should always try and create several variations of your adverts with slightly different wording, images, and keywords. You can then compare them to see which ones work the best!
5. Consider competitor bidding
Competitor bidding is the process of using competitor-based keywords in your adverts with the aim of presenting your own car dealership as a viable alternative to theirs.
This is a well-known practice and it can yield excellent results and also help improve your brand awareness. We advise concentrating on branded keywords first for your own business, but competitor bidding gives you an alternative strategy once your adverts are established.
Google Ads Can Give Your Car Dealership a Competitive Advantage
Google Ads is a proven marketing method and it could be instrumental in the development of your car dealership. Obviously, other things should be in place too like car dealer SEO for your website or online store but PPC ads can help take your dealership to the next level. When creating your adverts always remember to consider the different ad types, localized keywords, and special features like competitor bidding to maximize their effectiveness.
Joshua George is the founder of ClickSlice, an SEO Agency based in London, UK.
He has eight years of experience as an SEO Consultant and was recently hired by the UK government for SEO training. Joshua also owns the best-selling SEO course on Udemy, and has taught SEO to over 100,000 students.
His work has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, AgencyAnalytics, Wix and lots more other reputable publications.
