How Dahl Ford Boosted Leads & Traffic with SEO, SEM, and Disruptive Social Ads

by Brooke Jensen | Apr 22, 2024 | Digital Marketing, SEM, SEO, Social Media

How Dahl Ford Boosted Leads & Traffic with SEO, SEM, and Disruptive Social Ads

Facebook Advertising For Car Sales A Guide For Dealerships

Successful car dealerships must keep up with the ever-evolving technology and competitive landscape…which means mastering online marketing channels like search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM)/pay-per-click ads (PPC), and social media. By partnering with Dealers United’s full-service digital team, Dahl Ford Davenport implemented a unified cross-channel strategy that allowed them to dominate their local market, capture more leads, and drive higher-quality traffic to their website and showroom.

Dominating Local Search Through Geo-Targeted SEO

Within just 90 days of launching a new SEO campaign with Dealers United, Dahl Ford saw a 24% increase in organic traffic and improved rankings by 50 positions for the valuable “Ford Escape near me” keyword. Their success was driven by optimizing web content for geo-targeted searches like “Cedar Rapids car dealerships,” “Quad Cities car dealers,” and “Davenport used cars.”

Click here to book a demo and see how we can help you optimize your SEO strategy.

On-Page Optimization & Keyword Mapping

The key to Dahl Ford’s SEO success started with comprehensive keyword research to identify the most relevant and high-value search terms for their target audiences and sales goals. Dealers United then meticulously mapped these keywords across website pages, title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and body content. This strategic placement of topically-relevant keywords and synonyms improved the semantic relevance and rankings for those terms.

Technical SEO Boosts & Local Citations

Beyond on-page elements, Dealers United’s technical SEO team enhanced site speed, mobile-friendliness, and URL structures for better search engine crawlability of Dahl’s website. They also built an extensive profile of consistent NAP (name, address, phone) listings across online directories like Google My Business, Bing Places, and others – reinforcing Dahl Ford’s local relevance.

Intelligent SEM/PPC Campaigns for High-Intent Auto Shoppers

To complement their SEO efforts and capture high-intent searchers, Dahl Ford’s SEM strategy utilized advanced tactics like AI bidding algorithms, dynamic ad creative based on consumer data, and granular audience targeting by previous shopping behavior. This data-driven approach allowed them to efficiently acquire 1,014 leads at an average cost per lead of just $32.33 over a 90-day period.

Want an SEM strategy that actually drives leads? Book a demo here.

Automotive SEM/PPC Audience Targeting Tactics

Some of the innovative audience targeting methods included:

Retargeting previous website visitors
Using in-market auto intenders based on search histories
Layering affinity categories for models like trucks, SUVs, etc.
Creating customer match audiences from Dahl Ford’s own CRM data

These precise targeting capabilities within ad platforms like Google Ads ensured their paid search campaigns reached the right shoppers at the ideal moments.

The “Market Disruptor” Social Ad Campaigns

Dahl Ford used innovative social media marketing to promote their brand promise of unbeatable local offers. Their “Market Disruptor” Facebook/Instagram campaign generated 2,295 leads at $26.57 per lead and 384 matched vehicle sales at $158.78 per unit sold.

Ready to run campaigns that drive results like Dahl? Book a demo here.

Using TikTok Video Ads to Disrupt the Local Market

Taking their disruptive approach to new heights, Dahl Ford’s TikTok video ad campaign showcased bold creative concepts that immediately captured viewer attention. The campaign racked up 12,990 clicks at just $0.92 per click, over 2 million total views, and an impressive 30-second average watch time per viewer. This exemplified how engaging content in an emerging channel can provide a competitive edge.

Maximizing Visibility for Dahl’s Dealership

By combining SEO to maximize organic visibility, SEM to target high-value searches, and cutting-edge social ads that disrupted their local market – Dahl Ford’s unified digital strategy with Dealers United generated more overall leads and website traffic.

Their impressive results prove that a comprehensive online presence powered by intelligent audience targeting and compelling creative is now critical for automotive dealerships to stand out from competitors and keep sales booming.

Click here to book a demo and see how we can generate high results for your dealership.

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Written By Lauren Blackwell
Lauren Blackwell is a skilled content marketer who has spent the past 3 years working in automotive advertising technology and now brings her unique experiences to Dealers United. From running ad campaigns, to curating auto-specific resources, Lauren is empowered to create valuable content to help automotive dealers thrive on social media.

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Maximize Online Visibility: The Power of Dealers United’s Website Optimization Services

by Brooke Jensen | Apr 18, 2024 | SEO

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Maximize Online Visibility: The Power of Dealers United’s Website Optimization Services

Having an optimized website is paramount for attracting car buyers and staying ahead of the competition. Dealers United’s website optimization services are tailored to revolutionize how dealerships connect with their target audiences online, boost visibility, improving user experience, and ultimately driving more leads and sales.

Why Partner with Dealers United?

At Dealers United, we specialize in developing customized digital strategies that leverage cutting-edge SEO techniques to optimize our dealership partner’s online presence. Our team of experts understands the complexity of the automotive industry, allowing us to craft solutions that resonate with your audience and address your unique goals.

Comprehensive Website Audits and Tailored Optimization Plans

The process we follow begins with a thorough website audit, analyzing every aspect of your online presence, from technical SEO to content quality. Based on our findings, we develop a customized optimization plan that addresses your specific targets and leverages the most relevant keywords.

Proven SEO Strategies for Maximum Impact

Our proven dealership website optimization strategies employ the latest SEO best practices to drive the maximum impact, like:

On-Page Optimization: Optimizing content, structure, and code for improved crawlability and indexing by search engines like Google.
Local SEO: Increasing visibility in local searches through the utilization of online listings and citations.
Content Creation: Developing keyword-optimized, engaging content that establishes authority.
Technical SEO: Resolving issues hindering performance, such as site speed, mobile-friendliness, and security.

Continuous Monitoring and Adaptation

The digital landscape is ever-evolving, and so are search engine algorithms. At Dealers United, we stay ahead of the curve by continuously monitoring your website’s performance and adapting our strategies to ensure sustained success. Our team provides regular reports and adjustments, ensuring your dealership’s online presence remains optimized and competitive.

Advantages of Partnering with Dealers United

Choosing Dealers United as your website optimization partner offers a wealth of advantages, including:

Proven Results: Established history delivering exceptional results, increasing visibility, leads, and sales.
Industry Expertise: Years of automotive experience allow tailored strategies resonating with buyers.
Transparent Collaboration: Open communication ensuring efforts align with your goals.
Data-Driven Approach: Informed decisions and continuous refinement based on data and analytics.
Comprehensive Solutions: Full suite of services for a cohesive, effective online presence.

Take the Lead in the Digital Realm for Dealerships

In the competitive automotive market, an optimized website is non-negotiable.

Our website optimization services supercharge your online presence, attracting more qualified leads and boosting sales.

Click here to learn more about how Dealers United can help you unleash the full potential of your dealership’s website and discover how our search engine optimization solutions can skyrocket your leads and sales.

Want to learn more about Dealers United’s SEO Solutions?

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Facebook Advertising For Car Sales: A Guide For Dealerships

by Brooke Jensen | Feb 18, 2024 | Facebook

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Facebook Advertising For Car Sales: A Guide For Dealerships

Imagine if your dealership could reach over 2 billion monthly visitors. That enormous footprint now exists in the digital realm thanks to Facebook. Savvy car dealers are leveraging the world’s top social platform to engage buyers where they already spend time online.

This comprehensive “Facebook Advertising For Car Sales” guide will explore how to transform Facebook into your digital showroom. By implementing targeted advertising campaigns, you can drive qualified traffic to your on-lot or online inventory. We will cover approaches for dealers both new to Facebook ads and those with existing strategies.

The Benefits of Facebook Advertising For Car Dealerships

Facebook advertising comes with a unique set of benefits that make it highly appealing for car dealers who want to target online, in-market customers:

Laser-Focused Facebook Targeting Options

With Facebook ads, you can target users based on location, demographics, interests, behaviors and more. This level of precision paired with Facebook’s extensive user base allows you to put your ad dollars in front of highly-targeted, high-intent customers.

Unrivaled Retargeting Capabilities with Facebook Advertising

Your dealership can create custom audiences of people who have already engaged with your website or dealership’s Facebook page. By retargeting this group, you can turn cold leads into hot prospects and prime them until they’re ready-to-buy, and from your dealership!

Increased On-Lot Traffic for Dealerships

Well-designed Facebook ads displayed to targeted groups in your area can drive significant traffic directly to your dealer lot. This influx of foot traffic leads to more test drives and on-lot sales.

Higher Lead Conversion Rates

Users who engage with your ads signal they are open to learning more. You can provide lead forms directly in Facebook, allowing customers an easy path to convert.

Measurable ROI for Facebook Advertising

The platform makes it easy to track conversions from your ads directly into leads and sales – and being aware of your ROI helps optimize your ad spend.

If you are ready to explore how Facebook advertising can impact your dealership’s bottom line, click here to learn more about Dealers United’s Facebook Advertising Solutions.

How Facebook Advertising Works for Car Dealerships

Facebook advertising is based on an auction model where companies like dealerships bid against each other for ad placement. Your bid, along with the predicted impact of your ads, determines how often your ads are displayed to relevant audiences.

When setting up a Facebook ad, you choose audiences, placements, messaging and imagery, calls-to-action, and bids and budgets:

Audiences – Select the target customer demographics, behaviors, interests and locations that best align with your ideal purchaser.
Placements – Choose to display your ads in the Facebook News Feed, Instagram Feed, Facebook Marketplace or within popular videos.
Messaging & Imagery – Craft compelling ad copy and visuals that stop people from idly scrolling and pique interest.
Calls-to-Action – Such as “Learn More”, “Shop Now”, “Schedule Test Drive”, that match different stages of the car buying journey.
Bids & Budgets – Set a daily budget and cost-per ad click/impression bids based on your sales goals.

Once your campaign launches, Facebook provides detailed analytics on performance. By monitoring metrics like cost per lead, click-through-rate and conversion rate, you can optimize for better ongoing results.

Want to learn more about how Dealers United can help you set up conversion-driven Facebook advertising? Click here to learn about Dealers United’s Facebook Advertising solutions tailored to dealerships.

Facebook Advertising Campaign Examples & Best Practices For Dealers

The key to success with Facebook advertising lies in understanding the core consumer motivations and triggers. Approach each campaign by putting yourself in the shoes of the shopper.

Think about how you can attract their attention and keep it long enough to convert them into your customer.

Two common Facebook ad examples dealerships should execute in line with best practices are inventory/price based campaigns, and limited time special offers:

Inventory / Price Based Campaigns

These campaigns display actual vehicles from inventory at set pricing. They work well especially for dealers promoting new car makes or particular models.

Best Practices for Inventory / Price Based Campaign:

Feature your very best discounted vehicles to maximize interest
Keep ad copy succinct with clear call-to-action
Drive traffic to a dedicated inventory or specials landing page on your website
Retarget engaged users across devices with discounted pricing

Limited Time Special Offers

Leverage the power of scarcity and urgency with special deals only available for a short period. These ads can boost traffic during sales events or clearance offers.

Best Practices for Limited Time Special Offers:

Make the expiration date very clear
Limit to your highest perceived value vehicles or very low prices
Pair the offer visuals with strong text overlay like “Offers End Soon!”
Point traffic directly to online vehicle listings the customer can act on

Facebook Advertising for Car Sales: The Bottom Line

Facebook advertising checks all the boxes for affordability, targeting and measurability. For dealers looking to scale online leads and sales, Facebook ads represent an essential component of your digital marketing strategy.

And the platform keeps getting better. With new formats and expanded targeting, costs per lead acquisition remain highly competitive relative to other paid channels.

Dealers United can help your car dealership build an intelligent Facebook advertising plan tailored to your sales objectives.

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Drive More Leads and Sales Through Online Advertising for Car Dealerships

by Brooke Jensen | Feb 13, 2024 | Digital Marketing

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Drive More Leads and Sales Through Online Advertising for Car Dealerships

In today’s digital age, most car buyers start their search for a new vehicle online. In fact, studies show that the majority of vehicle shoppers now use the internet in their research process before ever setting foot in a dealership. As a car dealership, you need to make sure your online presence captures this huge audience and drives them to your store through multiple channels – like Dealers United’s Full-Service digital solutions do for dealerships…

Implementing the right online advertising strategies can help you connect with more prospective buyers, increase leads and sales, and grow your business in a competitive marketplace. This article explores the most effective types of online ads for car dealerships and how to optimize each one.

Fast track your online advertising presence with Dealers United’s Full-Service digital solutions.

Paid Search Ads

Paid search ads, also called pay-per-click or PPC ads, should form the foundation of your dealership’s online strategy. These small text ads appear alongside organic search engine results when a user enters a relevant keyword search.

For example, when someone searches for “Toyota RAV4 for sale,” your PPC ad can appear as one of the first results with your store name, discounted pricing offers, and a link to drive traffic to your website or special landing page.

Benefits of PPC ads for dealerships:

Highly targeted based on search keywords
Appear high in search rankings, above organic results
Get instant results and can measure ROI accurately
Control your budget and spend only when ads are clicked
Flexible, make changes to improve results

Follow these tips to maximize your PPC campaigns:

Research high-volume, relevant search keywords
Create targeted ad copy and landing pages
A/B test different ads to improve CTR
Set up conversion tracking to optimize efforts

Facebook and Instagram Advertising For Car Sales

80% of surveyed U.S. car buyers use Facebook for auto research. Facebook and Instagram offer extensive targeting capabilities, allowing you to serve ads to users more likely to buy based on demographics, interests, behaviors and more.

For a dealership, effective Facebook advertising strategies include:

Retargeting ads for website visitors
Local ads for area shoppers
Offer-based ads like discounts on leases
Carousel image ads displaying latest inventory

Facebook and Instagram make it easy to create professional, eye-catching ads then monitor performance and capitalize on what’s working best.

Display & Video Ads

Beyond search and social, display advertising reaches car buyers as they browse sites across the web. These visually compelling ads appear on premium websites, news pages, informational content sites and more.

Video ads also capture attention as shoppers engage with interesting video content. You can retarget people who have watched certain videos with your dealership’s ads.

Benefits of offsite display and video ads:

Broad reach to an engaged audience
Innovative ad formats like 360-degree interactive
Frequency to drive brand awareness
Retargeting warm prospective leads
High visual impact
The key is placing these ads where your target audience is most likely to see them through strategic website partnerships and managed ad exchanges.

Track KPIs & Optimize Efforts

Implementing an online advertising strategy takes consistent measurement and optimization. Track key performance indicators (KPIs) like:

Impressions
Click-through-rate (CTR)
Cost per lead
Lead quality
Inventory views
Sales conversions

Analyze this data regularly to determine what’s working and what’s not. Shift budget toward highest performing platforms, targets, and ad creative. Continual testing and improvement will maximize your dealership’s online advertising ROI.

Work With Dealers United for Proven Car Dealership Marketing

As you build an impactful digital advertising program, leverage the expertise of Dealers United – our dedicated team focuses on driving leads and sales for car dealerships like yours.

We handle setting up and managing your search and social campaigns while providing complete transparency into the results. With Dealers United, you get decades of dealership marketing experience focused on one goal—growing your business.

Click here to learn more about how Dealers United can help optimize your online advertising strategy and exceed your lead generation goals this year.

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Leverage Video to Drive Car Sales for Your Dealership

by Brooke Jensen | Feb 3, 2024 | Digital Marketing

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Leverage Video to Drive Car Sales for Your Dealership

Incorporating videos into your content strategy has become an essential component of any successful dealership. For car dealerships looking to boost sales, video provides an unparalleled opportunity to showcase inventory while building trust and credibility with customers. The opportunities are endless…and with the right video marketing approach, your dealership can drive more qualified traffic, increase lead conversion, and ultimately sell more cars.

Dealers United can help you incorporate custom social media video ads into your campaigns.

Craft Compelling Dealership Videos

Well-produced video allows customers to experience your dealership and inventory in an engaging, low-pressure environment. Rather than salesy commercials, focus on crafting relevant, valuable videos designed to inform, educate, entertain or otherwise provide value for viewers.

For example, create walkaround videos highlighting key features of popular models on your lot. Produce explanatory videos answering common questions buyers have about financing, leasing, or how to use modern vehicle technologies. Share behind-the-scenes videos giving customers a feel for your service center and staff.

Brief video clips work well for social media, while in-depth videos are better suited for your YouTube channel or website. In all cases, high-quality video production is a must to convey professionalism and boost view rates.

Optimize Video for Search Visibility

The right optimization and promotion strategy can help your videos appear prominently in relevant YouTube or Google search results. For each video:

Carefully target keywords and organically work them into the title, description and captions.
Include your dealership name, location and other relevant identifying information prominently in metadata.
Insert links back to your website within video descriptions driving viewers to take action.
Promote videos across all your dealership social channels, email campaigns, and websites.
Monitoring analytics to see which videos gain traction, then doubling down on production of more content around popular themes or vehicles.

Build a Multichannel Video Strategy

While a YouTube channel serves as your video hub, extend the reach of video content by cross-promoting it across other marketing channels:

Email Campaigns: Share new vehicle walkaround or dealership videos via email outreach. Insert clickable thumbnail images linking to full videos.

Social Media: All major platforms now emphasize video content in their algorithms. Develop brief, engaging video clips tailored to each network.

Website: Embed relevant videos on inventory, financing or service pages. Videos can boost time-on-site metrics for better SEO.

In-Person: Install video displays in high-visibility areas of your dealership, showcasing current inventory vehicles, customer testimonials or other relevant content.

A cohesive video marketing approach connecting these channels will amplify viewership and overall impact on prospects and customers alike.

Why Dealers United for Your Video Marketing

As leading social media ad experts for car dealerships, Dealers United has helped our clients drive countless sales through custom created video initiatives optimized for today’s most popular channels. Our team can handle all aspects of ideation, production, optimization and analytics/reporting so you focus on selling.

Trust Dealers United as your dealership video marketing partner and start converting browsers into car buyers today!

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