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.