Dealers know that for a majority of car buyers, a customer’s journey to buy a car from a dealership begins online. According to a study from Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, car buyers spent 60 percent of their time online in the vehicle purchasing process. Because of this, used car dealer advertising is adjusting and pivoting to adapt to the role search plays for a car buyer. Dealers are now spending marketing dollars to increase their presence in the search advertising space.
In order to ensure that digital used car dealer advertising will show up in front of potential customers, it’s essential to do proper keyword research. Google recently released findings that determined five micro-moments and the five questions that car shoppers will typically ask themselves before a car purchase. Car shoppers will frequently ask themselves: Which car is best? Is this the car right for me? Can I afford it? Where should I buy it? Am I getting a deal?
Dealerships looking to align their search strategy with these top questions car shoppers ask can turn to a few different resources to aid in their keyword strategy.
Analytics
Website analytics are essential in order for dealerships to learn how potential customers reach, and what potential customers look at, on a dealership’s website. Depending on the type of analytics a dealership website may use, there may be opportunity to see keywords users searched for before visiting. Check out the different reports available on the dealership’s website analytics platform. What keywords were searched? In addition, note how potential customers end up visiting the dealership’s website. What did they look at? Knowing the answers to these questions will help inform a dealership’s paid search keyword and subsequent campaign strategy.
Paid Search Keyword Planners
Common search engines and their search advertising platforms will often have a keyword planning tool. These tools can show search volume data and trends in addition to similar or related keywords. Dealers using these tools will also be able to see how competitive it might be to own a particular keyword.
A cohesive strategy for used car dealer advertising can not only mean a dealership earns brand awareness, but also potential leads and customers. Using these tools and resources together will allow dealerships to effectively use their marketing and advertising budget with measurable results.