03/2019 Dealer Paid Search Playbook 2019
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Dealer Paid Search Playbook2019
08/2016
To grow consistent traffic from relevant search results across all tiers, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads play a vital role in Volkswagen’s advertising structure. By driving dealership traffic to sell cars, PPC ads offer brand-wide flexibility to achieve each tier’s overall goal. For the most successful campaign impact, each tier should focus on specific goals suited to its position within the consumers purchase path. Objective: To maximize paid search effectiveness across all tiers by coordinating tactics and sharing best practices for success.
Benefit: Boosting presence of dealer paid search dollars by coordinating the national and LMA search programs to keep the brand consistent across campaigns.
WHY ARE PAID SEARCHCAMPAIGNS IMPORTANT?
TODAY’S AUTO SHOPPING IS DONE IN DIGITAL SPACE
of vehicle shopping research time is
online
75%of in-market auto searches occur on
mobile
54%vs. 5 visits 10 years ago
Dealer visits only
1.2
ARE YOU SELLING TO THOSE DIGITAL SHOPPERS?
Do they know you exist? Online Video ad 43%
36%
33%
30%
30%
Website ad
Mobile ad
Search ad
TV ad
Are you responding?Search is as important of a research source as OEM site & Dealer site
Dealer site 75%
74%
71%
64%
OEM site
Search
3rd party
Video & online ads are more effective in expanding consideration set
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Source: Automotive Shopper Path to Purchase, Millward Brown Digital, September 2014; Avg. time spent per day by US adults, eMarketer, Sept. 2014; DME Automotive, Apr. 2015
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Volkswagen Paid Search StrategyA well thought out marketing campaign for insightful keyword selection and quality user experience is commonly organized through a “funnel” technique. A search process begins through a variety of decisions a visitor goes through in their initial steps as a consumer. As the consumers’ awareness and goals adjust through different steps in their decision making process, some may drop out and the size of the consumer group decreases through the “funnel” until only relevant consumers are left to reach the sale.
This cross-tier strategy through the Certified Volkswagen Dealer Digital Program assists dealers by aligning keyword bidding strategies across tiers and further coordinates the transparency across the Volkswagen brand and dealers. Through managing greater optimization and efficiency by guiding search investment with the certified providers, it creates a more solidified campaign for the brand as a whole.
The upper portion of the funnel is where consumers begin their search for a vehicle by researching varying brands, makes, models and key features they are interested in. The more involved buyers will move further down the marketing funnel to reach their goal.
The lower portion of the funnel contains the ideal group of remaining customers that have researched their preferred sale and are intent on making their final purchase.
UPPER FUNNEL
LOWER FUNNEL
WHICH CAR IS BEST?
IS IT RIGHT FOR ME?
CAN I AFFORD IT?
AM I GETTING A DEAL?
WHERE TO BUY?
The upper funnel of marketingcampaigns includes Micro Moments with broader and brand-specific keyword terms such as “Volkswagen” or “Sedans” that the brand can focus on as they’re more rele-vant to the awareness stage of car buying.
The lower funnel of digital marketing is where the dealers should concentrate most of their paid search efforts. As the lower funnel of a campaign includes Micro Moments most relevant to the customers’ final purchase intent, the majority of a dealer’s New Car Search campaign budget should be focused on that group capturing the most ready-to-buy shoppers.
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DEALER PAID SEARCH BEST PRACTICES
Go “always on” with top keywordsConsider leveraging an “always on” strategy to ensure strong impression share year-round on terms like your dealer name and other top performing keywords with a competitive Cost-Per-Action (CPA)
Cover your geographic search terms first [Philadelphia Volkswagen]
Use location targetingFocus only on the geographic areas where your customers are to prevent ad waste.
Utilize Google AdWords, Bing Ads and Yahoo! Gemini search enginesWhile Google has the largest search reach, you can often buy traffic from the other search engines at a lower cost-per-click (CPC).
Avoid broad match if budget limitedUtilize exact and phrase match keywords to spend ad dollars on the right search terms for your business without waste on irrelevant or unrelated queries.
of customers decided to purchase a vehicle before
they left the house
out of 24 in market touchpoints are digital
85% 19
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Focus on keywords in your LMA or local area
BENEFITS OF CERTIFIED PAID SEARCH CAMPAIGNS
Greater share of each dollar spent goes towards media
Easy setup - just select a provider and budget
Take advantage of new vehicle launch awareness and increase consumer search activity
Cohesive campaigns align with Volkswagen brand strategies
Design to drive low-funnel shoppers to your website
100% IDM eligible
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.
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Below is a list of guidelines for conducting bidding strategies within the upper and lower funnel of marketing campaigns. Dealers should focus on the lower funnel Micro Moments as first priority to capture ready-to-buy customers. Due to the Volkswagen brand presence in the upper funnel Micro Moment categories, dealers should bid to the 2nd and 3rd positions for these terms. This cross-tier bidding strategy aligns with a consumer’s path to purchase and drives the dealer’s budget efficiency.
RECOMMENDED as 1st priority for dealer paid search programs.
Recommended as 2nd priority for dealer paid search programs after 1st priority terms are covered.
Once 1st & 2nd priorities are met and as budget allows, expand into additional keyword categories.
BID PRIORITYEXAMPLEMICRO MOMENT
LOW
ER F
UN
NEL
CA
MPA
IGN
S
WHERE TO BUYDealer, Dealer Name, Geo
BRAND MODEL DEALER Volkswagen Jetta Dealer
Volkswagen Jetta Inventory
Dealer Name
BRAND MODEL INVENTORY
DEALERSHIP NAME
Volkswagen Jetta DealershipBRAND MODEL DEALERSHIP
Volkswagen Jetta Test DriveBRAND MODEL TEST DRIVE
Philadelphia VolkswagenGEO BRAND
Philadelphia Volkswagen DealerGEO BRAND DEALER
AM I GETTING A DEAL?Offers, Incentives
BRAND MODEL DEALS Volkswagen Passat Deals
Volkswagen Passat Discounts
Volkswagen Passat Incentives
BRAND MODEL DISCOUNTS
BRAND MODEL INCENTIVES
Volkswagen Passat SaleBRAND MODEL SALE
Volkswagen Passat OffersBRAND MODEL OFFERS
Volkswagen Passat QuoteBRAND MODEL QUOTE
Volkswagen Passat SaleBRAND MODEL SALE
CAN I AFFORD IT?Price, Financing
BRAND MODEL PRICE Volkswagen Tiguan Price
Volkswagen Tiguan Financing
Volkswagen Tiguan MSRP
BRAND MODEL FINANCING
BRAND MODEL MSRP
2nd2nd2nd
2nd2nd2nd2nd2nd2nd2nd
1st1st1st1st1st1st1st
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PAID SEARCH KEYWORD STRATEGIESNEW
08/2016
UPP
ER F
UN
NEL
CA
MPA
IGN
SMICRO MOMENT EXAMPLE BID PRIORITY
IS IT RIGHT FOR ME?Specs, Models
BRAND MODEL Volkswagen Atlas
Volkswagen Atlas MPG
Volkswagen Atlas Features
MODEL MPG
MODEL FEATURES
Volkswagen Atlas SafetyMODEL SAFETY
Volkswagen Atlas TechnologyMODEL TECHNOLOGY
WHICH CAR IS BEST?Make, Segment, Reviews/Accolades
BRAND Volkswagen
Volkswagen SUV
Volkswagen Accolades
BRAND SEGMENT
BRAND ACCOLADES
Volkswagen Passat RatingsBRAND MODEL RATINGS
Volkswagen Passat ReviewsBRAND MODEL REVIEWS
3rd3rd3rd3rd3rd
3rd3rd3rd3rd3rd
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Note: Playbook guidelines based on Google/Shift Digital overall industry best practices. Recommendations may vary based on dealer location, size, budget, strategy & other factors. Please consult your Volkswagen Digital Consultant, as well as your Digital Advertising provider for more information.
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08/2016
DIGITAL STRATEGY CHECKLIST MARKETING MUST-HAVES
CONSIDER YOUR LEVERS
LEAN INTO THE MOBILE EXPERIENCE
YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING BUDGET ALLOCATION SHOULD FALL SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 45% AND 75% OF YOUR OVERALL MARKETING.
PERSONALIZE YOUR MESSAGE
DRIVE LOCAL ENGAGEMENT
MEASURE THE CONSUMER JOURNEY
Prioritize reaching customers who are actively searching for Volkswagen vehicles
Influence shoppers early to help form opinions
Measure the customer journey - from online research to offline purchase
UNDERSTAND YOUR BUDGETCompare your online vs. offline marketing spending
Align spending with where your customers are spending time
Measure the effectiveness of each channel
SPEED UP YOUR SITE
IMPROVE SITE NAVIGATION
MAKE IT EASY TO GET IN TOUCH
Test your site’s mobile speed and work with your web provider to implement their recommendations
Simplify your site menu and try to keep everything visible without having to zoom in to read it
Confirm click-to-call buttons are enabled and ring thru to the correct dealership department
CUSTOMIZE YOUR SEARCH ADS
Use the Google Ad Preview Tool to make sure the messaging in your ads matches a shopper’s search
RETAIN EXISTING CUSTOMERS
Utilize remarketing strategies and Google Customer Match to remain top of mind with consumers
ACQUIRE NEW CUSTOMERS
Grow your customer base with audiences that are similar to those on your existing remarketing lists
UNDERSTAND YOUR IMPRESSION SHARE
Your search ads should show up at least 9 out of 10 times for the keywords you value the most
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PROMOTE YOUR VIDEO CONTENT
Use TrueView Ads to reach in-market shoppers and pay only for those who choose to watch videos
REACH SHOPPERS SEARCHING FOR VIDEOS
Promote your videos to people searching through TrueView video discovery ads
SET UP GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Use Google Analytics to help track how people get to your site and what they do once they’re there
SET UP CONVERSION TRACKING
AdWords Conversion Tracking measures how clicks from your ads lead to actions on your site
LINK ADWORDS TO GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Get a better view of your customers by linking your AdWords account to your Google Analytics
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