Category Archives: automotive sem

The phone numbers associated with your website (tracking numbers) are now labeled in the lead :: phone area of the back end.

In the attached case we also added PPC (Pay Per Click) and Retargeting (ret) to this dealer’s internal report.

Our goal is to provide faster access to information on your daily digital performance. Remember that we can integrate 12 major phone systems with our back end and if you don’t have any we work with Marchex (Seattle based) which I think is $4 a number and $80/1000 minutes. It is well worth the money to have unique tracking numbers on the website by department even though all the numbers dial into the same front desk. It is our goal for 2015 to further divide the system call so we track mobile numbers independently from desk top numbers as we believe it is increasingly necessary to understand our mobile conversion rate independently.

If you have any questions or need help labeling or adding numbers to the system please content your DealerLab account manager.

The post New Phone Leads Tagging appeared first on Paramo Group.

The phone numbers associated with your website (tracking numbers) are now labeled in the lead :: phone area of the back end.

In the attached case we also added PPC (Pay Per Click) and Retargeting (ret) to this dealer’s internal report.

Our goal is to provide faster access to information on your daily digital performance. Remember that we can integrate 12 major phone systems with our back end and if you don’t have any we work with Marchex (Seattle based) which I think is $4 a number and $80/1000 minutes. It is well worth the money to have unique tracking numbers on the website by department even though all the numbers dial into the same front desk. It is our goal for 2015 to further divide the system call so we track mobile numbers independently from desk top numbers as we believe it is increasingly necessary to understand our mobile conversion rate independently.

If you have any questions or need help labeling or adding numbers to the system please content your DealerLab account manager.

The post New Phone Leads Tagging appeared first on Paramo Group.

For dealerships, a very important aspect of your Adwords campaign is determining how far your ads should target. Set your radius too wide and you’ll be wasting precious ad spend on leads that you likely won’t be able to convert. On the other hand, set your radius too small and you’ll most likely be missing out on some opportunities for potential customers. You could just play the guessing game and then optimize the targeting radius as campaigns run. Another way to determine your Geo-Targeting radius through a data-driven decision is through geo-coding. Geo-coding is the practice of taking location data and mapping them onto a graphical map interface. Sounds good? Grab a shovel and let’s dig deep into some data.

Step 1: Google Maps Engine
The first thing you’re going to need is a Google Mapsengine account. You can get one at mapsengine.google.com/maps/. It’s a free mapping tool, though you can pay a premium for extra features. For our purpose the free features would suffice. The best way to use Maps Engine is to create an account using the Google account that is already associated with your Adwords account.

Step 2: Prepare The Data Set
The next step is to get a data set that will work with Maps Engine. Map Engine allows you to easily upload data from an Excel spreadsheet, as long as it’s saved as a CSV file. If your CRM allows you to export your data into excel then this step should be a breeze. Just trim down the data set to two columns: Zip Code and Model Purchased or Model Inquired About (for lead gen data). If you’re unable to export the CRM data then this step may require some tedious data entry into excel.

Step 3: Create A New Map
Once you have your Excel data set in an Excel CSV file, then the next step is to import the data into Google Maps Engine.  Get to the MapsEngine home screen and click on “Create A New Map”. Next click “Import” to input the data into Maps Engine. You can either click and drag or browse for the file. Next select the “Zip Code” field to let Google know where the location data is. Then select “Model Purchased” to choose the column you want the location pin to be labeled as.

Step 4: Analyze The Data
You should now have a beautiful looking map with various pinpoints to mark the location of your leads or conversions. From there it’s a matter of looking at the map to see where on the map do the leads cease.

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about how Google AdWords was forcing all advertisers to use close variants on exact matches by removing the opt out option. As is usually the case, BingAds is following AdWords leads. BingAds announced that they are making close variants on exact matches a permanent feature on BingAds — they had been testing the feature earlier in the month.

If you didn’t read my earlier post, here’s a refresher on close variants. Close variants include search queries that are close to, but not exact matches to the keywords. This includes misspellings, plurals and abbreviations. Here are some examples.

Google’s controversial decision to remove any ability to opt out of close variants in AdWords rubbed some advertisers thee wrong way. BingAds took notice and is maintaining the advertisers choice to opt out of close variants on exact match keywords. You can make that change at the campaign level by going to Advanced Settings > Keyword Matching Options.

Earlier in the month Google announced the roll out of Callouts, a new ad extension in Adwords that allows you to highlight unique benefits and offers of your dealership with an additional line of text. The Callout extension joins Sitelink extensions, Call extensions, and Location extensions to Adwords ad extension family.

Car dealerships can use Callout extensions to promote special offers, price matching guarantees, award-winning customer service, and more. You can easily add Callout extensions at the campaign and ad group level and even schedule the dates that they’ll run. On the campaign level you can add general Callout extensions that highlight your award-winning sales staff or your no hassle sales policy. On the ad group level you can get more specific and highlight special promotion and offers for specific vehicles. Is your dealership running a 0.9% APR on 2014 car models until the end of the month? If so, that’s a perfect opportunity to use Callout extensions.

Callouts appear below the standard ad copy and, most importantly, they can be displayed along with other ad extensions. You can feature up to four Callouts in your ad, each limited to 25 characters each. This means that your ad can utilize even more real estate on search results page if they’re utilizing numerous ad extensions.

If you’re not using Callout extensions in your ads then you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to increase your CTR and highlight what makes your dealership unique. Is your dealership PPC campaign using Callout extensions.

This past week Google made an announcement that close variant keyword matching will be applied to all ‘Exact’ and ‘Phrase’ match keywords. Starting in late September, Google will be removing the option to opt out of close variant matching. This isn’t an earth shattering announcement on the scale of Panda or Hummingbird, but it’s still noteworthy nonetheless.

Close variant matching was introduced in 2012 and according to Google advertisers have seen strong results from it with advertisers receiving an average of 7 percent more exact and phrase match clicks. For most campaigns this change will have no effect as the default setting for campaigns is to include close variant matching.

An example of close variant would be an advertiser targeting the exact match keyword [car dealer]. The ad would show up for these additional terms:
– car dealers
– car daeler
– car da ler
– car dealer’s
– car dealership

This move to force close variant matching could be a sign of a general trend towards mobile and voice search. These search platforms have much higher instances of misspellings and typos due to garbled voice recognition or cumbersome typing on mobile devices.

There benefits of close variant matching is that it takes away the need to create an extensive keyword list of misspellings and increases overall traffic volume for exact and phrase match keywords. The downside to it is that the inability to truly control exactly what words trigger an ad does take some control away from the advertiser. However, there is a work around this issue. You can build a list of negative keywords of misspellings for variant terms that you don’t want to show up for.

To learn more about how close variant matching might effect your campaign you can contact your Integrated PPC strategist. You can depend on us to stay on top of changes in the digital marketing landscape.

In the fantastic Spike Jonze film “Her” a lonely man falls deeply in love with his smartphone’s operating system. We’re not at that point where love could blossom from conversations with a smartphone. Human to computer conversation isn’t quite a two-way street yet. However, with an increase emphasis on hands-free voice search on mobile devices that conversation channel is definitely a one-way street — with us doing all the talking.

Google recently announced that all Andoid powered devices will now respond to the hot word ‘Ok, Google’. Users can initiate a search, control, and carry out any device function by saying the magic words ‘Ok, Google’ first and then asking a question or command such as “Call mom” or “Find the nearest Honda dealership open past 7pm”.

It’s not out of the question to think that voice control/search will soon be the primary way users interact with their mobile devices. With mobile search consuming a larger part of the search traffic pie every year it’s important to prepare your paid search campaigns to deal with this new paradigm shift of how we interact with mobile devices.

Voice control conversational search is very different from traditional typed search queries. With a typed search query a user may search for something like this: “like new 2011 Chevy Malibu”. This same search query as a voice control search may sound very different, but have the same intention: “find me a 2011 Chevy Malibu with leather seats and less than 30,000 miles”.

With type searches we omit various keywords and the ordering of the words may not always have a natural, cognitive flow. The opposite is true for voice search with additional words such as “a”, “for”, and “me” inserted into the search query.

In paid search campaigns this can lead to misses on exact and phrase match keywords. The broad match keywords may cover this , but you may be missing additional context of the search query and may not present the best ad copy or landing page for the voice search query. This could affect metrics such as CTR, conversion rates, and onsite engagement for voice search query searchers. To target for mobile devices it’s important to take into account voice search queries. This mean creating specific ad groups and campaigns for long tail keyword terms that are conversational.

As our interaction with devices continue to evolve it’s important that our PPC strategies evolve along with it.

Radio spots or TV advertising have been considered the go-to avenue for businesses to increase their brand awareness. Traditionally, search advertising brings its value through clicks, impressions, and conversions. However, a recent study by Google brings new insights into the effectiveness of search ads. The results may surprise you.

The Study
In 2013 Google ran over 60 search experiments to understand how search ads can affect brand awareness. The subjects of the study consisted of 800 US consumers who participated in the simulated search scenario. The participants were placed into either the control group who were shown a search engine results page (SERP) or the the experimental group who were shown a Test SERP spotlighting one of 12 categories: apparel and durables, auto, B2B, classified and local, consumer packaged goods, education, financial services, healthcare, media and entertainment, retail, tech, and travel.

Participants were asked to perform a search for a specific category keyword (for example, “used cars” or “bad credit loan”) on their desktop. They were then shown either the actual SERP or a Test SERP. Those in the Test SERP group would see the test brand’s search ad present at the top of the search results page.

The Results
According to the study results, search ads do in fact have a positive impact on brand awareness. When study participants were asked what was top of mind about a specific category, Google found the following results:

• 14.2% in the Test SERP group named the test brand
• 8.2% in the control group also named the same brand

Overall, there is a 6.6% increase in brand awareness when in the top search positions. Each of the categories studies got slightly different results in brand awareness increases. Most notably, the auto category saw a 9% lift in top-of-mind brand awareness.

With the FIFA World Cup just starting a couple days ago, be prepared for World Cup mania to reach all ends of the world. As you read this your Facebook news feed is probably saturated with World Cup talk and your favorite sports bar is probably already packed with crazed soccer fanatics. Every 4 years Google Trends shows a huge spike in search volume for the term “World Cup”. However, one place where the World Cup will be limited is on the paid search section of Google search results. The reason for this is because FIFA, the organization that puts on the World Cup, has trademarked terms such as “World Cup”, “FIFA”, and even “Brazil 2014”.

As a car dealership how does this news relate to you? Well, it’s a relevant reminder of Google Adword’s trademark policy. Adwords current policy allows advertisers to bid on others’ trademarked keywords; however, advertiser are not permitted to use trademarked terms in the ad text. This means that if you’re a Honda dealer, then you won’t be able to use the terms Ford, Chevy, or Nissan in your ad text. This can be quite the hurdle if you want to use PPC to help sell your used car inventory.

There is a way to circumvent Adword’s trademark policy. Google’s trademark policy regarding resellers states the following:

The ad’s landing page is primarily dedicated to selling (or clearly facilitating the sale of) the goods or services corresponding to a trademark term.

This means that if you’re a Honda a dealer that wants to write an ad for the 2011 Ford Focus in your used sales lot you’re going to need to make the landing page for your ad the product page for that specific vehicle. You could go through your whole inventory and write sets of trademark compliant ads for each vehicle in your inventory. However, you probably don’t have time for that. You’re too busy selling cars.

With Used Dynamic Inventory Based Ads you can have Adwords trademark compliant ads automatically built for every vehicle in your inventory. Ads are directly linked to vehicles in your inventory and is refreshed daily, so you’ll only advertise vehicles that are currently in your inventory. As vehicles are added to your inventory, ads are automatically generated. Imagine all the time you’ll save. Thus, freeing you up to watch team USA make a miracle run at the Cup. Fingers crossed.

Putting a portion of your valuable advertising budget into paid search is a great way to attract new visitors to your dealerships website and sell some cars. Especially when you consider that a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that automotive shoppers are 71% more likely to be swayed by digital advertising than the average consumer. With digital marketing, including paid search, having so much influence on car shoppers; doing PPC is practically a no-brainer.

The decision to do PPC is a no-brainer, but the day-to-day management of a PPC campaign takes some thought and attention. One aspect of PPC where many dealerships fall short on is ad copy. Many dealerships miss out on valuable opportunities to attract and convert prospective car buyers when they fall victim mismanaged ad copy. Here are some tips to avoid some common PPC with ad copy.

Used Varied Ad Copy and Constantly Test Them
A trap that some PPC campaigns falls into is that the same ads are used for all keywords. No matter how great your one ad is, it won’t be effective with all keywords. A person searching for “bad credit auto loans” has a much different intention than someone searching for “dealerships in gotham city”. Depending on the size of the keyword list in an ad group, you should have at least 3-5 ads in rotation.

In addition to having a varied ad copy, you should also be constantly testing them. A/B testing for PPC ad copy is pretty simpler than other kinds of A/B test because there are fewer things to test. The aspects of the ad copy you’re going to want to test are the headline, the text body, the call to action, and the destination URL. All you have to do is simply duplicate an ad you want to test, change one aspect of it, and see which one performs better. Pause the losing ad and repeat the process. Think of it is PPC ad copy Thunderdome. Two ads enter. One ad leaves.

A couple things to note when testing ad copy. You’re going want to decide on the metric you’ll be judging them on beforehand. Are you going to be look at CTR or conversions? Also, you’re going to want to make an ad group level change in the account settings to rotate the ads evenly instead of showing the more successful one. This ensures that both ads get equal opportunity to be displayed.

Make Your Dealership Stand Out With Your Ad Copy
Many dealerships fall in line and have very general ad copy, even for competitive keywords. Write ad copy that stands out from the rest by providing specific information. Put information such as monthly specials, lease offers, and  facts about your dealerships such as service awards in your ad copy. These facts that are unique to your dealership will set you apart from the competition and give users a reason to click on your ad.

Many auto dealerships that manage their own pay per click aren’t aware of the various guidelines that Google expects their advertisers to follow. That is until they wonder why their ads aren’t getting any traffic and they noticed the dreaded ‘your ad as been disapproved’ icon. Actually, it’s not that dreadful, but knowing what Google’s guidelines are beforehand can save you the effort of having to edit your ad copy later. Here are some of the ad copy guidelines that you need to follow when writing ad copy. For full information Google’s guidelines go to https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/1331529?hl=en

A deal you claim in the ad copy has to be on the advertised site.

Example:
Nissan GTR
Be Fast & Furious.
20% Off Vin Diesel’s Stunt Car!
sokittomecars.com

This ad would be disapproved if two of the following things was not present on the site: proof that the GTR was used in a Fast & Furious movie and information about the 20% off a GTR.

Google doesn’t allow misleading or scientifically unverifiable claims.

Example:
Jelly Bean Powered Car
Cut Down On Sweets
And Save Money On Gas!
sokittomecars.com

Common sense and Google would raise a red flag at this ridiculous claim. If you’re going to make claims like these, you need a verification that your claim is accurate and sound from a third party source.

Usage of superlatives such as “best” or “#1”

Example:
Sok It To Me Cars
The #1 Car Dealership.
Best Prices In Soktopia!
sokittomecars.com

This ad would be disapproved for the superlative claims in the ad copy. The words “best” and “#1” are not allowed unless there’s a third party verification listed on the site. In this case, Sok It To Me Cars is neither the best nor #1 dealer in Soktopia.

Understanding conversions is very important in knowing the impact of your pay per click campaign. Within the past year, Google has introduced various conversion metrics to give advertisers even more insight on how their paid ads are directly leading to leads and sales. Below are are some of the conversions that you should be aware of.

Converted Clicks
This is how many clicks resulted in a conversion action. Depending on the conversion tracking set-up, a conversion action could be anything such as an actual sale or a user filling out a contact form that provides leads for your sales, service, or finance department.

Phone Call Conversions
For ads with call extensions, the Phone Call Conversion is the number of phone calls that Adwords drives to the number that is listed on the call extension. In order to track phone call conversions, you must use a Google Call Forwarding Number.

Estimated Cross-Device Conversions
This metric occurs when a user clicks on an ad on one device such as a mobile phone, but then converts on a different device such as a desktop. In the multi-screen world we live, cross-device conversions is a great metric to show how your ads impact across multiple devices.

View-Through Conversions
This metric only applies to ads that appear on the Display Network. View-Through conversions occurs when a customer views your ad, but converts without actually clicking on it.

Estimated Total Conversions
This metric condenses various conversion types and bundles them together to give you a better idea of how Adwords is driving conversions. Estimated Total Conversions add up the following conversion types: converted clicks, conversions, estimated cross-device conversions, view through conversions, and phone call conversions.