Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are the fastest way to feature your website at the top of search engine results. While organic web rankings rely on effective and steady SEO overtime, PPC ads use keywords to display your dealership in the top slots on relevant searches. As businesses reduce their ad spend during the pandemic, your PPC ads have a greater chance of appearing in local searches and driving more traffic to your online platform.
Current Internet Trends
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, many businesses slashed or withdrew their ad spend to conserve funds. For some, this was a necessity in order to remain operational. However, nationwide stay-at-home orders led to an online boom, with internet usage and e-commerce exploding almost overnight. Consumers who could no longer set foot inside stores turned to online shopping in order to purchase parts and units. As a result, dealerships that maintained their ad spend have been experiencing a spike in website visitors.
During the pandemic, Dealer Spike has seen significant performance results across our dealers’ Google Ads accounts (January 2020 – April 2020):
- Increase in clicks (traffic to the website) and conversions (lead forms and phone calls)
- Decrease in cost-per-clicks and cost-per-conversions
Because so many businesses stopped marketing online, competition for ad placement has dropped, and so has the costs per click. This means that dealerships with active digital marketing campaigns—or who kickstart their campaigns in the near future—can enjoy faster visibility and reduced ad spend.
Benefits of Online Ads
Even if your dealership has earned a prominent slot on search engine results through excellent SEO, investing in PPC ads is well worth your time (and budget!). Paid traffic has a 50% better conversion rate* over organic traffic, increasing the number of qualified leads on your website. Furthermore, PPC ads drive users to specific pages on your website or inventory so that visitors see the exact services and units you are most eager to sell.
As states begin lifting their stay-at-home orders and businesses gain more foot traffic, PPC ads offer an excellent platform to promote reopening sales, specials or events that can drive customers to your doors. In particular, you can leverage PPC ads to spotlight high-interest inventory that may see an increase in search volume as pandemic restrictions are lifted.
Current ads also keep your dealership prominent by encouraging customer engagement. Businesses that remove marketing efforts during the pandemic will have difficulty regaining customer interaction in the future. We understand that some cutback on marketing spending may be necessary, but your dealership will benefit from continued advertising in the long run. Fortunately, the decrease in costs per click means that your marketing dollars will go even further!
If you aren’t already using PPC ads to increase the visibility of your dealership online, now is a great time to build a campaign while cost and competition are low. The more effort you invest in promoting your business, the faster you will see an increase in customer traffic and buyer interest—online and in-store.
*PPC stat courtesy of Power Traffick