Digital Difference Makers - DDM

07/04/2024

Your GA4 data is a goldmine.

Here's why:

-Tracks Automotive Standard Council (ASC) events, giving you industry-standard metrics to benchmark against competitors
-Breaks down performance by source/medium: Google Ads, organic search, direct traffic, Facebook…

This way, you see:

• Page views
• VDPs & SRPs (where the money's made)
• CTAs clicked (are your buttons working?)
• Forms submitted (old school, but still kicking)
• Chats initiated (where the action's at now)

Not to mention some extra eye-opening stuff...

E.g.,
• Chat is rapidly outpacing form submissions? Dealers need to adapt their lead capture strategy.
• Google Ads traffic generates 4-5% chat engagement on vehicle pages. Is this good? Bad? Now you can find out.
• Identify which specific campaigns are your lead generation powerhouses

07/03/2024

Quick tip on saving $1000s if you are running VLAs:

Focus on model-specific VLA campaigns.

…proper share, clicks, budget allocation, and location settings.

07/02/2024

Economic headwinds are intensifying📉

• Credit card delinquencies spiking, especially in the 30-39 age group
• Q1 2024 data approaching 2008-2010 crisis levels
• Auto loans hit hard — serious delinquencies (90+ days) surging across age brackets

Key info for dealers:

👉Tighter consumer budgets = harder sells
👉Official recession call may lag 1+ year behind the actual start
👉The auto industry often mirrors broader economic health
👉Used car market could flood

To plan ahead,

• Develop a recession strategy now
• Resist knee-jerk budget cuts, especially in marketing
• Consider reallocating resources rather than reducing overall spend

Check out the full stuff here: https://loom.ly/uCvzPio

David will be sharing some interesting slides that highlight trends in the auto industry and their impact on the economy.He'll dive into delinquency rates fo...

07/01/2024

Reminder:

Multiple VLA (Vehicle Listing Ad) campaigns in Google Ads will significantly improve your car dealership's digital marketing strategy.

By separating these campaigns, you can allocate budgets more effectively for different models and target specific geographical areas to increase market share.

The result?

Better control over high-demand versus niche vehicles.

Each gets the right exposure and budget allocation based on search interest and inventory needs.

06/28/2024

Too many people overlook these in Google Ads:

1. Audit your existing Google Ads conversions, understanding which ones you're getting and which you want.
2. Segment conversions by action to see what types each campaign is generating.
3. Make your website easy to convert, with prominent call-to-action buttons visible on both desktop and mobile.

06/27/2024

Car dealers, are you tracking the right conversions?

These are the top 10 outlined by Foundation Direct and NCM Associates in 2024:⬇️

1. Digital retailing starts
2. Click-to-call actions
3. Lead form submissions
4. Trade-in tool engagement
5. Chat interactions
6. Finance tool usage
7. Contact us page visits
8. Text messaging starts
9. Service scheduling
10. Print service coupon clicks

Remember, while these are foundational conversions, your dealership may need additional custom conversions based on your specific website setup and business.

I explain better here:⬇️
https://loom.ly/ngR4dyk

David dives into the important definitions of conversions in Google Analytics, specifically focusing on the top 10 GA4 conversions specified for car dealers....

06/26/2024

Website engagement vs. website conversions? What's the deal?

Engagement: Think of this as the dating phase.

Here, users interact with your website - scrolling, clicking photos, and reading multiple pages. It's the step before conversion, showing intent and interest.

Conversion (now called "key events" in Google Analytics 4): This is sealing the deal. It's when a user completes a desired action, like submitting a lead form, initiating a chat, making a call, or completing a purchase.

In GA4, engagement metrics include:
- Engaged sessions
- Engagement rate (formerly the inverse of bounce rate)
- Engaged sessions per user
- Average engagement time

For example, if your old bounce rate was 35%, your new engagement rate would be around 65%.

Conversion metrics (key events) might include:
- Form submissions
- Chats initiated
- Calls made
- For e-commerce: Add to cart, Begin checkout, Purchase

Pro tip: Measure your baseline for these metrics and compare month-over-month or year-over-year to track improvement.

06/24/2024

Recession indicators are flashing red 🔴🔴

Here’s how your dealership can survive:

1. Prepare a recession plan: Don't wait for official declarations. Act now based on current economic signals.

2. Rethink budget cuts.

While reducing marketing spend might seem logical, it could harm long-term growth.

Instead of across-the-board cuts, reallocate all resources to maintain a presence in your market.

3. Understand your metrics: Not all marketing spends are equal.

For example, if your VLAs bring in more sales than other campaigns, cutting them would impact revenue.

Analyze all potential impacts before making cuts.

06/21/2024

3 tips to improve your Vehicle Listing Ads:

✔️Multiple VLA campaigns allow for better budget allocation and location targeting.
✔️Separate campaigns ensure targeted ads for high-demand models like the Toyota Camry, Corolla, and Tundra TRD Pro.
✔️Adjusting settings on a campaign level optimizes performance.

06/20/2024

I've been managing this Hyundai dealer account for years, and it has achieved an impressive 98% match rate between our keywords and the corresponding search terms.

E.g.,

Keyword: "Hyundai Santa Fe"
Search Term: "Hyundai Santa Fe"

And the results?

A relatively cheap CPC while generating 17 calls in the last weeks' branded campaigns alone.

But I had to put in the work.

…auditing this report every 2 weeks, religiously adding negative keywords to w**d out nonsense searches.

Because when you let it go a month, you might as well pour that ad budget down the drain.

So, open those search term reports and start scrubbing.

If your keywords and search terms aren't aligning 98% of the time, you're losing money on garbage traffic.

It could be wrong match types or campaign settings - either way; you need to find and fix those leaks ASAP.

06/19/2024

The most insightful Google Ads report automotive marketers have at their disposal is the search term report.

Enough said.

06/18/2024

Keywords and search terms are not the same thing.

Your ads may show for searches beyond your specified keywords due to broad matching.

So, ensure you constantly review your search term report to prevent this disconnect.