All businesses need a strategic marketing campaign to stand out and succeed in their niche. This is especially true for car dealerships, where competition is fierce, and the battle for new and loyal customers is constant. If you’re looking to market your car dealership effectively, it’s essential to focus on strategies that drive traffic, build trust, and convert leads into sales. With the right approach, you can position your dealership as the go-to choice in your area. Here’s how to get started:

Use PPC Advertising

Most consumers begin their car-buying journey with a Google search. They look for a specific type of car they’re interested in and will click on the top results in Google. Elevate your car dealer website to the very top of the page with car dealer PPC. Bid on specific keywords to ensure your dealership is shown in the most relevant searches, encouraging consumers to click on it and browse your listings. 

To maximise your PPC strategy, consider targeting both branded and non-branded keywords. Branded keywords ensure your dealership stands out when customers search for you directly, while non-branded keywords help you capture broader searches like “best SUVs near me”. Pair this with geo-targeting to focus on buyers in your local area, and make use of ad extensions to include extra details such as your phone number, location, or current promotions, increasing the chances of engagement.

Highlight Key Selling Points

Your PPC ads and general website listings on Google should highlight some of your key selling points for people to read right away. Include things like finance offers in the page title or meta description, along with other aspects that might tip the scales in your favour. The same goes for the web pages themselves – ensure there are banners at the top and bottom of the pages reminding everyone of your great deals and USPs. 

To further enhance visibility, consider using action-oriented language in your headlines to create urgency, such as “Limited-Time Offers” or “Exclusive Deals”. Additionally, emphasise unique benefits like free delivery, extended warranties, or trade-in deals to make your dealership stand out. Visual callouts, such as badges or icons, can also help draw attention to these selling points on your website, encouraging customers to take action.

Include Detailed Photos & Videos

Buying a car is all about trust, so you need to prove your trustworthiness with detailed photos and videos of every car listing. Prospective customers will want to see the vehicles as closely as possible before deciding whether it’s worth visiting your dealership and booking a test drive. In some cases, a buyer may not need a test drive and will want to buy the car online. This further heightens the importance of quality photos/videos showing buyers every aspect of the car. 

To take this a step further, include 360-degree photos and virtual tours of each vehicle to provide an immersive experience. Add close-ups of key features, such as the dashboard, seats, and tyres, to highlight the car’s condition and unique aspects. Consider creating walkaround videos where a salesperson narrates the features and benefits of the car to add a personal touch and answer common questions upfront. Providing such detailed visuals builds trust and confidence in your dealership.

Create Engaging Content Around Your Products

Draw more customers to your website with great car-focused content. Create blog posts about specific cars you’re selling – for instance, make a post about a new car detailing all of its latest features and what makes it better than the previous version. You could also craft infographics to provide useful information about cars or other parts of your business. For example, an infographic breaking down the cost savings of picking up an EV or hybrid vehicle. Stuff like this helps you generate more traffic through Google searches while promoting your services. 

Expand your content strategy by producing comparison articles that pit similar models against each other, helping customers decide which car suits their needs best. Incorporate videos or podcasts featuring industry insights, maintenance tips, or interviews with satisfied customers to add variety and value. Engage your audience further with interactive tools like car loan calculators or quizzes that help them choose the right vehicle. Consistently updating your content with trending topics, such as advances in electric vehicle technology, can also keep your site relevant and highly ranked in search results.

Offer Rewards For Reviews

Every car dealership needs positive reviews to maintain growth. Part of your marketing strategy should centre on encouraging previous and new customers to review your company. Do this by offering rewards for every review. After someone purchases a vehicle, give them an email asking for a review in exchange for a gift. This could be something related to their car – like a free tyre pressure reader – or a discount on their next service/purchase at your dealership. It’ll encourage more reviews, getting you as close to the 5-star mark as possible. 

Car dealership marketing is all about driving (pun intended!) traffic to your site to view your listings while improving trust with consumers. Try these methods and see the immediate impact they have.