An effective auto service marketing campaign is one that targets local customers searching for an immediate solution for their auto repair needs. When someone is looking for a local auto service company they tend to have an emergency – a flat tire, a dead battery, or another mechanical issue.
Their objection is to find a local auto repair business that can quickly fix the problem so they can continue with their day. Very few people will spend several days looking for a solution. Instead, they turn to Google, perform a search, and select the option they feel is best suited to address their problem.
Since Google is such a plentiful source of local customers seeking an immediate solution for their car repair needs, our auto service marketing campaigns target both organic traffic and paid traffic. The more visibility in Google search we can achieve for our auto service clients, the more customers they have walking through their doors day-in and day-out.
Organic traffic is great, but SEO can take time. Google Ads allows us to not only drive instant traffic, leads, phone calls, and foot traffic, but we can also test specific keywords and search terms to find the highest converting ones. These can then be targeted in the search engine optimization campaign, giving us a competitive advantage.
Google Ads are all about the optimization and the bid strategy. Ads need to be optimized for Quality Score, which Google calculates based on the keyword targeting, ad copy, and destination landing page. Other factors come into play when optimizing ads beyond the traditional auto service PPC format.
Bidding also comes into play. You don’t want to underbid and not receive impressions, but you also don’t want to overbid and burn through the daily budget quickly. Our auto service marketing PPC team has developed a smart bid system, whereas we can deliver maximum exposure for your auto service business during peak hours, attracting the highest quality local customers, all looking for a solution to their issue at hand.
There are several different Google Ads formats we use for our clients, and each has a specific purpose, from driving instant customer foot traffic through the door to generating phone calls and pulling customers back in if they don’t convert immediately. Let’s go over three types of Google Ads we use to market our auto service clients.
1. Google Local Services Ads: Top of the Funnel Auto Service PPC
Local Services ads are the most effective auto service PPC format because it removes one step that traditionally reduces conversion rates of pay-per-click campaigns. With regular PPC, you bid on keywords and if a consumer clicks on the ad they are redirected to a page on your website. There, they usually see your phone number and have an option to submit a form for more information or an auto repair quote.
While you pay for each click and visitor, not everyone will call your business or submit the form. This contributes to an overall low conversion rate. With Google Service ads, the redirection to your website is removed from the equation, resulting in more conversions.
Each “click” is one of two options that the consumer is presented with:
● Phone Call: Local Services ads target mobile devices, and when a local customer is searching for an auto service business on his or her phone they either have an emergency or want to schedule a service appointment right away. Giving them the option to call your business helps them get immediate assistance and it gives you a warm lead that can easily be converted into a customer on that phone call.
● Information Request: For those that might be a little shy or reluctant to make a phone call, the option to request more information is also given to them. Sometimes you don’t even have to call them to get them through your door. You might get a simple request like, “I need an oil change and my tires rotated. Can you do it today?” You can reply with available times and book an appointment on the spot.
The bidding is similar to traditional pay-per-click, but rather than setting a maximum bid for each click you set a bid for each lead. Google defines a lead as a connected phone call or a successfully submitted information request.
While the lead cost is going to be higher than a click, each lead is a conversion in the sense that you are given contact information or are directly connected with a local customer in need of an auto service business.
All of the auto service leads that are generated through Local Services ads are fielded and managed through a dedicated app available to download and install on any mobile device. This makes it very easy to field incoming calls right away and reply to information requests.
We advise our clients to answer all incoming calls as quickly as possible and immediately reply to information requests. The sooner you speak with these leads the higher the probability of them bringing their car into your auto service business the same day. Google’s Local Services ads are great for on-demand customer acquisition.
2. Google Guaranteed PPC Ads
Some local service businesses qualify for a special program called Google Guaranteed, and auto service businesses are one of the categories that can take advantage of this ad format.
When someone searches for auto services in your area they are shown an ad block that features your business name, your Google reviews, your phone number, and the Google Guaranteed badge. These ads stand out in the search results, drawing attention to your business.
Google Guaranteed offers to back the service for the full cost, which helps your attract more business. Consumers feel confident in bringing their car to an auto service business that Google trusts and puts their guarantee behind.
Here is the language directly from Google that explains the program:
“The Google Guarantee covers claims up to the amount on the job invoice up to the lifetime cap for coverage. Services must be booked through Google Local Services. The Google Guarantee doesn’t cover add-on or future projects, damages to property, dissatisfaction with price or provider responsiveness, or cancellations.”
Our Google Ads specialists can help your auto service secure Google Guaranteed, and set you up to take advantage of the program. As Google expands the program more consumers are becoming aware of it and choosing to do business with service businesses that are backed by the program.
For an auto service business, Local Services ads do a great job at converting high, leaving very few leads to slip through the cracks. But, it can happen, so we will run a remarketing campaign across the Google Display Network that targets consumers that have just interacted with one of the PPC ads.
The window of time to get that consumer back on your website is small – a few hours. After that, it would be a waste of ad spend, as there is a very high probability that they have already found a solution to their problem.
So, a very aggressive approach produces the best remarketing results. Google’s Display Network consists of millions of the top websites and blogs, so when a potential customer visits a website after engaging with your PPC ad, they are shown a remarketing ad, to get them back to your website.
A very simple, “Free 10-point safety inspection with all auto services today” can capture their attention and pull them back in before they have a chance to take their business to a competitor. But, as mentioned, the window of opportunity is small.
Over time and at scale, the remarketing campaign can work as an effective lead magnet and the more fall-out that we can capture, the lower your customer acquisition costs become.
Final Thoughts
These are the three types of Google Ads that we typically focus on when building out an auto service marketing PPC campaign. They work well to capture interest from local customers that are looking for an auto service business.
There is a small window of opportunity when targeting this customer profile. They are looking for a solution right away, and often same-day, so we need to either convert them on the spot and push them to a location visit or an immediate phone call. The remarketing effort can help pull back potential customers that visit another website after engaging with one of your ads and prevent them from going to a competing business by offering an incentive to select your auto service company.
Our auto service marketing campaigns are custom designed for each client. If you would like to learn more about the different types of online marketing solutions we can provide for your business, contact us today for a complimentary online assessment. Our auto service marketing experts will answer all of your questions and identify ways we can help your business experience healthy growth by utilizing Google’s endless supply of customer traffic.
