An Ontario used-car dealer built separate search campaigns for two towns down the highway, and those campaigns won about twice the search share its broad campaigns hold in the crowded home market
Where should a used-car dealer in one of the most crowded markets in the country spend its search budget? For this Greater Toronto Area independent, the strongest returns came from two smaller towns farther down the highway. In their first six months, campaigns built for each town held 67% and 64% of available search impressions, about double the share the store's broad campaigns hold at home.
This independent used-car dealer sits in the Greater Toronto Area, where every used-car search draws bids from dozens of franchised and independent stores. Winning share in the home market is expensive for every dealer in it.
The store's paid search was running but loosely managed. Ad copy didn't match what shoppers were searching for, and the store was losing auctions on its top models.
C-4 Analytics kept core used-car campaigns working the home market and built separate campaigns for two smaller towns farther down the highway, where fewer dealers compete for the same shoppers.
Each town campaign has its own budget, ads and bids, so spend stays in the towns where the store can win. Paid social and remarketing kept the store's inventory in front of shoppers between searches.
In their first six months, the two town campaigns held 67% and 64% of available search impressions in their towns, roughly double the 31% to 36% share the broad campaigns hold in the crowded home market. Together they produced 1,255 clicks.
Across the site, used vehicle detail page views rose 52% over the previous six months, and the cost per click on branded searches fell by half.
| Used-Car Dealer Performance | Previous Six Months | First Six Months of Town Campaigns |
|---|---|---|
| Search impression share in targeted towns | No town campaigns | 64% to 67% |
| Used vehicle detail page views | 83,086 | 126,600 (+52%) |
| Cost per click on branded searches | $0.24 to $0.29 | $0.11 to $0.12 |
The most crowded part of a market is the most expensive place to win share. Smaller towns within driving distance often have fewer dealers bidding on the same searches, so the same budget reaches a bigger share of the shoppers there. For this store, the towns farthest from the lot turned out to be the easiest ones to win.
If your search budget covers one radius around the store, look at which nearby towns your buyers come from and how many dealers you're competing with in each one.
C-4 Analytics is a full-service automotive digital marketing agency helping dealerships and dealer groups grow through data-driven SEO, paid search, social advertising, and content strategy. With offices in Boston, Ann Arbor, and Chicago, C-4 works with dealerships across the country to turn digital presence into measurable business results.