When it comes to automotive digital marketing, Epic has been around the dealership advertising track a few times. A client of ours who has passed the finish line in first place year after year is none other than Thoroughbred Nissan in Tucson, Arizona. We have been lucky enough to work with this awesome car dealership client for several years now and we are constantly researching ways to upgrade their automotive marketing strategy.

Developing an in-depth automotive digital marketing strategy to increase overall brand awareness and increase in-store visits plus website traffic takes a cohesive approach. That being said, this dealership marketing plan needed all the bells and whistles to rank above the local competition and most importantly, be the #1 Nissan car dealership in Tucson.

In this case study, we break down how we created an automotive digital marketing strategy through SEM and automotive SEO efforts. From concept to execution, learn more about how we helped Thoroughbred get a head start in their automotive marketing.

Before developing an automotive marketing strategy, our digital team pulled some numbers and did a bit of competitive and local research. Being that we picked up where a national automotive marketing agency left off, it was essential to know what was being done in the past and the current results they were generating.

After discussing the multitude of options via Google, YouTube and social media marketing, we created an online advertising strategy that was optimized to increase brand recognition, promote monthly specials, and outrank local competition. With the combination of pay-per-click search ads bidding on related search terms, display banners to captivate audiences during their online research, video ads to increase awareness, and social media marketing efforts to peak engagement, we had a solid plan that had the full package.

This automotive digital marketing strategy also consisted of capturing a library of video content to use for years to come. Being the top video production company in Arizona, car dealership videos are a niche we excel in. The goal was to create several videos that can be used for their online marketing efforts and their YouTube ads, to place on various pages of their website, and to grow their YouTube channel. Take a look at this corporate video we created for Thoroughbred to showcase their family-focused vision.

Another important step in this dealership marketing strategy was to increase their organic rankings and organic traffic. There are two ways to show up in the search engine results page (SERPs), you can pay to be there or show up organically. This phase consists of finding search terms that potential car buyers are looking for online and capitalize on them by incorporating them into your website. By effectively seeking out those search terms and keywords that Thoroughbred’s customers were searching for, they are now on the first page of Google for multiple keywords including nissan tucson, nissan car dealerships, nissan used cars tucson, and many more.

Comparing this strategy from 2019 to 2018 and making changes and upgrades along the way, Thoroughbred has seen a 322% in website conversions. These website conversions consist of in-store visits, contact forms, pre-approval forms, and much more. Overall, by utilizing this strategic online marketing campaign, our client has reaped the benefits of tremendous results and increased return on investment (ROI). The magic in these numbers comes from the constant campaign analyzation and staying on top of the trends as well as staying on top of what the local competition is doing. Automotive digital marketing takes consistency, an unique approach, and an experienced team of digital experts to see 0 to 60 MPH results.

Are you ready to take your dealership online marketing efforts to the next level? Looking for a few auto dealership marketing ideas to see what would work best for you? We’re here to help! Reach out to us to get a full marketing strategy that will get rid of inventory and increase sales.