Automotive & Financial Pay Per Click Advertising

Clicks up 12%, Conversion Rate up 31%, but Cost Per Click down 11%

A local South Florida credit union wanted to go beyond simply providing auto loans for their customers and instead had the idea to guide members from securing a loan through to selecting a vehicle. Not only would members save money through a great loan rate but they would also find the right vehicle to fit their financial budget.

An issue became apparent early on as member prospects either were looking for a specific vehicle by type or they were looking for a the best loan rate; but never both at the same time. Additionally it wasn’t entirely clear to the consumer how this service would help them save money or time. Therefore the problem was two-fold, how to target customers in the right stage of the buying process while also ensuring they understood a complex offering that could save them thousands.

To dig deeper we interviewed each department individually and messaging themes began to develop across the company. While internally this was described this as a “car buying service” it was clear that searchers were not seeking out this offering and were more interested in acquiring an auto loan or searching for vehicles. According to the search data finding out what they could afford first was at the top of searchers minds through terms such as “best auto loan” and “auto financing rates”.

By focusing on loan-based search terms we were able to get in front of the consumer at the right phase in their journey and developed messaging that spoke not just about ‘great rates’, but that this service could find them the perfect automobile at the right price point. This messaging clearly resonated as clicks increased by over 12%. Additionally we pushed potential members to a revamped landing page featuring a short 1, 2, 3 step process of how this service made it easier to purchase a vehicle increasing form conversion rates by 31% More importantly we did it all by driving a more qualified customer as cost per click dropped 11% saving the company thousands in cost per lead acquisition costs.