Advertising ideas and best practice for 2026

[MichaelAtk]

Hey man, thanks for sharing, I'm not much help with website as I'm not in management but here's what my GM told me:
CarGurus is still our top performer, we've pulled back on AutoTrader spend and reallocated to Cars.com.
Google changes constantly, so I honestly stopped wasting time with it and hired a 3rd party team to handle it. Anyone you hire should be updating keywords MONTHLY. If they aren't they're just taking your money.
As far as advertising on facebook marketplace goes, we used Shiftly all of 2025, it's inexpensive and drafts posts up consistently
But we switched to Relay Autos this year, I'm not gonna lie I was annoyed because I hate learning new platforms but it ended up being easier because I don't have to respond, AI just handles leads. Both will get you posting more than you are currently though, which is most important so it really depends on your preference.
Hope this helps! Happy to chat more if you want specifics.

 

[MattCopley]

Create helpful content infrastructure. Owning visibility > renting with paid ads. Shameless Plug but if you're not hiring @Greg_Gifford to manage your SEO you should be building infrastructure on your own to win more free traffic and juice quality scores and yield on the paid dollars you are spending - Content Operating System for Auto Dealers | Hrizn Platform

 

[levin233]

I’d focus on 'Hybrid Marketing.' Digital ads are easily ignored, so we’ve seen a better ROI by using high-quality physical setups to drive branded searches.

We stopped using cheap pull-up banners and moved over to tension-fabric kits from the Event Display in Australia. The matte finish looks way more premium in showroom photos and avoids that 'cheap' vinyl glare.

Even something as simple as their branded table covers to hide cables makes the sales desk look 10x more professional. It’s a one-time investment that builds way more brand authority than a generic social media ad.

 

[tylernobi]

Will's point about the website experience is underrated. Most dealer websites still force shoppers through the same dropdown filter experience that hasn't changed in 15 years: select make, select model, select year, select price range.

But that's not how people actually think about cars. They think in terms of needs: "I need something with enough room for two car seats and a dog, under $30k, and good on gas." The gap between how shoppers think and how dealer websites let them search is one of the biggest conversion leaks in automotive retail right now.

 

[dio_PC]

Late to this, but on the Google Ads piece, since that's the one you said you can't gauge.

Four years with no changes usually means nobody is reading the search terms. Before you fire anyone, ask the provider for four things:

1. Admin access to the Google Ads account, in the dealership's name. Some dealer vendors run ads in their own accounts, and the history leaves with them.
2. The list of conversion actions. If VDP views, direction clicks or chat opens count as conversions, the reports look great while real leads don't move. Leads should mean forms, credit apps and calls over a minute.
3. A brand and non-brand split. People searching your dealership's name would find you anyway. Judge the vendor on searches like "used Audi near me" or "used SUV Geneva NY".
4. Cost per lead on that non-brand traffic, next to CarGurus. It's your biggest source, so it's the bar Google has to clear.

I run a small Google Ads agency, so weigh that, but those four answers tell you whether you're paying for work or for autopilot.

If you post the names of the conversion actions the reports count, I'll tell you which ones are real leads.

 

[sebastianperezlacon]

I think you're exactly the kind of dealership we can help!

I'm the founder of Dextraseo, and we specialize in building high-performance websites and SEO strategies specifically for car dealerships.

My recommendation? Keep DealerCenter as your DMS, but completely rethink your website and online marketing strategy.

What makes us different is that we optimize and index your entire used vehicle inventory across your city and all surrounding cities, towns, and neighborhoods.

Imagine having hundreds or even thousands of Google-indexed pages targeting customers searching for specific vehicles in their local areas. That's how we help dealerships generate organic traffic and leads instead of relying entirely on CarGurus, AutoTrader, Cars.com, or expensive advertising.

We build the entire website for $0 upfront and just $500 USD per month.

Take a look at our video explaining how it works:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db6l1IpWitw


And our dealership solutions:

Get Local Buyers to Find Your Cars on Google | Dextraseo

I'd love to show you what we could do for your dealership. I think you'd be surprised by the opportunities you're currently missing on Google!

Sebastian

We have been doing the same thing for 20 years. There is so much new technology out there and I think we are behind the curve. I would love to suggestions from the group. Here is what we are doing currently.

Dealercenter DMS
Dealercenter website - which I really don't like and would like suggestions
autotrader.com - not sure how effective they have become
cars.com - same
cargurus - largest lead source right now
google adwords - current provider hasn't made any changes in 4 years - not sure how to gauge its effectiveness
facebook - we currently don't post, need to figure out how. Was looking at shiftly but I am open to any suggestions
autosweet - facebook retargetting - not sure of their effectiveness.
Photobooth - we have one but the pictures still suck. Should we be using software?

If you were to start over what would your strategy look like? I don't think we want to switch from dealercenter as a DMS. I just want to streamline and measure our online adverting. Open to all suggestions. Really appreciate it

Dan @ Geneva Foreign - www.gfs1.com

 

[sebastianperezlacon]

I think you're exactly the kind of dealership we can help!

I'm the founder of Dextraseo, and we specialize in building high-performance websites and local SEO strategies specifically for car dealerships.

My recommendation? Keep DealerCenter as your DMS, but completely rethink your website and online marketing strategy.

What makes us different is that we optimize and index your entire used vehicle inventory across your city and all surrounding cities, towns, and neighborhoods.

This allows your vehicles to appear in hundreds or even thousands of highly targeted Google searches from people actively looking to buy a car in their area.

The goal is simple: Generate more organic traffic, more phone calls, and more customers visiting your dealership, without relying entirely on expensive paid advertising or third-party platforms.

We build the entire website with $0 upfront development costs, for just $500 USD per month.

Feel free to send me a private message, and I'll be happy to contact you and explain how our strategy works and what we could do for your dealership.

Sebastian
Founder, Dextraseo

We have been doing the same thing for 20 years. There is so much new technology out there and I think we are behind the curve. I would love to suggestions from the group. Here is what we are doing currently.

Dealercenter DMS
Dealercenter website - which I really don't like and would like suggestions
autotrader.com - not sure how effective they have become
cars.com - same
cargurus - largest lead source right now
google adwords - current provider hasn't made any changes in 4 years - not sure how to gauge its effectiveness
facebook - we currently don't post, need to figure out how. Was looking at shiftly but I am open to any suggestions
autosweet - facebook retargetting - not sure of their effectiveness.
Photobooth - we have one but the pictures still suck. Should we be using software?

If you were to start over what would your strategy look like? I don't think we want to switch from dealercenter as a DMS. I just want to streamline and measure our online adverting. Open to all suggestions. Really appreciate it

Dan @ Geneva Foreign - www.gfs1.com

 

[sebastianperezlacon]

I think you're exactly the kind of dealership we can help!

I'm the founder of Dextraseo, and we specialize in building high-performance websites and local SEO strategies specifically for car dealerships.

My recommendation? Keep DealerCenter as your DMS, but completely rethink your website and online marketing strategy.

What makes us different is that we optimize and index your entire used vehicle inventory across your city and all surrounding cities, towns, and neighborhoods.

This allows your vehicles to appear in hundreds or even thousands of highly targeted Google searches from people actively looking to buy a car in their area.

The goal is simple: Generate more organic traffic, more phone calls, and more customers visiting your dealership, without relying entirely on expensive paid advertising or third-party platforms.

We build the entire website with $0 upfront development costs, for just $500 USD per month.

Feel free to send me a private message, and I'll be happy to contact you and explain how our strategy works and what we could do for your dealership.

Sebastian
Founder, Dextraseo