If your on a tight SEM budget, why does this seem like a good idea?????

[BillH]

As we aren't mandated to use a specific vendor, I did take ours outside due to the cookie cutter approach I saw. Seeing competitors with identical ads during a search was enough. After using my current vendor, I wouldn't consider any vendor that doesn't let you see all of the inner workings. We pay a flat management fee and that way I know exactly what is going on via GA and monthly in depth review calls. Combined with good SEO, we've seen our CPC go down nicely. I pushed a competing vendor to disclose and they told me that they collect around 30% of the spend.

 

[Alexander Lau]

As we aren't mandated to use a specific vendor, I did take ours outside due to the cookie cutter approach I saw. Seeing competitors with identical ads during a search was enough. After using my current vendor, I wouldn't consider any vendor that doesn't let you see all of the inner workings. We pay a flat management fee and that way I know exactly what is going on via GA and monthly in depth review calls. Combined with good SEO, we've seen our CPC go down nicely. I pushed a competing vendor to disclose and they told me that they collect around 30% of the spend.

If you dig hard enough using tools like the following, you'll be able to bust those vendors for duplicate display ads. Show dealers if their display and video (the art, content and video footage, that they absolutely pay for) is being re-purposed by agencies. rip-off alert!

Moat measures real-time Attention Analytics over 33 billion times per day
https://moat.com/advertiser/ford?report_type=display
https://moat.com/advertiser/ford-dealerships

etc.

 

[Rick Buffkin]

Ok guys... My results are in. We made the change to switch from Accelerated delivery to Standard delivery for our Brand Campaign. That is the only change that was made! No other setting on the campaign was changed. The change was done on 4-17-18. So comparing the numbers for 3/20 - 3/31 and 4/20 - 4/30 (basically the 20th through the last day of the month). Day parting is in place for both time periods at the same settings. Default Max CPC stayed the same as well.

Gained an additional 28 clicks with standard delivery turned on.
My impression share grew from 47.40% to 70.29%.
The CTR dropped from 46.67% to 39.95%
Conversion ratio dropped from 46.61% to 35.62%
Avg CPC dropped .55 cents with standard delivery turned on.
The campaign spent $23 less with standard delivery turned on.
Avg Pos. stayed the same.

Thoughts????

 

[Tim McClive]

The greatest theft of dealer money today is SEM... often with the (unintended) help of the OEM (usually via Co-Op programs with "approved" providers).

My average discovery of waste and/or fraud from SEM is about $6,000/month per rooftop. This does not count what the dealer is losing from just plain bad keyword management.

It's disgusting and I have no idea why the OEMs continue to support this when it's so easy to uncover. (Imagine if every GM or Toyota dealer had an extra $6,000 each month to spend on effective advertising? What would that translate to in terms of share taken from Ford or Honda?)

This is all done because the goals of the OEM and the goals of the dealer are not aligned. It's not that the manufacturers are ignorant. They just found a way to further their own agendas by using the dealers money. Give up the Co-Op and go with a vendor that has the dealers best interest at heart.

 

[Rick Buffkin]

Digging through the forums like....

 

[ChrisR]

Digging through the forums like....

Had to like your digging dog post, because Subaru, and, so I could be your 666th like.

On a related note - did you do any continued testing on delivery types after your one month test?

 

[Joe Mesa]

Understanding how Google racks and stacks the information is critical. If you understand how your customer searches and how Googles gets them the information they search for, you can do a lot for your business. Understanding Google analytics can get you found! I'm not sure about you, but as a consumer, I usually skip right past the Google results that say "Ad" and go to the first natural result.

 

[Marc Lavoie]

Just went through this whole thread and I see something really obvious.

If you're being sold something, but you have no idea what you're getting in return, you'll feel screwed. That applies to any product.

Imagine if you showed up at a grocery store and paid the cashier $220 and she handed you a box with a sticker:

24 pounds of food
21 meals
34% of your grocery is fruit & veggies

... without ever seeing it's content.

That would suck right?

This is what 90% of PPC reports feel to car dealer managers, just a bunch of unrelatable data.

But I'm convinced PPC should fit in the performance-media column and therefore attribution should be as close a possible in terms of appointments & sale.

If there is really a waste in PPC, how can we come up with a number in the first place? What's the extra fluff nobody needs & what should a dealership keep?

How do I know what works? Aside of the generic, non-automotive report from Google Ads?

So many questions

Here's another one: Which agency/vendor out there pulls a sales report from PPC efforts in the US (Appt., Sales, CPS)? I know D2C Media in Canada does it well.


PS.: If you ever build out a Mystery Food Box, let me know how that goes!

 

[Alexander Lau]

If the dealer is on a tight SEM budget, why would the SEM provider think it's a good idea to keep the freaking campaigns on an accelerated spend? Especially if your trying to actively and accurately measure your search impression share!!!! Curious minds want to know!! Can anyone give me a good answer??? Please don't pull a Forrest Gump and say "Because you told me to Drill Sergeant"!

View attachment 3565

Because they are shark, parasitic fucks. That's why...