The Challenge
The automotive retail landscape has fundamentally changed. Research shows that 95% of car buyers start their journey online, and the average customer visits only 1.6 dealerships before making a purchase. The battle for customers is won or lost in digital channels long before anyone steps into a showroom.
DMD Group, a significant player in the French automotive retail market with multiple dealership locations, recognized they needed a comprehensive digital strategy. Their competitors were investing heavily in digital marketing, and DMD Group was losing ground in search results, social visibility, and online lead generation.
Their existing efforts were scattered:
- SEO: Some basic optimization work, but no strategic content plan
- Paid Search: Occasional campaigns run reactively, with no consistent tracking
- Social Media: Brand presence but no lead generation strategy
- Local Marketing: Underutilized Google Business Profiles and no Waze presence
The result? Leads were going to competitors who showed up first online.
Our Strategy
We developed a comprehensive multi-channel digital marketing strategy designed to capture customers at every stage of the buying journey—from initial research to showroom visit.
SEO Foundation
We started with a complete SEO overhaul to build sustainable organic traffic:
- Technical SEO: Site speed optimization (achieved 90+ PageSpeed scores), mobile experience improvements, Core Web Vitals fixes, and structured data implementation for vehicles (schema.org/Car markup)
- Local SEO: Google Business Profile optimization for each dealership location—complete profiles, consistent NAP data, review management strategy, and local citation building
- Content Strategy: Creating valuable content around car buying, financing options, trade-in guides, maintenance tips, and model comparisons. Each piece was optimized for specific search intent.
- Internal Linking: Strategic cross-linking between model pages, location pages, and informational content to boost authority
Google Ads Excellence
Our Google Ads strategy focused on capturing high-intent searchers:
- Search Campaigns: Targeting high-intent keywords like “buy [model] near me”, “[brand] dealership [city]”, and “best [model] deals”. We used single keyword ad groups (SKAGs) for top performers to maximize quality scores.
- Performance Max Campaigns: Leveraging Google’s AI to find customers across Search, Display, YouTube, Maps, and Discover with dynamic vehicle inventory feeds
- Remarketing: Bringing back website visitors who viewed specific vehicles with dynamic ads showing those exact models
- Local Campaigns: Google Maps and local search optimization to drive showroom visits from nearby searchers
Facebook & Instagram Advertising
Our paid social approach built awareness and drove conversions:
- Dynamic Vehicle Ads: Connecting inventory feeds to Facebook to automatically show available vehicles to interested buyers—the right car to the right person at the right time
- Lookalike Audiences: Building audiences similar to past buyers and high-intent website visitors
- Lead Generation Campaigns: In-platform lead forms for quick conversion, especially effective on mobile
- Retargeting: Multi-touch sequences bringing engaged users back with testimonials, financing offers, and limited-time promotions
Waze Advertising
We added Waze as a hyperlocal channel to capture customers with immediate intent:
- Branded Pins: DMD Group dealerships visible to drivers in the area
- Promoted Search: Appearing when users searched for car dealerships or specific brands
- Zero-Speed Takeovers: Full-screen ads when users were stopped near a dealership
- Navigation to Location: One-tap directions to the nearest showroom
Integrated Reporting & Attribution
We built unified reporting dashboards connecting all channels:
- Cross-Channel Attribution: Understanding how channels worked together (e.g., user sees Facebook ad, searches on Google, converts via remarketing)
- Lead Quality Tracking: Connecting digital data to CRM outcomes to optimize for leads that actually buy
- Real-Time Dashboards: Giving DMD Group leadership instant visibility into performance
- Monthly Strategic Reviews: Data-driven sessions to refine strategy based on results
The Results
The integrated strategy transformation delivered remarkable results:
- 170% increase in total conversions across all digital channels—more leads from every source
- 1,630 qualified leads generated through the integrated strategy in the first year
- 225% growth in users from Google Ads through better targeting, bidding, and quality scores
- 150% increase in organic SEO traffic from improved technical health and content strategy
- 45% reduction in cost per lead compared to their previous fragmented approach
- Improved lead quality with higher conversion rates from lead to showroom visit
Channel-by-Channel Performance
SEO Performance
The organic search improvements drove sustainable, long-term traffic growth. Local SEO optimizations meant each dealership ranked on the first page for relevant local searches like “concessionnaire [brand] [city]”. The content strategy established DMD Group as a trusted resource for car-buying information.
Google Ads
Through continuous optimization—bid adjustments, ad copy testing, landing page improvements—we dramatically improved both traffic quality and volume. Quality scores increased from an average of 5 to 8+, reducing CPCs while improving ad positions.
Facebook & Instagram
Social media campaigns excelled at building brand awareness and retargeting engaged users. Dynamic vehicle ads achieved 3x higher click-through rates than static creative, while lookalike audiences consistently outperformed interest-based targeting.
Waze Ads
The hyperlocal component captured customers with immediate intent. Branded pins and promoted search drove measurable foot traffic to nearby dealerships, with Waze users showing 40% higher showroom visit rates than other channels.
Key Takeaways
Success in automotive digital marketing requires a coordinated multi-channel approach where each channel plays a specific role:
- SEO builds the foundation—sustainable traffic and local visibility
- Google Ads captures high-intent searchers actively looking to buy
- Paid Social builds awareness and nurtures consideration
- Waze converts local intent into showroom visits
The magic happens when they work together seamlessly, creating a consistent experience that guides customers from first search to signed contract.
Ready to transform your automotive dealership’s digital marketing? Explore our Google Ads services and paid social advertising, or get a free quote to discuss your strategy.
