[Case Study] Strategizing with Tier 2 Automotive for Google Ads Marketing

Automotive dealerships have long worked with Tier 1 (national OEM) and Tier 2 (regional marketing) for coverage of their Google Ads. Yet gaps can occur when there’s a lack of communication between the tiers. 

At 9 Clouds, we understand each tier, work in partnership with them, and find opportunities to positively impact the clients’ return on investment for search engine marketing (SEM).

The Challenge

For several years, two Montana Honda stores did not run advertising campaigns for new Hondas at the Tier 3 level due to Tier 2 coverage each store was paying into. Both stores work with limited budgets and wanted to utilize their marketing dollars as best they could.

9 Clouds was running used campaigns on Google Ads for both the Denny Menholt Bozeman Honda and Denny Menholt University Honda stores and saw great website engagement from those campaigns. Unfortunately, VDP views for new Hondas were lacking at both stores and 9 Clouds knew we were missing out on keyword opportunities for each dealership.

9 Clouds worked in collaboration with Tier 2 throughout the years and during a recent check-in, it was identified that a gap in new Honda promotion was created by some shifts in strategy and budget at the Tier 2 level.

The Solution

After meeting to specifically discuss the gap, 9 Clouds was able to put together recommendations based on missed opportunities with keywords users are searching on Google with insight and buy-in from Tier 2. We ensured no overlap within the system and set up campaigns for new Honda keywords.

The Results

In the first month of running campaigns focused on new for both Denny Menholt Honda and Denny Menholt University Honda, 9 Clouds saw quantifiable results.

search engine marketing case study

Bozeman Honda

  • New VDP views increased 30.04%
  • New SRP views increase 33.55%
  • Bounce rate decreased from 58.2% to 27.80%
google ads marketing case study

Missoula Honda

  • New VDP views increased 15.91%
  • New SRP views increased 8.19%
  • Bounce rate decreased from 36.22% to 25.83%

Both dealerships are excited about the increases and have seen record months in March 2021.

“Thank you for advocating for the best strategies for our Honda stores. 9 Clouds continues to optimize our budget for new opportunities and has been able to give us a great return on ad spend.”

Michael Frame, Denny Menholt University Honda General Manager

Need Help With Tier 2 Partnerships and SEM?

Even though 9 Clouds is a digital marketing agency, we are more than that. We’re your digital marketing partner. We help Tier 3 dealerships coordinate with other tiers and partners to help maximize their goals.

If you’d like help with your marketing strategy and ensuring your efforts aren’t overlapping, sign up for a free digital marketing assessment. We’ll provide custom recommendations for your search engine marketing strategies.

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