How a small change can earn your tire shop big dollars

Forward-thinking business owners understand the importance of Google and pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

Having a high click-through rate (CTR) leads more traffic to your tire shop’s website and, hopefully, leads to an increase in business.

The term click-through rate refers to the number of times your ad is clicked on compared to the total number of times your ad was shown (they’re called “impressions”).

So, if your pay-per-click ad was shown a total of 100 times (that is, it had 100 impressions) and it was clicked on five times, the click-through rate would be five percent.

The average CTR for a PPC campaign is one percent. This means that for every 100 impressions, an ad is clicked on once. Clearly, one of the quickest ways to generate more traffic to your website and hopefully increase sales and revenue is by improving the CTR of your PPC campaign.

Here’s an example of how a change in CTR from one percent to three percent can impact revenues on a tire website with all other factors remaining the same:

Do you know the click-through rate for your shop’s current PPC campaign? If so, is it better than one percent?

Here’s an example of a tire shop that launched a new PPC strategy with Conceptual Minds in October 2015. Previously this shop was generating 80 total calls per month and only about 30 good calls (calls over 90-seconds that signify better caller intent).

After introducing the new strategy, the shop’s PPC campaign generated 150 calls the very next month (90 percent better in the first month) for 15 percent less budget and 56 good calls (about 90 percent better).

How was this achieved? It was all thanks to better-targeted keywords and superior ad copy that resonated better with consumers. Here is a chart that indicates the campaign statistics for the past six months:

Wouldn’t you like your business to receive over 300 calls per month where 150 calls, or about 50 percent, were likely to convert into actual business?

Now, we know that no good article would be complete without some worthwhile recommendations. So, please consider the following tips that can help you improve the click-through rate of your ads:

1. Put a Special Offer in the Headline of your Ad

Consumers love the opportunity to save money. The headline of your PPC is the first (and sometimes the only) thing searchers read. Use enticing words like: Sale, Special, Limited Time, Offer or Free. These words will get your PPC ads more attention.

Here’s an example:

2. Add the service you are highlighting to the display URL

The display URL is a part of your ad text. PPC ads are limited in characters so take advantage of URL keyword placement. Let’s compare these two ads:

The first ad was most specific to my search for “Brakes in Rockville, MD.” It used the term “brakes” in the headline and also the display URL. You will notice that “brakes” in the display URL is in bold in the first ad. This is because Google bolds keywords in an ad that match a search. And, of course, bolded keywords grab a user’s attention and can thus improve the CTR.

If presented with the above options, which ad would you select?

3. Compare your ads to your competitors’

Do a quick Google search for your target keyword (for example, “brake repair”) in your area. When PPC ads appear, which ads stand out and are most appealing to you? How do they compare to your own? It’s possible your click-through rate is low because another ad with the same criteria is more specific and better positioned to grab a user’s attention. Here’s an example of a good PPC ad:

The ad headline is specific to the Google search for “brake repair around me” and the content highlights the amenities provided by the auto shop. This gives a good first impression for prospective customers and allows them to click for specials, get directions and even schedule an appointment online. Now, what they could have done better is changed their display URL to include “brakes.”

Pay-per-click advertising is a great way to quickly generate new leads for auto shops. Have a look at your PPC advertising and see how you can improve it.

Taran Sodhi is chief executive of Conceptual Minds. His team has more than 10 years’ experience with tire-shop-related PPC advertising. Conceptual Minds can be reached by calling 877-524-7696 or by visiting the website.

Tagged: Click-through-rates

How a small change can earn your tire shop big dollars