Supercharge Your Dealership’s Sales by Combining Facebook and Google Ads

In today’s competitive automotive market, standing out from the crowd requires more than just traditional advertising methods. Consumers now spend hours researching online before visiting a dealership. As a result, automotive marketers must find ways to reach potential buyers at every stage of the purchase journey. Using Facebook Ads and Google Ads together is a powerful combination that can drive more traffic, generate more leads, and ultimately sell more cars.

Here’s how you can leverage both platforms effectively to maximize your dealership’s sales.

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1. Start with Intent-Based Targeting: Google Ads

Google Ads are all about reaching customers when they are actively searching for something, making it the perfect platform for targeting in-market buyers. Here’s how to use Google Ads to catch potential customers when they’re looking for a new vehicle:

- Search Ads: These appear when users type queries like “best SUV deals near me” or “Honda dealership in [city].” Search ads let you capture the attention of customers who are ready to buy or at least further along in their decision-making process.

- Local Inventory Ads: These are perfect for car dealerships because they highlight the vehicles you have in stock when a user searches for specific car models or dealerships nearby. It shows them what’s available at your dealership in real-time.

- YouTube Ads: Google’s YouTube platform offers video advertising opportunities to create awareness for your dealership or specific vehicle models. For example, you can showcase virtual car tours or highlight special promotions to captivate potential buyers.

Pro Tip: Use Google’s audience targeting tools to focus your ads on people who have recently searched for specific car models or dealership locations. This will allow you to reach customers with high purchase intent.

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2. Build Awareness and Engagement: Facebook Ads

While Google Ads capture users with purchase intent, Facebook Ads are essential for generating awareness and engagement earlier in the buying process. With Facebook’s detailed targeting, you can reach potential car buyers based on their demographics, interests, and behaviors.

- Target by Car-Buying Behavior: Facebook’s platform offers specific targeting options for users who have shown interest in cars, such as browsing automotive websites or interacting with car-related content.

- Custom Audiences: Use your CRM data to create custom audiences for your ads. For example, you can target past dealership visitors or people who have shown interest in particular vehicles or offers.

- Lookalike Audiences: Facebook allows you to find users similar to your current customers. Upload your customer list and create a Lookalike Audience to expand your reach to potential buyers who are likely to convert.

- Dynamic Ads for Automotive: These ads are a game-changer for dealerships. Facebook's dynamic ads automatically show the most relevant cars from your inventory to people who have expressed interest in vehicles on your website. This can help nurture leads and encourage them to return to your site or dealership.

Pro Tip: Incorporate engaging content such as car videos, 360-degree car views, or testimonials to make your Facebook ads stand out. This builds trust and encourages interaction from your audience.

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3. Retarget Visitors and Leads Across Platforms

One of the biggest benefits of using Facebook and Google Ads together is the ability to retarget potential buyers across platforms. Here’s how you can do it:

- Google Ads Retargeting: Set up retargeting campaigns for users who visit your website but don’t take action. For example, if someone searches for a car on Google, visits your website, but leaves without making a purchase, you can use Google Display Ads to show them ads as they browse other websites.

- Facebook Retargeting: Use Facebook's Pixel to retarget users who have visited your dealership’s website. You can show them specific ads based on the pages they visited, like showing ads for SUVs if they looked at SUV models on your site. This keeps your dealership top-of-mind.

By combining retargeting across both platforms, you can ensure your ads follow potential buyers, reminding them of your dealership wherever they go online.

Pro Tip: Sync your ad messaging across both platforms. If a customer clicks on a Google Search ad for a specific vehicle, show them a relevant Facebook ad featuring that car model later to reinforce the message.

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4. Utilize Cross-Platform Data to Optimize Campaigns

When using both Facebook and Google Ads, you can share insights from one platform to the other to optimize your campaigns. For example:

- Analyze Search Intent on Google: Look at the search terms and user behaviors on Google Ads. This can help you understand what your customers are interested in and inform your Facebook ad targeting and messaging.

- Leverage Facebook Engagement Data: Monitor which ads and content are resonating the most with your Facebook audience, and then use that information to create better ad copy, imagery, and landing pages for your Google Ads campaigns.

Pro Tip: Don’t just look at these platforms in isolation. Use your insights from both to create a cohesive, data-driven strategy that optimizes your marketing efforts and drives better results.

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5. Track Conversions and Attribute Success Accurately

To understand the full impact of your ad campaigns, it's important to track conversions across both platforms and attribute sales to the correct touchpoints. Here's how:

- Google Ads Conversion Tracking: Use Google Ads to track which clicks and keywords are leading to sales. You can set up conversion tracking to follow a customer’s journey from a Google ad click to a form submission or a call to your dealership.

- Facebook Conversion Tracking: Facebook’s Pixel allows you to track conversions like website visits, lead form submissions, or even sales after someone interacts with your Facebook ad.

To get a full picture of how each platform contributes to your sales, use Google Analytics or other attribution models to track customer journeys that involve both Facebook and Google Ads. You can use this data to optimize your spending and allocate more budget to the most effective platforms.

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Conclusion: Combine the Best of Both Worlds

By using Google Ads to capture intent-driven customers and Facebook Ads to engage potential buyers early in the decision-making process, your dealership can effectively reach car shoppers at every stage of the buying journey. The key is to create a cohesive strategy that leverages the strengths of both platforms, retargets visitors, and uses data to constantly optimize your campaigns.

Are you ready to supercharge your dealership’s sales and drive more leads? 

Start combining Facebook and Google Ads today and watch your results accelerate.

Schedule a call with me to help you generate more leads and measure success!