Autobytel Nets Big Search Engine Marketing Results with Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns

Overall Autobytel conversions increase 10 percent and tablet conversions increase 15 percent, while marketing costs decrease across many of the company’s online marketing campaigns.

"Google's enhanced campaigns help Autobytel improve digital marketing results among car buyers." (Photo: Business Wire)

IRVINE, Calif.--()--Autobytel, pioneer of the automotive Internet and the company dedicated to helping automotive consumers and dealers connect online, today announced its Search Engine Marketing results (SEM) using Google AdWords enhanced campaigns, which the company says helped increase conversions while reducing marketing expenses across many of its digital marketing campaigns since it began implementing enhanced campaigns this February.

Enhanced campaigns enabled Autobytel to optimize and set bids according to online car buyer contexts, such as their location, the time of day, or the type of device they were using. What’s more, Autobytel uses AdWords advanced reporting and new features like upgraded site links and ValueTrack URL tagging which helped increase click-through-rate (CTR) and improve internal tracking.

Campaign highlights, published in a Google case study (http://adwords.blogspot.com/2013/07/stepping-into-future-together.html) posted this week, reveal the following results:

  • Overall Autobytel conversions increased by more than 10%
  • Autobytel tablet conversions increased by 15%
  • Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) held steady, or decreased, for many of Autobytel’s online marketing campaigns
  • The number of Autobytel campaigns requiring manual management decreased by 30%

“We were innovators in 1995 when we pioneered online car buying and we continue to innovate today,” said Jeffrey Coats, President and CEO of Autobytel Inc. “Google’s enhanced campaigns enable us to reach online consumers with the right marketing message, at the precise time and place in the car shopping process, while helping us decrease costs and eliminate manual resources. Essentially, Google has helped Autobytel significantly improve digital marketing ROI.”

Since it paved the way for Internet automotive shopping and buying nearly 20 years ago, Autobytel has developed a keen understanding of the path online consumers take to the point of purchasing a car. And now that the company has completed its upgrade to enhanced campaigns—a process it started just five short months ago—it has an even greater understanding of user behavior which has helped it aggressively improve the overall user experience.

“It isn’t that the information in-market buyers need has changed, it is where and when they look for it that has shifted,” said Billy Ferriolo, Senior Vice President, Consumer Acquisitions at Autobytel. “Google’s enhanced campaigns have helped us increase our SEM lead volume while essentially maintaining the same keyword base we have historically. We’re acquiring the right conversions at the right price, lead volume is growing and we’re able to focus our search marketing efforts more on the user experience rather than managing the account, which is great.”

Ferriolo says that his team has also gained a deeper understanding of the way Autobytel’s target audience researches purchases, including mobile users (which now represent 20 percent of overall Autobytel site traffic) at physical dealerships checking prices and inventory, or tablet or laptop users researching vehicle information from the convenience of their home after seeing a television commercial.

About Autobytel Inc.
Autobytel Inc., an online leader offering consumer purchase requests, or leads, and marketing resources to car dealers and manufacturers and providing consumers with the information they need to purchase new and used cars, pioneered the automotive Internet when it launched its flagship website, www.autobytel.com, in 1995. Autobytel continues to offer innovative products and services to help consumers buy, and auto dealers and manufacturers sell, more used and new cars. Autobytel has helped tens of millions of automotive consumers research vehicles; connected thousands of dealers nationwide with motivated car buyers; and helped every major automaker market its brand online. Through its flagship website, network of automotive sites and respected online affiliates, Autobytel continues its dedication to innovating the industry’s highest quality Internet programs to provide consumers with a comprehensive and positive automotive research and purchasing experience, and auto dealers, dealer groups and auto manufacturers with some of the industry’s most productive and cost-effective customer referral and marketing programs.

Investors and other interested parties can receive Autobytel news releases and invitations to special events by accessing the online registration form at investor.autobytel.com/alerts.cfm.

Contacts

Autobytel Inc. Media Relations
Splash Media
Jennifer Lange
949-916-4820
jlange@getsplashmedia.com
or
Autobytel Inc. Investor Relations
Curtis DeWalt
Chief Financial Officer
949-437-4694
curtisd@autobytel.com
or
PondelWilkinson Inc.
Roger Pondel/Laurie Berman
310-279-5980
investor@pondel.com

Contacts

Autobytel Inc. Media Relations
Splash Media
Jennifer Lange
949-916-4820
jlange@getsplashmedia.com
or
Autobytel Inc. Investor Relations
Curtis DeWalt
Chief Financial Officer
949-437-4694
curtisd@autobytel.com
or
PondelWilkinson Inc.
Roger Pondel/Laurie Berman
310-279-5980
investor@pondel.com