Dealer.com and Lithia Motors:How a Connected Website and Advertising Strategy Powers a Top Dealership Group

Twice the Leads, Half the Cost. Lithia Case Study.

A High-Volume Group with High Performance Standards.As one of the highest-volume retailers in the nation, Lithia Motors depends on uncompromising technology to power its operations.

With 101 rooftops serving markets across the West and Midwest, its solutions must be as configurable as they are scalable, serving both group-level strategy and day-to-day dealership operations.

The group’s marketing approach is similarly driven by user empowerment and transparency across customer touch-points. While individual strategies can vary store to store, all are grounded by a philosophy that stronger leads and relationships can be fostered through consistency across the digital experience.

Twice the Leads, Half the Cost. Lithia Case Study.

Connected Technology Powers a Complete Solution.Belief in strategic integration has led Lithia to continue to re-invest in Dealer.com’s connected digital Solution.

Through their combined website and advertising strategy, Lithia enjoys both group-wide insight and specialized strategy and results for each individual store. Three key factors have proved instrumental in the partnership:

1. Website optimization2. Multichannel digital advertising, anchored by search and display3. Proactive partnership

Integrated paid search, display and retargeting campaigns reach shoppers across the web, and deliver increased traffic and leads to Lithia websites.

Paid Search and Network Display

Retargeting and Premium Display

Twice the Leads, Half the Cost. Lithia Case Study.

Website optimization1

An early adopter of digital, Lithia has consistently embraced new enhancements to their website platform including migrating to a Seamless mobile site. Each individual store in the group continuously elevates site performance through careful attention to detail–from its merchandising strategy and Managed SEO to custom pages, video and mobile page optimization.

Three Key Factors to Strategic Success

Twice the Leads, Half the Cost. Lithia Case Study.

Integrated paid search, retargeting and display ad campaigns deliver steady stream of traffic to Lithia sites, aligning manufacturer programs with individual store strategy. Because they’re powered by the integrated Dealer.com platform, every campaign element is consistent on Lithia sites and ads across the web, from pricing and creative to incentives and offers.

The approach has provided dramatically increased traffic and leads, anchoring Lithia’s ad strategy and providing a foundation on which the group can implement additional tactics, both on and off the Dealer.com platform.

Multichannel digital advertising, anchored by Search and Display2

2Xmore traffic and more cost-efficiency per lead.

Integrated search and display campaigns deliver

Three Key Factors to Strategic Success

Twice the Leads, Half the Cost. Lithia Case Study.

Managing a digital strategy that’s both scalable and store-specific requires steady leadership, collaboration, and insight– a support model provided by dedicated Dealer.com resources serving a robust digital organization that has evolved to include both the Lithia group’s store leaders, and their Internet Resource Center team. Together, this Dealer.com/Lithia team collaborates to monitor Key Performance Indicators and data through the group’s ControlCenter analytics and custom reporting, continually adjusting budget and implementing new tactics.

Proactive partnership3

Three Key Factors to Strategic Success

Group-Wide Cost Per Lead (CPL) Group-Wide Conversion Rate (CVR)

Paid Search Only Search and Display ($100-$1,999 Budget)

Search and Display ($2,000+ Budget)

Paid Search Only Search and Display ($100-$1,999 Budget)

Search and Display ($2,000+ Budget)

58%Lower Cost Per Lead

10%Higher Conversion Rate

Twice the Leads, Half the Cost. Lithia Case Study.

Increased Leads, Engagement, and Efficiency.Since adding Dealer.com Advertising to its strategy, Lithia’s group-wide performance has soared.

Within a year, stores running Dealer.com paid search, retargeting and display achieved nearly twice the inventory page traffic, engagement that led overall conversion rate to grow by roughly 10%.

Greater cost efficiency complimented this spike in performance. As the group invested in display strategy, its overall cost per lead diminished. Indeed, the higher the investment, the greater the efficiency: Stores with the most robust display campaigns saw their cost per lead cut in half.