Walser Automotive Group Increases Used Vehicle Website Traffic by 400% with Moore & Scarry’s Haystack Automated Search Engine Marketing

Fort Myers, FL, September 19, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Most auto dealerships face the challenge of effectively marketing used vehicles via online search engines. With an ever changing inventory of pre-owned cars on the lot, manually creating and managing search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns for each of these vehicles could be a full-time job for many dealers, yet most dealerships do not have the internal resources to accomplish this. Marketing used vehicles on search engines is a huge opportunity for dealerships because automotive consumers nation-wide seek pre-owned cars on search engines every day. Historically, the majority of dealers have missed these shoppers because there was no effective method to showcase used inventory via SEM. Alan Krutsch, director of marketing for Walser Automotive Group, a group of eleven stores based in Minnesota, faced this challenge. He knew the group was missing valuable sales opportunities and he knew that there had to be a way to effectively market used vehicle inventory via SEM (also referred to as paid search). Krutsch sought a solution to better showcase his dealerships’ used inventory and reach more automotive consumers online via search engines. Through his extensive research, he found Moore & Scarry Advertising’s Haystack automated vehicle paid search solution. The service and technology automatically create unique search ad campaigns for all used vehicles.

Krutsch also discovered that Haystack uses “deep-links.” With a single click, deep-links take consumers directly to website pages with details for the exact vehicles for which they search, rather than generic dealership information web pages. This increases both search engine relevancy and ease of use for consumers who use SEM links to find vehicles, and ultimately increases the likelihood of a sale. He also learned that Haystack updates on a daily basis with no effort on the dealership’s part. These updates automatically create campaigns for newly listed used inventory and remove sold (whether to a customer or at auction) inventory. For dealers, Haystack is a seamless addition to paid search and can also be used as a stand-alone product.

Walser began using Haystack in May 2010 and has been extremely pleased with the results. Since implementing Haystack, the dealership has experienced a 400% increase in used vehicle paid search traffic. In addition to the advanced technology, the dealership also benefits from access to top management at Moore & Scarry, including the agency president.

“The Haystack software and methodology are great. But the best value is the consulting service and knowledge that we get from Duncan Scarry and his team,” stated Krutsch. “Access to the company president is just not something that other vendors provide. We have worked with other agencies and access to the most senior level of management is very unusual. We get advice and insight for best practices and utilization of Haystack; it’s much more than just the technology.”

Krutsch is also pleased with Haystack’s detailed and customized reporting, which he has not found with other inventory paid search marketing tools. Haystack’s reporting helps the dealership make better decisions, and allows more flexibility and speed for campaign changes.

“It’s one thing to collect a lot of data, but quite another to accurately analyze it and use it for continuous improvement. With Moore & Scarry, we get the data and we get high level consulting to help us make the most of the data. That’s what we’re paying for, this winning combination,” commented Krutsch.

In addition to the significant increase in used vehicle site traffic, the dealership’s overall website traffic is up 20% and Krutsch attributes a large part of this increase to the work with Moore & Scarry. He stated, “Haystack is a key ingredient of our overall recipe to increase sales.” In addition to the increase in used vehicle traffic and overall site traffic, the dealership has increased new and used inventory views, map and direction views and email lead submissions.

Krutsch summed it up, “Moore &Scarry made it very easy to implement Haystack, and they did all the ‘heavy lifting.’ More importantly, they collaborate with us to establish our strategy. It’s impossible to shoot a bull’s eye if everyone doesn’t know the target that we’re aiming for. Now, Haystack runs seamlessly in the background and we have regular conversations with Moore & Scarry, and it takes very little effort on our part to achieve these great results. They run our paid search, manage our website and more. It is an outstanding partnership and our results are the proof.”

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