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Automotive · Paid Advertising

Spend less. Move more units.
Prove it every month.

Dealer paid media is mostly a guessing game. Big budgets, vague reports, no link to the CRM. We run it as inventory-aware, attribution-first, full-funnel media: Search and VLAs at the bottom, PMax and Meta in the middle, YouTube/CTV at the top, retargeting holding the line. Every dollar tied to a VIN. Every report ends with cost per sold unit.

Get my free paid audit→See dealer case studies
Google Premier Partner · Meta Business Partner
Live · Media Mix
Spend by channel (%)
$86,420 / mo
Search
32%
VLAs
24%
PMax
18%
Meta
12%
CTV
8%
Retgt
6%
Sold units · 30d
189
Avg $/sold unit
$457
$164
Avg cost per sold unit, blended
10.2x
Avg ROAS on dealer media
532%
Lift in VDP-engaged sessions
$22M
Dealer media managed
Why this exists

Dealer paid media has a measurement problem.
And a "who's actually optimizing this" problem.

Most dealer ad accounts are run by junior account coordinators reporting to a senior director who looks at the account once a quarter. The accounts get drift. Conversion actions get stale. The feed quietly breaks. And the dealer keeps writing checks.

We do this differently: senior people on the account, every channel running against one inventory feed, and every report ending with sold-unit attribution.

01
"We're spending $40K a month and our agency can't tell me which channel sold a single car."
GM, multi-rooftop franchise
02
"PMax burns our budget on branded clicks. We're paying Google to find people who already know our name."
Internet Director, single rooftop
03
"Our VLAs went dark for six weeks before anyone noticed. Six weeks."
Marketing Director, dealer group
04
"Every quarter the agency asks for more budget. Every quarter our CRM looks the same."
CFO, family dealer group
Channels we run

Seven channels, one inventory feed.
Working as a system, not a stack of accounts.

Bottom funnel

Google Search

Bottom-of-funnel queries with intent to buy. Tuned for model-year terms, geo-modifiers, and in-market trim variants.

  • Branded + non-branded
  • Geo-grids for service areas
  • Negative kw libraries (dealer-tuned)
  • Lease + finance offer ads
Inventory

Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs)

Google's inventory-aware ad unit. Pulls live stock, prices, and photos directly into Search. Requires a clean feed.

  • Feed engineering + monitoring
  • VIN-level bidding strategies
  • Image quality + photo readiness
  • Cross-rooftop attribution
Machine learning

Performance Max

Google's AI campaign type for automotive. Used right, it scales VDP demand across YouTube, Display, and Maps from a single feed.

  • Asset group strategy per model line
  • Audience signals (in-market autos)
  • Brand exclusions + safety nets
  • Search insights report decoded weekly
Social

Meta inventory ads

Facebook and Instagram with your inventory feed as the catalog. Dynamic creative, dynamic copy, smart audiences.

  • Dynamic vehicle ads (DVAs)
  • Lookalikes off CRM sold-unit data
  • Lead ads with CRM sync
  • Reels-native creative production
Brand + reach

YouTube + CTV

Upper-funnel reach for model launches, brand campaigns, and in-market test-drive segments. Local CTV inventory included.

  • Skippable + non-skippable spots
  • OTT/CTV via DV360 or partners
  • Sequenced storytelling by audience
  • Brand-lift studies for budgets >$10k/mo
Display

Programmatic display

Geo-targeted display with first-party signals. Useful for conquest, used-line awareness, and seasonal pushes.

  • DV360, StackAdapt, or The Trade Desk
  • First-party audience activation
  • Geo-fenced conquest campaigns
  • Native + standard placements
Hold the line

Retargeting

Cross-channel retargeting that excludes converters automatically. The cheapest CPL on the chart, almost always.

  • VDP-engaged audience pools
  • Frequency caps tuned for dealer cadence
  • Auto-suppress sold inventory
  • Drip sequencing by funnel stage
The dealer funnel

Right channel, right moment.
Right cost per sold unit.

The cheapest sold unit comes from a stack working together. CTV brings awareness. Meta and Programmatic warm the consideration. Search and VLAs close the demand. Retargeting catches the long tail. We tune the mix to your inventory, geography, and CRM data.

Funnel stageChannelsAvg CPA
Awareness
YouTube / CTVProgrammaticMeta Reach
$XX
Consideration
Meta DVAsYouTube In-MarketDisplay Retargeting
$XX
Intent
Google SearchPerformance Max
$XX
Decision
VLAsSearch Retargeting
$XX
Sept · 2026
Bentley Denver · Media Mix
189 sold units
ChannelSpendCPLUnits$/Unit
Google Search$18,420$3247$392
VLAs$12,840$2438$338
Performance Max$22,100$2852$425
Meta DVAs$8,640$4118$480
YouTube / CTV$6,200$569$689
Programmatic$4,800$4811$436
Retargeting$2,180$1814$156
Attribution + reporting

Every dollar tied to a VIN, when the data lets us.

We do not report on impressions. We do not report on clicks. We report on form fills, calls, chats, walk-ins, and (when CRM access is granted) sold units. Every channel rolls up to a single executive view with channel-level CPL and cost-per-sold-unit.

  • GA4 + Server-side tagging (GTM SST)
  • Offline conversion uploads to Google & Meta
  • CRM sold-unit match on 30/60/90-day windows
  • Call tracking + dynamic number insertion
  • Cross-channel attribution dashboard (Looker)
  • Quarterly media mix modeling (>$50k/mo)
Real paid results

What dealer paid media looks like
when it's run by people who care.

Specialty · Tactical Fleet→

TacticalFleet.com

Commercial + specialty truck

Rebuilt Search and VLAs around upfit-package keywords. Cut PMax waste with brand exclusions. Launched Meta DVAs from CRM lookalikes.

4.2×
Lift in qualified RFQs
−38%
Cost per qualified lead
11.6×
Blended ROAS
SearchVLAsPMaxMeta DVAs
Luxury · Bentley Denver→

Bentley Denver

Luxury franchise

Inventory-aware bidding across Search, VLAs, and PMax. CTV brand layer for new model launches. Sold-unit attribution back to CDK.

$338
Avg cost per sold unit · VLAs
+62%
VDP-engaged sessions
189
Attributed sold units / mo
SearchVLAsPMaxCTV
Multi-rooftop · Century→

Century Auto Group

5-rooftop dealer group

Restructured an inherited MCC into per-rooftop accounts. Centralized feed + reporting. Group-level Meta with rooftop-level creative.

−$214
Avg $/sold unit · group
3.8×
Retargeting ROAS
5
Rooftops, one dashboard
SearchVLAsMetaRetargeting
How we work

The 90-day paid build.
Plumbing first. Budgets second.

  1. Step 01Week 1

    Account audit and account access.

    We pull every ad account, every pixel, every conversion action. We map your real funnel, identify duplicate audiences, find dark VLAs, and check feed health. Result: a tear-down doc your CFO can read.

    Deliverables
    • Multi-channel account audit
    • Wasted-spend recovery list
    • Tracking + attribution gap doc
    • 30/60/90-day media plan
  2. Step 02Weeks 2-3

    Foundation: feed, tracking, naming.

    Before we touch budgets, we fix the plumbing. Inventory feed health, GTM server-side tagging, offline conversion uploads, audience hygiene, naming convention. The boring fixes that compound.

    Deliverables
    • Inventory feed pipeline reviewed
    • GTM SST + GA4 + offline uploads
    • Audience hygiene + suppression lists
    • Naming + dashboards in Looker
  3. Step 03Month 1-2

    Channel build-out + go-live.

    We launch in the order that protects your existing performance: Search and VLAs first, then PMax, then Meta DVAs, then upper-funnel. We pause anything that isn't earning its CPSU.

    Deliverables
    • Search + VLAs live and scaling
    • PMax campaigns with proper signals
    • Meta DVAs with CRM lookalikes
    • Retargeting with sold-suppression
  4. Step 04Month 3+

    Optimize, scale, and prove.

    Weekly optimization. Monthly executive review with sold-unit attribution. Quarterly media mix planning. Annual budget reset tied to your sales targets.

    Deliverables
    • Weekly optimization standup
    • Monthly executive report with CPSU
    • Quarterly media mix review
    • Annual budget + KPI planning
Compliance · built-in

The unsexy stuff we get right so your media doesn't get pulled.

OEM co-op submission
Brand-mandated creative reviewed and submitted. We track approvals, claims, and reimbursement timelines so co-op doesn't get clawed back.
Google vehicle policy
VLA setup, structured data, and ad copy reviewed against Google's vehicle ad policy. Cleared before launch. Monitored on alerts.
FTC CARS rule
Pricing claims, add-ons, lease disclosures audited against FTC rule language. Disclaimers and required disclosures built into creative.
Privacy & consent
Server-side tagging, Consent Mode v2, and Enhanced Conversions configured so attribution survives the privacy stack.
Investment

Three ways to run dealer media.
Senior strategist on every account.

Single channel

Search + VLAs

Starts at
$2,000/ mo or 20% media

When budget is tight and you need the bottom of the funnel working hard. Search + VLAs only.

  • Google Search + VLAs only
  • Inventory feed monitoring
  • Negatives + audience build
  • Monthly performance review
  • Senior strategist on account
Most popular
Full funnel

Performance Stack

Starts at
$4,500/ mo or 20% media

The version we run for most franchise stores. Five channels working together against one feed.

  • Search · VLAs · PMax · Meta · Retargeting
  • Inventory feed pipeline + monitoring
  • GTM SST + offline conversion uploads
  • Lookalike + first-party audience build
  • Sold-unit attribution dashboard
  • Quarterly on-site strategy session
Brand + performance

Group / Brand

Starts at
$9,000/ mo or 20% media

Dealer groups or brand-driven stores investing in CTV, YouTube, and brand-lift work alongside performance.

  • Everything in Performance Stack
  • YouTube + CTV + programmatic
  • Brand-lift studies (>$15K/mo channels)
  • Cross-rooftop reporting
  • Dedicated media strategist
  • Media mix modeling quarterly
You're billed the greater of the platform minimum or 20% of media spend. One-time setup is $1,500 (+$250 per additional platform). Media spend is pass-through with no markup.
FAQ · Paid

The paid-media questions
every dealer GM asks.

Real answers to the paid-media questions GMs and marketing directors ask on the first call. Anything we miss, get on the phone with us.

Book a strategy call→
Rough rule: 0.4-0.8% of total store gross for franchise, 1-2% for independent and used, 1.5-3% for specialty (RV, exotic, commercial). That's a starting point. The real answer depends on inventory turn rate, sales targets, and competitive density. We model it for your store on the audit call.
Free Paid-Media Audit

Want a real audit of your paid accounts?
Free. Three business days. Yours to keep.

A senior media strategist reviews your Google Ads, VLAs, Meta, and any other paid accounts. You get a tear-down with wasted-spend recovery, structure fixes, attribution gaps, and a 30/60/90 plan. No call required.

  • Delivered in 3 business days
  • Senior media strategist (not a tool)
  • Wasted-spend recovery + 30/60/90 plan
  • Yours to keep · no call required
Tell us about your accounts
Accounts you want audited

We will not spam your email or phone. We will email the audit to you and schedule a follow-up call to discuss findings. No pressure — we're here if you want help.