Dealer Paid Search Playbook

Dealer Paid Search Playbook

WHY ARE PAID SEARCH CAMPAIGNS IMPORTANT? To grow consistent traffic from relevant search results across all tiers, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads play a vital role in Volkswagen s advertising structure. By driving dealership traffic to sell cars, PPC ads offer brand-wide flexibility to achieve each tier s overall goal. For the most successful campaign impact, each tier should focus on specific goals suited to its position within the consumers purchase path. Objective: To maximize paid search effectiveness across all tiers by coordinating tactics and sharing best practices for success. Benefit: Boosting Tier 3 presence of dealer paid search dollars by coordinating the national Tier 1 and LMA search programs to keep the brand consistent across campaigns. TODAY S AUTO SHOPPING IS DONE IN DIGITAL SPACE 75% 54% of vehicle shopping of in-market auto research time is searches occur on online mobile 1.2 Dealer visits only vs. 5 visits 10 years ago Source: Automotive Shopper Path to Purchase, Millward Brown Digital, September 2014; Avg. time spent per day by US adults, emarketer, Sep.2014; DME Automotive, Apr. 2014 ARE YOU SELLING TO THOSE DIGITAL SHOPPERS? Do they know you exist? Online Video ad 43% Video & online ads are more effective in expanding consideration set Website ad Mobile ad Search ad TV ad 30% 30% 33% 36% Are you responding? Search is as important of a research source as OEM site & Dealer site Dealer site 75% OEM site Search 74% 71% 3rd party 64%

Volkswagen Paid Search Strategy A well thought out marketing campaign for insightful keyword selection and quality user experience is commonly organized through a funnel technique. A search process begins through a variety of decisions a visitor goes through in their initial steps as a consumer. As the consumers awareness and goals adjust through different steps in their decision making process, some may drop out and the size of the consumer group decreases through the funnel until only relevant consumers are left to reach the sale. This cross-tier strategy through the Certified Volkswagen Dealer Digital Program assists dealers by aligning keyword bidding strategies across tiers and further coordinates the transparency across Tier 1 and Tier 3. Through managing greater optimization and efficiency by guiding search investment with the certified providers, it creates a more solidified campaign for the brand as a whole. The upper portion of the funnel is where consumers begin their search for a vehicle by researching varying brands, makes, models and key features they are interested in. The more involved buyers will move further down the marketing funnel to reach their goal. The lower portion of the funnel contains the ideal group of remaining customers that have researched their preferred sale and are intent on making their final purchase. UPPER FUNNEL The upper funnel of marketing campaigns should contain 30% of your digital advertising budget. This funnel will hold a group of broader and brand-specific keyword terms such as Volkswagen or Sedans Tiers 1 & 2 can focus on as it s more relevant to the brand itself to purchase. LOWER FUNNEL BRAND SEGMENT MAKE/MODEL GEO The lower funnel of digital marketing is where the Tier 3 level should concentrate most on their paid search efforts. As the lower funnel of a campaign holds groups of keyword lists more relevant to the customers final purchase intent, 70% of a dealers New Car Search campaign budget should be focused on that group capturing the most enticing shoppers. DEALER PURCHASE INTENT

BENEFITS OF CERTIFIED PAID SEARCH CAMPAIGNS Easy setup - just select a provider and budget Take advantage of new vehicle launch awareness and increase consumer search activity Cohesive campaigns align with Tier I & Tier II strategies Designed to drive low-funnel shoppers to your website 100% IDM eligible Greater share of each dollar spent goes towards media 85% 19 of customers decided to purchase a vehicle before they left the house DEALER PAID SEARCH BEST PRACTICES Go always on with top keywords out of 24 in market touchpoints are digital Consider leveraging an always on strategy to ensure strong impression share year-round on terms like your dealer name and other top performing keywords with a competitive Cost-Per-Action (CPA) Focus on keywords in your LMA or local area Cover your geographic search terms first [Philadelphia Volkswagen] NOTE: do not bid 1st position for LMA specific keywords, as these will be covered by Tier 1 & 2 Use location targeting Focus only on the geographic areas where your customers are to prevent ad waste. Utilize Google AdWords, Bing Ads and Yahoo! Gemini search engines While Google has the largest search reach, you can often buy traffic from the other search engines at a lower cost-per-click (CPC). Avoid broad match if budget limited Utilize exact and phrase match keywords to spend ad dollars on the right search terms for your business without waste on irrelevant or unrelated queries.

PAID SEARCH KEYWORD STRATEGIES Below contains a list of guidelines when conducting bidding strategies within the upper and lower funnel of marketing campaigns. Each campaign has different buckets of ideal keywords recommended for 1st, 2nd or 3rd positions as how they appear on search engines. Keywords in the upper funnel would normally carry a bid weight of 2nd or 3rd, as they are generally the broader brand terms Tier 1 and 2 would heavily bid on. The lower funnel should be dealer-focused bidding strategies that will appear in the top position on search engines for the ready-to-purchase customers. RECOMMENDED as 1st position for dealer paid search programs. Recommended as 2nd position for dealer paid search programs due to Volkswagen T1/T2 presence in the space. Once 1st and 2nd priorities are met and as budget allows, expand into additional keyword categories. KEYWORD TYPE EXAMPLE BID POSITION DEALER SEARCH TERMS LOWER FUNNEL CAMPAIGN (70% SEARCH BUDGET) BRAND MODEL DEALER BRAND MODEL INVENTORY BRAND MODEL DEALER GEO BRAND MODEL DEALERSHIP BRAND MODEL TEST DRIVE GEO SEARCH TERMS GEO BRAND GEO BRAND DEALER LMA NAME BRAND PURCHASE INTENT SEARCH TERMS BRAND MODEL DEALS BRAND MODEL DISCOUNTS BRAND MODEL INCENTIVES BRAND MODEL MSRP BRAND MODEL OFFERS BRAND MODEL PRICE BRAND MODEL QUOTE Volkswagen Jetta dealer Volkswagen Jetta dealer inventory Volkswagen Jetta dealer location Volkswagen Jetta dealership Volkswagen Jetta test drive Philadelphia Volkswagen Philadelphia Volkswagen dealer Philadelphia Area Volkswagen Volkswagen Beetle Deals Volkswagen Beetle Discounts Volkswagen Beetle Incentives Volkswagen Beetle MSRP Volkswagen Beetle Offers Volkswagen Beetle Price Volkswagen Beetle Quote BRAND MODEL SALE Volkswagen Beetle Sale

UPPER FUNNEL CAMPAIGN (30% SEARCH BUDGET) KEYWORD TYPE EXAMPLE BID POSITION BRAND & MAKE/MODEL SEARCH TERMS BRAND BRAND SEGMENT BRAND MODEL SPECS SEARCH TERMS MODEL MPG MODEL FEATURES MODEL SAFETY MODEL TECHNOLOGY REVIEWS/ACCOLADES SEARCH TERMS BRAND ACCOLADES BRAND MODEL ACCOLADES BRAND MODEL RATINGS BRAND MODEL REVIEWS Volkswagen Volkswagen Sedans Volkswagen Jetta Jetta MPG Jetta features Jetta safety Jetta technology Volkswagen Awards Volkswagen Alltrack Awards Volkswagen Passat Safety Ratings Volkswagen Passat Reviews

Note: Playbook guidelines based on Google/Shift Digital overall industry best practices. Recommendations may vary based on dealer location, size, budget, strategy, & other factors. Please consult your Volkswagen Digital Consultant, as well as your Digital Advertising Provider for more information