PPC Budget Considerations for Auto Body Shops

Small independent and family-owned auto body shops are facing tough competition from mega corporations with large advertising budgets. With such an uneven power balance in the industry, auto body shop owners must use careful planning in their digital marketing budget, and specifically their pay-per-click add (PPC) budget, to make the most of every dollar.

BodyShop Marketing, a digital agency offering pay-per-click advertising for auto body shop businesses, lists several factors that go into determining a PPC budget for auto body shops.

‍

Geographic Location

An auto body shop’s geographic location is a key element in determining a PPC budget. Two main components come into play here: competition and cost of service.

If the location is oversaturated with auto body shops, the competition for potential customers will naturally be more intense, and each business may have to bid more per click to increase the ad’s visibility.

Meanwhile, the cost of service will determine the profit margin: If auto body repair services are comparatively expensive in a specific location, it may make sense for businesses to increase their PPC budget since the investment will likely pay off.

‍

Cost Per Click

One major factor in determining a PPC budget is CPC, or cost per click. CPC depends on the keywords the PPC campaign is targeting and how many businesses are competing for the same keywords. The more businesses that aim to rank for a specific search term, the higher bid an auto body shop will need to place to appear before a user searching for this term.

For example, if an auto body shop works with specific automotive brands, and many other local businesses offer auto body repair services for these brands, the CPC will be higher.

‍

The Right Keywords

Choosing the right keywords for an auto body shop PPC campaign ties in with cost per click and the overall PPC budget. As a business that offers physical services, an auto body shop should primarily target potential clients at the bottom of the sales funnel, i.e., people who are ready to take their vehicle to the auto body shop. These potential clients will use different search terms from people who are just researching auto body repair services in general.

As BodyShop Marketing explains, an auto body repair service that aims to establish its authority may also provide general information to target high-funnel users and generate more organic traffic. But most of a PPC budget should focus on people who need auto body repair right now.

‍

Conversion Rate

Ultimately, only a fraction of the people who click on an auto body shop’s paid ad will become customers. The lower the conversion rate is, the more leads an auto body shop must capture to reach its new client and monthly profit goals.

An experienced digital marketing agency can help auto body shop owners improve their conversion rates and draw the highest possible profit margin from a PPC campaign.

‍

Example of Calculating a PPC Budget

Here’s a basic example of how an auto body shop could set a PPC budget:

The business has a goal of reaching 100 new clients per month. Its average close rate is 20%, so the business needs 500 leads to capture 100 clients. If a lead costs $10 on average, the auto body shop’s PPC budget would be $10 X 500 = $5,000/month.

‍

Monitoring Auto Body Shop PPC Budgets

To maintain an optimal PPC budget, Google Ad campaigns need constant tracking. Depending on the outcomes a PPC campaign is delivering, auto body shop owners may decide to increase the bid per click or fine-tune keywords.

A monthly review can help answer questions like: How well is the investment in PPC ads paying off? Does the revenue from each new client keep the PPC campaign profitable?

Adjusting negative keywords can also help optimize PPC budget. For example, if an auto body shop doesn’t target customers looking for low-cost work, it can choose to hide its ads from people looking for “cheap auto body repair” or similar phrases.

‍

The Advantages of Working With a Professional Digital Agency

PPC campaign planning, budgeting, and management can quickly become a task beyond the capacity of auto body shop teams. Outsourcing PPC ads and other types of advertising to a digital marketing agency can free up valuable time for hardworking auto body shop owners and managers, who can then concentrate on what they do best: providing outstanding and customer-centric auto body repair services.

Working with a digital agency can take a lot of guesswork out of PPC campaigns. PPC pros use efficient keyword planning tools and evaluate a campaign’s performance, including important metrics like how many impressions and clicks a campaign could gain with a budget increase.

‍

How Auto Body Shop Owners Should Choose PPC Services

When choosing a digital marketing agency for auto body shops, it’s important to hire a reputable service with deep expertise in the automotive industry. This is where BodyShop Marketing presents a unique advantage.

BodyShop Marketing offers:

• End-to-end digital marketing plans uniquely tailored to auto body shop needs
• An unwavering commitment to helping auto body businesses fill up their shops
• Full transparency and integrity in contract terms and expectations
• Ongoing support and constant communication
• Flexible advertising packages for any PPC budget
• ‍

Contact Daniel Burkholder of BodyShop Marketing to learn more about targeted digital marketing services for auto body shops. Call (855) 667-9648, email hello@bodyshopmarketing.io, or schedule a free consultation online today.

‍