Guides · Google Ads

Why aren't my Google Ads bringing in car repair customers?

You're paying Google every month, but the bays don't feel any fuller. Here's how it played out at our sample shop, the way a mechanic works a car: concern, cause, correction, verification.

1

The concern

Nate was spending about $1,200 a month on Google Ads. The phone rang, but the bays weren't any busier, and nobody could tell him which ads were working.

Nolavi alert showing 41 percent of an auto repair shop Google Ads budget spent on parts and do it yourself searches
Nolavi spotted the waste on its own.
2

The cause

Nolavi matched every ad click and call to the repair orders that came after. 41% of the money was going to searches like "brake pads price" and "how to change brakes": people buying parts or doing it themselves.

Table of Google Ads search terms for an auto repair shop showing which searches booked jobs and which wasted money
Each search, matched to the repair orders it brought in.
3

The correction

We blocked those searches and moved the money to the services that book real jobs, like brake repair near me. Nate tapped approve once.

4

The verification

Four weeks later, the same budget brought in 9 more booked jobs, and cost per customer dropped from $61 to $38. Nolavi checked it against real repair orders, not clicks.

Before and after results of fixing auto repair Google Ads: lower cost per customer and more booked jobs for the same budget
Same budget. More cars.

Example shop. Nate's Auto Repair is Nolavi's sample shop with made up numbers. The steps are exactly how Nolavi works on a real shop's data.

Questions

Quick answers.

How do I know if my auto repair Google Ads are working?

Match each call from an ad to a repair order and the money that came in. Clicks and impressions don't tell you that. Nolavi does the matching for you.

What searches waste money for repair shops?

Parts, prices, do it yourself and job searches are the usual ones. Blocking them often saves hundreds a month.

Keep reading

See it on a sample shop.

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