One of the main challenges that car detailing business owners face is deciding where to focus their marketing efforts. There are several different options including optimising a website for organic search engines (e.g. Google and Bing), paid search ads, and organic and paid social media marketing.
We’ve analysed over 3000 leads from automotive businesses across the UK in 2023 to really find out what channels work best to bring in new customers. Here are the results…
Best Marketing Channels for Car Detailing Businesses
- Paid search (Google Ads) – 35%
- Organic SEO – 23%
- Paid Social (Meta ads) – 16%
- Direct Traffic – 16%-
- Organic Social Media – 6%
Note: a small percentage (4%) of leads also came from referral and other sources.
We have been helping automotive businesses grow since 2016, and we wanted to share this data to help as many detailing businesses grow as possible. We collected this data using Hubspot CRM, Hubspot Forms and Hubspot Tracking code to give an independent view on lead sources.
Google Comes Out on Top
Out of the 3000 leads analysed, a staggering 58% of them came from Google; either in the form of paid ads or organic search, highlighting just how important having a website is. Without a properly optimised website and Google ads strategy, detailers could be missing out on over half of the potential leads available.
Marketing Channels Explained
If you’re new to marketing strategies, here’s a quick guide to what each of these phrases actually mean:
- Paid search: refers to ads which are seen in search engines. Google Ads have by far the biggest market share of paid search ads. It involves creating and targeting the ad which links to a website and you are charged when someone clicks it. A budget can be set to ensure you don’t spend too much.
- Organic search: refers to the search engine results e.g. Google or Bing. Having a higher ranking website will bring in more leads, and this process is known as “search-engine optimisation” which is commonly shortened to SEO.
- Paid social: ads found on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Organic social: this is when leads are generated via social media content which you upload to your page in order to free gain exposure.
- Referral: when another website refers to traffic to your website.
- Direct: when the website is typed directly into a browser.
Paid Search: The Importance of Google Ads
Paid search, and more specifically Google Ads, accounted for a over a third of all leads analysed in 2023 (1161 out of 3314 leads). Not only are Google Ads a highly successful way to bring in new customers, but they also work almost instantly, as opposed to organic search which can take several months to kick into effect.
Google Ads can definitely be daunting especially if you have never dealt with them before, and fine tuning them is certainly a skill. Many detailers have tried having a go at paid search but with limited success due to poor optimisation.
If you’re not confident and need some help, visit our Google Ads for car detailers service page and get in touch. We’ve been helping car detailers and valeters with their Google Ads strategy for over 8 years with proven success.
Organic Search: For Long-Term Success
Coming in second, organic search (e.g. Google and Bing) accounted for 23% of all leads generated. Although it can take a few months for a brand-new website to start bringing in leads it is the best long-term strategy available.
Not only does a website help to bring in leads from search engines such as Google, but it is also a place to direct customers who may have heard about your business via a referral or social media page. Having a website makes a business look much more professional and gives you way more opportunity to sell your services than a Facebook, TikTok or Instagram page can.
There are two aspects to consider when building a successful website:
- Optimising it for search engines to increase the ranking position
- Ensuring it sells your services to increase the likelihood of potential customers getting in touch
Without considering both these aspects, generating leads can be very tough.
If you need help with an existing website, or have no idea where to start, visit our web design for car detailers service page and get in touch. We offer three web design packages to suit different budgets which all include copywriting and on-page SEO to help you get the most from your website.
Social Media Marketing: Crucial for a Balanced Strategy
There’s no doubt that organic and paid search (i.e. Google) is the king when it comes to generating leads according to the data we’ve analysed, but that doesn’t mean that you should neglect social media marketing either.
Again, there’s two marketing strategies to consider here: organic and paid.
Out of over 3000 leads that were analysed, paid social media accounted for 16%, and organic social media accounted for 6% of them.
Although paid social media ads can be highly successful, they are also quite tricky to optimise. Many detailers have a have a go at throwing some money into Facebook and Instagram, only to find that they get very little return. As specialists in paid social media advertising, we use tried and tested marketing strategies that actually generate bookings instead of just exposure.
Organic social media is all about selling your services and highlighting why new customers should choose you. Short-form video content has definitely prevailed as the best way to gain free exposure over the past several years. Following the emergence of TikTok, other platforms such as Instagram and YouTube have placed much more emphasis on short-form videos to stay relevant.
Ultimately though, organic social media content is hard to target to potential leads in your local area. It is however a useful tool that should be used as part of a balanced marketing strategy. Customers may find your website first, but they will often look for social media pages to see examples of your work in action. So make sure you keep uploading impressive before and after photos and satisfying video content showing the care and attention you take when detailing a vehicle.
Conclusion: Creating a Successful Marketing Strategy
It’s clear that utilising Google, both in terms of paid and organic search is the most successful way to bring in new customers for a car detailing business, accounting for over half of the leads generated in our study. Having a properly optimised Google ads campaign, and well-crafted website are both crucial components of any detailer’s marketing strategy. Paid and organic social media marketing strategies are also essential for a balanced approach, accounting for a significant chunk of the potential leads available. It’s important to leverage all these channels in order to reach more potential customers and increase the number of bookings.
