We are very proud of our team of Digital Advertising Analysts! Digital Advertising Analysts provide customized, hands-on support to our dealers, and are dedicated to getting the best results for each dealer.
Find out how she helps drive dealer success through advertising.
Go big in retargeting.
One best practice I suggest is to run a high concentration of budget in retargeting. This strategy typically drives high engagement from lower-funnel shoppers. Retargeting is really powerful because we are visually getting in front of engaged shoppers who have already visited a site and shopped for vehicles. This makes our Retargeting audience very valuable, since we’ve identified them, flagged them as a serious shopper, and even identified the model intent of those users. We cookie them and follow their behavior around in our vast network of websites. This helps us stay top-of-mind and serving our ads repeatedly will remind them of what they were shopping for. For example, if a user is shopping for new Chevy Silverados, we will keep serving them a carousel inventory ad which scrolls through new Chevy Silverados. I will set up one campaign per model type for a brand (Cruze, Equinox, Traverse, etc.) and we will only serve that model ad to users showing interest in those models. When I employ this strategy for my dealers, I see a high percentage of email leads submitted compared to the amount of budget spent. $1,500 per month in Retargeting with model campaigns and carousel ads can generate 20+ email leads per month; I have seen this number as high as 43 email leads.
Years at CDK Global: 5
Certifications
My Background:
I just celebrated my five-year anniversary with CDK. I began my marketing career working for a Detroit automotive dealer group. I’ve also worked in marketing/advertising roles for various private companies. At the last company I worked for, I ran an internal advertising agency and successfully moved in-house services and products from traditional to digital, which opened up new lines of revenue.
My Hobbies:
I am a huge music fan and love seeing my favorite bands when they are in town. I saw Thom Yorke (Radiohead) at a small venue last year, and I feel fortunate to have been able to go. I love traveling and went to Paris and Greece a few years ago. I run a jewelry store on Etsy called Rival Jewels and I love to knit. I’ve incorporated knitting accessories into my Rival Jewels products and it has really helped the brand take off.
Why I Love My Job:
I love the culture at CDK. I like that I have the ability to own my book of business and partner with clients to reach their goals. I love seeing a client’s performance build and grow over time as a result of the optimizations and work that I’ve put into the account. I especially like being able to break through the trust barrier and have my clients treat me as an extension of their team.
Find out how she helps drive dealer success through advertising.
You can attract credit-challenged shoppers without the high cost-per-click.
My favorite digital advertising tip involves special finance. Given that keywords like “bad credit auto loans” have an astronomically high cost-per-click (CPC), many dealers know that it isn’t cost-effective for them to include these terms in their paid search strategy. Instead, I recommend handling special finance not with keywords, but with a Sitelink. Creating an ad extension to a special finance page allows you to broadcast that you welcome credit-challenged shoppers, but lets you communicate this message without the high CPCs. If you prefer to run this message only for used vehicles or specific models, it’s easy to set up the Sitelink at the ad group or campaign level. Google will sometimes grant an “Approved Limited” status to these ad extensions, but in my experience, they still run with very high frequency and provide a lot of value to dealers.
Years at CDK Global: 3.5
Certifications
My Background:
Prior to working at CDK, I did outsourced work for Google — first in a role building campaigns for small-to-medium sized businesses, and then in a different position working with ad agencies in Canada. In the latter role, I coached agencies through every part of the digital acquisition cycle, from pitching new client business to building campaigns to optimizing for results.
My Hobbies:
Outside of work, I enjoy reading, cooking, and walking my dog. I am also a big fan of the University of Michigan women’s gymnastics team, and my daughter and I try to go all of their home meets.
Why I Love My Job:
I enjoy my current work at CDK because our customers are so much fun. It’s wonderful to build long-term relationships with them and be part of how each dealership evolves. I take a lot of pride in devising a solution to a problem a store is facing.
Find out how he helps drive dealer success through advertising.
Try something new.
At least once per quarter, I recommend a new creative strategy idea to the dealer. This could be mapping out where a dealer’s impressions & clicks have come from over the past six months, reviewing buzzwords in our ad copy or getting more creative with our display, retargeting or social media ads. I enjoy the creative aspect of advertising and marketing, especially setting my dealers apart from all others in order to stand out. This is my goal and mentality with all my dealers, and I’ve seen some really good success in the past five years.
Years at CDK Global: 5
Certifications
My Background:
I started my career with CDK in June 2014, so I just celebrated my fifth anniversary. My background is in marketing and advertising, working for companies such as Intuit, Gannet, Costco, and a China-based advertising firm that connects Chinese consumers to American products and services. I’ve also worked in Media Relations for the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.
My Hobbies:
Outside of work, I enjoy anything that allows me to be creative and different, including art and music. I also live for my kids (Brock (11), Hailey (8), Cade (7) and Jace (2)). I love watching them grow up and seeing what they are interested in. This includes a lot of sports, which is probably my biggest passion.
Why I Love My Job:
One of the biggest things I love the most about my role at CDK is the fact that every month brings a new challenge. Either technology is changing and you need to adapt, the season changes and requires a new strategy, or a dealer needs or wants something to take place for his business and puts much of his future success in your hands.
Find out how he helps drive dealer success through advertising.
Facebook is not a thing of the future, it’s a thing of the present.
I recommend incorporating Facebook heavily into your marketing mix while it’s still semi-inexpensive. Through Facebook, you can retarget shoppers from your website, find auto-intenders and utilize your DMS data. The time is now or never — choose now!
Years at CDK Global: 6
Certifications
My Background:
I began my career at CDK Global in Detroit, MI, and have spent the past two years home-shored in Phoenix, Arizona. My fiancée and I were both eager to escape from the Midwest’s cold and demanding winters. Arizona has been phenomenal, and has far exceeded our expectations. I highly recommend visiting Arizona, especially if you enjoy a warm or hot climate. If not, I’d highly recommend visiting Detroit in the middle of January.
My Hobbies:
I enjoy outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking, golfing, basketball, baseball, softball, and swimming — really any sports-related activity. And last, but not least: GO BUCKS!
Why I Love My Job:
I love my dealers, colleagues, and the unique challenges our industry presents. Between digital marketing and the automotive industry, there’s truly never a dull moment. As a whole, we must adapt to the market trends and adjust our strategies accordingly. I believe a great marketer never sits still and is constantly looking to make changes to maximize every marketing dollar.
Find out how she helps drive dealer success through advertising.
It’s not all about the bottom of the funnel.
You don’t want to put your entire digital budget into a reaction-based strategy without adding proactive digital marketing strategies to the funnel. We have to get out of the habit of thinking that traditional media or display banner ads are the only options for brand awareness. For example, online video advertising and online audio streaming are affordable channels that are frequently forgotten when dividing the overall marketing budget. A well-rounded strategy will keep your marketing funnel full of likely buyers and help you meet your sales goals.
Years at CDK Global: 6
Certifications
My Background:
I started at CDK Global as a Digital Marketing Analyst in November 2013. I have worked in online advertising for various other companies since 2007.
My Hobbies:
Outside of work, you will rarely find me in front of a screen — except for when it’s playoff hockey time. I enjoy snowboarding in the winters and tending to my flowers in the summer. I also try to find time to fish year-round.
Why I Love My Job:
One thing I love about my job is that I can provide our customers with the confidence that they are keeping their business on top of the rapidly-changing digital marketing universe. It’s definitely not an easy task, and I like that I can help my customers get past that anxiety.