5 Digital Advertising Trends for Heavy Equipment Dealers in 2020 - Adpearance

5 Digital Advertising Trends for Heavy Equipment Dealers in 2020

Adpearance and Google recently hosted a webinar to discuss marketing trends, digital advertising innovations and betas coming in 2020. With a new year and the start of a new decade quickly approaching, here are the trends and tactics that heavy equipment dealerships can use to level-up their digital marketing strategies and grow their sales.

2020 Marketing Trends for the Heavy Equipment Industry

1. Dynamic Search Ads

Dynamic Search Ads

Dynamic search ads are dynamically generated using the content and inventory on your website. Leveraging machine learning, Google routinely crawls your website and determines what search terms and categories are most relevant to your business. Then, when a user searches for a keyword relevant to your business, a search ad is dynamically created featuring a relevant headline and destination URL. When users click on the ad, they are directed to the most specific landing page on your website. This dynamic ad creation ensures that you have a relevant ad showing for all relevant searches, plugging any gaps in your keyword coverage. 

Dynamic search ads are effective because they mimic the specific keywords a user searches for and take users who click on ads to specific landing pages that speak directly to their search. This allows dealers to advertise for niche terms and long-tail searches without having to predict every keyword a user may search for. By covering more keyword queries, you can capture more leads and gain more conversions. 

Dynamic search ads have been around for quite some time, but their performance continues to get better and better. In 2020, we expect them to continue to evolve and generate clear results, and be an impactful option for equipment dealers. 

2. Lead Form Ads

Lead Form Ads

Lead form ads provide a lead capture opportunity without requiring users to visit your website. When lead form ads are created, unique ad copy and form fields are selected for each ad that is developed. If users click on an ad, they’re taken directly to a form that they can complete in the Google search interface. The completed form and lead information is sent directly to you, either through a spreadsheet or by adding it directly to your CRM.

Lead form ads provide dealers with an additional opportunity to generate a lead, but they’re also a user-friendly option for searchers. The quick form allows users to take immediate action if they’re looking to get in touch. If a customer is searching for rental quotes or a specific service, lead form ads provide them with a quick way to reach out without having to navigate through your website or draft an email. 

Lead form ads are currently a limited beta option, but will be fully rolled out in Q1 of 2020. Especially useful for rental inquiries, lead form ads are a great option for equipment dealers looking to generate more leads online. 

3. Smart Bidding

Smart Bidding

Smart Bidding is Google’s automated bidding strategy that utilizes machine learning and audience signals to bid more effectively. Google’s algorithms are replacing some of the more repetitive ad management tasks and smart bidding enables advertisers to get more from their ad spend. Analyzing each individual search query, smart bidding develops a real-time auction bid using signals from previous search queries, in-market audiences, browser settings, and multiple other factors. This quick analysis and action simply isn’t possible for humans, and smart bidding allows dealers to use their marketing dollars more strategically while saving time on overall campaign management. 

Smart bidding has been shown to decrease cost-per-conversion by increasing conversion rate and overall conversions. By enabling smart bidding in 2020, it should be less expensive to generate a lead and equipment dealers should see a lift in the overall number of forms and phone calls from paid search

4. Discovery Ads

Discovery Ads

Discovery ads are shown outside the traditional search space at times when users are most open to finding something new. Featured in Gmail, YouTube, and Google Discover, discovery ads target in-market audiences who Google knows to be interested and ready to purchase, as well as custom-intent audiences who are targeted based on specific search queries or sites they have visited. 

Discovery ads are a low-cost way to build brand awareness. They can be used to engage new users and potential customers, and re-engage users who may have already been to your website. Think about your current branding efforts on TV, radio, or billboards. Discovery ads serve the same purpose, but instead of serving your ad to masses of people, they allow you to zero in on in-market shoppers. Because of their specific targeting and low cost, discovery ads are an impactful way for dealerships to generate brand awareness and expand reach in 2020.

5. Store Visits

Heading into 2020, Google is focusing less on metrics like impressions, click-through rate, cost-per-click, etc. and more on business outcomes. Store visit conversions are a way for Google to connect the performance of your ads online to actual traffic and sales at your stores offline. For dealerships with showrooms that have customers visit their locations, this means ad engagement can now be connected to people who have visited your physical location. By enabling store visit conversions, you can track and understand ROI, and better tie your digital advertising directly to business outcomes. 

Google has started to use in-store metrics more over the past year, and this data is going to continue to evolve and become more valuable in 2020. For equipment dealers and OEMs who want to bring customers in-store to see machinery in person, this will be an impactful way to measure the value of online ads as they relate to in-store visits. 

Using Store Visits to Calculate ROI

2020 Digital Marketing Evaluation Checklist

Now that you know what advertising trends and tactics to leverage in 2020, you’re ready to implement your marketing strategy for the coming year. To help you get started and answer questions like how much you should be spending or what to spend on traditional vs. digital marketing, we created a digital marketing evaluation checklist. This checklist will help heavy equipment and machinery dealerships evaluate their current digital advertising efforts, as well as monitor performance and track the success of their marketing efforts in 2020. Download the checklist and use it to implement a digital strategy that will keep you ahead of the competition in 2020.

Fill out the form below to get the checklist:

If you’d like help creating a cohesive marketing strategy for the new year, give us a call. As a Google Certified Partner with more than 10 years of experience in the heavy equipment industry, we would love to make 2020 your best year yet. Contact us today for a free digital analysis to discuss the marketing tools and tactics that fit your budget and make sense for your business.

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About the Author

Calvin Mesman

With a data-driven mind and passion for doing things the right way, Calvin is the architect of the Adpearance service offering. He oversees both the technical and client-facing teams responsible for delivering seamless digital advertising, SEO, and social media efforts.

Adpearance is the digital marketing company obsessed with generating quality leads. Our solutions combine cutting-edge technology, premium tracking, and an expert team to transform business results.

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