Cars.co.za Drives Leads with Smarter PPC Strategy

Cars.co.za – is one of South Africa’s leading online portals for buying and selling cars.

Objectives

The campaign aimed to maximise lead volume across the Cars.co.za ecosystem by reallocating R100,000 from Universal App Campaigns (UAC) to higher-performing channels. The focus was on enhancing visibility through Search—using DS bid strategies for competitive bidding—and testing Smart Display as a complementary source of traffic and leads.

Target Audience & Strategy

To increase lead generation, budget was strategically shifted to Search, leveraging DS bid strategy to outperform competitors on high-intent keywords. The team also launched Smart Display to attract new prospects and expand Cars.co.za’s reach beyond core search audiences.

Implementation

1. Enhancing Search Competitiveness

By moving budget into Search, the team used DS bid strategy tools to respond swiftly to market shifts and optimise auction performance. Reviewing auction insights helped guide decisions on when to bid more aggressively, improving the campaign’s agility and efficiency.

2. Introducing Smart Display

With Google’s new Smart Display beta, a branded campaign launched in August targeting a CPA of R80. This channel increased brand exposure and delivered incremental lead volume—supporting the core Search activity.