Enhanced AdWords Campaigns. Hummingbird. Conversational Search. There’s been no shortage of big headlines coming out of the Mountain View search giant Google in the last few months.

I wrote this thought leadership piece for a national automotive dealer magazine to be useful to GMs and Internet managers who have not yet heard about the newest mousetrap in search engine marketing (SEM) that’s poised to change the game.

As a Google Premier SMB Partner, my team at Netsertive got early access to this technology a few months ago.

Our initial tests with a handful of dealers netted a 71% boost in CTR (click through rates) over standard campaigns. More importantly, we were able to lower the average cost of conversion by 46%, making our dealer’s marketing budgets work harder for the same monthly investment.

The Mousetrap: RLSAs

Remarketing Lists For Search Ads (RLSAs) does for search marketing what display retargeting does for banners. Existing AdWords targeting criteria allows you to deliver relevant search ads based on:
* Device
* Language
* Location
* Daypart (Time)
* Keyword

RLSA’s add two new variables to the equation:
* Uniquely target shoppers who are already familiar with you
* Deliver custom ads and broaden your target geography to reach shoppers in a wider area than you would with your core ad groups

How RLSA’s Work

Just like display retargeting, RLSA’s require you to add a tracking pixel to your Google Tag Manager code on your website. As visitors arrive, they’re automatically added to an “audience list of visitors” in your campaign: your Remarketing List.

This list can be used to deliver both targeted Google Display Network ads, as well as targeted AdWords search campaigns. If you’re doing display retargeting today, it’s time to add search remarketing to complete the equation.

Useful tactic (via Dealer Communications magazine):
Google’s New Search Mousetrap Changes the Game