As digital marketers, there is nothing we love better than assisting an existing client to grow their business in a new and exciting direction. This was exactly what happened when our valued client Group 1 tasked the WSI Marketing team with repositioning Group 1 Renault online for improved conversion in South African territories.
How the WSI & Group 1 Renault Journey Began
WSI Marketing was appointed the digital marketing company of choice for Group 1 in South Africa in 2008. As often happens when two businesses share a common vision – in this case, growing the automotive company’s online footprint as quickly and seamlessly as possible – a lasting bond was formed, and since that initial commission WSI’s scope of service to the Group 1 Automotive group, which includes the Group 1 Renault dealerships, has grown in line with their extensive dealership network.
Today, Group 1 Renault consists of two dealerships, Johannesburg and Stellenbosch that form part of the overarching Group 1 Automotive group, which also includes South Africa’s Nissan, Hyundai, Mahindra and Datsun dealerships. The Stellenbosch Renault dealership was acquired by Group 1 in July 2015 and WSI was engaged right from the start to pull this new brand into the online presence strategy of all the brands that form part of the Group 1 Automotive stable.
The Plan: What Was Done & How
The very first thing we did was to build a fresh, new SEO-optimised website that was optimised for the Renault brand name, brand phrase (Passion for Life), as well as applicable model phrases and search terms that relate to the Renault Kwid, Renault Clio, Renault Sandero, Renault Duster, Renault Kadjar, and Renault Megane in particular.
Once this site was up and running, we proceeded to implement the digital marketing services that were rolled out on a monthly basis, including
- Content marketing
- On-site and off-site SEO
- Adwords and remarketing (including dynamic inventory ads on Adwords)
- Monthly Email marketing
Once all this was in place, a pre-owned subsite was expertly integrated into the main site, and Facebook social content and advertising was used to drive traffic to specific model pages.
The Glen Renault dealerships were acquired by Group 1 during the early part of 2017, and immediately integrated into the online strategy for the Group 1 Renault brand. Additionally, a separate geo-targeted Adwords campaign was launched alongside model-specific landing pages. Traffic to these pages were driven by an Adwords campaign and selected models were targeted by means of Facebook advertising as well.
The Exciting Results We’ve Achieved So Far
Over the last year, focussed SEO efforts have resulted in organic rankings climbing in a very competitive market, which provided Group 1 Renault with a simple and cost-effective platform to position their exceptional cars optimally to reach the discerning South African motoring public. In particular, lead generation on pre-owned vehicles has served to bolster internal marketing budgets considerably, since dealers have to pay steep rates to advertise on costly third-party auto dealer sites. As part of our overall on- and off-site best-practice SEO strategy, blogging platforms such as WordPress, Blogspot, Tumblr, Weebly and Postach.io are being utilised including directory listings, social sharing and content syndication.
What Lies Ahead for WSI & Group 1 Renault
WSI Marketing looks forward to the continued growth and improvement of Group 1 Renault’s digital footprint and online marketing reach in line with the requirements of our valued client. As their impressive automotive stable develops, we continue to streamline, tailor and adapt our approach to yield ever-more impressive ROI in South African territories for this respected French auto brand.
Originally posted on: https://blog.wsiwebmarketing.co.za/group-1-renault-online-presence/
