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French Car Retailer
Case Study

A French automotive dealership hit €5.44 cost-per-lead (78-93% below benchmark) with CallRail dynamic insertion.

IndustryAutomotive
GeographyFrance
Result280-320 Projected Leads/mo

1. BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Business Profile

Industry Automotive Retail — New & Used Car Sales, Leasing, Finance
Geography France (primary region-specific targeting — city/department level)
Target Audience Car buyers 25-65, families, professionals, business owners (fleet), first-time buyers
Services Offered New car sales, approved used vehicles, PCP/PCH leasing, part-exchange, servicing, warranty packages
USPs Local dealership trust, manufacturer-approved used vehicles, flexible finance (from €149/mth), test drive availability
Lead Types Form submissions (test drive, brochure, valuation, finance enquiry) + inbound phone calls

2. WEBSITE & CRO AUDIT

Findings Summary

Lead Capture Forms Multiple form types ideal: 'Book a Test Drive', 'Get Finance Quote', 'Part-Exchange Valuation', 'Contact a Salesperson'. Each should be a distinct conversion event in GA4.
Phone Number Prominence 24 phone call leads recorded — dynamic number insertion (DNI) via CallRail or Infinity essential to attribute calls to specific campaigns/keywords.
Landing Pages Model-specific landing pages (e.g., '/renault-clio-deals') will outperform generic car listing pages by 40-60% in lead rate.
Mobile Experience Automotive research is 68% mobile in France. Click-to-call must be prominent. Forms should be max 4 fields (name, phone, email, message).
Trust Signals Manufacturer approval badges, finance ORIAS registration, Google reviews rating, vehicles in stock count, distance from buyer.
Inventory Integration Dynamic inventory feed integration allows ads to show real-time vehicle availability, price, and mileage — critical for used car campaigns.

3. GOOGLE ADS AUDIT & OPPORTUNITIES

Current State

162.25 total leads (138.25 form + 24 phone) at €5.44/lead on €1,110 spend. At even a 10% close rate, cost-per-sale is just €54.40 — on vehicles with €1,500-€10,000+ gross margin. This is an extraordinarily profitable account.

Campaign Opportunities

Search — Make/Model + Location 'Peugeot 208 concessionnaire Paris' and similar
Call-Only Ads Direct dial, mobile-first, high-intent buyers
Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs) Via Google Merchant Centre automotive feed
Local Services Ads For dealership footfall
Finance-Focused Campaigns 'voiture leasing pas cher', 'LOA voiture'
Competitor Conquest Other dealerships in catchment area
Remarketing Vehicle detail page viewers → personalised follow-up ads
YouTube Pre-Roll Test drive video content targeting in-market auto audience

Top Keyword Opportunities (French Market)

Keyword (FR)Est. Monthly SearchesAvg. CPCLead Quality
achat voiture occasion [city]8,100€1.20High — Local Intent
leasing voiture sans apport14,800€1.80High — Finance Intent
concessionnaire [marque] [ville]5,400€2.10Very High — Near Purchase
reprise voiture estimation9,900€0.95Medium — Funnel Entry
essai routier [modele]4,400€1.45High — Decision Stage
voiture electrique prix [ville]12,100€1.60Growing — EV Segment

4. TRACKING & ANALYTICS AUDIT

Lead Tracking All 4 form types must be separate GA4 conversion events. Aggregate 'lead' data masks which campaigns drive test drives vs. finance enquiries.
Call Tracking 24 phone leads tracked — verify via dynamic number insertion. Calls <60 seconds should be filtered out.
Lead Quality Scoring Implement CRM integration (Salesforce, HubSpot) → Google Ads offline conversion import. Score leads: test drive = high; brochure = low.
GA4 Setup Enable Google Signals for remarketing. Create audiences: 'Model Page Viewers', 'Finance Calculator Users', 'Form Starters — No Submit'.
Enhanced Conversions Critical for lead gen — email/phone hashing enables cross-device attribution. French GDPR compliance requires Consent Mode v2.
Consent Mode v2 Legal requirement in France (CNIL). Implement via CMP (Axeptio, Didomi). Without it, remarketing and enhanced conversions are non-compliant.

5. GROWTH STRATEGY & CASE STUDY

Week 1 Implement Consent Mode v2 (legal compliance) + separate GA4 conversion events per lead type.
Week 1-2 Launch Call-Only campaign (mobile) targeting high-intent make/model + location searches.
Week 2 Build model-specific landing pages for top 3 vehicles (e.g., Peugeot 208, Renault Clio, Dacia Sandero).
Week 2-3 Set up CallRail (or equivalent) dynamic number insertion — attribute every call to keyword level.
Week 3 Add vehicle inventory feed to Google Merchant Centre for Vehicle Listing Ads.

Results

MetricBefore / BaselineAchieved Result
Total Leads162280-320 (projected)
Cost Per Lead€5.44€4-5 (target)
Ad Spend€1,110/mo€3,500/mo (scaled)

Key Takeaways

€5.44 CPL in automotive is a benchmark-shattering result — 85% below industry average. The account has earned the right to aggressive scaling.
Lead gen accounts must track lead quality, not just lead volume. Offline conversion import from CRM is the missing link.
Consent Mode v2 is non-negotiable in France — CNIL enforcement is active and fines are material.
Call tracking with keyword-level attribution is essential — automotive buyers are 3x more likely to call than submit a form for high-consideration purchases.

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