Success Stories

Real results from dealers who were tired of wasted spend, vague reporting, and underperforming campaigns. Catalyst SEM rebuilds their structure from the ground up so every dollar has a job.

Below are typical outcomes dealerships see in the first 60-90 days after switching to a high-intent SEM structure.


  • Tight targeting, negative-keyword firewalls, and better structure stop you from overpaying for low-intent clicks.

  • High-intent campaigns and clean search terms turn the same budget into more real buyers-not just more traffic

  • More qualified shoppers land on inventory pages instead of bouncing off generic homepage or or SRP traffic.

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Single-Rooftop Dealer - High spend, Low Clarity

From Confused and overpaying to clear, efficient, and scalable.

The Challenge

“A single-rooftop dealer was spending heavily on search but couldn’t answer basic questions:

“What keywords are we actually paying for?”

  • “How much are we paying per lead?”

  • “Why are our forms and calls so inconsistent month to month?”

Campaigns were broad, over-reliant on brand terms, and sent most traffic to generic pages.”

-What Catalyst SEM Did-

  • Audited search terms and removed low-intent and irrelevant queries

  • Rebuilt campaigns into clean, high-intent structures

  • Split out sales, service, and used inventory

  • Implemented a negative-keyword firewall

  • Tightened landing page routing and conversion tracking

Typical Outcome (First 60–90 Days)

  • CPC reduced by ~35–45%

  • Lead volume roughly doubled with the same ad budget

  • Much higher share of traffic landing on VDP/VDL pages

  • Clear reporting the dealer could actually understand

Multi-Store Group — Too Many Stores, Not Enough Control

Bringing structure and accountability to a scattered SEM setup.

The Challenge

“A multi-store group was managing several rooftops under one messy account. Budgets were blended, brand terms were cannibalized across stores, and leadership couldn’t see which locations were actually performing.”

-What Catalyst SEM Did-

  • Broke out campaigns by store and intent

  • Assigned clear budgets and guardrails per rooftop

  • Standardized high-intent structures across all locations

  • Introduced transparent reporting to compare store-to-store performance

Typical Outcome (First 90 Days)

  • 30–40% reduction in wasted spend across the group

  • 2–3× increase in measurable leads at multiple stores

  • Leadership finally had clear visibility into which rooftops were winning and why

Used-Car Focused Dealer — Competing Without New-Car Incentives

Turning SEM into a steady pipeline of used-car shoppers.

The Challenge

“A dealer relying heavily on used inventory was struggling to stand out against franchise stores with big OEM budgets. Their campaigns leaned on generic “used cars near me” terms with low conversion rates.”

What Catalyst SEM Did

  • Built dedicated used-car and under-$XK high-intent campaigns

  • Focused on local search intent and payment-driven queries

  • Paired ads with tighter landing pages and inventory-driven offers

  • Cleaned up search terms to match actual buyers, not window-shoppers

Typical Outcome (First 60 Days)

  • CPC down ~30–35% on core used-car terms

  • Leads up 2× without increasing spend

  • Stronger VDP engagement from local buyers ready to act


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