Promotion of transport and logistics services in Google Ads

Promotion of transport and logistics services in Google Ads: case study

Our client is a Polish transportation company. As always, the main task was the standard "More hits and requests at a cheaper price." However, after a detailed discussion, we discovered that this was not our only task.

The client provides transport services throughout Europe. "I can drive anywhere,” he said, “but if that is profitable for me." Our task was to answer the question—where is it profitable? Different countries, different languages, and each has different pricing for services. Our answer was unequivocal—it is necessary to test.

Where did we start

First, we added four languages to the site: English, German, French, and Spanish.

Next, we began developing the account's structure. We have chosen Search ads as the main ones. After determining the best geo for ads, we must single out large shipments because it is obvious that transporting a 10 kg parcel across Europe is not profitable for anyone.

The keywords were separated as follows: all requests for bulk transportation (office, furniture, household, etc.) from one hand, and more general keywords on the topics "transport company, international transportation, transportation services," etc. from another. 

Since users who want to transport a large volume may also be involved in general requests, it is not necessary to completely exclude them. However, budgets, strategies, and other settings can be controlled in individual campaigns. 

All keywords and messages have also been translated into different languages. As a conversion, we consider the requests that were sent from the website.

Running the Ads and tests

With the client, it was decided that testing should be conducted in three countries: Germany, France, and Switzerland. After the first two months of work, the following results were obtained.

The budgets for all countries were set the same. We see that the price per click in Switzerland is twice as high as in the other two countries. There were fewer conversions, and accordingly, they were more expensive. The conversion price in Switzerland was 8 times higher than in France. Therefore, it was decided to exclude Switzerland.

Belgium and Luxembourg also performed poorly. The situation was basically the same. The cost per click is 200% higher, and in two weeks, there were no conversions at all.

And the winner is…

We chose Spain as the next country to test. And here, the picture was completely different! The СРС is twice lower than in France, and the conversion is 25% cheaper.

Now we work for three countries: Spain, France and Germany. And here are the results obtained over a period of four months.

We just get excited and want to test new countries and scale up, but the client asks to slow down because he does not have time to process requests and plans to expand the staff. Such a story also can happen :)

In just four months, 390 conversions were obtained at a price lower than the defined KPIs. Regarding lead quality, the customer reported that approximately every 20th lead is a closed deal.

In SvitSoft, it's just like that! 💙💛