Columbus, OH (July 11, 2017) – Auto dealers using Google Analytics are now able to accurately attribute the value of third-party sites such as Cars.com, according to the initial findings from a trial use of Clarivoy’s Multi-Touch Attribution solution.   

In an April trial with Cars.com, more than 100 Cars.com dealer customers upgraded their Google Analytics platform with Clarivoy’s Multi-Touch Attribution solution. The Clarivoy solution is designed to help dealers understand how all their digital marketing investment efforts -- not just the last click or interaction -- influence the car buying journey. 

The initial use of Clarivoy’s solution revealed that Google Analytics misses the cost-effective conversion value of sites such as Cars.com. For instance, on average, dealers who implemented the multi-touch attribution solution saw conversions on their sites attributed to Cars.com increase by 37 percent with a 20 percent decrease in cost after two months in the trial.  

The results were even more dramatic when dealers considered the conversions that occurred directly on Cars.com. The addition of Cars.com data -- Cars.com leads, vehicle description pages (VDPs), and trackable walk-ins -- to this multi-touch attribution model allowed one dealer to identify 11,390 conversion events that happened on the Cars.com site in addition to the original 103 reported by Google Analytics. 

According to Clarivoy CEO Steve White, auto dealers typically rely on Google Analytics to help them understand the impact of their advertising. However, the true value of a third party auto site doesn’t show up in Google Analytics as it is by default set up to give all of the credit to the last click.  

“Typically, what we see is a lot of third-party websites do not get the credit they deserve because in most cases the last engagement that occurs with the dealer’s website is either branded search, organic or direct traffic,” said White. “As a result, sites such as Cars.com become invisible to Google Analytics when trying to evaluate performance. Dealers needed a solution that helps them see the actual impact a partner like Cars.com really brings and the ability to compare that to their other marketing channels in one dashboard.” 

“Time and time again, we see dealer customers overspending on paid search, because they are only measuring marketing impact based on the last click,” said John Clavadetscher, Chief Revenue Officer, Cars.com. “By understanding the full customer journey leading up to the last click, dealers are able to better understand the influence that Cars.com has on the path to purchase and make more informed decisions about how to allocate their marketing spend.” 

When shopping online, many customers view a dealer’s VDPs or submit an inquiry right on the Cars.com website, and this data is never reflected in Google Analytics. Clarivoy’s native integration offers several benefits including: 

“The biggest differentiator of our solution for dealers is our independent, unbiased approach for analyzing and reporting data. We don’t have a stake in the game,” White commented.  

Clarivoy’s Multi-Touch Sales Attribution platform focuses on user-level attribution, allowing dealers to transparently view a consumer’s full purchase path, sorting and ranking the influence of each channel’s contribution – paid search, display ads, TV, email, third party websites, organic search, social, and brand website -- to understand what is really driving sales. 

For a copy of the Clarivoy/Cars.com case study click here: http://content.clarivoy.com/carscasestudy 

For more information, or to sign up for a product demonstration, visit: http://www.clarivoy.com 

About Cars.com 

Cars.com (NYSE: CARS) is a leading online destination that helps car shoppers and owners navigate every turn of car ownership. A pioneer in automotive classified, the company has evolved into one of the largest digital automotive platforms, connecting consumers with local dealers across the country anytime, anywhere. Through trusted expert content, on-the-lot mobile app features, millions of new and used vehicle listings, a comprehensive set of research tools and the largest database of consumer reviews in the industry, Cars.com helps shoppers buy, sell and service their vehicles. Cars.com companies include DealerRater®, Auto.com, PickupTrucks.com™ and NewCars.com®.  The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago. For more information, visit www.Cars.com. 

About Clarivoy 

Clarivoy is the auto industry’s most trusted source of truth for optimizing the performance of marketing campaigns. Their Multi-Touch Attribution solutions reveal more about their clients’ customers, their advertising and their path to success so they can drive more sales. The company’s proprietary TV Analytics solution was named the winner of the 2016 DrivingSales Innovation Cup Award for the Most Innovative Dealership Solution of 2016. Clarivoy’s proprietary technology grants marketers incomparable visibility into their customers and campaigns – across all channels, all devices – online and offline.  Armed with this new information, marketers can stop guessing and start knowing what is working and what is not. http://www.clarivoy.com