Cutting Six-Figure Marketplace Spend While Maintaining Lead Volume

AM Phillip Trucktech, one of Scotland’s leading commercial vehicle dealerships, relied heavily on third-party marketplaces such as AutoTrader to generate demand. While effective, this approach came with rising costs and limited visibility over lead quality and performance.

Clear Click partnered with the business to reduce marketplace dependency and build a more sustainable data-led acquisition model, focused on driving qualified enquiries directly through owned channels.

High reliance on third-party marketplaces

Lead generation was heavily dependent on platforms like AutoTrader, driving up acquisition costs and eroding margin.

Limited visibility into performance and lead quality

The business lacked clear insight into where leads were coming from, how they were converting, and which channels were delivering value.

Lack of control over demand generation

Marketplace-led activity restricted the ability to optimise spend, test new approaches, or scale efficiently.

Fragmented structure across multiple dealerships

With different brands, locations, and audiences, a one-size-fits-all approach was not viable. Activity needed to be aligned at a branch level.

No consistent, scalable owned-channel strategy

There was no reliable system in place to generate and convert high-intent enquiries directly through the website.

Rebuilt paid search around commercial structure

Campaigns were restructured around location and vehicle type, improving relevence, reducing wasted spend, and aligning activity with how the business actually sells

Implemented accurate conversion tracking

Custom event tracking was introduced to measure enquiry value more effectively, enabling better optimisation and clearer performance insights

Introduced centralised reporting and visibility

A unified reporting framework was developed to give stakeholders clear, real-time visibility across all dealerships and channels.

Reallocated budget towards higher-performing channels

Spend was gradually shifted away from marketplace listings and into owned channels where performance could be controlled and scaled.

Improved inventory promotion through dynamic formats

Campaigns were adapted to better showcase both new and used vehicles, increasing engagement and relevance across different audiences.