CarGurus Launches High-Efficiency Search Engine Marketing Product for Dealerships

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the National Automobile Dealer Association Show (NADA), CarGurus (Nasdaq:CARG), a leading online automotive marketplace, announced the launch of CarGurus' SEM Plus, the newest addition to the company's dealer product suite. Powered by CarGurus' proprietary technology and extensive search engine marketing (SEM) data set, SEM Plus will help dealerships more efficiently and effectively run their online marketing programs.

Dealerships using CarGurus' SEM Plus will benefit from the following:

• Inventory-based dynamic ads that update in real time
• Algorithmic bidding strategies and real-time optimizations that save time and money
• Advantage of scale with an average of 1 million keywords per account
• Dedicated account management by CarGurus' Google Certified Digital Consultants
• Audience retargeting through Google and Facebook to reengage prospects

More than 10 years of rigorous testing and development has gone into CarGurus' proprietary customer acquisition algorithm and it is an integral component of the company's successful, technology-first approach. Today, CarGurus is the most visited online automotive marketplace in the U.S.* helping more than 25,000 subscribing dealers connect with ready-to-buy shoppers on its mobile and desktop platforms. Now, that same CarGurus technology will power SEM Plus, so that dealerships can optimize their own digital marketing programs to directly reach high and low funnel buyers alike. SEM Plus will help drive consumer traffic directly to dealerships' online and physical sites. In addition, dealerships will be able to leverage CarGurus' expertise in strengthening and improving SEM campaigns, including analyzing campaign performance and updating advertisements, all while harnessing big data with the scale of an average of 1 million keywords.

"The results in our CarGurus' SEM Plus program have been very positive in nearly all of the metrics that matter the most to our dealership," said Max Nunn, eCommerce Marketing Manager at Volkswagen of Saint Augustine. "Having a designated representative that has always been promptly responsive has helped us view CarGurus as a trusted partner." 

CarGurus' SEM Plus will also give dealers the flexibility to adapt to inventory changes such as price adjustments or a sold unit. Additionally, dealers will have control over the budget and target location of their ads and can leverage CarGurus' advanced technology with customized bidding strategies to optimize their spend based on a wide range of factors such as vehicle price, time on lot, make/model, and other competitive market dynamics.

"For more than a decade, CarGurus has shown that we are technology experts solving the puzzle around pairing shoppers and cars, and we took that same technology-first approach in building SEM Plus," said Andrew Grochal, Senior Director of Product at CarGurus. "We constantly optimize the technology that powers both our platform and now SEM Plus, giving dealerships digital marketing efficiency and scale. Additionally, CarGurus has been a Google Partner for years, and we are up to speed on AdWords best practices, betas and new features, and that knowledge will be shared with our SEM Plus customers."

Please stop by booth #2396C for a live demo of CarGurus' SEM Plus at NADA, and for more information visit semplus.cargurus.com or contact your CarGurus representative. 

About CarGurus
Founded in 2006, CarGurus (Nasdaq:CARG) is a global, online automotive marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of new and used cars. The company uses proprietary technology, search algorithms and data analytics to bring trust and transparency to the automotive search experience and help users find great deals from top rated dealers. In addition to the United States, CarGurus operates online marketplaces in Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany. To learn more about CarGurus, visit www.cargurus.com.

CarGurus is a registered trademark of CarGurus, Inc.

*comScore MediaMetrix December 2017 vs. Cars.com, AutoTrader, TrueCar.com

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding attractiveness of our product offerings and platform and the value proposition of our products, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "guide," "may," "will" and similar expressions and their negatives are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks related to our rapid growth and ability to sustain our revenue growth rate, our relationships with dealers, competition in the markets in which we operate, market growth, our ability to innovate and manage our growth, our ability to expand effectively into new markets, our ability to operate in compliance with applicable laws as well as other risks and uncertainties set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-K filing on March 1, 2018 and subsequent reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, achievements or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will occur. We are under no duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

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SOURCE CarGurus