Overview
Cash Cars Today is a Melbourne-based car removal business. They pay cash for unwanted, scrap, and damaged vehicles and offer free car removal across Melbourne and surrounding suburbs.
When they first contacted us, the business was in a frustrating position. They had been spending a significant amount on Google Ads every month. The campaigns were running, the budget was being used, but the phone calls and form submissions were not matching what the business actually needed.
The problem was simple but costly: most of the inquiries coming through were from people searching for used car parts, not car removal or cash for cars services. The two audiences are completely different, yet the campaigns were capturing both.
The client needed a team they could trust to fix the root cause, not just report on what was happening.
The Challenge
Before any strategy was put in place, it was important to understand exactly where the budget was going and why lead quality was so poor.
The audit revealed a clear picture: the Google Ads account was attracting a large volume of searches that were never going to convert into car removal jobs.
- 65% of all inquiries were parts-related inquiries that were completely irrelevant to the core service.
- 35% were genuine car removal or cash for cars inquiries.
- 3× higher cost per qualified lead than industry benchmarks.
Beyond the numbers, there was a trust issue. The client had been with their previous agency for months and felt they were paying for activity, not results. Reports showed clicks and impressions, but no honest conversation about lead quality had taken place.
The core challenge was to attract people specifically looking for cash for cars Melbourne and car removal services, not people browsing for spare parts. This required a completely different approach to how the campaigns were structured and how the website supported those campaigns.
The Strategy
Google Ads Improvements
The first step was a full audit of the existing Google Ads account. This included reviewing every active keyword, every search term that had triggered an ad, and every audience segment.
The search term data told a clear story. Broad match keywords and poorly structured ad groups were allowing the campaigns to show for searches like “car parts Melbourne,” “wreckers near me,” and “second hand engines.” These searches have nothing to do with cash for cars Melbourne or scrap car removal Melbourne, yet they were consuming a large portion of the budget.
Key improvements included:
- A comprehensive negative keyword list built from real search term data, blocking parts-related and wrecking-related searches.
- Ad groups restructured around specific services: car removal Melbourne, cash for scrap cars Melbourne, and sell my car Melbourne.
- Geographic targeting tightened to focus on suburbs with the highest conversion potential.
- Conversion tracking was audited and corrected so that the data being reported was actually accurate.
- Landing pages were reviewed and updated to align with the intent of each campaign.
- Ongoing optimisation using real weekly data to refine bids, match types, and audience targeting.
The early weeks still produced some parts-related inquiries. Rather than making sudden sweeping changes, the account was optimised progressively using real data. Each week, new negative keywords were added, and bids were adjusted based on actual performance, not assumptions.
SEO Campaign
After a few months of consistent improvement in the Google Ads campaign, the client decided to expand the relationship. They entrusted our team with their SEO campaign as well, to build long-term organic visibility for car removal Melbourne and related search terms.
The SEO strategy covered several areas:
- Technical SEO improvements, including page speed, crawlability, and mobile usability.
- Location page optimisation targeting specific Melbourne suburbs and surrounding areas.
- A content strategy built around high-intent search terms such as unwanted car buyers Melbourne, cash for scrap cars Melbourne, and Melbourne car removal services.
- Internal linking improvements to strengthen topical authority across the site.
- Local SEO improvements, including citation building and consistency across directories.
- Google Business Profile optimisation with updated categories, service descriptions, photos, and consistent review management.
- Authority building through relevant local and industry link acquisition.
The content strategy focused specifically on people who were ready to take action. Articles and service pages were written for people searching with terms like sell my car Melbourne and scrap car removal Melbourne, not general automotive content that would attract the wrong audience.
The Results
Google Ads Results
SEO Results
Significant
Several high-intent keywords reached Page 1 rankings in Google search results. Local visibility improved significantly, with the business now appearing prominently in map pack results for key Melbourne car removal searches.
AI Search & LLM Traffic
As the website has built stronger topical authority, it has become a source that AI tools reference when answering relevant questions. This type of visibility is still growing and is becoming an increasingly important channel for local service businesses. AI referral traffic continues to rise as the site’s authority and local relevance deepen.
Key Takeaways
Key lessons from this campaign highlighted the importance of targeting quality leads, building long-term visibility, and creating a strategy that combines both paid and organic growth channels.
- More leads do not mean better results. A smaller number of highly relevant inquiries is worth more than a large volume of unqualified ones.
- Google Ads for car removal companies requires ongoing management. Set-and-forget campaigns attract the wrong audience and burn through budget quickly.
- SEO for car removal businesses builds authority over time. The results from organic search continue to grow well after the initial work is completed.
- Paid and organic search work best together. Google Ads provides immediate traction while SEO builds durable, long-term visibility.
- Local SEO Melbourne improvements directly support both paid and organic performance, particularly for service businesses operating in specific geographic areas.
- AI-powered search platforms are an emerging visibility channel that businesses with strong topical authority will continue to benefit from.