Catalyst IQ helped an Orange County Cadillac dealer go from invisible in organic search to #1 for its top local query, growing non-branded organic clicks 1,143% over three years.
In Orange County, one of the country's most competitive luxury auto markets, this Cadillac dealer wasn't showing up in organic search. The searches that send shoppers to a showroom were going to national aggregators like AutoTrader, Edmunds, and CarGurus instead. The dealer also needed its EVs to compete with Tesla and the other luxury EVs shoppers were considering.
Our team of SEO experts focused on conquesting Tesla cross-shoppers. They created conquest content built for that exact moment, like "Cadillac Lyriq vs Tesla Model Y" and "Optiq vs Model Y," reaching buyers while they were still comparing brands. They answered common model questions and covered 10+ Orange County communities with local pages.
| Query Category | Before | After | Growth |
| CT5 Queries | 31 | 1,030 | +3,223 |
| CT4 Queries | 9 | 266 | +2,855 |
| Tesla / Model Y Conquest | 53 | 341 | +543% |
| Lyriq Queris | 252 | 543 | +115% |
| Escalade Queries | 331 | 447 | +35% |
| For Sale (Commercial Intent) | 122 | 167 | +37% |
| Overall Click Volume | 14,000 | 18,700 | +34% |
Success for this SEO program came down to non-branded organic clicks. These are shoppers who landed on the dealer's site without searching for it by name, so each one is new demand the store wasn't capturing before. Over three years, those clicks grew 1,143%.
The store now ranks #1 for "cadillac escalade orange county," ahead of every national aggregator and rival Cadillac dealer in the region.
The gains reached every model, with the biggest jumps where Cadillac is investing most: CT5 up 3,223% and Tesla conquest up 543%.
If you want a clear picture of how your dealership ranks in organic search, a Catalyst IQ demo is an easy place to start.
In about 20 minutes, we'll show you:
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