Many business owners take the DIY route with digital ads — and it’s completely understandable. Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook make it look simple: pick a budget, choose some keywords or interests, launch your ads, and wait for leads.
But in reality?
Successful campaigns require strategy, precision, and ongoing optimization — especially in competitive industries like utility trailers.
This case study highlights how a local trailer dealer went from wasting ad spend to generating better-qualified leads, higher traffic, and stronger results after shifting their SEM and social campaigns to Vista Reach.
The Challenge: Wrong Keywords, Wrong Audience, Wrong Traffic
Before partnering with us, the client was investing roughly $1,500/month across Google Search and Facebook ads. The effort was there — but the results weren’t.
Here’s what we found:
1. Search campaign issues
Their self-managed SEM was:
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Targeting broad and irrelevant keywords
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Appearing for searches related to camping, tent trailers, and RVs
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Missing high-intent utility trailer phrases such as:
“cargo trailer for sale,” “utility trailer quotes,” “enclosed trailer dealer,” etc.
This meant ** wasted clicks, low-quality leads, and poor ROI.**
2. Facebook campaign misalignment
Their social ads were reaching:
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People with no interest in trailers
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Audiences too broad to convert
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No alignment between the ad message and the people seeing it
The issue wasn’t the budget — it was the targeting.
The Fix: Smarter Targeting Across Search + Social
Once Vista Reach took over management, we rebuilt everything from the ground up.
On Google Search
We focused on:
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High-intent utility trailer keywords
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Category-specific search terms
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Negative keywords to filter out RV and camping traffic
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A separate campaign for trailer service + MTO certifications, since this is a profitable revenue stream on its own
The goal?
Send the right people to the right landing pages with clear intent to buy or service a trailer.
On Facebook
We optimized by:
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Narrowing the audience to interests tied to utility trailers, towing, haulage, and related lifestyles
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Aligning creative with real user behaviour
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Ensuring ads were shown to people most likely to engage or buy
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Reducing wasted impressions and lowering cost per quality lead
The Results: A Complete Turnaround in One Year
Since Vista Reach assumed management, the client has seen:
✔️ Nearly 40% increase in website traffic
Driven by stronger SEM + more relevant social audiences.
✔️ Website leads (calls + form fills) up significantly
Higher-intent traffic resulted in more meaningful inquiries.
✔️ Phone calls from Search ads + website more than doubled
The right people finally found them.
✔️ Better-qualified customers
No more calls asking about RV awnings or tent trailers for sale — just real trailer buyers and service clients.
And the momentum didn’t stop there…
Scaling Up: Adding Programmatic Display & Rebalancing Budgets
Once the client saw the impact, we reviewed market share and identified even more opportunity.
Together, we:
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Increased SEM budget where results were strongest
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Reduced Facebook spend (still effective, but no longer the workhorse)
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Layered in programmatic display to reach an even larger, more relevant audience
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Continued building brand familiarity and keeping the business top-of-mind
The omni-channel approach boosted:
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Brand visibility
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Returning website traffic
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Search branded queries
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And repeat service bookings
This is the benefit of aligning tactics instead of running them in isolation.
Final Thoughts
For many businesses, DIY digital advertising feels manageable — until the results plateau.
This utility trailer dealer wasn’t doing anything “wrong”… they just needed:
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Cleaner targeting
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Better keywords
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Smarter optimization
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And a cohesive strategy
Once those pieces were in place, the results spoke for themselves.
If you’re managing your own ads and not seeing the results you want, I’d be happy to help.
Whether you’re:
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spending too much on the wrong clicks
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unsure why your campaigns stall
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or ready to scale your results…
I’m always happy to look at your setup, walk through opportunities, and build a strategy that fits your goals and budget.