Competitive SEO campaign case study
1: Decrease cost per lead
2: Increase organic traffic volume
3: Improve search engine visibility for high converting phrases
4: Increase the number of leads for all major capital cities
The car finance industry in Australia is a significant and highly competitive sector, playing a crucial role in consumer mobility and national economic activity. With over a million new and used vehicles sold annually, access to car loans is essential for the majority of Australian buyers — whether through dealerships, brokers, banks, or specialist online lenders like Carloans.com.au.
As of 2025, the Australian car finance industry generates an estimated $30–35 billion annually in total lending volume. This includes secured and unsecured auto loans provided through banks, non-bank lenders, and dealership finance arms. Online lending platforms are growing rapidly, driven by consumer demand for faster approvals, transparent pricing, and digital convenience.
There are approximately 2,000–2,500 finance providers and brokers operating in the Australian car loan space, including a mix of national banks, credit unions, online lenders, and car dealership finance companies. Digital-first platforms like Carloans.com.au face strong competition but also have the agility to outperform traditional players through better UX and performance marketing.
The broader automotive finance and leasing sector employs around 12,000 people in Australia. This workforce spans finance brokers, loan officers, underwriters, customer support teams, and digital operations — with increasing demand for professionals skilled in fintech and online lending technologies.
Digital Transformation: Consumers are increasingly researching, applying for, and securing car loans online, shifting the competitive landscape toward platforms that invest in SEO, CRO, and automation.
Rate Sensitivity: With fluctuating interest rates and tightened lending conditions, customers are more selective, comparing dozens of loan providers before committing — increasing the importance of visibility on search engines.
Broker vs Direct Lending: While brokers still hold a large market share, there’s rapid growth in direct-to-consumer models powered by strong online acquisition strategies.
Regulatory Oversight: Lenders must comply with ASIC and responsible lending obligations, which can create both marketing constraints and opportunities for compliant operators to stand out.
In a high-stakes industry where a single lead can be worth thousands in commission, competitive SEO is critical. Ranking for high-intent terms like “car loans Sydney” or “best car finance rates Australia” offers substantial ROI. Long-tail keyword targeting, optimised landing pages, and content hubs focused on vehicle financing advice are powerful tools to build authority and attract qualified leads in a cost-effective, sustainable way.
FleetChoice was established in 2010, initially specialising in novated leasing. In response to regulatory changes affecting the novated leasing industry, the directors made a strategic decision to diversify their offerings by introducing a dedicated car finance product to support business growth. To clearly differentiate this new direction, they acquired the domain CarLoans.com.au, creating a distinct brand focused solely on the car finance market.
Generating leads for the car finance sales team was becoming increasingly expensive, with rising acquisition costs eroding the company’s profit margins. The high cost per lead was largely driven by intense competition on Google Ads, where many lenders were bidding on the same high-intent keywords. Average cost-per-click ranged between $8 and $12, resulting in a cost per lead of $50 to $80 — making paid acquisition unsustainable at scale.
Our solution focused on four key areas: improving website content to make it more informative and shareable, optimising the site for search engines, adding clear calls-to-action to boost conversions, and building relationships with high-quality websites to drive traffic and backlinks to Carloans.com.au.
This solution was chosen because it focused on growing CarLoans.com.au’s traffic and lead volume from free, sustainable sources like search engines, news outlets, and social media. By reducing reliance on paid channels like Google Ads, the company was able to reinvest in long-term growth assets — including high-quality content, automated sales funnels, and authoritative backlinks.
The strategies implemented for CarLoans.com.au created a flywheel of growth. As high-quality content attracted organic traffic and backlinks, search rankings improved across the site. This boosted visibility, lowered reliance on paid ads, and allowed reinvestment into more content and SEO — compounding traffic and lead growth over time.
Content marketing and digital PR together create a powerful force that builds brand authority, earns trust, drives organic growth, and amplifies visibility across both search engines and influential media platforms.
No contracts. No upfront fees. Just real SEO results—only pay when you rank.