Various online dealers for cars have long recognized the trend: Customers can design cars online according to their individual needs with a 3D configurator.
In this paper we would like to analyze the potential of car configurators from the perspective of corresponding online providers. At its core is the question: “Is it worth investing in a car configurator at the present time?“.[mfn]You will find explanations of the technical terms used in this article by clicking on the following Link.[/mfn]
Since a car configurator is integrated into the website via the homepage, the focus here is on online analysis.
In a first step, we will analyze the demand for car configurators with Google’s Keyword Planner using various keywords. This will be followed by a trend and competition analysis of the most important competitors.
Finally, an overall assessment is made on the basis of the findings.
Analysis with the Keyword Planner.
The following table contains relevant keywords related to car configurators according to the Keyword Planner of Google Ads:
| Keyword | Search Volume | Competition | CPC for top positions (in €) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car configurator | 5.400 | Middle | 0,51 |
| Build your car | 1.300 | High | 0,86 |
| Create car | 1.900 | Middle | 0,99 |
| Build your own car | 4.400 | Middle | 0,78 |
| Design your own car | 1.600 | Middle | 0,60 |
| Make your own car | 1.300 | Middle | 0,77 |
| Create your own car | 880 | Low | 0,71 |
| Design your car | 390 | Low | 0,93 |
| Build your dream car | 880 | Low | 1,10 |
| Build your own car online | 480 | Middle | 1,06 |
| Create your car | 110 | Low | 0,98 |
| Build a car online | 210 | Middle | 0,86 |
| Build your own vehicle | 140 | High | 1,40 |
| Design my own car | 110 | Middle | 0,60 |
| Design your dream car | 110 | Low | 1,19 |
With little effort you can find a lot of interesting keywords with low, medium and high competition. The CPCs[mfn]CPCs also refer to the top positions in Google Ads[/mfn] (costs per clicks in Google Ads) are relatively low, so that a positive RoI can be assumed with corresponding investments in Google Ads.
Trend analysis with Google Trends.
Car configurator.
The keyword: “car configurator” has shown a stable and increasing demand for several years.
The keyword: “Build your car” has shown a stable and high demand for several years. We get similar results after entering the keyword: “Design your car” into the tool:
Conclusion: There are numerous interesting key terms with high and for years increasing demand. In addition, the costs per click are relatively low with Google Ads, as a result a positive ROI can be assumed for corresponding campaigns.
Competition analysis:
In the following we will take a closer look at the competitive situation. In order to get a more precise picture, we will analyze the websites from rank 1 to 10 based on different keywords.
On the first place when entering the keyword: “car configurator” you will find the website porsche.com:
The website has very good visibility, which has remained at a consistently high level in recent months.
On the fifth place when entering the search term: “Design your own car” you will find the domain interactivegarage.com:
The domain has very bad visibility. With only 26 keywords the website is in the top 100 of Google.
Now we take a closer look at rank seven of the keyword: “Build your car”.
The domain mbusa.com currently also has a rather average visibility. Now let’s take a closer look at the second place of the keyword: “Create your own car”:
Autobytel.com is a website with a rather average visibility.
Finally, we consider the ninth place of the keyword: “Build a car online”. This ranking is currently occupied by caranddriver.com:
caranddriver.com is a domain with very good visibility.
Conclusion: The relevant keywords include websites with both low, average and good visibility.
Overall assessment: Overall, there is a high and increasing demand for car configurators on the Internet. This demand is currently already being met by a number of providers with varying degrees of visibility.
It is highly probable that keywords such as “car configurator” or “design your car” will achieve good positions in the ranking.
Due to the relatively low click costs, investments should also be made in Google Ads.
Car configurators on the Internet therefore still offer enormous potential for market entrants.
We are specialized in the planning and implementation of real-time 3D configurators and have realized numerous projects in the past. We recommend our VW Polo configurator as a reference.