Dominating a Niche Market: How a Local Repair Shop Outpaced National Chains

The Challenge

In 2022, Axle Solutions was struggling to compete in their local market for semi-truck axle spindle repair. This niche market was dominated by national chains with massive ad spends, leaving this local repair shop holding on by their bootstraps with only referrals and little to no website traffic. They desperately needed a way to get in front of their target audience on Google, where they were being heavily outgunned by the industry giants.

The Creekside Solution

We implemented a precision-engineered strategy to help Axle Solutions outmaneuver the competition:

• Proprietary Local SEO: We optimized their Google My Business (GMB) profile using proprietary local SEO processes to increase visibility.
• Hyper-Precise Ad Bidding: Instead of blanket bidding, we precisely targeted their ideal customer and fine-tuned ad bids to outmaneuver national chains in highly competitive auctions.
• Direct Lead Funnels: We worked directly with the business owner to develop a dedicated lead funnel designed specifically to improve conversion rates.

The Results (May 2023 - April 2024)

Using highly precise targeting, we stretched the ad spend to only bid on the most high-value, underpriced ad placements. This efficiency allowed Axle Solutions to expand their service radius and reach clientele previously thought unreachable.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Market Leadership: Axle Solutions achieved the #1 impression share amongst all competitors in their 3-state radius, even against national chains.
• Search Dominance: They achieved a 15.07% Impression Share and a 38.43% Absolute Top of Page rate.
• Organic GMB Victory: Through our GMB optimization, Axle Solutions achieved the top spot on Google Maps for the entire state of Illinois—out-competing a national chain twice for their own business name with no ad spend required.