The Motoring (.co.uk) website says aftersales keywords on Google could ‘go through the roof’ over the next two to three years.

Pointing to research showing that 24% of the most expensive keywords are related to the word ‘insurance’, it predicts price hikes for aftersales keywords like ‘MOT’ and ‘servicing’.

Chris Green, sales director at Motoring, commented: “Though pay per click (PPC) advertising has become an integral part of most manufacturer and dealer marketing budgets, costs have risen dramatically.

“If OEMs and dealers are not careful they will fall into the same trap with aftersales.

“Industry stats suggest that over the last five years, the franchised dealer has lost over 51% market share to fast fits and independents.

“Starting a war on Google with the likes of Halfords and Kwik Fit is not the answer.

“Instead, manufacturers need to choose the right partners with the correct type of data to get to the heart of the owners of their brand.”