+69%
Form submissions
188 → 317
+18%
Leads per 1,000 visitors
13.9 → 16.4
5–12
Estimated additional vehicles
In 72 days
1400%
Estimated ROI
Modeled, not tracked sales
Heiser Ford launched Carvia across its vehicle detail pages on August 12, 2026. For the next 72 days, Carvia was the only change to the website and to digital marketing.
That makes this one of the cleanest before-and-after reads we have published. We compared the 72 days after launch with the 72 days before, using Heiser's own GA4 data with no filters applied.
An earlier look at the same store, in our August case study, found sitewide engagement already above 83%, well ahead of automotive benchmarks. The open question was whether Carvia could turn that engagement into more leads.
The Challenge
Few brands are harder to understand from a vehicle detail page than Ford.
One F-150 can come in multiple trims, equipment groups, engines, and stacks of option and tow packages, each with its own code and price. Shoppers land on the page, see a long list of package names, and have to work out what they are actually getting and whether it fits how they will use the truck.
Most leave to research elsewhere. The ones who stay often do not have the confidence to reach out. Heiser's site was already performing well. The job was to turn that attention into a conversation.
What Carvia Changed
Carvia sits on each vehicle detail page and explains that specific vehicle in plain language: what its packages and options include, how it compares with other trims, what it will cost to own, and what coverage comes with it.
Shoppers get clear answers about the exact VIN in front of them, on the page they were already reading.
The Results
More forms from the same traffic.
Visitors per day moved from 485 to 474. Form submissions moved from 188 to 317. The gain came from more of Heiser's existing shoppers deciding to reach out.
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form submissions | 188 | 317 | +69% |
| Forms per 1,000 visitors | 5.4 | 9.3 | +72% |
| Total leads (forms + calls) | 484 | 559 | +15% |
| Leads per 1,000 visitors | 13.9 | 16.4 | +18% |
| Actions per visitor | 12.7 | 15.0 | +18% |
| Total site activity per day | 5,590 | 6,219 | +11% |
| Time on site | 39.7s | 41.9s | +6% |
| Visitors per day | 485 | 474 | −2% |
Forms are asc_form_submission events. Calls are asc_click_to_call events. Leads are the two combined. August 12–October 22, 2026 compared with June 1–August 11, 2026.
The Trend Kept Climbing
Before launch, Heiser averaged 3 to 7 form submissions per 1,000 visitors in every two-week period. After launch, the rate climbed almost every two weeks and reached about 16 per 1,000 in October.
That is roughly triple the pre-launch level, and it had not leveled off by the end of the window.
New-Vehicle Shoppers Dig In
The Ford-specific impact shows up most on new-vehicle pages, where package complexity is highest.
Active time on new-vehicle pages rose 14%, from 38.1 to 43.6 seconds, and bounce rate fell from 15.6% to 12.8%. By October, new-vehicle shoppers were spending 45 to 60 seconds of active time per visit, compared with about 38 seconds before launch.
Shoppers Do More on Every Visit
Visitors took 18% more actions per visit, and total site activity rose 11% on flat traffic.
Shoppers are viewing more vehicles, opening more details, and spending longer with the inventory.
What It Means in Sales
An estimated 5 to 12 additional vehicles in 72 days.
The estimate starts from the increase in leads per 1,000 visitors, so the small change in traffic does not inflate it. It also nets out a dip in phone calls, so it counts only the overall gain in leads. From there we applied standard dealership funnel rates.
| Stage | Assumption | Conservative | Industry avg | Top tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Additional leads | 16.4 vs 13.9 per 1,000 × 34,151 visitors | 85 | 85 | 85 |
| Appointments set | 40% of leads | 34 | 34 | 34 |
| Showroom visits | 37% / 50% / 62% show rate | 13 | 17 | 21 |
| Additional vehicles sold | 40% / 44% / 58% close rate | 5 | 8 | 12 |
These are estimates from industry funnel benchmarks, applied to Heiser's own lead counts. They are not a count of vehicles Heiser sold.
1400%
Estimated ROI over 72 days
Set against Heiser's Carvia investment for the period, and a standard gross profit per vehicle, the additional sales work out to an estimated 1400% return.
The dollar result moves with the close rate and the gross. The lead gain underneath it is Heiser's.
Heiser Expanded It Across the Group
We walked through these numbers with Dawn Riedel, Director of Marketing at Heiser Automotive Group. She confirmed that nothing else had changed. The website, the offers, and the digital marketing plan were the same ones Heiser was already running. Carvia was the only new piece on the Ford site, which is why the before-and-after comparison holds.
After seeing the results, Heiser expanded Carvia to every Chevrolet store, every CDJR store, and every Toyota store in the group. CDJR is Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram. The Ford store showed what the vehicle page could do, and the rest of those rooftops are now on Carvia too.
What This Means for Ford Dealers
When a vehicle is hard to understand, shoppers stall. Heiser shows what happens when the vehicle page does the explaining.
Shoppers stay longer, explore more, and reach out more often, on the same traffic and the same ad spend. For any store whose inventory comes with complex trims and packages, that is the gap Carvia closes.
How We Measured
Data source: Heiser's GA4 property, whole site, no filters. August 12–October 22, 2026 compared with June 1–August 11, 2026, 72 days each.
Definitions: forms are asc_form_submission events. Calls are asc_click_to_call events. Leads are the two combined.
New-vehicle figures compare August 12–October 13 with June 11–August 11, and leave out two short traffic spikes, June 30–July 8 and September 1–11.
Calls fell 18% over the period. Form gains more than offset that dip, and the sales estimate counts only the overall gain in leads.
Sitewide engagement and bounce rate are omitted. A GA4 key-event setting changed on October 14 and affects how both are calculated from that date on.
Sales and ROI are estimates based on industry funnel benchmarks and a standard gross-profit assumption. This is a before-and-after comparison of Heiser's own analytics.
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