A driver whose check-engine light comes on during the morning commute, a fleet manager looking for a rental partner for a new project, a family comparing two dealerships before a big purchase: all of them reach for a phone before they reach a decision. For a garage, a dealership or a car rental company, being found at that moment is the difference between a full workshop and an empty bay.
Once that is clear, the practical question follows: how much should you put behind it? Traffic Engine has three standard plans and two exclusive ones. This guide helps you choose by size, ambition and the competition you face, using only the prices published on the offer page. Figures here are in US dollars.
The five plans at a glance
Every plan starts the same way: a Visibility Audit at $750, fully deducted from the one-off $1,650 setup if you start within 30 days. Every plan runs on a 12-month commitment, with a measured review at 3 months and a dated report every week. What changes is the intensity of your presence and the position your seat holds.
| Plan | Per month | Year one (with setup) | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presence | $1,200 | $16,050 | Independent garage, single site |
| Momentum | $2,100 | $26,850 | Garage or rental firm aiming to grow |
| Flood | $3,850 | $47,850 | Dealership or group in a crowded market |
| Momentum Exclusive | $4,250 | $52,650 | Growth with the sector locked |
| Flood Exclusive | $6,450 | $79,050 | Maximum ambition, no rivals |
Presence: the independent shop that needs to exist online
Presence is the entry seat. It gives a steady baseline of visibility to a business that barely shows up today. It suits an independent repair shop, a tyre and alignment specialist, a body shop or a small rental outfit serving mainly its own neighbourhood.
The reasoning is straightforward. Work out what a loyal customer spends with you in a year on servicing, brakes, tyres and the occasional big repair, then ask how many new regulars it would take to cover the plan. For most shops the answer is a small number. Presence is not about owning the whole city. It is about making sure the driver searching for a garage near home finds you, not just the shop down the road.
Momentum: the growth choice
Momentum is the growth seat and the plan most businesses choose. It fits a multi-service garage that wants every bay busy through the week, a rental company targeting business travellers and corporate accounts, or a specialist workshop ready to draw customers from beyond its immediate area.
In the automotive trade, competition online is usually real in any sizeable city: plenty of shops, plenty of rental desks, and customers who compare quickly and read reviews before they book. Momentum gives your business enough weight to count in that comparison. A single corporate rental account or a fleet maintenance contract can cover a large part of the year's investment on its own.
To set your envelope before you choose a plan, our guide on what monthly visibility budget a garage should plan walks through the decision.
Flood: the dealership or group that wants to lead
Flood is the intensive seat. It is built for dealerships, multi-location service groups, rental companies operating across several cities, and garages determined to become the name everyone thinks of first in their area. These businesses can absorb a lot of demand: several technicians, a large fleet, a sales team that follows up quickly.
Flood makes sense when the value of a sale is high and competition is fierce. A dealership thinks in margin per vehicle, so a handful of extra sales a year changes the maths entirely. On the other hand, Flood would be oversized for a shop that cannot take more cars than it does today. Buying a plan beyond your capacity means paying for enquiries you cannot serve.
The exclusive plans: locking the sector
Kolonell limits each sector to 3 standard seats per area, each with its own positioning. As long as no standard seat has been signed in your sector and area, you can take Momentum Exclusive or Flood Exclusive: no other garage, dealer or rental firm in your area will be served for the whole of your commitment.
That option disappears the moment the first standard seat is signed, so it is a decision to make early. It is worth considering if your area is contested, if you want the leading position, and if the idea of a direct competitor getting the same support is a deal-breaker. Our guide on why a serious provider limits clients per sector and area explains how that rule protects each client.
How to decide in practice
Four questions will point you to the right plan.
- How many extra customers can you handle each month? Workshop capacity or fleet size sets the useful ceiling.
- What is a customer worth to you over a year? A servicing regular, a corporate rental account and a vehicle sale carry very different values.
- How many visible competitors do you face? The more crowded the city, the less a baseline presence will do.
- Is your sector still empty in your area? If so, look at exclusivity before it is gone.
Our guide on how many new clients it takes to break even on visibility helps with the second question, and the payback calculator on the page runs the numbers with your own figures. If you are still unsure, the Visibility Audit settles it: it compares your position with your sector and recommends a plan before you commit to anything.
Whatever the plan, the guarantee is the same: what the plan includes goes live on schedule, or the following month is free. Kolonell guarantees delivery and measurement, not what Google or an AI assistant decides. See the full offer and check which seats are still open in your sector.