Use This Calculator When
  • You're deciding whether to invest $X/month in SEO, GBP management, or paid ads.
  • You want to model the upside of moving 2–6 positions on Google Maps.
  • You need a defensible payback-period figure for a partner, lender, or family stakeholder.
  • You're comparing multiple agency proposals and want a baseline expectation.

Plug in your numbers below. The calculator runs entirely in your browser, uses benchmarks we’ve aggregated across hundreds of salvage yards and junk car buyers, and returns three figures: projected monthly incremental leads, projected monthly incremental gross revenue, and payback period in months. Methodology and underlying coefficients are explained below the calculator. This pairs with our revenue math by Maps position deep-dive and the 2026 marketing guide.

The Calculator

Gross margin per car. Junk: $250–$450. Full-service: $400–$650.
Total qualified inbound calls/forms per month.
Where you currently rank for "[city] junk car buyer" or similar.
SEO, GBP management, ad spend — total monthly investment.
Industry average: 35–55% for junk buyers. Default: 40%.
Realistic 6–12 month target.
Results are projections based on industry benchmarks, not contracts. Outcomes depend on metro competitive density, lead handling quality, seasonality, and execution. The model uses middle-of-range coefficients to avoid overpromising. Real performance varies up or down by 30–50% depending on context. No data is sent to our servers — everything runs in your browser.

How the Calculator Works

The model uses three coefficients calibrated against benchmarks observed across the yards we audit and manage:

  1. Click-share by Maps rank. Position #1 in the 3-pack captures ~40% of local-intent clicks; #2 ~25%; #3 ~15%; positions 4–5 drop to 4–6%; positions 6+ drop to 1–3%; beyond top 10, share is <1%. The drop between rank #3 and rank #4 is the steepest, reflecting the visibility cliff at the bottom of the visible 3-pack.
  2. Maps attribution fraction. For typical salvage yards, Google Maps drives roughly 40% of total inbound calls. Other sources (organic search, paid ads, referrals, repeat) account for the remainder. The calculator uses 40% as the Maps share of your current monthly lead volume to back out implied total addressable pool.
  3. Execution discount. Theoretical lift assumes you successfully move and hold the target rank, the metro pool stays roughly constant, and your conversion rate doesn’t drop as volume grows. None of these are guaranteed. The calculator applies a 25% execution discount to projected lift to remain conservative.

The math, in plain form:

  • Implied Maps lead pool = (current monthly leads × 0.40) ÷ click-share at current rank
  • Projected Maps leads at target rank = pool × click-share at target rank
  • Incremental leads / month = (projected − current Maps leads) × 0.75 execution discount
  • Incremental booked cars = incremental leads × lead-to-booked conversion rate
  • Incremental gross / month = incremental booked cars × average ticket
  • Payback period (months) = monthly investment ÷ incremental monthly gross

Worked Example: Mid-Size Yard at Rank #6

Inputs: $290 ticket, 200 current monthly leads, currently rank #6, $1,500/month investment, 40% conversion, target rank #2.

  • Current Maps leads: 200 × 0.40 = 80/month
  • Click-share at #6 = 2.5%; implied pool = 80 / 0.025 = 3,200 Maps-eligible local intents in the metro
  • Click-share at #2 = 25%; projected Maps leads = 3,200 × 0.25 = 800/month
  • Incremental leads (raw) = 800 − 80 = 720; with 0.75 execution discount = 540/month
  • Incremental booked cars = 540 × 0.40 = 216/month
  • Incremental gross = 216 × $290 = $62,640/month
  • Payback = $1,500 / $62,640 = under 1 month

That figure looks aggressive because, in this scenario, rank #6 captures very little of the metro’s click pool while rank #2 captures a large share — the leverage is enormous. In practice, a yard at rank #6 has likely also been under-marketed elsewhere (no GBP optimization, low review velocity, weak website conversion), so realized lift in months 1–6 is typically lower than the steady-state model suggests. By month 9–12, with rank stabilized, lift approaches the model’s projection.

Worked Example: Already-Strong Yard at Rank #3

Inputs: $290 ticket, 350 current monthly leads, currently rank #3, $2,500/month investment, 40% conversion, target rank #1.

  • Current Maps leads: 350 × 0.40 = 140/month
  • Click-share at #3 = 15%; implied pool = 140 / 0.15 = 933 Maps-eligible local intents in the metro
  • Click-share at #1 = 40%; projected Maps leads = 933 × 0.40 = 373/month
  • Incremental leads (raw) = 373 − 140 = 233; with 0.75 discount = 175/month
  • Incremental cars = 175 × 0.40 = 70/month
  • Incremental gross = 70 × $290 = $20,300/month
  • Payback = $2,500 / $20,300 = ~1.5 months

This is the more realistic, less hype-prone scenario most yard owners will recognize. Strong but not dominant; investment focused on closing the gap to #1; payback inside 60 days; year-1 net incremental gross of roughly $213K after subtracting investment.

Why the Calculator Defaults Are What They Are

$290 average ticket

This is the conservative middle figure for pure junk car buyers across the US and Canada in 2026, accounting for current scrap pricing and VIN distribution. Yards with significant late-model intake or full-service parts operations often run higher. Yards in low-scrap-price markets (rural Midwest, Atlantic Canada outside metros) often run lower. Adjust if you have your own data.

200 monthly leads

The default models a mid-size operation. Yards under 100 leads/month are typically constrained by visibility (rank, ad spend, or both) and have higher leverage on each marketing dollar. Yards over 500 leads/month are typically already well-marketed and have lower per-dollar leverage. Adjust to your actual volume.

40% lead-to-booked conversion

This figure is widely observed across well-managed junk car operations. Yards with weak phone discipline, slow callback times, or under-trained dispatchers often run at 25–30%. Yards with disciplined intake and dedicated phone staff often run at 50–55%. If your own number is below 35%, fix lead handling before increasing marketing spend — the leverage is higher there.

0.75 execution discount

This accounts for: incomplete rank movement (you target #2 but stabilize at #3), pool elasticity (some target keywords have lower pool than your priority query), conversion drift as volume grows (intake gets busier, conversion drops slightly), and seasonality (winter months in cold-weather metros). The discount is applied uniformly — it’s not modeled in detail because the variability is too local.

What the Calculator Does Not Model

Important caveats to keep in mind when using these projections:

  • Time to rank stability. Marketing investment doesn’t produce instant rank movement. Most yards see 30–90 days before measurable Maps movement begins, and 6–12 months before rank fully stabilizes at the new position. The calculator output is the steady-state monthly figure, not month 1.
  • Compounding effects. Higher rank produces higher review velocity, which produces higher rank, which produces higher review velocity. The calculator doesn’t model this flywheel — real year-2+ performance for yards that hold their target rank typically exceeds the projection.
  • Competitive response. If you move from #6 to #2, the previous #2 isn’t happy. Some competitors will respond with their own SEO push. The calculator assumes a static competitive field, which isn’t reality.
  • Channel mix. The calculator collapses all marketing investment into a single “spend” figure. In practice, $1,500/month split between SEO management ($800), content ($400), and review ops ($300) produces different month-by-month lift curves than $1,500 spent on Google Ads.
  • Lead quality variability. Paid leads from broad-match Google Ads convert lower than organic Maps leads. The calculator uses one conversion rate across all incremental leads — refine if you have channel-level conversion data.
  • Parts revenue tail. Full-service recyclers earn parts gross over 6–18 months per car. The calculator captures only ticket revenue at the time of intake. To model parts tail, use a higher average ticket value.

How to Use the Output

Three legitimate uses of the calculator:

  1. Sanity-check an agency proposal. If an agency quotes $2,000/month and projects $40K/month in incremental gross, plug their target rank into the calculator. If the calculator says $25K, ask them to defend the $40K figure. If they can’t, discount their projection.
  2. Set internal target ranges. Use the calculator to set realistic 6-month, 12-month, and 18-month revenue lift targets. Compare actual results monthly against the projection. If actual is >30% below projection at month 6, audit lead handling, conversion, and rank movement separately.
  3. Make go/no-go investment decisions. If the calculator shows payback >12 months at conservative inputs, the investment is probably too large for the yard’s current scale. Either reduce spend or fix conversion first. If payback is <3 months, the investment is almost certainly worth funding.
Bottom Line

The calculator gives a structured estimate, not a contract. Use it to size the investment range and set expectations with stakeholders. Combine with your own conversion data, your metro’s competitive map, and at least one external benchmark (an agency’s case study, a peer yard’s stated growth) before committing capital. If projected payback is under 6 months at conservative inputs, the investment is almost certainly worth making — the question is which channel mix, not whether to spend.

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is the ROI calculator?

The calculator uses benchmarks aggregated across salvage yards and junk car buyers we work with — typical lead lift per Maps position, average conversion rate from lead to booked car, and payback period for marketing investments. Real results vary based on metro density, competition, lead handling quality, and ticket variability, but the model produces useful order-of-magnitude estimates. We deliberately use conservative middle-of-range coefficients.

What's a realistic average ticket value for a junk car buyer?

For pure junk car/end-of-life vehicle operations, typical average gross per booked car ranges from $250 (Midwest US, low-scrap-price periods) to $450 (high-scrap markets, valuable VINs). Full-service auto recyclers with parts pull-and-resell capability often run $400–$650 average gross per car. The calculator defaults to $290 — a conservative middle figure for the buy-side.

What's the typical payback period on marketing investment?

For salvage yards above $30K/month in gross, marketing investments — particularly local SEO and Google Business Profile optimization — typically pay back in 60–120 days. Ad-driven channels (Google Ads, Facebook Ads) often pay back in 30–60 days when CPLs are reasonable. The calculator computes payback as projected monthly incremental gross divided by monthly marketing investment.

How much should a salvage yard spend on marketing?

Industry benchmarks suggest 5–10% of gross revenue for marketing for mature operators, scaling to 12–18% during growth phases. A $50K/month yard typically invests $2,500–$5,000/month in marketing across SEO/GBP management, paid ads, and tools. Larger or competitive metros require higher absolute spend.

Should I use this calculator for paid ads only or also for SEO?

Both. The calculator models incremental lead lift from any source — paid (Google Ads, Facebook Ads) or organic (Maps ranking, SEO). The "ad spend" input is a placeholder for total monthly marketing investment. For SEO-only investments, model the agency or in-house cost as the spend variable. The output (lead lift, revenue lift, payback) is identical in form.

What conversion rate from lead to booked car should I use?

Average answered-call to booked-car conversion runs 35–55% for junk car buyers, 25–40% for parts inquiries. The calculator defaults to 40% — a middle-of-range figure. If you have your own conversion data, use it. If you don't track it, install call tracking and start measuring.

Why does the calculator show different lift estimates for different Maps ranks?

Click-through and call distribution within the Maps 3-pack is non-linear. Position #1 captures roughly 40% of pack clicks; position #4 (just outside the pack) captures less than 5%. So moving from rank #6 to rank #3 produces dramatically more lead volume than moving from rank #3 to rank #2. The calculator models this curve based on observed click distributions.

Can I share or download my results?

The calculator runs entirely in your browser — no data is sent to our servers. To share results, screenshot the output or copy the figures into your own pro forma. We're working on an export-to-PDF feature planned for a future release.

What if my numbers are way off the calculator's estimates?

Three common reasons: (1) your conversion rate is below industry average — fix lead handling first; (2) your average ticket is unusually low or high — adjust the input; (3) your metro is unusually saturated or underserved — competitive density skews benchmarks. Book a call with our team and we'll model your specific market.

Is the model the same for full-service recyclers and junk car buyers?

The lead-lift model is identical — Maps ranking and ad spend produce similar incremental call volume regardless of business model. The revenue model differs: full-service recyclers earn ticket revenue plus parts gross over months, so 'revenue per booked car' is higher and longer-tailed. Use a higher average ticket value to capture parts-pull revenue.

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