Google is giving auto industry advertisers a new tool to drive their marketing efforts in the form of ad units tailored to car sales.
When people search for cars for sale, the new ad format shows nearby vehicles to buy.
The shift in online consumer behavior has changed over the past two years.
Not only are more and more people turning to the web to find their next car, they are also buying cars online.
Google research finds 89% of new car buyers researched their new car online.
2021, 16% of new car buyers buy a car online, up from just 1% three years ago.
Every industry needs to keep up with consumers’ rising expectations for online purchases, and the same goes for the automotive industry.
Vehicle Advertising Experience
When users search for cars for sale, they see options to buy or deliver the vehicle.
Ad formats display images and specific inventory information, including:
- Place
- make and model
- Price
- Model
If a user clicks on a vehicle ad, they will be taken to a description page on the dealership’s website.
From there, they were able to get the dealer’s contact information, bringing them closer to the purchase.
How to get started
Currently, car dealerships in the U.S. are eligible to use car advertising.
Vehicle ad formats don’t automatically appear in your account. If you are interested, you must contact Google.
If you’re interested in getting started with car advertising, the first step is to create a car inventory feed. Inventory feeds need to be connected to Google Merchant Center.
After creating and uploading your feed, your Google Ads account needs to be connected to:
- Google Merchant Center
- Google Business Profile
A Smart Shopping campaign is required to run auto ads. You can’t run car ads in standard Shopping campaigns.
other requirements
If you are a car dealer, you are eligible to participate in car advertising. Vehicle ads are not allowed to:
- private seller
- individual seller
- car broker
Vehicle ads are only allowed for non-commercial passenger vehicles (sedans, trucks, SUVs, etc.). Vehicles that are not permitted for vehicle advertising are:
- recreational vehicle
- commercial vehicle
- agricultural vehicles
- bus
- two wheeler
- train
- ferry
- airplane
- Any outdoor utility vehicle
Finally, if you want to advertise your vehicle, you cannot enable another Google Merchant Center program.
Benefits of Vehicle Advertising
Vehicle ads are designed to give users more channel targeting at the bottom. These users are more willing to shop, bringing them closer to narrowing down the final purchase.
Google has been beta testing auto ads with certain advertisers before rolling out to the public. Benefits touted by advertisers include a 25% increase in conversion rates.
Key benefits of car ads listed by Google include
- Get more qualified leads by showing more information before users click
- Omnichannel conversions (online and offline)
- Increase the visibility of your text ads
The last benefit Google lists is automatic targeting. Depending on how you feel about Smart Shopping auto-targeting, you might be reluctant to try them. Vehicle ads are still worth testing to see if they provide incremental lift.
resource: Google
Featured Image: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
