How to sell more cars with Vehicle Ads, the new feature of Google Shopping

The automotive sector is experiencing an accelerated digital transformation. More and more buyers are looking for information and making vehicle purchases online. To take advantage of this trend, Google has launched Vehicle Ads, a new ad format that allows dealers to display their cars for sale directly in search results. This powerful tool offers great opportunities to boost visibility and sales.

Although this product has been available in the US since 2022, its arrival in Europe 🇪🇺 is taking place gradually, with the launch in December 2023 in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 (UK) and its upcoming arrival in France 🇫🇷 and Germany 🇩🇪 during Q2 of 2024 and the second half of the year for Spain 🇪🇸, Italy 🇮🇹, and subsequent countries.

Index

• What are Google Vehicle Ads and how do they work

• Advantages of using Vehicle Ads for dealers

• How to set up a Vehicle Ads campaign step by step

• Tips to optimize your vehicle ads

• Measure and analyze the results of your campaigns

• The future of online car sales and the role of Google

What are Google Vehicle Ads and how do they work

Vehicle Ads are a new ad format in Google’s search engine that shows nearby vehicles for sale to the user when they conduct searches related to purchasing cars. For example, if you search for "buy Renault Megane," ads will appear at the top of the results featuring vehicles of that brand and model that are for sale near your location.

These ads are displayed like a card with key information about the vehicle: image, make, model, price, advertiser name, and geographical location. By clicking, the user accesses a detailed description page on the dealership's website, where they can request more information, schedule an appointment, or buy the car directly, provided the seller has a transactional website. ⚡️⚡️

Unlike traditional keyword-based search campaigns, Vehicle Ads use product feed data to show relevant ads based on the search query. This makes it a very powerful and precise tool for the automotive sector.

Advantages of using Vehicle Ads for dealers

Leveraging Vehicle Ads provides numerous benefits for vehicle dealers:

1. Greater visibility: Your cars are displayed at the top of Google’s search results when users are looking to buy a vehicle, greatly increasing the visibility of your inventory.

2. Alternative channels to traditional portals: Your cars will have another alternative way to advertise beyond paid portals like coches.net, wallapop, milanuncios...

3. Attract qualified customers: By showing ads only to users interested in buying a car, the chances of attracting qualified customers and achieving sales are much higher.

4. Broaden geographic reach: You can present your vehicles to buyers from any location, allowing you to expand your reach beyond your local area.

5. Sell faster: By making it easy for users to see key information and contact or buy directly, the sales process accelerates.

6. Detailed data: You obtain valuable data on the performance of your ads, allowing you to continuously optimize your campaigns.

7. Capitalize on a new trend: Being present in this new format allows you to get ahead of the competition and benefit from the growing online vehicle sales.

According to a KPMG survey, 62% of Spanish executives in the sector expect that by 2030, most new car sales will be conducted online. Vehicle Ads allows you to prepare for this paradigm shift.

Requirements to use Google Vehicle Ads

To publish as a Vehicle Ads on Google, three things are required:

1. Account in Google Merchant Center

2. Your own website with the possibility to reserve the vehicle

3. Multi-publishing system, such as that offered by some agents like www.dealcar.io

How to set up a Vehicle Ads campaign step by step

Setting up Vehicle Ads campaigns is similar to Shopping campaigns, as it is also based on a product feed from Google Merchant Center. Follow these steps:

1. Request access: For now, Vehicle Ads is only available in the United States, Australia, and Canada. If you operate in those countries, request access by filling out this form.

2. Prepare your product feed: Ensure that your feed contains all the required information: product identifier, images, links, prices, etc. You can check the required fields here.

3. Upload the feed to Google Merchant Center: Use the tools in Merchant Center to upload and validate your product feed with the vehicles you want to advertise.

4. Set up your business profile: Check that your business profile details in Merchant Center are updated and correct.

5. Create the campaign in Google Ads: Link your Merchant Center account with Google Ads and create a new Shopping campaign enabling the Vehicle Ads option.

6. Define the strategy: Set the budget, bids, target locations, and any other segmentation you need.

7. Measure and optimize: Closely analyze the performance of your vehicle ads and make necessary adjustments to improve results.

Once configured, your Vehicle Ads campaign will display your cars for sale in Google search results every time a user conducts related queries.

Tips to optimize your vehicle ads

To make the most of your Vehicle Ads campaigns, apply these optimization recommendations:

• Use attractive titles and descriptions: Write persuasive texts that highlight the most appealing characteristics of each vehicle.

• Segment by vehicle types: Create separate campaigns or ad groups for new cars, used cars, by price range, etc. This will allow you to better adjust bids.

• Apply advanced bidding strategies: Try higher bids for higher-demand models, specific locations, or valuable queries.

• Take advantage of ad extensions: Use extensions like call, location, or action links to facilitate conversion.

• Monitor your inventory: Ensure that your feed is always updated to avoid showing vehicles that have already been sold.

• Analyze search terms: Periodically review search term reports and implement negative keywords if necessary.

Measure and analyze the results of your campaigns

Once your Vehicle Ads campaigns are up and running, it’s crucial to measure and analyze their performance to continuously optimize them. Some key metrics to monitor are:

• Impressions and visibility: Ensure your ads are being shown in relevant queries and with a good frequency of impressions.

• Clicks and CTR: Analyze how many clicks your ads are receiving and their click-through rate (CTR) to identify improvement opportunities.

• Conversions and return on investment: Ultimately, the most important thing is how many sales or leads you are generating and the return you are getting from your advertising investment.

• Search terms: Review search term reports to detect new opportunities or queries in which you should be present.

Use this information to adjust your bids, budgets, segmentations, and any other aspect of your campaigns with the goal of maximizing results.

The future of online car sales and the role of Google

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of the sector and the rise of e-commerce applied to vehicle sales. According to consulting firm EY, 65% of buyers would be willing to purchase their next car entirely online.

In this new scenario, Google tools like Vehicle Ads become crucial for dealers to adapt and make the most of opportunities in the digital market. As more buyers search for and purchase cars online, being present with relevant and attractive ads on the primary search engine will be key to success.

Therefore, dealers who anticipate this trend and invest in innovative formats like Vehicle Ads will be better positioned to attract online customers and maintain a profitable business in the future. Google will continue to launch new advertising solutions tailored to the sector, so staying updated will be essential.

Ultimately, Vehicle Ads represents a significant opportunity for dealers.