With the price of fuel skyrocketing – we have presented you with apps to try to save, perhaps this is not the best time to recommend the purchase of a new car, but Google has taken into account the latest trends and, with a wider, has announced the launch of new “ vehicle ads ” within Google Search, advertisements with which users will see suggested cars nearby available for purchase.
More and more people are buying cars online
In presenting this novelty through the words of Stephanie Shum (Director of Product Management, Retail & Vertical Ads), the Mountain View team highlighted how more and more people have moved the search for new cars to buy on the web.
Indeed, according to a dedicated study, 89% of new car buyers have even searched online for the most suitable vehicle (Google / Kantar, Gearshift Study, US, 2021). Furthermore, users no longer stop simply looking for information prior to the purchase, but rather with increasing frequency they complete it directly online: according to the same study, in 2021, 16% of buyers of new cars made their purchases. on the Net, compared to 1% three years earlier.
Google search welcomes “vehicle ads”
The announcement of the landing of vehicle ads in Google Search came on the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show. This is a new format of advertisements showing nearby cars for purchase.
In the initial stages, the novelty will only be operational in the US, however, Google has already confirmed that it wants to bring it to other markets soon.
The operation of these ads has been explained with an example: if a user searches for “SUV 2019 for sale”, he will see above the search results a carousel of ” Ads · Vehicles for sale “, with cars that can be purchased directly or with the possibility of delivery. Each ad contains a number of essential information, such as make, model, condition used, asking price, mileage, seller and location. Once the advertisement of interest has been selected, the user will be redirected to the vehicle page on the dealer’s website, where they will find a form to fill in or the contact information of the same.
Retailers – who are those who will use these ads – are offered the possibility to count actions, such as visits to their store, and assign them a value. Dealers wishing to take advantage of this tool will first need to create a vehicle inventory data feed and connect it to Google Merchant Center. The details used to create the inventory are used by Google to show users the most relevant search results. Using Merchant Center should also help retailers keep tabs on essential inventory information and ad performance.
According to data reported by Google, advertisers who, during the beta testing phase, integrated their campaigns on Search with the new vehicle ads (“ vehicle ads ”) recorded an average increase in conversions of 25%. In particular, three retailers are given as an example:
- Asbury Automotive Group created a feed with their team and then used vehicle ads to promote their used car inventory on Search. Thanks to these, he saw a 35% increase in conversions and a 12% increase in conversion value. Results defined ” above our expectations “.
- Ken Garff Automotive Group created their feed in collaboration with an inventory management partner and started using vehicle ads. In the first half of 2021, it achieved 55% more conversions in nine dealerships.
- CarMax, the largest national used car dealer (over 30 brands, 600 models and 220 stores in the US), used machine learning and automation of vehicle ads as a tool to be able to show the right car to the right customer and saw an increase in visits to your site.
More details for resellers are available at this link, although for now, these announcements are only present in the United States.
