At the 2022 NADA Show, Google announced vehicle listing ads would be available to all automotive advertisers in the United States. The announcement was significant since dealers will now have a new tool to reach highly qualified local car shoppers, similar to shopping ads already familiar to online consumers. This post will review how VLAs work, tips on maximizing performance to drive more vehicle sales, and initial results from the pilot program.
We’ve known that vehicle buyers rely heavily on digital information and online research when purchasing a vehicle. According to a recent study conducted by Google / Kantar in 2021, “89% of new car buyers researched their new vehicle online,”1 while a previous study from Google states, “search is the most commonly used source in the car-buying process”2.
As their latest search offering in the automotive vertical, Google designed vehicle listing ads to serve as a low funnel, performance-focused ad type displaying important vehicle information to shoppers searching for cars for sale. Search queries such as “2022 Honda Pilot” trigger carousel-style ads located at the top of the search results page. Vehicle listing ad units are customized to feature the make, model, year, mileage, location, and vehicle image, allowing shoppers to see critical details before even interacting with the ad. Upon clicking the VLA, the shopper is linked directly to the vehicle details page on the dealer site, where they can place a call, fill out a form, and chat with a sales representative. Advertisers can measure these actions and assign value to each depending on their importance within the car buying journey.
Vehicle listing ads first appeared in search results in 2021. The TMG team joined the pilot program with our automotive dealers through our Google partnership. Enrolling in VLAs is a multi-step process, including creating a Google Merchant Center account, submitting a vehicle inventory data feed, and enabling the Google Ads campaign. From our early involvement, we’ve learned a few things to deliver more value to our dealers.
The vehicle data feed is the most critical asset for VLAs. The feed is what Google uses to match online shoppers with vehicles relevant to their search queries and dynamically generate ads in search results.
VLA performance when compared to model-specific Search campaigns
The Moran Group team has run vehicle listing ads for several months, leveraging the new ad type to drive highly qualified, local traffic for our dealers’ pre-owned inventory. Over this time, we ran our existing search campaigns targeting searches with similar shopper intent. Generally, VLA’s have been more efficient at generating leads and store visits than Search ads, resulting in a lower CPA from VLA traffic. These campaigns benefit from machine learning and automation and successfully deliver incremental traffic to dealers’ VDPs while capturing traffic at a lower cost than similar model-specific search campaigns. Vehicle listing ads have demonstrated the ability to reduce friction in the car buyer’s journey by delivering shoppers the exact vehicle they want to find.
With Google opening up participation in VLAs to all dealers, now is the time to take advantage of the new ad type and start placing your inventory prominently at the top of search results to reach more qualified car shoppers. It is essential to work with a trusted Google partner well-versed in the multi-step process of launching and optimizing VLA campaigns. Our team is experienced in getting dealer accounts allow-listed by Google, configuring Merchant Center, creating a vehicle data feed, and regularly submitting the most up-to-date inventory from your website. Contact the team at TMG to get started or learn how you can maximize opportunities from vehicle listing ads.
Call The Moran Group at 225-769-1059 or schedule a meeting online today!