What are Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs)?
Google Vehicle Listing Ads, also known as Vehicle Ads, allow automotive advertisers to promote individual vehicles from their current inventory.
Each advert can include a vehicle image alongside important information such as the make, model, price, mileage and dealership name. This gives potential customers useful information before they visit your website.
Vehicle stock is uploaded to Google Merchant Center through a structured feed and connected to a Google Ads campaign. Google can then select relevant vehicles from your inventory based on what each user is searching for.
Enhanced exposure of your inventory
Vehicle Listing Ads give individual cars greater visibility within Google, rather than relying only on a standard text advert promoting your dealership. Displaying a photograph, price and vehicle details can help your listings stand out and give buyers a clearer idea of what you currently have available.
No need for manual updates
When the feed is updated automatically and correctly, new vehicles can be added and sold vehicles removed without manually creating a separate advert for each car. The information shown in the feed must remain consistent with the vehicle details displayed on your website.
Send buyers directly to vehicle detail pages
When someone selects a Vehicle Listing Ad, they are taken directly to the relevant vehicle detail page on your website. This allows the customer to view the full specification, browse additional images and complete valuable actions such as booking a test drive, requesting a valuation, making an enquiry or arranging an appointment.
Put your vehicle stock in front of people actively searching for their next car
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Why advertise using VLAs?
Vehicle Listing Ads allow buyers to view important details before clicking through to your website. This can help attract more relevant visitors who already know the vehicle’s price, mileage, appearance and basic specification.
They also allow automotive businesses to advertise a wider selection of vehicles without having to build individual campaigns for every make and model.
VLAs can support:
- Increased exposure for available stock
- More visits to individual vehicle pages
- Test drive and appointment bookings
- Vehicle enquiries and telephone calls
- Online and offline conversion tracking
- Promotion of stock across multiple dealership locations
Campaigns can currently use vehicle feeds with Performance Max or Standard Shopping, depending on the level of campaign control required.
Who are automotive ads available for
Google Vehicle Listing Ads are suitable for eligible UK automotive businesses advertising vehicles that they sell or lease directly.
This can include:
- Franchised and independent car dealerships
- Used car supermarkets
- Multi-site dealer groups
- Vehicle manufacturers
- Eligible vehicle retailers and leasing businesses
- Automotive marketplaces representing approved dealerships
New and used vehicle inventory can be promoted, while lease options may also be included where the advertiser and landing page meet Google’s requirements. Private sellers, vehicle brokers, auctions and subscription-only services are not currently eligible.
Businesses must also meet Google’s website, inventory feed, dealership and Merchant Center requirements before campaigns can begin.
Benefits of working with Magnify Digital
We were one of a few UK Google Partners given early access to the Vehicle Ads programme, providing our team with experience of the setup process, inventory requirements and common causes of vehicle disapprovals. Vehicle Ads are currently available to eligible UK advertisers through Google’s open beta programme, and Magnify Digital can support you with the application process.
We can help with Merchant Center configuration, vehicle feed setup, campaign creation, conversion tracking and ongoing optimisation. We will also monitor your inventory for feed errors, duplicated vehicle IDs, mismatched information and other issues that could prevent individual listings from appearing.
Our wider automotive digital marketing experience allows us to consider how Vehicle Listing Ads should work alongside your existing Google Search, Performance Max and other paid advertising campaigns. The aim is to increase relevant visibility for your available stock while generating measurable enquiries, bookings and sales opportunities.