On March 30, Google announced that it was releasing Model Automotive and Dealer Automotive ads. Model Automotive ads are “a new mobile ad format now available to all OEM automotive advertisers in the US,” but the Dealer Automotive ads are what’s exciting for the retail community.
“Dealer Automotive ads let us [make the car buying process better] by giving shoppers the option to find the closest dealer, get directions, or call them for more information,” says Chris Vessey, Dealer.com’s director of digital media solutions. “Results to date have been incredible. This format is driving 30% higher click-through rates and has increased website visitors from intent-based dealership queries by 40%.”
What are Dealer Automotive ads?
Google reported that dealership + location queries (i.e. “dealerships near me”) doubled in the past year. As such, it built Dealership Automotive ads to make the buying process simpler for the user. When a shopper submits a dealership + location query, the ads that appear in the search engine results page (SERP) will feature the location, directions, and a click-to-call button of nearby dealerships at the top of mobile search results.
What does this mean for me?
These new Dealership Automotive ads have been automatically enabled on all Dealer.com advertising accounts and will replace standard text ads on mobile for eligible queries. Whether or not a query is eligible depends on its content: Google is focusing on queries that include dealership type + location type queries, i.e. “Nissan dealer(s)”, “Nissan dealership(s)”, “Nissan Burlington VT” or “Nissan dealer(s) nearby”.
Whether or not your ad appears is still dependent on the standard algorithm – quality score x max bid – but proximity will play a bigger role. Let’s say two dealers have comparable quality scores and bids but one is five miles closer. We can assume the closer dealership will show up above the other. Remember, however, that shoppers are much more likely to travel further these days to purchase a car.
Talk to your advertising provider and make sure that you have these new ads enabled and determine a strategy about your site extensions and call outs.
Annie Ode is the advertising product marketing manager at Dealer.com