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We know that car buyers shopping for their next vehicle are starting that process online, and most are choosing Google. Sixty percent of vehicle buyers rank Google as their No. 1 source for dealership research and reviews, according to Digital Air Strike’s 9th Annual Automotive Customer Experience Trends Study.
At the same time, consumers have demanded that they be able to conduct more research and transactions online. No product is too big, too small, too simple, or too complicated anymore to fit into the kind of purchase process people want today.
That means dealers need to shine at the top of the search page to capture the attention of these in-market, purchase-ready shoppers. Sure, it’s been challenging for dealers to compete with the big ad budgets of national online retailers on national prime-time TV and radio spots. Now dealers can go head-to-head without breaking the budget in the most prime online real estate today: the top of search.
The new Google Vehicle Ads feature allows dealers to boost their market reach and competitiveness to attract more in-market car buyers. How? It’s all about leveraging the VDP (Vehicle Details Page).
Google’s new advertising product features an image of the searched-for vehicle in a carousel at the top of the page, and the click takes the shopper directly to the VDP. Why is this important? A couple of things. First, search for a specific vehicle and look at the competitors that show up. Are you going to let them take your customers away?
Second, when a dealer gets shoppers to its VDP, it has the gift of nurturing that shopper much more seamlessly into a sale, which then flows into a loyal service customer. The VDP is where dealers can work their magic and showcase why their dealership is the best for sales and service. These Google conversions drive high-quality consumer clicks to the dealership’s website, not a competitor or online retailer.
Digital Air Strike is one of the first partners to work with Google’s new advertising product with dealer clients. We’ve seen the success dealers are getting from it and are excited to include it as part of our suite of Inventory Merchandising Solutions.
Dealership Success Story
As one of the oldest dealerships in Kansas, Don Hattan Auto Group wanted to highlight what makes it stand out from others. It’s a family-run dealership with a “treat them like family” approach to customer service. It knows the importance of connecting human connection with self-serve technology to provide the best, personalized experience. And it knows its inventory selection is superior.
“We love the results we’re getting from Google Vehicle Ads and Digital Air Strike,” said Erika Maley, Don Hattan Auto’s marketing director. “Google Vehicle Ads put our inventory side-by-side with online-only competitors. This is really important because it’s all about getting the right vehicle, price, and a picture in front of the consumer. Digital Air Strike helps us stay ahead of the competition on Google!”
See all the results including how the dealership sold cars and got 741% ROI.
This premium placement of dealership-branded inventory gets maximum exposure to a highly targeted audience. The Google Vehicle Ads carousel features vehicles based on high-intent searches, like ads presented when searching for other goods online.
Clearly, we’re big fans of leveraging Google Vehicle Ads as part of the inventory merchandising strategy. Check out our recent webinar with Google’s Automotive Retail expert to learn more about the solutions. Click here to watch the presentation on-demand.
Digital Air Strike’s Inventory Merchandising Solution is designed to bring your inventory front and center. From your Google Business Profile, YouTube, and Facebook, to Instagram, eBay, and Craigslist – and of course, the BestRide.com digital showroom – we are here to help you crush your competition.
