You want to advertise your stock on Google Vehicle Ads, so you watch some YouTube videos on how to set it up and run an ad campaign, and then you wait. You wait some more, and you still cannot seem to get the results you want.
We see this scenario all the time: clients come to us telling us how their vehicle ad campaigns are leaving them with no leads or visibility. When they reach us, dealers don’t think vehicle ads will work for them.
If you can see yourself in this scenario, the good news is that it’s not your stock that is the problem, and it’s not Google vehicle ads that are the problem either. What you need is a better ad campaign that targets new and used stock differently.
Let’s start with a harsh truth that most dealers don’t want to hear: you cannot use a campaign strategy for your new and used stock unless you want to waste time and money.
People who look for used vehicles have a different buyer journey than people looking for new ones. The differences in those buyer journeys are why you need to create different vehicle ad campaigns.
There are also other factors beyond the buyer journey that are part of the user profile. For instance, users looking to buy new cars are willing to spend more, want the latest technology, and may be less trusting of used products.
In contrast, users looking to buy used vehicles can be grouped into categories, from new drivers who don't want to break the bank on a vehicle they might ruin anyway, to car enthusiasts who want performance cars but don’t have the budget to buy new ones.
You can probably see now why using one vehicle ad campaign won’t work for both groups. A generalised vehicle ad campaign will always be less effective than creating multiple specific user-driven campaigns.
We know this because we’ve seen it happen again and again, which is why we create targeted vehicle ad campaigns that work for both the user and your business.
The journey of someone looking to buy a new car is much longer than that of someone looking to buy a used one. New car buyers are brand-driven; they already know which brand they want, and they’ve researched the model that suits their needs.
By the time a new car buyer lands on your ad, they’re not asking “what car should I buy?” but they are asking “where can I buy it from” and “can I get a good deal?” This means that although their buyer journey is longer, it’s also more predictable; they know what they want, and your job is to convince them to buy it from you.
Your campaign should reflect the new-car buyer’s intent and target brand- and model-specific keywords rather than general ones. You need to use language specific to the car specs they want and to explain why they should buy it from you.
Used car buyers are more open with their options and are not sold on any specific brand or model. Used car buyers are often more concerned about budget and the purpose of the car they want to buy. Their keywords might include words like “cheap” or specific price ranges. They want the best deal out there that matches their budget and needs.
One thing to remember is that these buyers are practical and cautious. We’ve all heard horror stories of dealers who sell faulty cars or take advantage of customers. Used car buyers want reassurance that the car is what it says it is, that it's been checked, that there's some kind of protection if something goes wrong.
Their main seller is trust, and when clicking on ads, they will also check trust signals, such as reviews. They might be open to several different cars and could switch from one model to another entirely if a better deal catches their eye.
Your ad needs to use trust signals and urgency to get them to book a test drive and bring them to your showroom. Their journey is shorter, more emotional and less specific, and your campaign should reflect this.
Your current campaign might be getting some results, but your ROAS (Revenue on Ad Spending) won’t be looking too good, so let’s break this down and see where your current campaign is falling short.
Vehicle ads pull the data from your landing pages, so you need to make sure that your landing pages' messaging is clear and concise. The specifics of your vehicles have to be easy to see and concise, think price, mileage, age, etc.
Targeting is key if you want to run an effective campaign. To target effectively, you need to guide Google’s AI by showing it the type of customer you want. To do this, you can use search themes to guide each campaign to its target audience. You can also provide each campaign with data from existing new/used customers to allow Google to build a target persona for both.
Your campaign is trying to cover two completely different products, two different audiences, and two different sets of search themes. As you’re not prioritising anything in particular, you end up spending inefficiently across the board rather than capturing the leads that are most likely to convert.
Google Vehicle Ads tells you what is working in your campaign, but if your target audiences are generic, your data becomes virtually useless. When your used and new stock are all jumbled together, you can't tell whether your leads are coming from people who want a new car or a used one, which messages are landing, or which parts of your budget are performing.
Not being able to get an accurate read of your data means you won’t be able to refine your campaign and spending.
You can now see why a generic campaign is not working, but you might not be sure how to differentiate the two campaigns in practice. Don’t worry, because we’ll take a look at how you can run a successful Google vehicle ad campaign for your new car stock.
Buyers will have seen the manufacturer’s national promotions. When they search online for a dealership, they will use the terms from those promotions. Your landing page should use that language too to generate leads and establish the trust they’re looking for, as your dealership will mirror the language they have heard from the manufacturer.
Your landing page should communicate your customer service reputation, after-sales support, delivery speed, and any exclusive extras you offer. This is where reviews and trust signals earn their place. Remember, buyers are actively comparing you to other dealers at this stage.
New car buyers are more likely to travel farther than used car buyers. Focus your efforts on where you are likely to convert. To do this, take a look at your existing data to see where your conversions are coming from,
For new cars: track phone calls, test-drive bookings, and contact form submissions. These signals indicate whether your ads are generating genuine buying intent.
We’ve looked at how to run a campaign for new cars, so now we’re going to show you how to successfully target used-car buyers.
Used car campaigns are about catching buyers at various stages of a messier, more exploratory search - and giving them enough confidence to act.
As you know, used-car buyers are budget-driven. Your ad will already include the price of your vehicles, but buyers also want to know about financing. In your landing page, make sure to display finance options and figures.
You are a fair and trustworthy dealer, but the buyer doesn’t know that. Your landing page copy should include phrases like "full history check," "warranty included," and "independently inspected”. These are the catch phrases they have been told to look for when buying a used car, so make sure you use them.
Make sure to retarget users who saw your stock but didn’t convert, as this is particularly effective for used stock, because it keeps your dealership at the forefront of the buyer’s mind while they’re comparing cars.
Used car buyers often prefer to call or message before visiting. Make sure you're tracking these conversions as well as form fills so you can use the data to refine your campaigns.
Google Vehicle Ads are such an incredible tool for dealerships. Using them correctly will boost your sales, improve your rankings and establish trust. Targeted ad campaigns turn clicks into leads, and if you want to generate results that boost your dealership, WeAdvertiseAnyCar are here to help.
Our team of paid ads specialists will set up and look after your campaigns for you, so you can focus on completing the sales when buyers take their search from your ad to your showroom.
With multiple packages available, we can elevate your vehicle ads strategy; all you need to do is contact us, and we’ll take care of the rest.