WHAT ARE VEHICLE ADS?

Vehicle ads (formerly known as Vehicle Listing Ads or VLAs) are similar to shopping ads. They are dynamic inventory ads placed at the top of search results that display based on your inventory feed. These ads are different in that they offer a more visual format with your inventory photos as opposed to responsive text ads which display only text information we provide. Vehicle Ads give more information about the car for sale on your lot within the search result itself to encourage more qualified website traffic. With Green Line Automotive’s custom feed integrations, we can integrate into nearly any dealership’s inventory without requesting a feed.

WHAT’S NEW?

Previously, Google's Vehicle Ads solely featured the MSRP pricing for dealership vehicles, even if they were on sale.
Starting in April, Google will display both the MSRP and the discounted price side by side, ensuring customers see the most accurate pricing information before clicking on the vehicle.

To take advantage of this update, ensure your vehicle feeds include the new column for the sale price, allowing it to be showcased within the ad.

What the Video Index Report Means For Your SEO

Tyler Laster, Content Manager

Google has officially launched its highly anticipated Video Index Report in Google Search Console. This useful new tool can help you ensure all your videos are properly indexed. However, that is just the beginning of what this means for your Search Engine Optimization Strategy.

The landscape of online advertising, particularly on Google Search, has witnessed a significant shift in the first quarter of 2024, largely influenced by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) as they increase their investment and broaden their own reach. This has presented challenges for individual dealerships, as OEMs increasingly drive up platform CPCs.

At Green Line, we are implementing the following tactics to provide our dealers with the best possible performance without driving up costs or competing directly with OEMs.

Trends and Expectations

• Diversifying Keyword Sets: One approach to mitigate the impact of rising costs is to explore alternative campaign types with less competition. Consider testing keywords targeting general truck or SUV terms, where competition may be lower compared to highly saturated model terms.
• Embracing Different Campaign Types, Like Demand Generation: In addition to traditional lead generation tactics, incorporating Demand Generation can help capture potential customers earlier in the buying journey. By focusing on creating and generating awareness of your dealership, you can cultivate a steady stream of qualified leads.
• Leveraging Customer Data Platforms (CDPs): Harnessing the power of CDPs and first-party data allows dealerships to refine their targeting efforts. By building precise audience segments and leveraging AI learning, dealerships can optimize ad campaigns for maximum effectiveness.
• Experimenting with Bidding Strategies: Adopting a proactive approach to bidding strategies is crucial in navigating fluctuating CPCs. Implement A/B tests to evaluate the impact of different bidding tactics on cost-per-click and overall campaign performance. This data-driven approach enables dealerships to identify optimal bidding strategies tailored to their specific objectives and budget constraints.
• Optimizing Keyword Selection: OEMs often dominate bidding on certain keywords, driving up costs for individual dealerships. Consider pausing or removing exact match OEM terms from campaigns to reduce competition and lower CPCs, and refreshing your negative keyword list to avoid overlap.. Instead, focus on targeting keywords that align more closely with your dealership and audience preferences.

While OEMs exert considerable influence on Google Search costs, individual dealerships have the opportunity to adapt and thrive by implementing strategic adjustments to their digital marketing efforts. By diversifying campaign types, embracing demand generation, leveraging CDPs, experimenting with bidding strategies, and optimizing keyword selection, dealerships can navigate the evolving digital landscape with confidence and efficiency.

About Green Line Automotive:

Green Line Automotive is an automotive digital advertising agency created for automotive dealerships. Our mission is to deliver tier-one automotive advertising expertise, technology, and service to the tier-three dealers. We give you an advantage over your competition by giving every dealership the best in technology coupled with a fully customizable approach.
See our automotive digital advertising services such as Automotive Paid Search or Vehicles Listing Ads or contact us at info@greenline.nyc or 833-GLD-CARS.

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital advertising, harnessing the potential of first-party data and Customer Match is the secret sauce to supercharge your campaigns. As we navigate the AI-centric focus of 2024, leveraging these data insights becomes not just a strategy but a necessity to propel your dealership forward.

Key Takeaway

First-party data is the single most important and valuable input signal you can use to power Google AI. Import your offline conversions into Google Ads to help identify the 20% of keywords that led to 80% of your sales. Streamline efforts to use campaigns that target customers with the same digital paths as ones who have previously purchased. With AI being the focus of 2024, it will help us fully leverage the learning in Google.

About Customer Match

Customer Match lets you use your online and offline data to reach and re-engage with your customers across your campaigns. Using information your customers have shared with you, Customer Match will target ads to your customers and other customers like them.
You can also use customer match lists to exclude your existing customers to help prevent paying "twice" for a customer.

Once uploaded, Google’s system will transform the contact information into hashed codes so your data will be secure.

Learn more about Customer Match here.

How to upload Customer Match Data

• Manual upload from a team member on the Dealer’s Marketing team.
• Automate customer match and utilize 1st party data audiences across Paid Search, Paid Social and Programmatic through Green Line's CDP.

Best Practices

• Refresh/upload your customer list day at least every 28 days to ensure you’re passing the most up-to-date information to Google
• If you’re able to, identifying a qualified or converted lead in your data upload will also help improve the algorithm
• Outside of improving the algorithm for your dealership, your Search team can also:
  • Retarget past purchasers for service
  • Retarget past purchasers with new offers
  • Exclude customers from your search campaign so you aren’t "paying twice" for them to see your ads
  • Use customer lists as an audience signal in Performance Max

Green Line's Customer Data Platform

At Green Line Automotive, we take this commitment to customer data to the next level. Through safe and seamless integration with your dealer's CRM and DMS via Dealer Vault, we segment data and build digital audiences while staying PII-compliant.

CRM & DMS Integration

• Leads last 3, 6, 12 months
• Expiring Leases
• Sold with no Service (intervals)
• Service, no sales (intervals)
• Due for Service
• Owns vehicle 3, 4, 5 years old etc.
• AND MORE!

Platform Integrations:

• Google & Bing
• Social (Meta)
• Display
• Streaming Video & Audio

About Green Line Automotive:

Green Line Automotive is an automotive digital advertising agency created for automotive dealerships. Our mission is to deliver tier-one automotive advertising expertise, technology, and service to the tier-three dealers. We give you an advantage over your competition by giving every dealership the best in technology coupled with a fully customizable approach.
See our automotive digital advertising services such as Automotive Paid Search or Vehicles Listing Ads or contact us at info@greenline.nyc or 833-GLD-CARS.

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a social media platform that allows users to create, share, and discover short-form videos. It provides a space for individuals and content creators to express themselves through creative and entertaining videos set to music. Automotive giants like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai harness TikTok's authentic virtual showroom for marketing, offering a seamless blend of inspiration, information, and entertainment.

Passionate automotive enthusiasts, including brands, creators, and consumers, unite on TikTok, fostering expansive communities with over 130 billion combined views on trending hashtags such as:

#car #carlover #carsoftiktok #electriccar #driving #offroad #roadtrip #SUV #truck #trucklife

Research shows that many US-based TikTok users are in the market to buy or lease a car. In fact, almost half (47%) are planning to buy or lease a car in next 12 months.¹

When it comes to car purchases or rentals, 68% are either the decision-makers or highly influential in their household. And importantly, TikTok inspires them to act: 3 in 4 (74%) have taken action, such as sharing with a friend, reading reviews or visiting a dealership, after seeing automobile ads or content on TikTok. And a significant 12% of users said they purchased or leased a car after seeing it on TikTok.

1. Launch your verified account
   After signing up for a TikTok Business Account, start your journey by working with your Green Line contact to verify it. This will give you a verification badge, which is the blue checkmark that you see next to a profile’s handle. It assures users that your account is legitimate and belongs to your brand. Essentially, if you launch straight into paid ads without setting up an official branded account, you'll be missing an important opportunity to start building your audience and prime them for future organic reach.
2. Provide assets to be utilized on the following ad formats
   TikTok offers several different opportunities to reach your target audience though it's currently more effective for building awareness than driving direct sales, similar to Google Search ads. Yet, it's crucial to be present where users spend increasing time.
   • In-Feed Ads: In TikTok, In-Feed Ads are a type of advertising format that appears in users' "For You" feed, which is the main feed where users discover content. These ads are native to the platform, seamlessly blending with the user-generated content on TikTok. In-Feed Ads typically appear in between organic videos as users scroll through their feed. In-Feed Ads are an effective way for advertisers to reach a large and engaged audience on TikTok.
   • Spark Ads: Spark Ads on TikTok are a specific type of advertising format designed to boost the visibility of organic videos posted either by a brand's account or TikTok creators. These ads serve the organic videos as In-Feed Ads, appearing seamlessly in users' "For You" feed. Spark Ads are particularly useful for brands aiming to enhance the authenticity of their content and leverage the engaging nature of user-generated videos on TikTok to connect with a broader audience.
   • Branded Effect: Ads on TikTok refer to a type of advertising that involves creating special 2D and 3D video effects that users can apply to their own content. These effects are branded and associated with a specific advertiser, providing an interactive and engaging way for users to interact with the brand's content.

What's coming next

TikTok recently introduced Alpha testing for a cutting-edge ad format, Automotive Inventory Ads (AIA). Much like Meta, AIA leverages your vehicle feed to craft dynamic ads showcasing your live inventory. This innovative approach allows you to target in-market users with specific models or offers. Green Line Automotive is one of a few partners who has secured approval to participate in the early stages of AIA, giving our customers an edge over their competition. Learn more here about our TikTok services for car dealerships.

About Green Line Automotive:

Green Line Automotive is an automotive digital advertising agency created for automotive dealerships. Our mission is to deliver tier-one automotive advertising expertise, technology, and service to the tier-three dealers. We give you an advantage over your competition by giving every dealership the best in technology coupled with a fully customizable approach.

See our automotive digital advertising services such as Automotive Paid Search or Vehicles Listing Ads or contact us at info@greenline.nyc or 833-GLD-CARS.

Sources:
¹TikTok Marketing Science US, Custom Auto Survey via Suzy, June 2021, Base: US Monthly TikTok users, ages 18-55

In today's dynamic digital era, the role of customer data has reached unprecedented significance for Dealers. It serves as the driving force behind personalized campaigns, enhanced customer experiences, and optimized advertising strategies. Here's why:

About Green Line Automotive:

Green Line Automotive is an automotive digital advertising agency created for automotive dealerships. Our mission is to deliver tier-one automotive advertising expertise, technology, and service to the tier-three dealers. We give you an advantage over your competition by giving every dealership the best in technology coupled with a fully customizable approach.
See our automotive digital advertising services such as Automotive Paid Search or Vehicles Listing Ads or contact us at info@greenline.nyc or 833-GLD-CARS.

AI has played a significant role in algorithm updates for a decade with search engines announcing new AI advancements in 2023. Improved search algorithms such as Hummingbird, BERT, and RankBrain help search engines interpret user intent, analyze content contextually, and provide for more accurate rankings. These integrations have assisted in the understanding of the nuances behind search terms, including long-tail keywords, voice search, and conversational search queries, leading to more relevant search results for users.

Additionally, many AI tools are being released to support advanced optimization strategies. New AI tools and platforms can be used for keyword research, on-page optimizations, and link building to help SEOs identify optimization opportunities more efficiently.

Organic Search and AI Upgrades in 2023

Google recently announced a new generative AI feature, providing better results and stronger search understanding for complex long-tail queries including conversational search enhancements. The context behind the search intention will be used to deliver the best results for how humans think and use search engines to find what they’re looking for. This will provide for a more natural and faster search experience.

For online shopping, generative AI in search better empowers users to make informed purchasing decisions faster. It provides an easy view using Google’s Shopping Graph of the most important shopping considerations for a product including relevant reviews, ratings, prices, images, and descriptions of products.

The new generative AI feature also provides users with a stronger connection to diverse perspectives. A new Perspectives filter can be applied to search results for audiences to discover videos, images, and written posts where people have shared information on the topic of interest within discussion boards, social media platforms, and Q&A sites. This focus on the quality of information will continue to transform how Google ranks results and considers Organic authority.

Trends and Expectations

• More personalized search results: AI will continue to be used to better understand user preferences and deliver personalized search results from a variety of unique perspectives to enhance the individual search experience. Understanding user behavior and using predictive technology to provide answers to expected follow-up questions will provide a seamless search conversation with users.
• Increased importance of high-quality, relevant content for natural language processing (NLP): Content that is helpful, reliable, and created for the user first will continue to earn better rankings and reach more relevant audiences. Search results will feature more content from unique experiences and higher levels of expertise to deliver better search results. Brands using malicious techniques that violate Google's Quality Guidelines will be impacted with less Organic visibility.
• Higher monthly searches for complex long-tail keywords: Generative AI features will provide for better search experiences around searches that used to have to be split up to get accurate results. This will allow audiences to be more creative and specific in how they search for information.
• More visual results in the search result landscape: In addition to Google’s Shopping Graph and Google Lens, search engines will be providing more visual results prioritizing different search results types including knowledge graphs, featured snippets, videos, images, and more. This will provide for more personalized and attractive search results that will be increasingly competitive, potentially leading to less visibility opportunities and click traffic for text-based content including informational landing pages that lack optimized media.
• Identification of patterns and trends to help SEOs react faster and analyze data more efficiently: The release of new AI tools and platforms may provide for more automated data analysis to help SEOs solve problems and take corrective measures faster. Additionally, AI-based tools may be used to quickly analyze a brand’s online profile with predictive analysis of ranking growth to help improve ranking volatility and fluctuations.
• Increased importance of managing Schema: Rich results are generated on results pages using Schema data from ranking websites. As rich results continue to grow in popularity and new rich result features are added with the advent of AI-powered search, the importance of managing Schema and site taxonomy grows along with it.

About Green Line Automotive:

Green Line Automotive is an automotive digital advertising agency created for automotive dealerships. Our mission is to deliver tier-one automotive advertising expertise, technology, and service to the tier-three dealers. We give you an advantage over your competition by giving every dealership the best in technology coupled with a fully customizable approach.
See our automotive digital advertising services such as Automotive Paid Search or Vehicles Listing Ads or contact us at info@greenline.nyc or 833-GLD-CARS.

Sources:
https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-search/
https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-perspectives/
https://seovendor.co/core-ai/

In the dynamic landscape of the automotive industry, the ability to reach the right audience with the right message is paramount. As social media platforms like Meta (formerly known as Facebook) continue to dominate the digital advertising space, automotive marketers have a unique opportunity to excel by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into their paid social campaigns.

The Power of AI in Automotive Advertising

AI is no longer a distant future concept; it's a practical tool that can transform your marketing efforts. When it comes to the automotive sector and AIA on Meta, AI can be a game-changer in various ways:

1. Audience Targeting: AI algorithms can analyze user behavior and demographics to create highly specific audience segments. Meta uses machine learning to predict a person’s likelihood of taking the advertiser’s desired action. This means you can deliver your ads to car enthusiasts in your target location, maximizing relevancy. Meta’s Advantage+ audience also allows advertisers to reach additional users beyond your targeting criteria if Meta thinks they will be likely to convert.
2. Optimized Ad Content: AI-powered tools can predict which AIA creative elements will resonate most with your audience. Meta introduced their AI Sandbox this year as well, which used AI-powered tools to help with text variations, background image generation, as well as image outcropping. Finally, tools like ChatGPT can help with ideation for writing compelling post copy, headlines, and descriptions.
3. Budget Efficiency: AI tools can also assist in budget allocation by identifying which campaigns are performing best and dynamically allocating budget based on your objectives. This ensures you're channeling resources into ads that generate the most leads and conversions.

Selecting the Ideal AI Tools for Automotive Inventory Ads

To harness AI effectively for your campaigns on Meta, you need the right tools and platforms. Here are some considerations:

1. Meta's Ad Manager: Meta offers AI-powered features for AIA campaigns, making it a good starting point. Explore Meta's tools for inventory ads, dynamic ad creation, and audience targeting.
2. Third-party AI Solutions: Many marketing technology companies specialize in AI solutions that can integrate seamlessly with Meta's ad platform. These tools provide advanced analytics and automation capabilities tailored to the automotive sector.
3. AI-Enhanced Inventory Management: Some platforms offer AI-powered inventory management systems designed for automotive dealerships. These systems can sync with your Automotive Inventory Ad (AIA) campaigns, ensuring your ads always reflect your current inventory.
4. AI-Generated Automotive Content: Consider using AI platforms that assist in generating content. These tools can create eye-catching, informative ads that showcase your inventory effectively.

Staying Ahead in the AI-Driven Automotive Landscape

AI in the automotive industry is a dynamic field, so it's essential to stay ahead of the curve:

1. Continuous Learning: Invest in ongoing training and education to keep your automotive marketing team updated on the latest AI trends and techniques./li>
2. A/B Testing: Continuously test different AI-driven strategies for paid social campaigns to fine-tune your approach and identify what resonates best with your automotive audience.
3. Data Privacy and Compliance: Ensure that your AI-driven campaigns comply with data privacy regulations, as the automotive industry often deals with sensitive customer data.

In conclusion, integrating AI into your paid social campaigns on Meta can significantly enhance your reach and engagement within the automotive industry. By leveraging AI for precise audience targeting, content optimization, and budget allocation, you can achieve better results and stay competitive in the ever-evolving world of automotive advertising. Embrace the possibilities that AI offers, and watch your campaigns drive success in the automotive sector.

About Green Line Automotive:

Green Line Automotive is a digital marketing agency specifically serving automotive dealerships. Our core mission revolves around providing dealers with top-tier automotive advertising solutions, cutting-edge technology, and exceptional service. We empower your dealership to outshine your competitors by offering state-of-the-art technology alongside a completely customizable approach.

Get in touch with us at info@greenline.nyc fill out the form below, or call us at 833-GLD-CARS for more information.

Understanding Performance Max Campaigns

Before we talk about how Performance Max campaigns may decrease your organic branded clicks, let’s first go over the many benefits of PMax campaigns, and why they are an important part of your marketing strategy and a major part of our automotive paid search offerings.

PMax campaigns use machine learning to optimize ad placements across search, YouTube, Gmail, and more. They are designed to deliver performance improvements by leveraging Google's vast network and machine learning algorithms to target the right audience at the right time.

The Benefits of Performance Max Campaigns

As mentioned, Performance Max campaigns come with several advantages for advertisers:

• Increased reach: PMax campaigns allow advertisers to extend their reach beyond the traditional search results page, targeting users on different Google platforms like YouTube and Gmail.
• Automation and optimization: The campaigns use machine learning to optimize ad placements and bidding strategies, leading to a more efficient use of advertising budgets. In fact, we found that among our automotive clients, phone call leads increased by 387% for Vehicle Ads included in PMax.
• Faster ad creation: Advertisers can create a single ad format automatically adapted for various placements, reducing the need for manual ad creation.
• Cross-device targeting: Performance Max campaigns are designed to reach users across multiple devices.

The Cannibalization of Organic Search Results

However, with all the great benefits of Performance Max campaigns, we have seen an impact on Brand clicks and organic traffic that businesses and brands should be aware of as they monitor organic performance.

The increased presence of ad visibility through Performance Max campaigns means organic results are pushed even further down, making users less likely to click organic results. Especially with vehicle inventory ads now being part of Performance Max and other search results page ad placements, more real estate is now easily consumed by ads. This means that users are more likely than before to click an ad instead of continuing down to organic results.

This is not necessarily a problem, as increased visibility (especially over competitors) for a lower cost is a marketing win; however, dealerships need to be aware they may see a decline in branded organic clicks.

Should I Take Action?

No, there isn’t any action needed, as Performance Max campaigns offer many benefits and are an essential part of an automotive marketing strategy. It is still best practice to pair search efforts together and to create synergy between paid and organic for the best audience reach possible. The positive is brands are typically earning the top available positions across both paid and organic for brand search, the engagement is simply being shared. With that, it is important to be aware that your organic traffic numbers may be affected, and don’t be alarmed if you see this change in organic performance.

Continue to focus on creating high-quality content that aligns with what your customers are searching for (advising on content strategy is part of our automotive SEO packages). While PMax campaigns may decrease branded organic clicks, organic content still serves a unique purpose in your overall marketing strategy by owning additional search real estate and showing for non-branded searches (like “new BMWs for sale in Madison”).

About Green Line Automotive:

Green Line Automotive is a digital marketing agency specifically serving automotive dealerships. Our core mission revolves around providing dealers with top-tier automotive advertising solutions, cutting-edge technology, and exceptional service. We empower your dealership to outshine your competitors by offering state-of-the-art technology alongside a completely customizable approach.

Get in touch with us at info@greenline.nyc, fill out the form below, or call us at 833-GLD-CARS for more information.

Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), while still in BETA, is causing quite a stir as to how it will impact both paid and organic results in the SERP. We’ve talked a lot about improving paid search with AI and now with Google’s Search Generative Experience slowly rolling out, we are working to establish how this will affect advertisers both from a paid and organic perspective and how we can combat these changes.

What the experience looks like

As of today when using the Beta version of the experience, the generative AI results fall below sponsored ads, but that is likely to change once it is rolled out completely. Based on the current layout and experience, experts believe there’s a potential to lose 30% of organic traffic to your site, as Google pushes organic results further down the page, highlighting only a handful of content, and AI results in its place.

Automotive dealers specifically may be impacted the most by SGE, as potential customers searching for general Makes and Models will generate general information rather than where to buy one.

Near Me keywords, however, will generate map listings first, pushing down organic listings of dealer websites

However, some of these results actually present opportunities for advertisers. A great Merchant Center feed optimized for shopping results with reviews, promos, and imagery can help show more results to potential customers. With Performance Max and Vehicle Listing Ads now combined, we can only assume vehicle inventory will show here as well.

A solid GMB listing for your store too should help to capture the map listings traffic as well.

So what next?

As conversational search grows, we expect a return to long-tail searching & a decline in upper-funnel research traffic.

The conversational aspect of AI will give searchers the ability to be more creative in how they search, returning to more long-tail, specific queries. Instead of searching for “Ford Scape near me” or “ best SUV for new moms” In this case, paid search will have to have a broad match keyword strategy in place to capture demand while driving to relevant landing pages. Testing into broad match keywords coupled with automated bidding strategies will allow us to capture this traffic based on user behavior. On the plus side, we may see higher ROI and conversion rates due to the precise nature of these intent-based queries.

Another trend we may start seeing shifts in will have a bigger impact within paid search. A user searching for “best SUVs” may now be presented with a list of answers within the SERP resulting in fewer impressions and click traffic on paid ads for research-type queries. Google’s latest announcement has shown sponsored ads presented at the bottom of the content, which could offset this potential impression loss, but that remains to be seen.

A Push for Visual Assets

As the SERP becomes more focused on visualization, ensuring campaigns have strong visuals for responsive search ads, Demand Gen and Performance Max will be paramount to grab consumers’ attention. Shopping results and high-quality feeds will need to be assessed.

What Does this mean

Green Line Digital is embracing the changes to how search will operate in this new world. For paid search, we are encouraging our clients to refresh imagery and optimize their feeds, begin to test broad match keywords, and get whitelisted for Google’s AI-based closed Betas to get in early on major search changes.

About Green Line Automotive:

Green Line Automotive is a digital advertising agency created for automotive dealerships. Our mission is to deliver tier-one automotive advertising expertise, technology, and service to the tier-three dealers. We give you an advantage over your competition by giving every dealership the best in technology coupled with a fully customizable approach.

See our premier services such as Automotive Paid Search or contact us at info@greenline.nyc or 833-GLD-CARS.