Car dealerships looking to boost their sales and reach new customers have several advertising options available, including Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
Understanding the differences between the two platforms and their respective strengths can help dealerships tailor their advertising strategies to their specific business goals.
Google Vs. Facebook Ads: Where Should Car Dealers Focus Their Budget?
If you’re a car dealer looking to make the most of a limited budget, it can be a tough decision between Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
The easy answer to this question is, both!
If you can afford to, investing in both platforms can really complement each other and take your dealership’s advertising to the next level.
But, if you’re on a limited budget of $500 or less a month, then focus on investing in one platform first.
AutoSweet generally recommends starting with Facebook Ads to stretch a small budget further.
Facebook Ads for Car Dealerships
Facebook Ads can be a powerful tool for car dealerships, especially for creating awareness of your brand and identifying potential customers who are actively looking for a vehicle.
It’s good for filling the top of the marketing funnel because it inexpensively generates leads for your dealership from Facebook users who may not even be in the market for a car yet.
Here are some of the benefits of Facebook ads, and different types of campaigns:
- Facebook is great for branding and traffic campaigns, promoting dealer events, and showcasing what sets your dealership apart from the competition.
- Advanced audience targeting allows dealerships to target specific groups of consumers, including those with a specific credit history or income level, or even those visiting competitors.
- Inventory conquest campaigns are recommended to promote current inventory to in-market shoppers, while retargeting campaigns can bring interested shoppers back to vehicle description pages (VDPs).
- Loyalty campaigns can help build customer loyalty and generate low-funnel leads, while custom buyback campaigns are great for dealerships struggling with low inventory.
- Lead generation campaigns target in-market shoppers who’ve previously viewed your branding campaigns or visited your website. You can create lead forms with qualifying questions offered to the prospect to find out when they are looking to purchase or to collect email addresses to add them to your CRM.
In short, Facebook ads also allow dealerships to grow their prospects organically on the world’s biggest social platform (3 billion users!)
Google Ads for Car Dealerships
Google Ads are better suited for targeting low-funnel shoppers who are actively searching for the vehicles you have in stock. With options for vehicle listing ads and dynamic search ads, dealerships can target specific makes and models and show real-time inventory to potential buyers.
You have a few options with Google ads:
Google Dynamic Search Ads are the ads that you see when you search with a specific keyword or words. There are normally 3-4 search ads displayed at the top of the search engine results page or SERP and these have the small word “AD” next to them.
To use these Dynamic Search Ads, you need to provide Google with a list of your VDPs. Then Google automatically creates ads that link to the appropriate pages when someone searches for a vehicle using keywords that match your VDPs.
Google’s vehicle listing ads (VLAs) are ads featuring photos of your inventory. These are great to showcase your inventory to shoppers when they’re looking for something specific, and you can overlay text on the image.
Finally, Google Display Ads are a great option for retargeting shoppers who have visited your VDPs, allowing you to stay top of mind across the Google Display Network, and bring shoppers back to your inventory pages.
Facebook for Reach, Google for Buy: A Winning Ad Combo
Facebook Ads are great for creating demand and identifying potentially in-market shoppers, while Google Ads are better suited for targeting low-funnel shoppers who are ready to buy.
Facebook Ads are less expensive and can reach a wider audience than Google Ads, but Google Ads target customers with a higher intent to purchase, leading to a shorter buying cycle.
Using both platforms is the most effective. If budget allows, use Facebook to get people to your website and retarget them, and then use Google and/or Facebook to capture people searching for specific inventory.
Striking a Balance
Understanding the differences between Facebook Ads and Google Ads is important for car dealerships looking to boost their sales and reach new customers. Both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, and the best approach will depend on your specific business goals and budget.
By experimenting with both platforms and finding the mix that works best, car dealerships can create effective advertising campaigns and drive more leads and sales.
AutoSweet can help. Our marketing strategists are experts at helping you design an affordable campaign using the right tactics for your objectives.
Contact us today for a quick strategy session to see which platform is right for you and your budget!
