Smart Shopping campaigns will be automatically upgraded to Performance Max starting in July. Upgrade Smart Shopping campaigns yourself in the coming months using the new, one-click tool to unlock additional inventory and formats that reach new customers. Advertisers who upgrade their Smart Shopping campaigns to Performance Max see an average increase of 12% in conversion value at the same or better return-on-ad-spend (ROAS). Learn more.
Vehicle ads are a performance focused, omnichannel, ad format which allows vehicle advertisers to promote their entire inventory of new and used vehicles to interested customers shopping for vehicles online. This format is relevant for any vehicle advertiser that wants to promote vehicle inventory for sale. Vehicle advertisers can participate by uploading their vehicle feeds to Merchant Center and running smart shopping campaigns in Google Ads to serve vehicle ads. Learn more about how to set up vehicle ads
To participate in our vehicle ads program, you must adhere to Shopping ads policies with the following requirements and exceptions.
Requirements to participate in vehicle ads
- Allowed vehicle types: Non-commercial and passenger vehicles only
- Any vehicle that requires a special license to operate, permission to be bought, or aren’t equipped and licensed for use on public roads are excluded.
- Examples of excluded vehicle types: RV, ATV, motorcycles, boats, planes, farm vehicles, go-karts, race cars, and any vehicle requiring a commercial license.
- For sale only: Vehicles available for lease or subscription are not supported
- Vehicle parts: Vehicle parts, accessories, tires, and services are not supported
- Vehicle title: All vehicles listed for sale must have a clean title. Vehicles with any title defect are ineligible for vehicle ads.
- Examples of unacceptable title types: salvage, lien, etc.
- State licensing: You must have a valid dealership license in the state(s) in which vehicles are located and/or offered for sale. To apply for verification of your dealership license, fill out this form.
- Examples are state vehicle dealer license, business registration, etc.
- Direct sellers only: Brokers aren't allowed to participate
- Aggregators: Currently aren't supported
- Online delivery of vehicles: Currently isn't supported
- Location: You must have a brick and mortar business location for customers to physically visit, review, and/or purchase the vehicle in the state you are listing the vehicle for purchase
- One account per state: You may only list vehicles for sale in a single state within a single Merchant Center account
- Image feed: Vehicle ads have additional image feed specification and image requirements, check vehicle ads policies and guidelines
- New cars: New cars may not be advertised in Virginia due to state regulations
Exceptions to Shopping ads policies
The following Shopping ads policies don’t apply to vehicle ads:
- Unsupported shopping content [vehicles]: Light passenger cars and trucks may be advertised using vehicle ads.
- Promote only products available for direct purchase: Vehicle ads may lead a customer to complete a vehicle purchase in person and thus the policy for “Links promoted in Shopping ads and free listings need to lead users directly to a page that allows them to buy the advertised product” isn’t required for vehicle ads.
- Website requirements regarding online checkout: The requirement for online payment and transaction requirements don’t apply to vehicle ads.
- Shipping: Given that vehicle ads require an in-store purchase and pickup, no shipping information is required.
Vehicle ads beta features
Vehicle ads from the following advertisers are available as beta features:
- Aggregators
- Online delivery
- Multi-state sellers in a single account
- Original equipment manufacturers (OEM)
Note: Beta features for vehicle ads are being tested and expanded. Participation in beta features may initially only be available to certain vehicle advertisers. Performance in beta countries may differ from that of non-beta countries. Beta features may not be eligible to show everywhere, can change at any time, and may never be fully launched. If you wish to participate in these beta features, please fill out our form and state your interest in participating in our beta features.