In today’s crowded digital landscape, dealerships are constantly asking us: “Where should we invest our ad dollars to get the most impact?”
Two of the most dominant platforms in automotive marketing are Google Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs) and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Ads, both offer massive reach and powerful targeting. But they work differently and depending on your goals, one might give you more ROI right now than the other.
What Are Google VLAs?
Google Vehicle Listing Ads are a performance-based ad format that pulls your live inventory into Google’s search results and Shopping tab. These ads surface when high-intent shoppers are actively searching for vehicles, often by make, model, price, or location.
Why They Work:
- Appear right when buyers are looking to purchase
- Showcase inventory directly in search results
- Link directly to the VDP on your site
- High commercial intent = better conversions
We’re seeing CPCs as low as $0.43 and CTRs up to 6% across North America!
Want to start seeing results like this? Let’s talk!
What About Meta Ads?
Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Ads excel at discovery marketing, helping dealers build awareness, remarket to website visitors, and engage casual shoppers in the research phase.
Why They Work:
- Highly visual and scroll-stopping formats (Reels, Carousels, Video)
- Strong for branding, retargeting, and special events
- Custom audiences and lookalike targeting
- Seamless mobile-first experience
But something to note: Meta Ads typically have lower buyer intent compared to Google search-based ads and may require longer nurturing paths. We suggest being patient, giving them some time to run and feel out the target audiences.
So… Google VLA or Meta Ads?
The short answer? Both, but based on your goals and your budget, perhaps one deserves more weight for you right now.
Choose Google VLAs when you want:
- More qualified, bottom-funnel traffic
- Immediate inventory visibility
- Cost-effective performance with clear attribution
- ROI from people actively shopping
Use Meta Ads when you want:
- To promote sales events or seasonal offers
- Retarget site visitors and past leads
- Build your dealership brand and stay top of mind
- Support upper-funnel engagement
The VLA Advantage: Intent + Efficiency
Google VLAs are one of the most efficient ad formats for auto dealers on the market because they combine inventory automation with high-intent search behavior, resulting in:
- Lower ad costs
- Higher quality traffic
- Better lead-to-sale conversion rates
At sMedia, we’re seeing some of our best-performing dealers use VLAs as the foundation of their paid strategy and then layering on social advertising platforms like Meta or TikTok to re-engage and reinforce.
Marketing Is an Ecosystem, Not a Single Tactic
Just like you wouldn’t ask one technician to handle your entire service department, you can’t rely on a single vendor or tactic to manage your dealership’s full marketing strategy. Marketing today is an ecosystem of specialists and tools working together to drive results.
Your strategy should be built on a foundation of integrated, specialized channels. Each one has a role to play in guiding a customer from first contact to the final purchase and by connecting these channels, you create a seamless and personalized customer journey.
Curious about how specialized partners can elevate your strategy? Read our post on Why Vendor Diversity Wins.
Why Diversifying with a Partner (like us 😉) is Your Best Strategy
The bottom line is that in today’s complex digital landscape, success comes from a diverse strategy. While tools like Google’s Video Listing Ads (VLAs) are a powerful starting point for their cost-effectiveness and performance, you can’t rely on a single platform to capture your entire audience.
To truly win, you need to diversify and work with a proven partner who understands the entire ecosystem. This includes adding platforms like Meta for a smart retargeting and branding strategy, and, of course, expanding into the world of TikTok ads.
You might think you can manage these on your own, but with a partner, you gain:
- Expert Support: A dedicated partner works directly with the TikTok team, providing the support you won’t find on your own.
- Time & Budget Efficiency: We handle the time-consuming setup and optimization, ensuring your campaigns are always up-to-date and running with peak efficiency.
- Proven Results: You benefit from our combined experience and the best practices learned from managing hundreds of campaigns, ultimately getting more for every dollar you spend.
Need help bringing it all together? A partner like sMedia can seamlessly integrate Microsoft Ads with your full-funnel strategy and make sure it performs alongside Google, Meta, TikTok, and more.
If you are ready to build a diverse, high-performing strategy that wins on every single platform, book a free strategy call and we’ll show you what’s possible.
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