How to set up Google vehicle ads

Google vehicle ads show your vehicles to people searching for cars on Google, with a photo, price and mileage, linking straight to the vehicle's page on your website. Vehiso publishes a feed of your stock, and Google Merchant Center fetches it on a schedule.

The feed does not go into Google Ads directly. Google vehicle ads take your stock from Google Merchant Center, and you then link Merchant Center to your Google Ads account. If you have only set up Google Ads, that is why you cannot see anywhere to add your feed.

• Google vehicle ads are on paid Vehiso plans. On the Free plan you will see an upgrade prompt instead of a switch.

• You need a Google Business Profile for each branch your vehicles are sold from.

• You need access to Administration in Vehiso.

1. In Vehiso, go to Administration and open Stock Feeds & Integrations.

2. Scroll down to the Google vehicle ads card.

3. Switch on Publish a feed for Google vehicle ads. Your feed URL only appears once the switch is on.

4. Under Vehicle ads feed URL, press Copy.

Keep this URL private: it contains a key only you and Google should have. If it is ever shared by mistake, press Get a new URL. The old URL stops working straight away, so paste the new one into Merchant Center afterwards.

1. Create a new, dedicated Merchant Center account at merchants.google.com with your business address. Once Google approves an account for vehicle ads, it can never run Shopping ads or free listings again, so do not use an account you already use for anything else.

2. Link your Google Business Profile to the Merchant Center account.

3. Apply for vehicle ads through Google's vehicle ads eligibility form. Your ads will not run until Google approves the account.

4. In Merchant Center, add a new product data source from a file, choose to fetch it from a link on a schedule, paste your Vehiso feed URL, and set it to fetch daily.

Google changes the names of its menus from time to time, so the wording on your screen may differ slightly.

1. In Merchant Center, open the settings for linked accounts (apps and services), choose Google Ads and send a link request to your Google Ads customer ID.

2. In Google Ads, accept the link request.

3. Create a Performance Max campaign in Google Ads that uses your Merchant Center vehicle feed.

Google places every vehicle at a store, so every branch needs its store code.

1. In Vehiso, go to Branches and edit each branch.

2. Enter the Google store code exactly as it appears on that branch's Google Business Profile, including capital letters.

3. Save the branch.

Vehicles at a branch with no store code are held back from the feed. The Google vehicle ads card lists any branches that still need one, with an Edit branches link.

Once Merchant Center has fetched your feed, the Google vehicle ads card shows when Google last fetched it. If it still says Google has not fetched the feed yet, check the URL in your Merchant Center data source matches the one in Vehiso.

A vehicle is held back from Google, and shown as needing attention in your stock list, if it:

• has no price, year, mileage, colour or photo

• is priced plus VAT (Google needs the price the buyer pays, matching your website)

• is at a branch with no Google store code

• is not shown on your website

• is not In stock or Reserved, or has Google vehicle ads switched off on the vehicle

Fix the problem in Vehiso and the vehicle is included the next time Google fetches the feed.

Still stuck? Contact us and we will help you get set up.