So doing a quick search of my market, and I'm pretty sure the only group running GMB Cars For Sale listings, we are the only ones showing in that https://www.google.com/local/cars result. Maybe this is pulling from those directly?So now inventory is appearing in Google search (and not in just Google My Business windows)? Has anyone else seen this?
Google local car dealership inventory search results
Google seems to be getting into the local car inventory space with a new search service.searchengineland.com
Google My Business adds inventory
- Thread starter Greg Spencer
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- Aug 7, 2020
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So you have to plug "https://www.google.com/local/cars" into the address bar to get that result. (There were cars from at least three dealerships in Louisville whose inventory appeared when I did it.) Eventually, Google would add a "cars" button to make this obvious, right? I notice when I Googled for "used Ford Escapes near me" the inventory results did not appear at all. I guess this is still to be developed.
@Greg Spencer Actually, I'm almost certain that is the case. Looking at all listings so far, all dealers listed have Cars For Sale running on GMB mobile!
- Aug 7, 2020
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- Greg
That makes sense to me. The GMB inventory offer enabled Google to collect the data, and now they're just repurposing it.
@Greg Spencer and just like that, it was gone? Are you seeing that as well? Google figgin pulled it down already?!
- Aug 7, 2020
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- Apr 21, 2014
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My firm, Chroma Cars, is approved and working directly with DBA ... HOWEVER... we are not "scraping" inventory from dealer websites and loading it in for $50/mo (as others have done and will continue to do." We are polling, appending and delivering re-merchandised inventory into the GMB inventory listings.
We believe we see where this is or could be going.... To that end, my dev team has already designed SEO-infused, 100% unique per VIN, Vehicle Seller Notes/Descriptions (we're told Google plans to add Vehicle Descriptions as a vehicle-specific attribute in the VERY near future)..
We are also optimizing our dealer's inventory with automated "Top Vehicle Attributes CG" on the thumbnail Overlay graphics and individual vehicle photos. Chroma Cars is also preparing for a full append of each vehicle photo's naming convention and Alt Tags.
WHY? We believe that indexing is a forgone conclusion here. We further understand the value of creating higher click-thru activity off of the GMB inventory SRP in your GMB VDPs. Chroma Cars has been dynamically generating "Top Vehicle Attributes CG" in 3rd party classifieds for years. We consistently see a 15-20% jump in our dealer's mobile SRP to VDP click thru rates on 3rd party websites.
Consumers are more likely to click from an SRP to a VDP when the thumbnail photo engages them by validating the vehicle's inclusion of 3-4 of the "most popular attributes" like "Heads Up Display - Backup Camera - Navi" We are also providing UTM tags and carefully analyzing that data inside of our Client GMB listings.
As stated, this is a BETA program and there have been a few hiccups with the inventory feeds but Google very quickly corrected them and we have seen smooth sailing the past several weeks. As an inventory management and merchandising automation company we've always understood the importance of solid SRP/VDP Optimization.
This move by Google will create the opportunity for poor, good and great vehicle merchandising and organic ranking within the GMB organic algorithm ecosphere. Interested dealers and dealer groups need to be taught the critical differences between an "inventory scrape and add to GMB" and "carefully crafted inventory-based SEO & merchandising inside GMB."
Here is a link to our invitation form for interested dealers and dealer groups: https://www.chromacars.com/dealership-inventory-program.php.
I'm happy to answer any questions and share what we learn as we learn it. PLEASE, be sure to educate yourself and your dealership(s) on the difference between scraped inventory and fed/appended inventory in GMB. From your mobile device you can Google "Ewald Kia of Oconomowoc" and see the SRP/VDP thumbnail dynamically merchandised by VIN explosion with our technology. then, click "New" to see the real impact of calling out sales-friendly popular attributes on a thumbnail photo.
We believe we see where this is or could be going.... To that end, my dev team has already designed SEO-infused, 100% unique per VIN, Vehicle Seller Notes/Descriptions (we're told Google plans to add Vehicle Descriptions as a vehicle-specific attribute in the VERY near future)..
We are also optimizing our dealer's inventory with automated "Top Vehicle Attributes CG" on the thumbnail Overlay graphics and individual vehicle photos. Chroma Cars is also preparing for a full append of each vehicle photo's naming convention and Alt Tags.
WHY? We believe that indexing is a forgone conclusion here. We further understand the value of creating higher click-thru activity off of the GMB inventory SRP in your GMB VDPs. Chroma Cars has been dynamically generating "Top Vehicle Attributes CG" in 3rd party classifieds for years. We consistently see a 15-20% jump in our dealer's mobile SRP to VDP click thru rates on 3rd party websites.
Consumers are more likely to click from an SRP to a VDP when the thumbnail photo engages them by validating the vehicle's inclusion of 3-4 of the "most popular attributes" like "Heads Up Display - Backup Camera - Navi" We are also providing UTM tags and carefully analyzing that data inside of our Client GMB listings.
As stated, this is a BETA program and there have been a few hiccups with the inventory feeds but Google very quickly corrected them and we have seen smooth sailing the past several weeks. As an inventory management and merchandising automation company we've always understood the importance of solid SRP/VDP Optimization.
This move by Google will create the opportunity for poor, good and great vehicle merchandising and organic ranking within the GMB organic algorithm ecosphere. Interested dealers and dealer groups need to be taught the critical differences between an "inventory scrape and add to GMB" and "carefully crafted inventory-based SEO & merchandising inside GMB."
Here is a link to our invitation form for interested dealers and dealer groups: https://www.chromacars.com/dealership-inventory-program.php.
I'm happy to answer any questions and share what we learn as we learn it. PLEASE, be sure to educate yourself and your dealership(s) on the difference between scraped inventory and fed/appended inventory in GMB. From your mobile device you can Google "Ewald Kia of Oconomowoc" and see the SRP/VDP thumbnail dynamically merchandised by VIN explosion with our technology. then, click "New" to see the real impact of calling out sales-friendly popular attributes on a thumbnail photo.
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- Apr 13, 2012
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Michael, some cool concepts, I love merch tricks that improve these rates. Would love to know more. We track VDP/SRP rates for a few hundred dealers across all the major 3rd parties. Can you post some of your before/after rates for Autotrader, Cars.com, CarGurus and Carfax? Thank you!
@Michael-Frazer the DBA team used the term "scrape" when I was enrolling as the ideal option. Our URLs/stores share all inventory so when I mentioned a "scrape" may cause issues and offered a custom feed based on their guidelines, we went that route. The $35 fee per store was for their base local SEO tools and not the listings. Whether or not we see value in that $420 annual fee per store remains to be seen. When you say Chroma works with DBA, would you clarify? If I went to Chroma Cars and said "list my inventory on GMB mobile" would you still be doing that through a Google partner like DBA but enhancing the listings (when available) or are you able to replace DBA to list directly to the same program?
- Apr 21, 2014
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Thanks Dan.... As an inventory mgmt software development company working with DBA, they often send me dealer groups who have a want or need to separate a combined feed or who want to move beyond "Scraping" to get the real benefits of SEO activated inside the dealer's individual GMBs. We have the unique ability to parse data feeds from multiple rooftops and multiple sources (prices from VAuto, Photos from Excite, Seller Notes from Homenet) into a single feed, append that feed for optimal GMB SEO and Merchandising per store, and then submit a rooftop to GMB inventory file through DBA into GMB. Scraping works for some as a quick-fix but, as I outlined, is not going to win you any organic optimization favor within Google's GMB ranking algorithm. I'm happy to jump on a call with you and my contact at GMB and see what we might be able to understand about your current feed setup and see if our service would make sense. I can tell you that, if SEO & SRP to VDP conversion is your focus....DBA would rather put you together with a partner like us to get the results you want/expect (SEO ranking results a scrape cannot duplicate). My mobile is 561-307-8849. Happy to see how or whether there is a fit for your focus.
