Google now makes it easy for dealers to add cars for sale to their Business Profile. Follow these first steps to prepare auto listings on a Google Business Profile.
This article will review some of the mandates for auto listings, how to make your website crawlable by Google, and review the data points that are either required or optional in a feed and on dealership website VDPs.
Please review this list of essential details first:
- Google mandates that 90% of the vehicles being submitted per dealer have the correct and required values, as they do verify the listings to ensure an excellent customer experience. The required and optional values are listed in the table below.
- Vehicles are "graded" based upon the amount of data made available for them, as well as the quality of the photos. The more data available, the better. For photos, images of the actual vehicles are preferred, without watermarks and background distractions. The higher the quality of photos, the better as well.
- Google needs to be able to crawl the website in order to verify the listings, and in order to do so, a small snippet of code needs to be added to the website in order to allow this:
-
# Group 1
User-agent: Googlebot
Allow: /
**This allows only the Googlebot to crawl the entire website.
The link below can test to make sure they set it up correctly.
Cars For Sale Data Feed Specifications REQUIRED & OPTIONAL Values:
File type: CSV format
| Type | Attribute | Description | Content |
| Required | Vin | Vehicle Identification Number | String (17) |
| Required | Id | The unique stock number for each car | String |
| Required | store_code | Unique id for each store | String |
| Required | Dealership_name | Full dealership name | String |
| Required | Dealership_street | Complete street address | String |
| Required | Dealership_City | Complete City | String |
| Required | Dealership_state | Abbreviated State | String |
| Required | Dealership_zip | Zip | String |
| Optional | Dealership_email | Dealership's main email address | |
| Required | Dealership_phone | Phone number with no special characters | Numeric |
| Required | Image_Link | Main image for the car. This needs to be an actual photo of the car | URL |
| Optional | Additional_imagelink | Additional images for the car separated by "|." | URL |
| Required | VDP | Link to the Vehicle Details Page | URL, repeated |
| Optional | date_in_stock | Date car is available for sale | Date YYYYMMDD :20201015 |
| Required | Price | Final Sale price | Integer |
| Required( for new cars) | MSRP | Manufacturer's suggested retail price | Integer |
| Required | Condition | New or used | String: New, Used |
| Optional | Certified_Pre_Owned | Car is OEM certified pre-owned | String: Y, N |
| Required | Make | Make of the car | String |
| Required | Model | Model of the car | String |
| Optional | Trim | Trim of the model, leave empty if it does not exist. | String |
| Required | Year | year of the model | Integer (4) |
| Required | Mileage (only required for USED vehicles) | Number of miles on the car | Integer |
| Required | Exterior_color | Main exterior color | String |
| Optional | Interior_color | Main Interior Color | String |
| Optional | Body_style |
Accepted Values: convertible, coupe, crossover, full size van, hatchback, minivan, sedan, station wagon, SUV, truck |
String |
| Required | Options | A list of all installed options separated by "|." | String |
| Optional | Drivetrain | drivetrain specifications | String |
| Optional | Engine | engine specifications | String |
| Optional | fuel | fuel type | String |
| Optional | fuel_efficiency | HWMPG: XX,CMPG: XX | String |
| Optional | transmission | Transmission specification | String |
| Optional | Number_Doors | number of doors | Numeric |
| Optional | Seating_capacity | number of seats | Numeric |
| Optional | Description | Free text for additional information |
String |
| Optional | Warranty | Warranty terms and conditions | String or URL |
| Required | Source | Main Website URL | URL |
| Optional | is_transferrable | Can the car be transferred to a different dealership | Y or N |
| Optional | UTM | *The UTM will be tagged to the end of the VDP page. | String |
| Optional | disclaimer_text | The dealers | String |
FTP Sample file - Please click this link for a downloadable version of the sample file
**The UTM (if supplied) will be tagged to the end of the VDP page. This can dynamically be filled with other columns.
IE Static example:
utm_source=google& utm_medium=organic& utm_campaign=googlemybusiness& utm_content=carsforsale
Dynamic:
utm_source=google& utm_medium=[Make] & utm_campaign=[Engine] & utm_content=carsforsale
Possible dynamic values:
VIN, store_code, any of the Dealership values, condition, make, model, trim, year, and source.