Google vs Meta vehicle ads — the complete UK dealer guide
UK car dealers, caravan retailers, and motorhome businesses now have two powerful automotive inventory advertising platforms: Google Vehicle Ads and Meta Automotive Inventory Ads. This guide explains both, compares them honestly, and helps you decide where to start and how to run both simultaneously.
✓ Both formats from one connection✓ UK VIN handling included✓ Side-by-side comparison✓ Twice-daily feed updates
73%
of UK car buyers use Google to research their purchase
30%
of UK car buyers research on social media before purchasing
24-48h
review time for new Google Vehicle Ads after feed submission
VIN
is optional in the UK for Google — Trajekt handles this automatically
Features
Vehicle Ads Guide
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Google Vehicle Ads
Appear when shoppers actively search for specific vehicles on Google Search and Shopping. Intent-driven — shoppers looking for "used Volkswagen Golf Estate" are ready to act.
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Meta Automotive Inventory Ads
Appear in Facebook and Instagram feeds to people who have shown interest in vehicles or visited your website. Awareness and retargeting — reaching buyers earlier in their journey.
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Both from one feed
Trajekt connects to your inventory source once and generates both Google Vehicle Ads XML and Meta Automotive Inventory Ads CSV simultaneously — saving setup time.
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UK VIN handling
VIN is PII in the UK and optional for both Google and Meta vehicle ads. Trajekt uses your internal stock ID as the primary identifier for both platforms.
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Multi-dealership
Multiple store locations, multiple store_codes for Google, multiple dealer_id values for Meta — Trajekt supports dealer groups with multiple sites.
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Inventory sync
Both platforms need daily updates to keep vehicle listings accurate. Trajekt refreshes both feeds simultaneously on your chosen schedule.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Google Vehicle Ads appear in Google Search results and the Shopping tab when users actively search for vehicles — high intent, search-driven discovery. Meta Automotive Inventory Ads (AIA) appear in Facebook and Instagram feeds to users who have shown interest in vehicles or visited your website — lower intent but wider reach, including retargeting. They serve different stages of the buyer journey and complement each other.
Start with Google Vehicle Ads if your priority is reaching buyers who are actively searching for specific vehicles and ready to enquire. Google converts faster as the intent is already there. Add Meta Automotive Inventory Ads once Google is running to expand reach, retarget website visitors, and capture buyers earlier in the research phase. Running both consistently outperforms either alone.
Google Vehicle Ads uses XML (RSS format with g: namespace attributes) submitted to Google Merchant Center. Meta Automotive Inventory Ads uses CSV uploaded to Meta Commerce Manager with a Vehicles catalogue type. Both use the same underlying vehicle data — Trajekt converts from one source to both formats simultaneously.
VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is optional in the UK for both Google Vehicle Ads and Meta Automotive Inventory Ads. In the UK, VIN is classified as Personally Identifiable Information (PII). For Google, submit a unique internal stock ID as the id field instead. For Meta, VIN is required in the spec but UK dealers typically use an internal reference. Trajekt handles this automatically.
For Google Vehicle Ads you need: Google Merchant Center account with Vehicle Ads enabled, Google Business Profile with verified dealership location(s), and a product feed containing make, model, year, condition, price, image_link, store_code, and unique vehicle ID. The store_code must match your Business Profile location.
For Meta AIA you need: Meta Business Manager account, Commerce Manager account with a Vehicles catalogue, Meta Pixel implemented on your vehicle detail pages with ViewContent events (including vehicle_id), and a CSV product feed with make, model, year, mileage, state_of_vehicle, price, exterior_color, image, availability, and condition.
Yes. Both Google Vehicle Ads and Meta Automotive Inventory Ads support all vehicle types including caravans, motorhomes, campervans, and other recreational vehicles. They're not limited to cars and trucks. Trajekt has been specifically tested with UK caravan and motorhome dealer inventory data.
Google Vehicle Ads use a CPC model within Google Ads campaigns. You set bids at the vehicle group level (similar to product groups in Shopping campaigns). Pricing depends on competition in your market — car dealer CPCs typically range from £0.50 to £3.00+ per click depending on vehicle type and location.
For Google Vehicle Ads: exterior front three-quarter view on a clean background, at least 1200x900px. For Meta: exterior shots from multiple angles, interior, and detail shots. Include as many high-quality images as each platform supports — Google accepts up to 10 additional images; Meta accepts image[0] through image[2] as standard.
Google Vehicle Ads: after submitting your feed, allow 24-48 hours for review and indexing. New vehicle listings after that point typically go live within a few hours. Meta AIA: catalogue processing is typically same-day, but ad delivery optimisation may take a few days to warm up.
Yes. For Google, targeting is controlled at the campaign level. You can run national awareness campaigns and separate local campaigns for each dealership with radius targeting. Meta allows location targeting by radius around each dealership. Both platforms benefit from separate campaigns per dealership for budget control.
Get both Google and Meta vehicle ads running today
Trajekt connects to your inventory source once and generates both Google Vehicle Ads XML and Meta AIA CSV — UK VIN handling, multi-dealership support, and twice-daily updates.