When local auto shoppers use Internet search engines to research their favorite makes, models and dealerships, they're interested in only the most relevant and useful results.

I wrote this thought leadership piece for a national automotive dealer magazine to be useful to GMs and Internet managers who looking for a new way to “stand out” from cookie cutter text ads that dominate most local markets to be found at the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT).

Namely, taking advantage of Google’s growing collection of ad extensions to make your ads hyper-local and convert at a higher rate.

Google’s ad extensions make visible many local elements of your digital presence. And starting this month, your embrace of these features will now positively impact your Ad Rank, helping you win the local ad auction more often to be found in a stronger positive than your competition, and likely pay less per click.

What is Google Ad Rank?

Ad Rank is a value that's used to determine your ad position, and where ads are shown on a page. Until recently, your Ad Rank was calculated using your bid amount and Quality Score.

The main components of your Ad Rank are your bids and the quality of your ads, keywords, and website as measured by what we call Quality Score. Today, Google now incorporates the expected impact from your embedded ad extensions when computing your final Ad Rank.

When estimating the expected impact of extensions and ad formats, Google considers such factors as the relevance, clickthrough rates, and the prominence of the extensions or formats on the search results page. So even if your competition has higher bids than yours, you can still win a higher position at a lower price by using highly relevant extensions along with well-researched keywords and relevant ad copy.

Your Ad Rank is recalculated each time your ad is eligible to appear, so your ad position can fluctuate each time depending on your competition at that moment.

Value of a Google Premier Partnership

Call your online marketing vendor today. Premier Partners of Google will take the time to work with you, one on one, to add hand-crafted extensions to your campaign.

These extensions give your dealership the power to provide more information to potential local shoppers and give them additional ways to respond and engage with your marketing messages.

For example, local customers can call your business number (Call Extensions), see your location on a map (Location Extensions), or choose an even more relevant webpage on your site that you're promoting (Site Extensions).

Get a boost on Google with this useful tactic (via Dealer Communications magazine):
Win the Ad Auction With Ad Extension Bonus