Will Google's Honda Classified Advertising Model Ruffle Feathers?

I'm back on the Google Beat covering the latest discoveries for the automotive industry on search marketing strategy. I want to thank Craig Waikem for commenting on my blog post about new Google PPC Adwords formats that collect email addresses.

What Craig shared was a landing page that was displayed when he clicked on a Google Adwords advertisement. It looks like Honda and Google are testing a number of new initiatives and not just Adwords formats with built-in email collection

Google Co-Ops Automotive Classified Pages

The page in question can be found on this link: http://automobiles.honda.com/certified-search/google/. It is sitting on the Honda marketing website and it is a vehicle listing page that is very similar to what Cars.com, Autotrader.com, Everycarlisted.com and other classified websites display.

The page inserted by local ZIP CODE automatically based on my IP address and displayed Honda cars nearby my home, as shown below:

When you click on a vehicle, the vehicle detail page (VDP) looks like this:

Google Offering Enhanced Pay Per Click Marketing Tools

It looks that Google is helping manufacturers (Honda) like an advertising agency, to create classified advertising campaigns. What would prevent Google from taking this one step further and create an entire network of car inventory listing website for all OEM's.

Is this something that the larger automotive classified websites should be worried about? Google obviously has access to Honda dealer inventory.

Should automotive advertising agencies be the one more worried? This microsite advertising model looks like a Tier 2 project (i.e. www.buyatoyota.com) that other companies offer. Tier 2 Automotive Advertising vendors should wake up and take notice that Google wants that business.

How Was Google's SEO Score?

On a side note, I looked at the Page Source and the SEO tags are awful. This is a PPC landing page and most likely viewed as a dynamic websites with temporary pages not to be indexed. I was hoping to see how new techniques to help search indexing of Vehicle Detail Pages!

What do you think about this design and business model? Is Google crossing some of its top advertising partners?

Change is in the air....and as always I will do my best to keep you ahead of the curve.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
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Brian Pasch

Tags: advertising, automotive, autotrader.com, cars.com, classified advertising, google adwords

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Comment by Ed Brooks on December 2, 2011 at 12:49pm: As a dealer I'd have some concern about "Contact a Honda dealer about this vehicle". Notice it doesn't say contact THIS Honda dealer. Would a lead submitted here only go to DCH Kay Honda or might it go to a number of dealers?

Comment by Ryan Leslie on December 2, 2011 at 5:52am: Great post Brian and very interesting stuff indeed.

As for your comment "take notice that Google wants that business," it seems Google wants a piece of every business lately, and...

"Is Google crossing some of its top advertising partners?"- I think they have a history of doing just that. The rumor is that if they can't buy you, they cut you off at the knees, right?

What I find really interesting is all the moves they are making in the midst of an ongoing Antitrust investigation. I didn't expect them to crawl in a hole, but they seem to have a lot of faith in the "you are only one-click away from another provider" argument.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm no authority on Antitrust litigation, but can you see a scenario where Google is forced to separate Search from Products?

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