Draft - Google Vehicle Listing Ad (VLA) | Campaign Guide

Google Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs) are a high-intent, visual ad format specifically for car dealerships and aggregators. They allow you to showcase your actual inventory—complete with photos, mileage, and real-time pricing—directly at the top of Google Search results.

As of 2026, Google has expanded these ads to support both Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns, providing more control over your bidding and inventory segmentation.

Below is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to setting up a Google Vehicle Listing Ad (VLA) campaign that utilizes a Google VLA feed. The Google VLA feed format is used to power Google Vehicle Listing Ads, which allow automotive inventory to be displayed prominently across Google Search and other surfaces.

Phase 1: Preparing Your Google VLA Feed

In Hoot Monitor, start by adding a new Feed Subscription (+Feed Subscription) and assigning a clear and descriptive Feed Name, such as “DealerName_GoogleVLA” for easy internal reference.

The Feed Type should remain set to Default, and the Feed Format must be selected as Google VLA to ensure proper alignment with Google Ads structure and formatting requirements.

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Phase 2: Google Merchant Center (GMC) Setup

Your Google Merchant Center account acts as the "brain" for your inventory data.

1. Enable the Vehicle Ads Program:

   1. Log in to Google Merchant Center (GMC) and navigate to Add-ons (or "Growth" in some versions).

   2. Find Vehicle Ads and click Get Started. If you do not see a Vehicle Ads option, click the “Your add-ons” tab to confirm the addon has already been added.

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2. Verify Business Information:

   1. Ensure your business name, address, and phone number are verified.

   2. Crucial: You must link your Google Business Profile (GBP). If you have multiple dealership locations, ensure the store codes in your GBP match the store codes in your vehicle feed.

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1. Upload the Google VLA Feed:

   1. In Google Merchant Center, go to Data Sources > Primary sources.

   2. Click the Add product source button to add a new primary feed.

   3. Assure “Add products from a file” is selected.

   4. Copy the Google VLA feed link created in Hoot Monitor in Phase 1 and paste the link into the “Enter a link to your file” field.

   5. Edit schedule: We recommend “Automatically updates every 24 hours at 6:00 AM”.

   6. Upload your file and set a Scheduled Fetch so the feed updates automatically as cars are sold.

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