Auto Trader launches new Top Spot ad to maximise exposure

Auto Trader has launched Top Spot, a high-impact advertisement that enables dealers to appear at the top of search results.

It is designed to enable retailers to target local car buyers, by displaying a selection of stock that matches the customers search in a dynamic image carousel.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s director of Commercial Products, said: “We’re very excited about the marketing potential this new product opens up to our retailer partners, enabling them to target the buyers that matter most to them and to showcase their brand at the most relevant point in the buying cycle.

“We’re committed to developing the tools and providing the insights our customers need to adapt and to thrive in this increasingly challenging and competitive retail landscape. Auto Trader Top Spot fits very much within this ambition, and along with our existing suite of solutions, offers retailers a tactical lever to pull whatever their business goal.”

Since the reopening of forecourts in June, the market has experienced record consumer demand, and in September alone, there were 61.6 million cross platform visits to Auto Trader, up 23.5% on the same period last year.

By providing prime real estate across its desktop, mobile and app platforms, Auto Trader says Top Spot will help retailers to capitalise on the huge surge in consumer appetite in a strategic and efficient way.

It is based on a cost per thousand search impressions, meaning retailers can control spend by ​tactically choosing​ when to activate or deactivate the advertisement and only pay when it gets seen.