Documentation: Forecourt
Google Vehicle Ads feed
With the Ajax - Forecourt Google Vehicle Ads feed plugin your cars and vans can appear in Google vehicle ads: the image ads with price, mileage and your dealership name that Google shows when people search for a car. The plugin turns your Forecourt stock into a feed that Google Merchant Center downloads on a schedule, so the ads show what is actually on your forecourt.
You do not need a separate feed tool or a partner contract. You do need a Google Merchant Center account that is approved for vehicle ads, and a Google Ads account to run the campaign.
Before you start
- Vehicle ads are only available in some countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. Check the current list in the Google Merchant Center help.
- Google accepts cars, vans and light trucks. Motorcycles and machinery from Forecourt are never added to the feed.
- Every vehicle needs a price, at least one photo, an exterior colour and a mileage. A vehicle that misses one of these is left out of the feed, because Google would reject it anyway. Vehicles with the price type Price on request are left out too. A new vehicle without a mileage is included with 0 km.
Step 1: enable the plugin
Go to System > Plugins, search for Google Vehicle Ads, open the plugin and enable it.
Step 2: configure the feed
| Feed URL | The address Google uses to download your stock. Click the field to select it, then copy it. After you change the feed key, save the plugin to see the updated address. |
| Feed key | Optional. With a key, the feed only answers requests that contain it, so other people cannot download your complete stock list. Use letters, digits, dashes and underscores. The key is added to the feed URL for you. |
| Vehicle types | Which Forecourt vehicle types go into the feed: cars, commercial vehicles or both. |
| Store code | Optional. The store code of your dealership in your Google Business Profile. It is case-sensitive and must match exactly. With a store code, your vehicles are advertised as available at your location. Without one, they are advertised online and link straight to the vehicle page on your website. |
| VAT rate (%) | Google shows prices including VAT. Vehicles that you price excluding VAT in Forecourt get this rate added in the feed. Prices including VAT and margin scheme prices are left as they are. Default 21. |
| Currency | The currency of your prices as a three-letter code, for example EUR. |
Save the plugin and open the feed URL in your browser. You should see a list of your vehicles. If the list is empty, check that your vehicles are published and match the selected vehicle types.
Step 3: add the feed to Google Merchant Center
- In Google Merchant Center, add a new data source for your vehicle inventory.
- Choose to fetch the file from a URL and paste the feed URL from the plugin.
- Set a daily schedule, so price changes and sold vehicles are picked up the next day.
- Run the first fetch and check the diagnostics in Merchant Center.
What is in the feed
For every vehicle the feed sends the make, model, version, year, price, mileage, condition (new or used), colour, the link to the vehicle page and up to eleven photos, starting with the main photo. It adds the VIN when it is valid. Where Forecourt has the information, it also sends the fuel type, body style, CO2 emissions, fuel consumption, electric range and the list of options and accessories. Google uses these details to match your vehicles to searches, so complete vehicles tend to perform better.
Common questions
A vehicle is missing from the feed
Check that it is published, has a price (not Price on request), at least one photo, an exterior colour and a mileage, and that its vehicle type is selected in the plugin.
Google reports a price mismatch
Google compares the price in the feed with the price on your vehicle page. If you price vehicles excluding VAT, make sure the VAT rate in the plugin matches the consumer price you show on your website.
Does the feed slow down my website?
No. The feed is only built when Google, or you, opens the feed URL. Normal page views are not affected.