Guide
How to advertise a car dealership.
To advertise a car dealership, combine channels that drive showroom and service traffic: automotive marketplaces and Google to catch buyers who are shopping now, social and video for stock and offers, local radio and outdoor for brand reach across your catchment, and point-of-sale placements like counter advertising to stay top-of-mind with nearby buyers between purchases.
Below are the six channels dealerships actually use, what each is best for, what it costs and the catch - so you can build the mix that moves metal and builds the name.
Most of your catchment isn't buying this month. They will be your name when they are.
The options
Six ways to advertise your dealership.
- 01
Automotive marketplaces
Your stock listed where active buyers already shop - Carsales, Autotrader, Drive and the rest.
- Best for
- Buyers who are ready to purchase and comparing specific cars.
- Rough cost
- Listing and promotion fees, and they add up fast across a full yard.
- The catch
- Pay to list, and you sit next to every other dealer's price on the same screen.
- 02
Google Ads + Vehicle Ads
Paid search and vehicle listings that appear when someone types "[make] dealer near me" or "[model] for sale".
- Best for
- High-intent local buyers searching right now.
- Rough cost
- Pay per click. Automotive keywords are among the most competitive there are.
- The catch
- Expensive per lead, needs real management, and it stops the moment you stop paying.
- 03
Social and video
Stock walkarounds, offers and dealership brand-building across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
- Best for
- Reach, retargeting and showing the cars in motion.
- Rough cost
- Flexible ad spend, scalable up or down.
- The catch
- Scroll-past attention, ad-blocked, and hungry for fresh creative every week.
- 04
Local radio and press
The classic dealer brand-builder - drive-time spots and weekend offers across your metro or region.
- Best for
- Broad local awareness and moving a specific campaign fast.
- Rough cost
- Spot and placement rates, which climb quickly for prime slots.
- The catch
- No targeting beyond the station's audience, fleeting, and hard to attribute a sale to.
- 05
Outdoor and billboards
Large-format sites on the arterials and highways your buyers drive every day.
- Best for
- Catchment-wide brand presence and pointing drivers to the yard.
- Rough cost
- Site rates, higher for premium positions.
- The catch
- A passing glance, audience modelled rather than counted, and the site is shared.
- 06
Counter advertising
Your dealership full-screen on the payment screens at the cafés, bars and shops across your catchment - keeping your dealership front of mind long before they're ready to buy.
- Best for
- Staying top-of-mind with local buyers and service customers between visits.
- Rough cost
- By quote - one dealership per location if you want it exclusive, or shared at a lower rate. Ask us for a rate for your area.
- The catch
- It builds your name locally rather than delivering a ready-to-buy lead.
Side by side
The channels, compared.
| Channel | Best for | Rough cost | Measurable? | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive marketplaces | Active buyers | $$$ | Leads tracked | Fast |
| Google + Vehicle Ads | In-market search | $$$ | Leads tracked | Fast |
| Social and video | Reach, retargeting | $$ | Views, clicks | Steady |
| Local radio / press | Broad awareness | $$ | Modelled | Steady |
| Outdoor / billboards | Catchment brand | $$$ | Modelled | Slow |
| Counter advertising | Local top-of-mind | $ | Counted impressions | Steady |
Cost is relative: $ light, $$$ heavy. Every dealership's numbers differ - treat this as a starting shape, not a quote.
Where Tap fits
The catchment brand-builder, counted.
Marketplaces and Google catch the buyer who is shopping this weekend. Tap does the other half of the job: it keeps your dealership in front of the far larger group who will buy in the next few years - full screen, at the cafés and shops across your catchment, at the moment they pay.
Unlike a billboard or a radio spot, every view is real and counted, not modelled. And you can book it exclusively: one dealership per location, so the screen in the local café is never shared with the yard down the road.
It won't replace your marketplace listings, and it's not meant to. It's the brand layer that makes yours the name a local pictures when they finally decide it's time.
Common questions
Dealership advertising, answered.
What is the best way to advertise a car dealership?
It depends where the buyer is in the journey. To reach buyers shopping right now, automotive marketplaces and Google work hardest. To build the dealership brand so you're the name people think of when they're ready, radio, outdoor, social and counter advertising compound over time. Most dealers run both at once, because a car purchase is a long consideration.
How much does it cost to advertise a car dealership?
It runs from modest to very large. Marketplace listings and Google run into the thousands a month, and automotive keywords are among the priciest anywhere. Brand channels vary: radio and outdoor are quoted per campaign, and counter advertising is sold by quote, exclusive or shared - ask us for a rate for your area.
How do car dealerships advertise locally?
Dealerships draw from a defined catchment, so local brand-building matters as much as active-buyer leads. That means radio and outdoor across the region, geo-targeted social, and counter advertising on the payment screens at the cafés and shops the surrounding suburbs use every day.
Own your catchment from the counter.
Tell us the suburbs you draw from and we'll show you which local screens are open.