New and used car buyers should now discover it’s easier to find their next car on Auto Trader.
That’s because the online marketplace has tweaked its search rankings to prioritise results based on consumer relevance as well as price.
One in three consumers would have bought their car sooner if the process was easier for them, says Auto Trader. So the upgraded search algorithm should be good news for the consumer and the seller.
Auto Trader faces new competition, with the Volkswagen- and Daimler-backed Heycar online marketplace now available to consumers in the UK.
But while Heycar is a 100 percent business to consumer marketplace, Auto Trader features private sellers, and at the time of writing it has around 480,000 new and used cars for sale.
Karolina Edwards-Smajda, director of commercial products, said: “All of our research shows that retailers that price to market from day one enjoy a faster speed of sale, which means they’re selling more cars, more quickly, and for more profit.
“We’re committed to making the car buying experience easier for consumers, and in the process providing our customers with the very best marketplace to sell their cars.
“By showing relevant results and useful information upfront to car buyers, we’re delivering retailers with more meaningful connections earlier in the process, and fewer questions from less informed consumers.”
Advice for car dealers
Auto Trader says there “isn’t a simplistic check-list” for dealers to appear higher up the search rankings, but advises retailers to follow “best digital practice”.
Including plenty of images and a video to highlight the true condition of the vehicle helps, as does adding lots of detail on the condition and specification of the car.
Using customer reviews to instil confidence and trust in their business is another quick win for dealers.