Do you need your own website if you're on Auto Trader?
For most dealers, Auto Trader is worth keeping. But it isn't a replacement for a website of your own, and the two work best together. Here's why.
Buyers find cars on Auto Trader, then check you out
When someone likes one of your cars on a marketplace, they usually look you up before they ring or make the trip. They search your business name, read your reviews and click through to your website. If there isn't one, or it looks out of date, some of them won't bother. A good website makes the drive feel safe.
On your site, there's no one else's car next to yours
On a marketplace, your car sits in a list of similar cars from other dealers, some a little cheaper and some a little closer. On your own website, every car a buyer sees is yours, and every enquiry comes straight to you.
It's where your Google listing points
Your Google Business Profile is the listing with your map pin, opening hours and reviews that appears when people search for you or for dealers nearby. It has a space for your website. A proper site behind that link gives buyers somewhere to go: your stock, your story and a way to get in touch.
You own it
A marketplace advert only lasts as long as you pay for it, and the platform sets the rules. Your website and domain are yours. They build up over time: Google gets to know your site, past customers come back to it, and you decide what it says.
It shows what a marketplace can't
- Cars that have just come in, before they're prepared and advertised.
- Who you are: your team, your history, how long you've been trading.
- Why buy from you: warranty, aftercare, part-exchange, and your reviews in one place.
- Your own forms for test drives, part-exchange and finance enquiries.
So should you leave Auto Trader?
Probably not. For most dealers it's still the biggest source of buyers. Use both: let the marketplace find buyers, and let your website win their trust and their enquiries. Put your website address on your Auto Trader profile, your Google listing and your social media, so every route leads back to you.
Want to see what a dealer website can look like? Have a look at our demo.