First impressions happen in seconds. Here’s how to make your used car adverts work harder.
Last edited 25/08/2026
Share
Are your used car adverts up to the mark?
Many consumers judge businesses by their ability to showcase products and information, instantly deciding whether you’re trustworthy at a glance. As the used car market continues to change, it is becoming increasingly important for retailers to analyse and review their online advertisements.
According to Blue Corona, consumers take only 0.05 seconds to form an opinion on a website, and 48% of people cite a website’s design as ‘the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business’.
Below, we’ll explore how you can invest in your advertising content to help improve your trustworthiness.
Videos are one of the easiest ways to showcase your stock in a digestible, informative, and visually appealing manner; they allow consumers to absorb information without the strain of reading large blocks of text.
They should mimic what a consumer would be able to view whilst browsing at a dealership, capturing the interior, exterior, multiple angles, and showcasing USPs that consumers usually look for. Descriptive commentary can mirror how you’d explain details and specs to consumers in person, providing an extra layer of information.
According to Wyzowl, 83% of marketers say video directly increased sales.
As many consumers fear that potential problems are concealed too easily, ensuring that your imagery is clear (e.g., unpixelated, centred, not unnecessarily cropped) and honest is paramount to helping alleviate this worry.
Highlight blemishes, knocks, bangs and other points that may negatively influence a consumer’s decision to leave less opportunity for something undisclosed to be found once the consumer comes to collect the vehicle.
When consumers shop at your dealership, they expect to see rows of cars, lots of visual noise and your staff waiting to point them in the right direction. However, when shopping online, this visual noise is better reduced to help consumers hone in on products they’re interested in.
Product photography should focus on one vehicle at a time with a clear background that helps centralise and showcase it to potential buyers.
Consumers spend most of their time visually overloaded with information, both written and visual. Text, or copywriting, is an area quite often overlooked but holds massive importance in ensuring your website is accessible, has a defined purpose and can be navigated and understood by users.
Concise written content holds a consumer’s attention without overburdening them with information. Display factual key points in a way that is easy to read, scan and understand, is honest, and considers your target buyer’s needs while avoiding unnecessary jargon, extreme punctuation and large segments of capitalised text – all features that contribute to poor readability.
Building a brand begins at day one; it’s how consumers come to recognise you within a sea of competitors and is an essential part of showcasing your credibility, while creating consistency is critical for building trust and being seen as dependable.
It can be as simple as deciding an order to display your images (e.g., showing a front, side and rear shot before showing the dash, ordered USPs, alloys, and boot), allowing consumers to compare stock easily, absorb information, and recognise your adverts from competitors.
As consumer needs continue to evolve, how your website responds will be key in ensuring that you keep up with the change. By incorporating structure, consistency and user-friendly content, you can help boost consumer confidence in your business and ensure your used car adverts meet their needs.
For more information on what consumers expect in the car buying journey, check out our UK and European car buyer trends and finance behaviour report.
Car buying journey
