Terms and Conditions

Autotrader Pay Per Click (PPC) – Campaigns and Boost

Updated: 6th December 2024

These Rules apply to Autotrader's Pay Per Click ('PPC') Campaigns and Boost products (together the 'PPC products'). The PPC products enable Advertisers to display Adverts in a high-profile position on the search results pages on Autotrader's Website ('Results Pages') and to pay a fee based on the number of clicks on these Adverts.

Please read these Rules in conjunction with the Main Advertising Terms and Conditions, which are incorporated into the Rules by reference.

Terms defined in the Main Advertising Terms & Conditions shall have the same meaning in these Rules provided that, should a term be defined in both the Main Advertising Terms & Conditions and these Rules, the meaning of the term defined in these Rules shall have precedence in relation to these Rules.

  1. Definitions

    1. 'Autotrader Managed Campaign' means a Campaign where the Advertiser chooses the Stock Rules that it wants to be applicable to a Campaign and instructs Autotrader (over the telephone or by email) to set-up the same on the Advertiser's behalf.
    2. 'Boost' means Autotrader's self-service product that Advertisers can access via Portal in order to select an Advert to be displayed in a Sponsored Search Position, on a PPC basis, for the Boost Period. The term 'Boosted' shall be construed accordingly.
    3. 'Boost Period' means the period of 3, 5 or 7 Days that is selected by the Advertiser, which shall commence on the date the Advertiser selects an Advert to be Boosted via Portal. So, for example, if an Advertiser chooses to start a 3-Day Boost at 3pm on a Monday, the Boost will commence immediately on the Monday (which will be treated as the first Day) and will run until 23.59pm on the Wednesday
    4. 'Campaign' means Autotrader's product that allows Advertisers to select an Advert or Adverts to be displayed in a Sponsored Search Position, on a PPC basis and in accordance with the Campaign Settings, commencing on the date selected by the Advertiser and continuing for either a specified number of Weekly Campaign Cycles or indefinitely.
    5. 'Campaign Settings' means the rules that will be applied to the Campaign, including the Stock Rules.
    6. 'Continuous Campaign' means an Advertiser has requested for a Campaign to run continuously during consecutive Weekly Campaign Cycles.
    7. 'Contracted Budget' means the amount (in pounds sterling) specified by the Advertiser, which determines the weekly limit of the number of clicks per Weekly Campaign Cycle that is to apply in respect of a Campaign.
    8. 'Daily Click Budget' means the amount (in pounds sterling) specified by the Advertiser in Portal at the time of selecting the Advert to be Boosted, which determines the daily click budget for each Day during a Boost.
    9. 'Day' means the period running from 00.00am (midnight) until 23.59pm on any day during a Boost.
    10. 'Dealer Managed Campaign' means a Campaign where the Advertiser is responsible for choosing (via Portal) the Stock Rules applicable to a Campaign.
    11. 'Live Stock' means stock which is currently live and being advertised on the Autotrader Website.
    12. 'Smart Pace' means the Contracted Budget will be delivered in a targeted manner, optimised through AI, with pace of delivery determined in part by when consumers interested in the Advertiser’s vehicle(s) are searching on the Autotrader Website.
    13. 'Sponsored Search Position' means a high profile position on the Results Pages.
    14. 'Stock Rules' means the rules covering which stock is covered by a Campaign, for example “all Fords and BMWs” or “all cars under 3 years old” or “all bikes I've had in stock for 60 days+”.
    15. 'Weekly Campaign Cycle' refers to the 7-day cycle (starting at 00.00am (midnight) each Friday and running until 23.59pm the following Thursday) in which a Campaign operates. If a Campaign starts on any day other than a Friday, the Weekly Campaign Cycle for the first week during the Campaign will run from the actual start date until 23.59pm on the following Thursday.

  2. PPC products (the following clauses apply to both Campaigns and Boost)

    1. The PPC products are only available to Advertisers who have a contracted selling package with Autotrader (excluding pay as you go customers).
    2. Only stock which is advertised on Autotrader will automatically qualify to appear in a Sponsored Search Position served by the PPC products.
    3. Adverts without a primary image will not qualify to be displayed via the PPC products.
    4. Advertisers can create a Campaign at any time during the Weekly Campaign Cycle and they can create a Boost at any time.
    5. Autotrader cannot guarantee that an Advert will appear in a specific Sponsored Search Position, or in any specific number of searches or generate a specific number of ad views across each platform or position.
    6. Delivery of clicks is not guaranteed. The Contracted Budget or Daily Click Budget (as applicable) is a guide to the number of clicks the Advertiser wishes to purchase. Several factors can lead to the under-delivery of clicks which may be outside of Autotrader's control. These include, without limitation, site traffic, technical issues, reductions in dealer stock, low image penetration and competition from other Advertisers using the PPC products.

  3. Campaigns

    1. Advertisers can create a Campaign at any time by calling their Account Manager and agreeing the Contracted Budget.
    2. Advertisers are responsible for defining which stock appears in their Campaign either by picking individually from their Live Stock list or by defining these through the available Stock Rules.
    3. For a Continuous Campaign, any changes that the Advertiser makes to the Campaign Settings (either via Portal or by instructing Autotrader to make a change on their behalf) will automatically be carried over to the next Weekly Campaign Cycle.
    4. Where a Campaign starts on any day other than a Friday, the Contracted Budget will be applied from that day until the end of the current Weekly Campaign Cycle (i.e. 23.59pm on the following Thursday).
    5. Autotrader will remove the relevant Advert(s) from the Sponsored Search Position as soon as the Contracted Budget has been attained during the relevant Weekly Campaign Cycle. If there is a delay in Autotrader removing the relevant Adverts, any additional clicks outside of the Contracted Budget will not be charged to the Advertiser.
    6. Where an Advertiser selects a Continuous Campaign, the Contracted Budget will start again, and the relevant Advert(s) will automatically be displayed in the Sponsored Search Position, at the start of each Weekly Campaign Cycle. The Continuous Campaign will continue either (as determined by the Advertiser): (i) indefinitely (until cancelled by the Advertiser in accordance with clause 3.11); or (ii) where the Continuous Campaign is to continue for a specified number of Weekly Campaign Cycles, up until 23.59pm on the Thursday of the last Weekly Campaign Cycle.
    7. Advertisers will be charged for the number of clicks that are delivered within the Weekly Campaign Cycle. This will never exceed the maximum Contracted Budget.
    8. Advertisers may, at any time during a Weekly Campaign Cycle, request that the Contracted Budget for the Campaign is reduced by giving Autotrader no less than 48 hours notice. Subject to giving at least 48 hours’ notice the reduction in the Contracted Budget will be applied from the start of the next Weekly Campaign Cycle (i.e. 00.00am (midnight) on the next Friday) following Autotrader's receipt of the request.
    9. Advertisers can choose to increase the Contracted Budget for any Campaign at any time during a Weekly Campaign Cycle. It may take Autotrader up to 7 days to process the request for the increase in the Contracted Budget. Once the request has been processed, the increase in the Contracted Budget will be applied immediately.
    10. Advertisers can cancel a Campaign at any time but should give Autotrader at least 48 hours’ notice to implement any cancellation. Subject to giving at least 48 hours’ notice the cancellation will become effective at 23.59pm on the Thursday following the date that notice of cancellation is received by Autotrader. Autotrader shall be entitled to charge the Advertiser for any clicks that are delivered (within the Contracted Budget) during the remainder of any Weekly Campaign Cycle, up until the time the cancellation becomes effective in accordance with this clause.

  4. Boost

    1. Advertisers can Boost a vehicle Advert at any time by following the on-screen instructions in Portal.
    2. Advertisers will be responsible for choosing which Boost they require along with their budget (i.e. the Daily Click Budget) and timeframe (i.e. the Boost Period).
    3. Autotrader will remove the relevant Advert from the Sponsored Search Position as soon as the Daily Click Budget has been attained during any Day (which is measured from 00.00am (midnight) until 23.59pm) during the Boost Period.
    4. Once the Boost Period has lapsed, the Boost will be terminated and the relevant Advert removed from the Sponsored Search Positions.
    5. If there is a delay in Autotrader removing the relevant Adverts in accordance with clause 4.3 or clause 4.4 above, any additional clicks outside of the Daily Click Budget (for the relevant Day) will not be charged to the Advertiser.
    6. Where an individual is an employee or other representative of the Advertiser, the individual shall ensure that they have the Advertiser's permission before selecting a Boost via the Advertiser's Portal account.
    7. Once a Boost has been selected via Portal, Autotrader will send an email notification to the Advertiser's primary account holder, confirming that a Boost has been selected. It is the Advertiser's obligation to ensure that: (i) Autotrader has the correct email address for the primary account holder; (ii) it has appropriate measures in place to prevent unauthorised or fraudulent use of Boost via the Advertiser's Portal account; and (iii) it contacts Autotrader immediately if it suspects any unauthorised or fraudulent activity using the Advertiser's Portal account.
    8. Notwithstanding clause 4.7, the Advertiser shall be fully liable for any Charges incurred in respect of any Boosts selected using the Advertiser's Portal account.
    9. Advertisers will be charged for the number of clicks that are delivered each Day within the Boost Period. This will never exceed the maximum Daily Click Budget.
    10. Advertisers can cancel a Boost at any time during the Boost Period via Portal. The cancellation will not be effective until 23.59pm that Day and Autotrader shall be entitled to charge the Advertiser for any clicks that are delivered (within the Daily Click Budget) up until the time the cancellation becomes effective.

  5. Charges & Payments

    1. Charges for the Campaigns and Boost products will be added to the Advertiser's monthly bill, based on the number of clicks delivered within the previous calendar month. Charges for the Campaigns and Boost products will be identifiable under separate headings in the monthly bill. If a Weekly Campaign Cycle or Boost Period (as applicable) crosses over two calendar months, the Charges will be split between two invoices based on the calendar month in which the relevant clicks were delivered.
    2. For Campaigns, any Advertiser which qualifies for a discounted PPC rate will be subject to change on a quarterly basis based on their spend in the previous quarter (where a quarter is a period of 3 calendar months starting on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October each year).

  6. General

    1. The PPC products are provided to Advertisers on an 'as is' basis.
    2. Autotrader does not warrant that the use of the PCC products will be uninterrupted or error-free. The Advertiser acknowledges that Autotrader cannot guarantee that the PPC products and/or the Autotrader Platforms will be continuously available. For the avoidance of doubt, Autotrader shall have no liability, and no refunds or credits shall be offered, to any Advertiser in respect of interruptions to the PPC products and/or the Autotrader Platforms arising as a result of maintenance and/or repair work and/or due to circumstances outside of Autotrader's reasonable control.
    3. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the limitations of liability set out in the Main Advertising Terms and Conditions shall also apply to these Rules.
    4. Without limitation to its other rights and remedies, Autotrader may suspend or terminate a Campaign or Boost at any time (without notice) if it suspects that an Advertiser (or any of the Advertiser's employees or other representatives) has failed to adhere to the terms of the Advertising Agreement, these Rules and/or the Advertising Guidelines (e.g. by publishing incorrect mileage or fraudulent Adverts).
    5. In the event of a breach of these Rules by any Advertiser, such breach shall be deemed a breach of the Main Advertising Terms and Conditions and Autotrader be entitled to such rights and remedies available to it thereunder.
    6. Autotrader reserves the right to amend, suspend or terminate any PPC product at any time and Autotrader shall notify the Advertiser in any such event.
    7. Autotrader may modify these Rules from time to time and Advertisers should therefore ensure that they review these Rules regularly.