Car firms drive online ad rise

Hello John, want a new motor?

Car manufacturers increased their online ad spend by 20 per cent between August and October, as many manufacturers tried to tempt customers with zero finance deals.

The $2.3m spent on online advertising by car manufacturers in October was a 12 per cent jump on September levels and a 20 per cent jump on August according to research from Nielsen/NetRatings.

The number of car ads on the internet grew even more quickly in the same period. In October car manufacturers racked up 132 million ad impressions - a jump of 18 per cent on September and 30 per cent on August.

Toyota ran the most ads, with 25 million ads served and seen by more than 6.3 million people. Nissan came second with 21 million ads seen by 6.5 million viewers. General Motors, Ford and Mazda made up the rest of the top five.