Syndication overview
How marketplace syndication works — your published inventory becomes a feed that channels pull, which channels are self-serve, and which aren't.
Syndication gets your cars onto outside marketplaces — Google, Facebook, CarGurus, and a generic feed for everything else — without re-typing inventory anywhere. You publish a car once; the marketplaces pick it up.
How it works (the short version)
- Your published inventory is turned into a feed — a machine-readable list of your cars.
- Each marketplace gets its own feed URL (one shared key powers all of them).
- The marketplace pulls that feed on its own schedule.
- List a new car → it appears. Mark a car sold → it drops off. Automatically. You don't push anything per car.
Only cars in the feed syndicate, and a car is in the feed only if it's published and meets each channel's rules. A car can be published to your website while carrying a status like sold or a "pending" listing badge — those still show on your storefront but are filtered out of the generic pull feeds (which have no "for sale / not for sale" column). The eligible/total line on each card tells you how many of your published cars actually qualify for that channel.
Turn on syndication
- Go to Settings → Marketplaces.
- Under Inventory feed, click Generate feed URLs. This creates your feed key — one key behind every marketplace URL.
- Find the marketplace you want — Google Vehicle Ads, CarGurus, or the Generic feed — and switch it on. (Facebook works differently — it uses a Connect button instead of a feed switch; see below.)
- Open that card's Setup guide tab and follow the steps to register the feed at the marketplace.
- Copy the card's Feed URL and paste it where the marketplace asks for it.
The master switch on the Feed key card pauses everything at once. While it's off, every marketplace that fetches your URLs gets a 404 until you turn it back on. Switching a single marketplace off stops just that one channel's feed. Only owners and managers can change these settings.
The channels you can set up here
You'll see Facebook in its own card, plus three more cards — Google Vehicle Ads, CarGurus, and a Generic feed. Here's what each one really is, including the honest catches.
Google Vehicle Ads — paid
Cars appear in Google Search through Vehicle Ads. Google retired the free vehicle listings in November 2025, so this is now a paid product: it needs an active Google Ads campaign plus a linked Google Business Profile. You add your feed URL as a Scheduled fetch data source in Google Merchant Center. Self-serve in the US/CA/AU; the EU/UK need Google to allow-list you first.
Facebook Vehicle Ads — paid
These are paid Automotive Inventory Ads shown across Facebook, Instagram, and Marketplace — not free Marketplace classifieds. Used cars over 500 miles only. Facebook is the one channel with a live one-click connection — but only when it's enabled for your account (it depends on a platform-level setup, not something you toggle yourself):
- When one-click is available, click Connect Facebook to link your catalog. Then turn on Auto-sync (in the card's Sync settings tab) so every publish, price change, and sale pushes to Facebook automatically.
- Use Sync all inventory now to force a full push.
- If one-click sync isn't enabled for your account, you can still run Facebook Vehicle Ads by adding the Facebook feed URL as a data source in Meta Commerce Manager.
CarGurus — FTP upload, dealer account required
Set up a CarGurus dealer account first (a free "Restricted" tier exists but caps your monthly leads; paid packages unlock full visibility). CarGurus pulls by FTP upload, not a URL — you (or your provider) upload the feed file to their FTP on a daily schedule, then email them to finish setup. In the card's Lead routing panel, enter your CarGurus Dealer ID and leads / CRM email so inquiries reach you (they ride along in the feed as dealer_id / lead_email).
Generic feed — for everything else
A standard CSV any other marketplace or tool can ingest. Hand the URL to any service that accepts a vehicle inventory feed; they pull your latest inventory on their own schedule, and sold cars drop off automatically.
What you can't self-serve here (and why)
Some big names aren't shown on this page because none of them accept a dealer-supplied feed URL — there's nowhere to paste ours.
- Cars.com — paid dealer contract, inventory only via a certified syndicator (no raw-URL intake, no free tier).
- Autotrader (Cox) — paid Cox contract, CSV over SFTP through an approved syndicator keyed to a Cox Dealer ID.
- OfferUp — inventory only through approved partner integrations.
These are walled gardens that require a separate provider relationship. We don't show a fake "paste your URL" card for them. (If you ever connect one through a provider, the generic feed is what you hand them.)
Keep your data flowing
- Rotate (on the Feed key card) issues a brand-new key. The old URLs stop working immediately, so re-paste the new URL anywhere you used the old one. Rotate only if a URL leaked or you want to reset access.
- New cars, price changes, and sales reflect automatically on the next pull — there's no manual "republish" step.
Watch the eligible / total line on each card. If a channel says "3 of 10 eligible," seven of your published cars are missing something that channel requires — usually an asking price, at least one public photo, or a valid VIN. Fix those on the vehicle and the count climbs on the next pull.
FAQ
Do I need a feed URL for every marketplace separately?
No — one feed key powers all of them. Each marketplace just gets its own URL pointing at the same key, formatted the way that channel expects.
Why is a published car not showing on a marketplace?
Two common reasons. First, the marketplace pulls on its own schedule, so a brand-new car can take until the next fetch to appear. Second, the car may not be eligible for that channel — check the eligible/total line on the card; a missing price, no photos, or an invalid VIN are the usual culprits (and Facebook also requires over 500 miles).
Are Google and Facebook listings free?
No. Google retired its free vehicle listings in November 2025 — Google Vehicle Ads are paid and need a Google Ads campaign. Facebook Vehicle Ads are paid Automotive Inventory Ads, not free Marketplace classifieds. AutoDealer.io builds and hosts the feed for free; the ad spend and the marketplace accounts are yours.
What happens to a marketplace when I mark a car sold?
It drops off on its own. The feed always reflects your current published, for-sale inventory, so the next time the marketplace pulls, the sold car is gone — no manual removal needed.
Can a salesperson set this up?
No. Only owners and managers can generate the feed, toggle channels, connect Facebook, or change marketplace settings.
I paused syndication — did it break?
No. Pausing is expected behavior. While the master feed switch (or a single channel) is off, that feed URL returns a 404 by design. Turn it back on to resume; nothing is lost.
Why don't I see Cars.com, Autotrader, or OfferUp?
None of them accept a self-serve dealer feed URL — they're paid, provider-gated walled gardens. There's no place to paste our feed, so we don't show a card that wouldn't work. You'd connect those through their own dealer contract and a certified syndicator, handing them the generic feed.