CARSGUIDE, the editorial leg of the online auto trio within the Gumtree Group, is officially the country’s most engaging editorially led automotive website, which the company says has set a new benchmark for audience interaction and time-spent-on-site.
The latest Ipsos data reveals that visitors spend an average of two minutes longer on CarsGuide than on similar websites which “reinforces its position as the go-to destination for trusted car reviews, expert advice, and the latest automotive news”.
Justin Hilliard, head of editorial at CarsGuide, said in a statement: “From day one we set out to create content that was both helpful to car buyers, and delivered in a way that is engaging. This new data validates that we’re getting it right.”
Justin Hilliard
Benn Sykes, director of motors, said: “CarsGuide editorial is a vital piece of the overall Autotrader Group proposition. We know around one in three used car buyers start their car buying journey not knowing if they’re buying new or used.
“Consequently, we hear a lot from our dealers that CarsGuide leads tend to be people who are well researched and ready to buy.”
Benn Sykes
The company said that its strong editorial foundation and a “user-first approach”, CarsGuide continues to drive “industry-leading engagement, setting the pace for automotive media in Australia”.
The strong stickiness of CarsGuide follows an investment in editorial resources by the group last year when the CEO of Gumtree Group, Tommy Logtenberg, told GoAutoNews Premium in an exclusive interview that the company was investing heavily on its editorial resources by growing its base of journalists.
“Over the past 11 months, we hired three extra journalists and, if you then take a look at the performance of our editorial team, I am really proud that in 2023 and in the first 11 months of 2024 CarsGuide was the number one editorially-led automotive website in Australia, according to Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, with CarsGuide the number one editorial destination for everything motors, everything automotive.”
Tommy Logtenberg
Mr Logtenberg said he believed that the editorial “is one of our unique selling points”.
“We have relevant content including the news produced by our staff over the past 20 years. We have a great content library, so we want to make that also accessible,” Mr Logtenberg said.
He said the Gumtree Group has been reinventing itself into an holistic online shopping mecca for Australian families in which dealer cars and private cars for sale are playing a leading role.
“Motors is such a unique and large part of our business so our task is really unlocking the value between the three brands (Gumtree Cars, Autotrader and CarsGuide) and making sure that we get more out of that audience and making sure that the number one position of CarsGuide is to be also used as content for Gumtree Cars and for Autotrader.”
Read more:
Gumtree accelerates auto message
Autotrader Group gets record dealer leads
Source: Ipsos iris Online Measurement Service, August 2024 – January 2025, Age 14+, PC/Laptop/Smartphone/Tablet, Automotive Category Selected Brands only – Carsguide, Drive, CarExpert, Brand Group, AVG Mins PP *Average August 2024 – January 2025
Source: F22 Market Research, surveyed 1,000 Australians between 21 September – October 2021 via an online quantitative survey.
Source: Nielsen DCR, Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 (12 month average), P2+, Digital (C/M), Text, CarsGuide, Average Unique Audience; Nielsen DCR, Jan 2024 – Jul 2024 (7 month average), P2+, Digital (C/M), Text, CarsGuide, Average Unique Audience
By John Mellor
Read More: Related articles
