DealerAuthority Is Traditional SEO for Automotive Dead?

[Brian Michael West]

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been declared “dead” more times than I can count in the automotive industry.

Every time Google updates its algorithm, every time a new social media platform gains traction, and every time a new marketing buzzword trends on LinkedIn, someone inevitably claims that traditional SEO is obsolete. And now, with the rise of AI, the death knell is ringing again. But let me be clear: traditional SEO is not dead. In fact, it’s more important than ever for car dealerships that want to dominate local search, bring in high-intent buyers, and build long-term brand authority. Yes, AI is changing the SEO landscape. Yes, it is a powerful tool. But AI is just that, a tool.

What Is Traditional SEO, and Why Does It Matter for Car Dealerships?​

When we talk about traditional SEO, we’re referring to the fundamental strategies that help a website rank higher on search engines.

These include:

• Keyword Research & Optimization: Identifying and targeting the right keywords that potential car buyers are searching for.
• On-Page SEO: Optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and content to align with search intent.
• Technical SEO: Ensuring your website loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and has clean site architecture.
• Local SEO: Optimizing Google Business Profile, managing citations, and generating local reviews to increase visibility in local searches.
• Content Marketing: Creating high-quality blog posts, landing pages, and vehicle descriptions that provide value to potential buyers.
• Link Building: Earning backlinks from reputable automotive sites, directories, and local businesses.

For car dealerships, these strategies are essential. The automotive buying journey is largely digital. According to Google, 95% of car buyers use online sources to research vehicles. If your dealership isn’t showing up in local searches, you’re losing sales to competitors who are investing in SEO.

How AI Is Changing SEO (But Not Replacing It)​

There’s no denying that AI is shaking up digital marketing. Tools like ChatGPT, Google’s AI search features, and machine learning algorithms are making it easier to generate content, analyze data, and optimize marketing efforts. But does that mean AI is replacing traditional SEO? Absolutely not.

Here’s how AI is being used to enhance, not replace, SEO:

1. AI Can Assist with Content Creation, But It Can’t Replace Expertise
   AI tools can generate content, but they often lack the depth, nuance, and local expertise required for effective automotive SEO. If you let AI generate your entire website’s content without human oversight, you’ll likely end up with generic, uninspired copy that doesn’t truly connect with potential buyers. AI can help streamline content production, but human input is essential for ensuring accuracy, local relevance, and engaging storytelling.
2. AI Can Analyze SEO Data, But It Can’t Create Strategy
   AI-powered tools can process vast amounts of data quickly, providing insights into keyword trends, search rankings, and user behavior. However, data alone isn’t a strategy. An experienced SEO professional knows how to interpret that data, identify opportunities, and adjust tactics to maximize results. For example, AI can tell you that “best SUVs for families” is trending, but an SEO expert will craft content that ranks for that keyword and resonates with your target audience.
3. AI Can Help with Technical SEO, But It Can’t Replace Human Problem-Solving
   AI tools can help identify broken links, crawl errors, and duplicate content issues, but they can’t replace a skilled SEO expert who knows how to fix these problems effectively. Technical SEO requires human judgment, understanding how site architecture impacts user experience, implementing schema markup correctly, and ensuring that a site migration doesn’t tank search rankings.
4. AI Can Personalize Search Results, But Local SEO Still Requires a Human Touch
   AI is making search results more personalized, but that doesn’t mean local SEO is obsolete. Car dealerships still need to optimize for location-based searches, manage their Google Business Profile, and actively encourage customer reviews. AI can assist with automating some of these processes, but the relationships and reputation management aspects require a personal touch.

The Future of SEO for Car Dealerships: A Hybrid Approach​

So, where does this leave us? The most effective SEO strategies for car dealerships will be those that blend traditional SEO principles with AI-powered efficiencies. Here’s what that looks like:

• AI-Assisted Keyword Research & Content Optimization: Using AI to identify keyword opportunities and optimize content, but ensuring human oversight for quality and engagement.
• AI-Powered Data Analysis with Expert Strategy Implementation: Leveraging AI tools to process data quickly but relying on SEO experts to craft and execute strategies.
• Automated Technical SEO Audits with Manual Adjustments: Using AI to detect technical issues but having experts make strategic fixes.
• AI-Enhanced Local SEO, But with a Focus on Human Relationships: Automating some aspects of local SEO, such as citation management, while maintaining personal connections with customers and community members.

Why Car Dealerships Still Need a Strong SEO Strategy​

The way people shop for cars has changed, but SEO is still the backbone of online visibility. The rise of AI doesn’t change the fact that dealerships need to:

• Show up at the top of Google when someone searches for “[brand] dealership near me.”
• Have a fast, mobile-friendly website that provides a seamless user experience.
• Build authority through high-quality content and backlinks.
• Optimize vehicle listings with relevant keywords and compelling descriptions.
• Maintain a strong local presence through Google Business Profile optimization and customer reviews.

If your dealership isn’t investing in SEO, you’re missing out on valuable leads. AI can help streamline efforts, but it’s not a replacement for a well-planned SEO strategy executed by experienced professionals.

Final Thoughts: SEO Is Evolving, Not Dying​

The fundamentals of traditional SEO are still critical for car dealerships, and AI is simply another tool that smart marketers can use to enhance their strategies. If you’re relying solely on AI-generated content and automation, you’ll fall behind competitors who are leveraging both AI and human expertise to dominate search rankings.

At Dealer Authority, we combine the best of both worlds, AI-powered insights with expert-driven strategy, to help dealerships increase visibility, drive traffic, and sell more cars. If you want to stay ahead in the ever-changing world of SEO, let’s talk.

SEO isn’t dead. It’s just getting smarter. Are you?

 

[Brian Michael West]

Originally posted here: Is Traditional SEO for Automotive Dead?

 

[DjSec]

SEO is dying, its been a slow death but it is slowly dying.

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1. Zero-Click Results & Featured Snippets​

Search engines like Google now answer queries directly in results (e.g., "position 0" snippets, calculators, definitions). This steals traffic from websites that once ranked #1, reducing incentives for SEO optimized content creation.

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2. Organic Results Buried by Ads and Widgets​

Paid ads, shopping carousels, maps, and "People Also Ask" boxes dominate above-the-fold space. Users rarely scroll past the first few results, crushing organic click-through rates.

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3. AI Chatbots & Answer Engines​

Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity provide instant, sourced answers without requiring users to visit websites. Platforms are integrating AI directly into search (e.g., Google’s SGE), bypassing traditional links.

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4. Voice Search Dominance​

Voice assistants (Alexa, Siri) often pull answers from featured snippets or paid partners. Queries are conversational and rarely lead to website visits.

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5. Over-Personalization of Results​

Algorithms tailor results to user history, location, and device, making SEO less predictable. "Your Mileage May Vary" (YMYL) SERPs mean universal ranking strategies struggle.

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6. Rise of Vertical Search & Apps​

Users bypass Google for niche platforms (Amazon for shopping, TikTok/Instagram for trends, YouTube for tutorials). Younger audiences treat social media as their primary "search engine."

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7. E-A-T and "Helpful Content" Barriers​

Google prioritizes established, "expert" sites (e.g., government, medical journals, Forbes). Smaller or newer sites struggle to compete, despite having quality content.

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8. Saturation of AI-Generated Content​

AI tools flood the web with low-value, SEO-optimized articles, drowning out genuinely useful content. Google’s algorithms now penalize "SEO-first" writing.

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9. Aggressive Search Engine Monetization​

Google promotes its own services (e.g., Hotels, Flights) and takes cuts of transactions via affiliate partnerships. Organic results are treated as secondary.

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10. Shift to Visual/Video Search​

Gen Z prefers video answers (TikTok, YouTube Shorts) over text-based blogs. Platforms like Pinterest and Google Lens prioritize visual discovery, requiring entirely new optimization strategies.

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11. User Trust Decline in Traditional SEO​

Decades of spammy tactics (clickbait, keyword stuffing, affiliate farms) have trained users to skip past "organic" results, assuming the top links are ads or low-quality.

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12. Algorithm Volatility​

Constant core updates (e.g., Google’s HCU) force websites to pivot strategies overnight. Many businesses abandon SEO for more stable channels like paid ads or owned communities.

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13. Rise of Closed Ecosystems​

Platforms like Facebook Groups, Substack, and Reddit keep users within their walls. Answers to niche questions are often hidden in paywalled or login-required communities.

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14. Mobile/App-First Behavior​

Apps like Instagram and TikTok keep users engaged in-app, reducing reliance on web searches. Even Google prioritizes app-indexed content in mobile results.

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15. Ad-Blockers and Banner Blindness​

Users increasingly ignore traditional ad-heavy or SEO-optimized pages, opting for minimalist, direct solutions (e.g., ad-free newsletters, private Discord groups).

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Technical SEO is a Joke!​

The average website takes about 20 seconds to load on mobile and is so full of penalties that you don't need to worry about it because your competition has the same penalties.

 

[sukoseo]

This is a fun topic to discuss every 12 months or so.

There are many good points made by Gregg. Mostly related to how SEO has become a challenge. And even the article touches on some things that are concerning as it relates to SEO tactics in the automotive world.

Even though AI is eating up some of the queries with zero click experiences, they are mostly informational, leaving the high-intent, local, and transactional queries are being served. Now, that is where most of the VLAs come into play, so to your point, ads are in the way.

However, People Also Ask is not an ad placement and still a viable place to find organic traffic dependent on query/intent in some case above the fold.

Google, as a search engine, has no clue if your content is "helpful" or is provided by "experts".

In terms of ranking a page, this does nothing. In terms of content being consumed for AI Overviews, PPA, etc. that is another story.
But again is dependent on intent.

Google is a Page Level system and will rank your pages based on relevancy to the topic given intent of user search query.

AI content is flooding, but the last couple of Core Updates aim to push that down the SERPS forcing SEO as a whole to evolve.

Automotive SEO just gets a bit more bumpy, but in reality (since we all share the same shitty, slow websites), it comes down to Local SEO, like always.

In most cases, from what I can tell, when I see/hear/read about the death of SEO, again... it's mostly about SEO in "general". And two differing sides are talking past each other.

Niche down, slice it up by industry, geography, intent and you are looking at a completely different thing. Not to mention that SEO being dead is usually referring to specific "tactics".

Best practices are the same as it relates to a Page Level system that feeds PageRank.

SEO is dying, as Gregg said, a slow death, but at the end of the day it comes down to how your perception of SEO.

 

[DjSec]

This is a fun topic to discuss every 12 months or so.

I believe my first time was back in 2004 or something like that on a forum called WebProWorld and it makes me sick to my stomach every time, hoping you can convince me I'm wrong.

Even though AI is eating up some of the queries with zero click experiences, they are mostly informational, leaving the high-intent, local, and transactional queries are being served. Now, that is where most of the VLAs come into play, so to your point, ads are in the way.

However, People Also Ask is not an ad placement and still a viable place to find organic traffic dependent on query/intent in some case above the fold.

Yes but for one website per a question and only if the answer is not 100% answered and gets the click?

It's a hard target to hit and a gamble if your get the click even if you hit it?
Those are both questions to make sure we are talking about the same thing.

Google, as a search engine, has no clue if your content is "helpful" or is provided by "experts".

I agree and without incoming links, age, and other factors it would be hard for an expert without all the signals to show up.

Google is a Page Level system and will rank your pages based on relevancy to the topic given intent of user search query.

AI content is flooding, but the last couple of Core Updates aim to push that down the SERPS forcing SEO as a whole to evolve.

Do you think a brand new site without money to spend could ever have a chance of competing with a site like Car Gurus? And it seems to be getting harder and harder to get the incoming links unless I'm missing something.

AI content is flooding, but the last couple of Core Updates aim to push that down the SERPS forcing SEO as a whole to evolve.

My understanding is Google has a hard time detecting it?

And even said they didn't care if it was AI as long as it was helpful?

Automotive SEO just gets a bit more bumpy, but in reality (since we all share the same shitty, slow websites), it comes down to Local SEO, like always.

Those same shitty websites are what allow 3rd party sites to come in and dominate the results and force dealerships to pay to play. It almost seems like dealerships would group together and build their own platform to compete with the 3rd party sites.

My understanding is CarGurus did $894 million in 2024, $914 million in 2023, $1.66 billion in 2022, and roughly $551 million in 2020.

I'm guessing most of that comes from dealerships?

So why don't dealerships group together and build their own?

In most cases, from what I can tell, when I see/hear/read about the death of SEO, again... it's mostly about SEO in "general". And two differing sides are talking past each other.

Niche down, slice it up by industry, geography, intent and you are looking at a completely different thing. Not to mention that SEO being dead is usually referring to specific "tactics".

As long as your happy with your little corner I guess it works but what if you wanted to compete globally with 3rd party sites that have dominated the used car sales, is it too late for that.

As far as tactics being dead I can live with that as long as there is another way to work around them, however search engines are sending less and less traffic to the small mom and pop sites and its getting harder and harder to position yourself to get organic traffic from them and less and less people are using them.

My thoughts are we might be looking at the last chance to build a brand using them.

 

[sukoseo]

on a forum called WebProWorld

Whew, there is a throwback I don't mind seeing once in a while!

Yes but for one website per a question and only if the answer is not 100% answered and gets the click?

It's a hard target to hit and a gamble if your get the click even if you hit it?
Those are both questions to make sure we are talking about the same thing.

You are certainly talking about the same thing. Getting the click. Showing in PAA and AI Overviews is a very, very small target (as of today). I was just stating that the chance is there, albeit a slim chance.

So why don't dealerships group together and build their own?

They are too busy worrying about making money. Even the auto groups that go full customized with a group site and dominate the space in their markets are only worried about getting that custom site up so conversions can start coming in. Taking over the 3rd party sites at this point is like walking into war with 20 soldiers and shoving 18 of them off a cliff in the first 5 minutes. 3rd party sites do the lifting, the HEAVY lifting so dealers don't have to. I don't know a single auto group that has even come close to removing 3rd party listings because they built something better.

As long as your happy with your little corner I guess it works but what if you wanted to compete globally with 3rd party sites that have dominated the used car sales, is it too late for that.

Local is all that matters. Even in large auto groups, each point has a local market. when you try and take over markets outside of your own space, that's when dollars get torched and sales drop. Beating a 3rd party at this point is nonsense. Carvana/carmax is the nearest anything to come close....and what market share did they take?

As far as tactics being dead I can live with that as long as there is another way to work around them, however search engines are sending less and less traffic to the small mom and pop sites and its getting harder and harder to position yourself to get organic traffic from them and less and less people are using them.

My thoughts are we might be looking at the last chance to build a brand using them.

I 100% agree here. Mom and Pops can do just fine, if they want to stay Mom and Pop. Once they want Mom and Pop in [enter some other city/market name here], the goal is incremental sales. And we all know how that goes....sometimes, you just have to be happy with enough rather than more.

 

[DjSec]

Whew, there is a throwback I don't mind seeing once in a while!

I should leave that one alone as it might get me attacked but in my defense I was young, stupid, and suffered from the Dunning-Kruger effect.
I’ve been credited by some with WPW’s success and blamed by others for its fall.

I took an innocent beautiful little Colombian girl that wanted to learn English, married her, and told her what to post for the traffic and links, you might have heard of her, her name is Janeth.

We were extremely aggressive with our marketing as well as pretty stupid and we made a lot of mistakes, made a lot of money, grew a business faster than either of us knew how to handle, but most of all learned a lot, mainly from my mistakes.

So my apologies if our paths have crossed, I’ve learned a lot since then, and all her mistakes and aggressive posting style are on me.

However I still believe there is a mathematical formula for just about everything you do and no matter how much Google changes their algorithm there is a formula for both them and the social media platforms.

I’ve spent some time licking my wounds, studying python, Django, and unlike before when we tried to be a jack of all trades, this time I have mastered one language, one platform, and I’ve learned a lot.

Now I’m being pushed by Janeth, my daughter, and son to start doing some marketing again and I can’t take my eyes off these third party sites that currently dominate the used car industry.

Now I’ve been locked up in the basement for quite some time so correct me where I’m wrong but it seems it still comes down to onsite SEO, links and content?

If I was to write up some ideas and post them, would you be willing to let me bounce them off you?

With the understanding that I’m a hard headed idiot and want feel I’ve been defeated until I’m bloody, bruised, and on my knees.

Or do you feel it is impossible to the point that it is a waste of time to even talk about?

 

[sukoseo]

If I was to write up some ideas and post them, would you be willing to let me bounce them off you?

With the understanding that I’m a hard headed idiot and want feel I’ve been defeated until I’m bloody, bruised, and on my knees.

Or do you feel it is impossible to the point that it is a waste of time to even talk about?

Just to be clear, I will listen to any idea (weird I just posted about ideas on LinkedIn this AM) and talk through anything as it relates to Digital Marketing, especially SEO.

I feel we are talking from the same side of the road, just slightly different perspectives. That's the beauty. If you have ideas that might disrupt the 3rd party listing word....I'm game to listen/hear/read about them.

 

[DjSec]

Just to be clear, I will listen to any idea (weird I just posted about ideas on LinkedIn this AM) and talk through anything as it relates to Digital Marketing, especially SEO.

I feel we are talking from the same side of the road, just slightly different perspectives. That's the beauty. If you have ideas that might disrupt the 3rd party listing word....I'm game to listen/hear/read about them.

Do you have a link to your LinkedIn post?

Janeth has a Linkedin account and I'll use it to give it a visit, if that's okay?