What Actually Moves the Needle in Dealership SEO

[Rick Buffkin]

Me personally (and this is just me speaking here), if your website has a fat ass (I don't mean to offend anyone) and is slow to load and isn't somewhat structured well, it takes 10x the SEO effort to move the needle (If you can move it) with content and link building. Content is great and each site needs fresh good content on it but, really jumping in and cleaning up some of the bloated code to increase the site load times I think will move the organic needle faster than anything else. Why would Google recommend their user to your website if you're website is going to give their user a poor experience.

 

[MattCopley]

Nice pic but I’m not sure about a lot of things or what you’re trying to say.

450 referring domains, sourced because the dealership has good content? Could be organic, could be a directory dump, could be bought. The count doesn’t lead. And it doesn’t speak to relevance, if they pass any authority, or if a single one drives quality organic traffic. It’s a tally of links, not a measure of link quality, and quality is the only part that moves rankings or sells cars.

Local, meaningful, intent driving, authoritative links matter and if this is that… sign me up. My small mind can’t imagine that world is real.

We'd love your feedback @Mitch Gallant... It's not a service or an agency. Just pure software platform for builders to drive better performing content - You can try the platform for free anytime at Hrizn | Content Operating System for Modern Dealership Visibility

 

[BisNoman]

I'd focus on nailing local SEO basics first, then earn links through real community involvement rather than chasing generic backlinks.

 

[BisNoman]

I’ve been using this website for link building and it’s helped a ton with the kind of dealership outreach you’re describing, sponsorships and community ties are exactly where I saw results, not just random content.

 

[Chris Nichols]

View attachment 9997
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New & Used Audi Dealer Near St. Augustine | Audi Jacksonville FL

Discover Audi Jacksonville your destination for luxury and performance. Serving Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Ponte Verda Beach, & St. Augustine

www.audijacksonville.com

I agree that good quality content is important. Looking at that site's blog, though, there's a lot left to be desired. There's no real structure to the posts; they lack internal linking to relevant pages, there's no author to build credibility, and they feel like a wall of text.

You might also want to take a look at this one; there's no copy, just a picture of a tire - Blog Post

I get that people are trying to automate content production with AI, but this is sloppy. I don't see how someone could be paying for that.

As for the backlinks, you really have to map those to each article being produced. A screenshot from SEMRush isn't specific enough.

 

[MattCopley]

I agree that good quality content is important. Looking at that site's blog, though, there's a lot left to be desired. There's no real structure to the posts; they lack internal linking to relevant pages, there's no author to build credibility, and they feel like a wall of text.

You might also want to take a look at this one; there's no copy, just a picture of a tire - Blog Post

I get that people are trying to automate content production with AI, but this is sloppy. I don't see how someone could be paying for that.

As for the backlinks, you really have to map those to each article being produced. A screenshot from SEMRush isn't specific enough.

We don't provide a service Chris so it really gets down to how a dealer uses it... and none of it is automated. Here's one on the opposite end of the spectrum - Blog - Jackie Cooper BMW

 

[Gayle Rogers]

It's been a loooong time since I've posted here - but this is a good conversation and I'm jumping in...2 pennies worth

Agree with @MattCopley on this one, and I'd take it further. If you focus on optimizing a site and you’ll have an optimized site.

If you focus on building a brand with custom content you can build a moat…you get an optimized site + backlinks + AI citations + a dominant brand. That’s much harder to replicate.

In my experience, creating dealership driven content (using video as the source material) at scale, and delivering it across multiple platforms, wins because it’s a proactive strategy. On the other hand, a “well optimized” site is passive…It’s waiting for someone to find it. Are links, schema, mobile performance, GBP optimization important? Sure, but they aren’t differentiators.

IMO - Optimizing your website for local search shouldn’t be the goal. It should be a byproduct of better marketing. You don't win at “local SEO” by having the basics dialed in. You win it by building a dominant brand.

 

[Gayle Rogers]

Me personally (and this is just me speaking here), if your website has a fat ass (I don't mean to offend anyone) and is slow to load and isn't somewhat structured well, it takes 10x the SEO effort to move the needle (If you can move it) with content and link building. Content is great and each site needs fresh good content on it but, really jumping in and cleaning up some of the bloated code to increase the site load times I think will move the organic needle faster than anything else. Why would Google recommend their user to your website if you're website is going to give their user a poor experience.

BTW - I think this is a really good point - A broken site or one that is just a poor user experience isn't going to really help you. That said, recognizable brands will outperform hyper fast websites, and that's because people choose brands they recognize and trust over the "unknown" - in spite of poor experiences. You see this play out everyday. Google prioritizes recognized brands because people click on and engage with their sites more. What's more is that will translate to every other platform as well.

 

[Vochi]

In My Mumble Opinion You Should Do Your Marketing In-House!​

No matter in which direction you turn there is someone offering SEO to your dealership. From your web designer to service companies. There is no shortage of folks willing to put you ahead of your competition.

However None of them Care More About Your Business Than You Do!
You want to increase sales and beat the competition.

However your OEM wants all the dealerships to be equal. Your SEO will never let you hurt their other dealer clients! And anything you do that gets positive results will be shared with their other clients which are your competitors.

Most dealership SEO setups cover the basics reasonably well.

But the real growth opportunities are often in the areas that don’t get prioritized enough:

• local search capture

We are talking about showing up for searches like:

• Toyota dealer near me
• used cars in Dallas
• Ford dealer Dallas
• used Toyota Camry Dallas
• used SUVs in [city]
• car dealership [city]

Google Business Profile optimization, location pages, citations, reviews, local relevance, internal linking, schema, and making sure Google understands the dealership's geographic area.

This should be a one time fee?

It seems to me once the foundation is setup, your pretty much done?

• model + city combinations

you can create useful location-aware pages such as:

• /toyota-camry/dallas-tx/
• /toyota-rav4/dallas-tx/

And these can be dynamically generated.

However generating 10,000 pages with:

1. Toyota Camry for sale in Dallas
2. Toyota Camry for sale in Houston
3. Toyota Camry for sale in Austin

Is not automatically good SEO. If the pages are the same except for the city name, you've created a bunch of thin/duplicate pages.

• mobile performance

Mobile performance is important.

But: It only needs to be improved once!

However seeing as how the average dealership website takes about 8 seconds to become usable I'm not sure anyone is optimizing for mobile!

And once you've taken a site from terrible to good, there isn't necessarily another $1,000 worth of "mobile SEO" to perform next month.

Speed isn't just an SEO issue.

It's a ranking and conversion issue.

• financing-intent searches

Searches where the person is signaling purchase intent around financing, for example:

• car dealerships that finance bad credit
• used cars $300 a month
• $500 car payment
• Toyota financing near me
• auto loans for used cars
• first-time car buyer financing
• how much car can I afford
• car payment calculator
• zero down used cars
• finance a used SUV

However what really matters is how useful was the experience?

The average person is not thinking "I want a 2021 Honda CR-V". They are most likely thinking, "I have $4,000 down, I don't want to spend more than $550/month, I have two kids, and I need something reliable."

How well does your funnel allow you to understanding the purpose of the search?

• conversion-focused landing pages

A landing page should exist because there's a specific customer intent worth serving.

For example:

Bad​

1. Used SUVs​

Three paragraphs of AI-generated text followed by 47 inventory cards.

Better​

1. Find a Family SUV Under $550/Month​

Then:

• payment range
• down payment
• number of passengers
• cargo requirements
• fuel economy
• reliability
• towing requirements
• actual vehicles that fit
• financing options
• CTA

The idea shouldn't be to build an experience that looks exactly like everyone else's!

That’s usually where incremental organic growth comes from.

"Incremental Organic Growth." Sounds like consultant-speak??

 

[Vochi]

Which works of Off page SEO

Off page is extremely important!

Lets say a dealer finds a page about "2026 Toyota RAV4: Real-World Ownership Costs in Dallas"

And it gets links from:

• local automotive organizations
• local news
• automotive blogs
• community organizations
• Toyota enthusiast sites
• local businesses
• journalists
• automotive resources
• and thread in dealerrefresh

That page is bringing in link juice, spreading it out amongst the rest of the site, getting traffic, it is a much more important page than than the page that says "Used Toyota RAV4s for sale in Dallas" and never gets a visitor!