DealerAuthority Why I Started Dealer Authority and Why It Still Matters Today - Tyson Madliger

Brian Michael West

Over the Curb
Jun 1, 2018
73
67
Awards
5
First Name
Brian
When I co-founded Dealer Authority back in 2013, I wasn’t trying to build just another digital marketing company. I had already spent years in the automotive industry working for some of the biggest names. I saw what worked, what didn’t, and more importantly, what was missing. I knew there was a better way to help car dealerships take control of their digital presence, and I was determined to create it.

This is the story of why I started Dealer Authority, what makes us different, and why I believe that now, more than ever, dealerships need a partner like us.


Learning from the Giants​

I started my career at Reynolds and Reynolds. For those who know the space, Reynolds is a legacy player. They were, and still are, a powerhouse in automotive technology and systems. It was a great place to learn the ropes, understand the industry’s structure, and see how the big machine operated.

But I wanted something different. Something with more energy, more creativity, and more opportunity to challenge the status quo.

That’s when I made the move to a quirky little startup I had only heard about once before when they beat me for a website deal. That company was Dealer.com. And I’m glad they beat me, because joining them was one of the best decisions of my career. I got a front-row seat to their explosive growth. I saw firsthand how a company could innovate quickly, break the mold, and deliver massive value to dealers when they put their foot on the gas.

But even at Dealer.com, I saw gaps, especially as companies grow and scale. The service becomes less personal. The products become more templated. The creativity gets watered down. At a certain point, it felt like dealerships were buying products, not solutions.


A Different Kind of Agency​

When I launched Dealer Authority, I knew I didn’t want to replicate that model. I didn’t want a one-size-fits-all solution. I didn’t want to force dealerships into product bundles or boxed-in service plans. I wanted to build a company that acted like a true extension of each dealership we served.

We weren’t just going to run campaigns. We would partner with our dealers in a way that made them feel like we were part of their team, like we had a desk in their store.

That’s always been our core principle. I’ve said it probably a thousand times over the last twelve years: We want to fill the gaps in your digital marketing. If you’ve got a team that handles social, but your SEO is falling behind, we’re there. If your paid search needs more strategy and less waste, we’ve got it covered. If you’re tired of feeling invisible on Google or want to stand out in a sea of cookie-cutter content, we’ll make sure your voice is heard.


It’s All About the Team​

You can’t build an amazing managed services company without an amazing team. From day one, I knew that if we were going to be different, we needed people who fully believed in what we were trying to build. Today, I’m proud to say we have that team.

We’ve got team members who have been with us since the very beginning. That kind of loyalty is rare in this industry, and it speaks to the culture we’ve built. Our team is bought in. They understand the mission. They care about our clients like they’re part of the dealership’s own staff. When a dealership partners with us, they don’t just get access to technology or a strategy. They get a dedicated group of people who are all-in on helping them succeed.

We collaborate, we problem-solve, and we stay ahead of the curve because we truly care. That’s what makes our service different. It’s personal, it’s strategic, and it’s backed by a team that brings everything they’ve got to the table.


Custom, Not Cookie Cutter​

One of the things I’ve always believed is that dealerships are not all the same. Your store is different. Your community is different. Your competition is different. So why would your digital strategy be exactly the same as someone else’s?

At Dealer Authority, we don’t believe in templates. We build every strategy from the ground up. We take the time to understand your goals, your challenges, and your market before we even write a single word of copy or launch a single ad.

And we’re fast. When Google launched Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs), we had a live solution within three days. Our first client was up and running the following week. Larger companies might take six months to respond to a shift like that. We move quickly because we’re built to. Layers of approvals, committees, or red tape do not weigh us down. We adapt fast so you don’t fall behind.


The Anti-OEM Agency​

Let me be clear about something. I’m not anti-OEM. I’m anti-OEM contract.

Over the years, I’ve seen that as soon as a vendor signs on for an OEM-approved program, quality drops, prices get inflated, and products become standardized. Everything is built for scale, not for performance.

Dealerships suffer in those situations. You get a watered-down product that costs more and delivers less. You lose flexibility. You lose control. And you’re stuck with a solution designed to check boxes, not move the needle.

We’ve never taken on an OEM contract at Dealer Authority. We never will. That’s a decision we’ve made on principle, and I’m proud of it. It allows us to build real, custom strategies that serve the dealership first, not the manufacturer.

When you work with us, you get exclusivity in your market for SEO. We won’t work with your direct competitor. And we won’t build your content around whatever the OEM pushes that month. We build it around what works for your store, customers, and growth.


What Dealerships Need Today​

The digital landscape has changed a lot since 2013, but the core challenge is still the same: how do you get more qualified traffic and leads to your dealership without wasting time or money?

Today, there’s more noise than ever. More platforms. More algorithms. More distractions. Dealerships are being pulled in a hundred directions. And honestly, many vendors are still selling solutions from five years ago.

That’s not us.

We’re laser-focused on what’s working right now. Whether it’s zero-click search, short-form video, changes in Google’s local pack, or Meta’s latest ad format, we are in it every day. We test. We adapt. We execute.

More importantly, we communicate. Our clients don’t wonder what we’re doing behind the scenes. They see it. They talk to real people who understand the automotive space. People who aren’t just reading scripts or checking in once a month.

That level of service matters. You’re not just hiring us for a product. You’re hiring a partner who cares about your results.


Real Results, Real Relationships​

We’re proud of the results we’ve delivered over the years, but we’re even more proud of the relationships we’ve built. Some of our earliest clients are still with us today. That’s not an accident. It’s because we show up, we follow through, and we keep pushing.

We’ve helped stores double their website traffic, outrank big-name competitors on search, launch Facebook campaigns that generated leads for under ten dollars, and do it without bloated contracts, empty promises, or one-size-fits-all packages.

We earn our clients business every month with month-to-month contracts. We are constantly developing and improving our solutions to stay up with technology changes and the needs of our dealerships.


Final Thoughts​

Starting Dealer Authority was personal for me. I didn’t want to build the biggest company. I wanted to build the best partner for dealerships that wanted more from their marketing. That still drives everything we do today.

If you’re ready for a marketing partner who treats your business like their own, who moves fast, thinks strategically, and gets results without the runaround, then let’s talk.
We’d love to be the missing piece in your digital strategy.

Let’s win together.
 
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A Different Kind of Agency​

When I launched Dealer Authority, I knew I didn’t want to replicate that model. I didn’t want a one-size-fits-all solution. I didn’t want to force dealerships into product bundles or boxed-in service plans. I wanted to build a company that acted like a true extension of each dealership we served.

We weren’t just going to run campaigns. We would partner with our dealers in a way that made them feel like we were part of their team, like we had a desk in their store.

That’s always been our core principle. I’ve said it probably a thousand times over the last twelve years: We want to fill the gaps in your digital marketing. If you’ve got a team that handles social, but your SEO is falling behind, we’re there. If your paid search needs more strategy and less waste, we’ve got it covered. If you’re tired of feeling invisible on Google or want to stand out in a sea of cookie-cutter content, we’ll make sure your voice is heard.
Let’s say you’re spending $1,000 a month on a PPC campaign and getting 1 sale!

To double your income you could spend $2,000.00 next month and get two sales or you could increase your conversions by just 1% and get the extra sale that way.

One way doubles your budget the other leaves everything the same!

And Nothing Affects Conversions like Web Page SPEED!

  • Amazon said for every 100ms improvement in load times they saw a 1% increase in Sales.
  • Mobify said it was a 1.11% increase in Sales.
  • Walmart said it was 2% per second improvement.
  • Cook said it was a 7% increase in sales for every 850 milliseconds improvement.
But lets stick with dealerships:
  1. Koons Automotive said they improved load times from 26s to 2.6s and saw a 1,400% increase in conversions.​
  2. Dealer Inspire found that pages loading in under 2 seconds convert 40% more leads.​
  3. CDK Global noted VDP engagement drops 20% for every second of delay.​
  4. Surgemetrix crawled 9,800 dealership and said going from 8 s → 3.8 s = +34 leads/month.
I can give you more if you want but when SEO's don't address or even talk about the most important part of doing SEO do you believe they do a disservice to the dealership and puts the dealership at a disadvantage?

How do you address this problem when the average dealership website takes 13.4s to load and according to studies done the average dealership losses 53% of visitors in just 3 seconds?

It’s All About the Team​

You can’t build an amazing managed services company without an amazing team. From day one, I knew that if we were going to be different, we needed people who fully believed in what we were trying to build. Today, I’m proud to say we have that team.

We’ve got team members who have been with us since the very beginning. That kind of loyalty is rare in this industry, and it speaks to the culture we’ve built. Our team is bought in. They understand the mission. They care about our clients like they’re part of the dealership’s own staff. When a dealership partners with us, they don’t just get access to technology or a strategy. They get a dedicated group of people who are all-in on helping them succeed.

We collaborate, we problem-solve, and we stay ahead of the curve because we truly care. That’s what makes our service different. It’s personal, it’s strategic, and it’s backed by a team that brings everything they’ve got to the table.

As less and less people turn to search engines and more and more people turn towards AI, how will you address this? What will your business look like in ten years and how will you be driving traffic to your clients websites as Google steals more and more content and is able to deliver less and less traffic?

Custom, Not Cookie Cutter​

One of the things I’ve always believed is that dealerships are not all the same. Your store is different. Your community is different. Your competition is different. So why would your digital strategy be exactly the same as someone else’s?

At Dealer Authority, we don’t believe in templates. We build every strategy from the ground up. We take the time to understand your goals, your challenges, and your market before we even write a single word of copy or launch a single ad.

And we’re fast. When Google launched Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs), we had a live solution within three days. Our first client was up and running the following week. Larger companies might take six months to respond to a shift like that. We move quickly because we’re built to. Layers of approvals, committees, or red tape do not weigh us down. We adapt fast so you don’t fall behind.

The sad part is every website looks exactly the same, what are their about ten templates for each dealership to pick from?

If you wanted a truly custom experience each dealership would have their own custom designed website, designed around converting the traffic and that would allow you to test what really worked.

The Anti-OEM Agency​

Let me be clear about something. I’m not anti-OEM. I’m anti-OEM contract.

Over the years, I’ve seen that as soon as a vendor signs on for an OEM-approved program, quality drops, prices get inflated, and products become standardized. Everything is built for scale, not for performance.

Dealerships suffer in those situations. You get a watered-down product that costs more and delivers less. You lose flexibility. You lose control. And you’re stuck with a solution designed to check boxes, not move the needle.

We’ve never taken on an OEM contract at Dealer Authority. We never will. That’s a decision we’ve made on principle, and I’m proud of it. It allows us to build real, custom strategies that serve the dealership first, not the manufacturer.

When you work with us, you get exclusivity in your market for SEO. We won’t work with your direct competitor. And we won’t build your content around whatever the OEM pushes that month. We build it around what works for your store, customers, and growth.

Let’s say a dealership is spending $20,000/month on advertising. If Ford reimburses $8K–$10K/month through co-op, the dealer’s out-of-pocket is around $10K–$12K.

However an OEM-approved sites:
  • Load in 20–40+ seconds on mobile (especially on 4G)
  • Are not ADA compliant
  • Are full of coding errors and layout shifts
  • And worst of all they suck at conversion rates
If you took a site from 40 seconds to 0.5 seconds, you’re improving by 39.5 seconds, that’s a potential 2,000%–3,000%+ increase in conversions, depending on the study you reference.

That means:
  • OEM-approved slow site → maybe 1% conversion
  • Fast, optimized site → potentially 20%+ conversion
  • Same ad spend, but 20x the ROI
If we’re talking about running a real business, I’d rather pay $20K and make $500K than get a $10K subsidy and waste the other $10K on a broken funnel.

What Dealerships Need Today​

The digital landscape has changed a lot since 2013, but the core challenge is still the same: how do you get more qualified traffic and leads to your dealership without wasting time or money?

Today, there’s more noise than ever. More platforms. More algorithms. More distractions. Dealerships are being pulled in a hundred directions. And honestly, many vendors are still selling solutions from five years ago.

That’s not us.

We’re laser-focused on what’s working right now. Whether it’s zero-click search, short-form video, changes in Google’s local pack, or Meta’s latest ad format, we are in it every day. We test. We adapt. We execute.

More importantly, we communicate. Our clients don’t wonder what we’re doing behind the scenes. They see it. They talk to real people who understand the automotive space. People who aren’t just reading scripts or checking in once a month.

That level of service matters. You’re not just hiring us for a product. You’re hiring a partner who cares about your results.

The biggest changes are yet to come and a lot of dealerships will not be able to weather the coming storm and while I agree with everything your saying, I also feel dealerships leave a lot of money on the table because of their websites.

Real Results, Real Relationships​

We’re proud of the results we’ve delivered over the years, but we’re even more proud of the relationships we’ve built. Some of our earliest clients are still with us today. That’s not an accident. It’s because we show up, we follow through, and we keep pushing.

We’ve helped stores double their website traffic, outrank big-name competitors on search, launch Facebook campaigns that generated leads for under ten dollars, and do it without bloated contracts, empty promises, or one-size-fits-all packages.

We earn our clients business every month with month-to-month contracts. We are constantly developing and improving our solutions to stay up with technology changes and the needs of our dealerships.

Traffic is meaningless if it doesn’t convert. What would the ultimate high-performance automotive sales funnel look like?
 
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