Blog

In Search Of…Owning Households, Elusive Audiences & the Pursuit of Perfection (w/ Tara Rego)

In this premiere episode of In Search Of…, Dan Barker (CEO, Wikimotive) and Zach Billings (Co-founder, Wikimotive) sit down with Tara Rego (Director of Strategic Partnerships, Spectrum Reach) to demystify the evolving world of OTT video advertising. From her unorthodox entry into automotive retail to her leadership in digital media strategy, Tara shares sharp insights into audience fragmentation, data-driven targeting, […]

Google Business Profile Suspensions: What Dealerships Need to Know

Over the past few weeks, car dealerships across the country have been facing a widespread and frustrating issue: Google Business Profiles are being suspended and unverified, often without warning or explanation. These suspensions are more than just a technical hiccup. Your dealership’s Google listing plays a crucial role in how customers find, contact, and engage with your business online. When […]

TARIFFying | Boom or Bust With Tariffs Looming

As featured in AutoSuccess Magazine. 25% tariffs! 35% tariffs! No tariffs on Canada and Mexico? Just kidding, 10% tariffs! But maybe not for USMCA-compliant cars… Ah, heck, pause them for 90 days and just pile all the tariffs on China! It’s been a moving target, for sure. Tariffs were the hot topic into early April, and then the 90-day pause […]

Industry Disruptions: Adapting Your Automotive SEO Strategy?

To say there’s been a lot going on in the automotive industry during the first part of this year would be an understatement. Between potential brand mergers and incoming tariffs, I’m surprised we don’t all have whiplash yet. Some of these changes will have an impact on your automotive SEO strategy, while others may not. Here’s a quick rundown of […]

How AI Is Shaping Automotive SEO | Is AI SEO a Trojan Horse or a Marketing Efficiency?

As featured in AutoSuccess Magazine. Before you is a great wooden horse. Your advisors and merchants tell you it’s a great omen that will bring you unimaginable success if you embrace it. But is it filled with promise or peril? The horse isn’t a horse; it’s the AI buzz on everyone’s mind. The advisors and merchants are your own team […]

5 Reasons You Need to Keep Your SEO Vendor in the Loop During a Website Migration

Keeping your SEO vendor out of the conversation during your website migration can be detrimental. Migrations aren’t uncommon, especially in the automotive industry, since there are so many platforms out there. Ultimately, each platform has something different to offer, and sometimes your needs change. But whether you are switching platforms because your needs have changed or because a different platform […]

How to Audit Your Audit

The website audit that just dropped in your inbox is probably garbage. Site audits are essential tools in the automotive SEO space, but they are also, more often than not, used and abused as gimmicky sales tools to convince you that you’re doing something wrong. So, how do you know who to trust or what information is actually important? I’m […]

5 Things to Consider When Building Your Dealership’s 2025 SEO Strategy

It’s officially a new year, which means it’s the perfect time to look back and reflect on the previous one. In 2024, we saw a large continuation of SEO trends that we had started to pick up on in 2022 and 2023. Between the ongoing rollout of Google’s updates and the never-ending development of AI tools, the SEO hot topics […]

3 AI “Truths” That Are Actually Hallucinations

Dealers, you have a lot on your plate. You don’t need to worry about how AI may or may not be impacting your automotive SEO performance and strategy. Sure, AI has seen a ton of development over the last year, but even today, in 2025, there isn’t too much to be concerned about. Today, I’m going to be dispelling some […]

The Pitfalls of Using Syndication Tools for Managing Google Listings

As an SEO agency specializing in listings management for our clients, we often encounter businesses tempted by third-party syndication platforms and similar directory management tools. These services promise convenience—automating updates across multiple directories—but the reality is more complicated when it comes to high-tier platforms like Google Business Profile (GBP). While syndication services serve a purpose in broader directory management, relying […]

Here’s Why It’s Essential to Find a Balance Between Paid & Organic Marketing

Knowing where to spend when it comes to your dealership’s marketing budget can be a real challenge. As a general rule of thumb, though, when you’re mapping out your budget, thinking about adding more funds to the budget or considering making cuts, it’s essential to look at both paid (SEM) and organic (SEO) marketing and to never put all your […]

4 Questions Car Dealers Are Asking About SEO

Having just come back from Digital Dealer 2024, there are a lot of things on my mind in terms of automotive SEO. I had some great conversations with both digital marketing vendors and dealers themselves while at the show and found there to be numerous overlaps in what everyone is talking about right now. So, I’ve decided to put together […]

How to Hone in On Your Important Traffic With GSC

Last month, I discussed the importance of using multiple tools when gauging the success of your automotive SEO efforts. Simply looking at a graph on Google Analytics won’t tell you much; in fact, doing so can be misleading. This is because Google Analytics lumps traffic in buckets without a quick and easy way to see the “why” behind each visitor. […]

Going Up? (Are YOU Losing a 44% Increase in Sales?)

As featured on the August cover of AutoSuccess Magazine. As we continue to navigate the shifting landscape in auto retail, one thing has become crystal clear… the days of cost-cutting have ended. In December, I wrote about how to make wise cuts to your marketing as the market retracted, and that was the right move then. Now, car sales have […]

Happy Little Metrics – Why Your Data Isn’t Painting the Whole Picture

Do you think you’re effectively measuring the impact of your SEO? If your answer is “Yes, I have Google Analytics,” then you may want to listen up. Measuring SEO growth accurately and meaningfully actually requires a set of tools, not just one. So, if you’re relying solely on Google Analytics to measure your automotive SEO, it’s likely time to reevaluate. […]

What’s Going on in Automotive SEO?

Over the last month, we’ve seen a number of announcements and changes being made in the world of automotive SEO, from Google switch-ups to artificial intelligence moving further into search to Google Business Profile (GBP) scams. Some of these won’t have much of an impact on dealers, while others certainly will. So, here’s everything you need to know after this whirlwind […]

Strike Now! Grab Your Share!

With car sales trending up and a projected economic recovery on its way, now is the time to strike and increase your market share. Want to know more about why you should start making moves and what moves you should be making? Keep reading. Why Now Is the Time to Strike So, what makes now the time to strike? There […]

How AI Overviews Will (or Won’t) Impact Your Dealership

Google has changed the game yet again. No, there wasn’t another algorithm update, not yet, at least. However, a major change has been made to search engine results pages (SERPs). You may have seen it, you may have used it, and you may have grown to fear it: AI Overviews, formally known as SGE (Search Generative Experience). This new SERP […]

Dealers: Here’s How to Avoid Missed Opportunities

If you only look at how your dealership ranks within your city, you’re likely missing out on tons of leads. One of the most important pieces to an automotive SEO strategy is measuring and improving rankings over distance. You may hold the #1 spot for those important “Ford dealership” and “used Ford dealership” keywords when searching from your store’s location, […]

2 Recent Automotive SEO Changes You Need to Know About

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: SEO (search engine optimization) is constantly changing. And while it is an essential piece of a dealership’s marketing strategy, not everyone has time to keep up with the constant change. For me, though? Well, that’s my job. So, in an effort to keep everyone on the same page, I’ve put together […]