I can already hear the vendors scrambling to put together their rebuttals. I'm not going to dwell on the issue, but it's an important one to note.

For most dealers, it's okay to be in the mix. As long as you're on the first page on Google for the major keywords, you're doing just fine. Aggressive dealers, those who truly want to dominate, cannot do so if they're getting the same SEO that's given to hundreds or thousands of other dealers. Even if you believe the argument that SEO is scalable (which it isn't when done properly) then you definitely can't believe that two dealers of the same brand in the same metro can both get excellent SEO from the same company.

There's only one listing that can be ranked #1 for any given search. The math isn't hard. If a company is willing to do optimization for more than one dealer of the same brand in the same metro, there's a disconnect between what they think they can do and what can actually be done.

Again, I'm not going to dwell on it. You're a sharp audience. You can do the math and you can resolve to find better. In an automotive industry where everyone from the OEMs to the third party sites are pushing for parody (better known as "the race to the bottom"), it's easy to fall for the pitches. However, the gap between mediocrity and dominance is separated by strong strategy, proper execution, and exclusive dedication to helping one dealer per brand per metro. Otherwise, you're simply shooting to be in the conversation, not leading it.