Ep. 640 - How AI and Google Are Shaping Dealership Success With Dave Spannhake
In this episode, my guest is digital marketing expert Dave Spannhake from Reunion Marketing. We’re diving into a conversation that’s been setting the internet on fire: Is AI spelling the end of Google as we know it?
Dave helps us cut through the noise, separate fact from fiction, and give you a clear picture of what’s really happening in the world of search, AI, and dealership marketing strategies.
We’ve all seen the headlines, heard the hype, and maybe even felt a little panic creeping in. But here’s the thing: amidst all the noise, there are real, practical insights that can help your dealership not just survive—but thrive—in this evolving landscape.
Dave brings his signature mix of data-driven insights, relatable stories, and no-nonsense advice to break down how dealerships might unknowingly be overspending on ads, where the real opportunities in SEO lie, and why the human touch still matters in an AI-powered world.
Episode Brought To You By FlexDealer
Need Better Quality Leads? FLX helps car dealers generate better quality leads through localized organic search and highly-targeted digital ads that convert. Not only that, they work tirelessly to ensure car dealers integrate marketing and operations for a robust and functional growth strategy.
Watch The Full Episode
Prefer to watch episodes? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and turn on notifications to get full access to our content.
Episode Transcript
MC: 0:00
(Episode Sponsor) This episode is brought to you by AutoFi.
Dave: 0:03
Too many people are making rush decisions to throw away one of the most important parts of their overall plan, and really, what they should be doing is paying attention to the changes that Google has made. You know, as all these AI things have happened.
MC: 0:16
Hey gang, on this episode of the Dealer Playbook Podcast, we welcome back Dave Spannhake from Reunion Marketing. We're going to be talking about Google and the death of it. Stay tuned.
(Intro)The car business is rapidly changing and modern car dealers are meeting the demand. I'm Michael Cirillo, and together we'll explore the best strategies, ideas and tools to create a thriving life in and out of the business. This is The Dealer Playbook.
MC: 0:54
(Episode Begins) Dave, my man, so let's just get right in. We got to chop this up. I've you had mentioned you had seen some commentary about. You know the way things are going with AI and Google. People are starting to do what people do. I mean, we saw this with the emergence of AI. We saw this with the blockchain and everyone, the metaverse and everyone jumped to all these conclusions about what the implication would be. And now here we are and people are saying could all of this AI and these advancements in AI be the death of Google? What's your take?
Dave: 1:26
Well, like you said, we've heard that before. I think that it's kind of funny. I actually I lost a bet. It was a big bet too, you know. I don't even know if I should tell you how much I bet on it, but I bet that we were going to be down to less than five radio stations in the Raleigh market within 10 years. And this is 11 years ago and I lost that bet. There's still a lot of them. I mean, people are people are not that quick to change a lot of their behaviors and habits.
MC: 1:50
So first of all, who did you lose this bet to? Was it one of the inner sanctum? Was it Chad? Was it?
Dave: 1:57
No, it wasn't a reunion guy, it was someone. Back when we were working at that Leith Auto and you know, we redirected all of our money really into or not all of it, but a lot of it into focusing on digital, on search and then the growing OTT market and just the changing consumer behavior, and so we did a lot of good things with it. But I made the wrong bet. I mean, there's still plenty of radio stations out there, even Hard to believe for some.
MC: 2:19
I feel like if you reveal how much you lost, I will reveal my AI generated edge. Oh, that's good Now everybody's wondering what's the real we're talking about.
Dave: 2:31
The biggest bet I've lost, I think. But I really you know, I think you know it's real easy to get on the hype train that everything's going to change right away. You know that people are just going to just completely change their behavior, but it's usually those that are on the forefront, those early adopters, that are saying this is because they're embracing it, and I mean things like chat, gbt. I mean I use that 15, 20 times a day. We use a lot of AI for a lot of the stuff that we do and it's obviously incredibly impactful. But if you're looking at what the market's doing I mean Google still 88% of the overall market. I mean I think it's something like 250 searches a week or something. I think I was reading. Who was that? I actually had a pull up here.
Dave: 3:11
It was the average person does 250 searches a week 250 searches a month versus chat GBT, the average person is 13 and a half, perplexity 16 and a half. So it's just looking at what's actually happening. I mean, certainly if I was Google, I'd be concerned about the long term. You know, maybe make some 10, 10 year bets, but you know, I think you know too many people, I think, are making rash decisions to throw away one of the most important parts of their overall plan and really what they should be doing is paying attention to the changes that Google has made. You know, as all these AI things have happened and I think that's the bigger story is, google's changed a lot and I think people don't quite recognize just how much Google's changed. And this is where you can create differentiation and grow your market share, and you know where people are still spending a whole lot of time.
MC: 3:58
Yeah, do you think? I mean, because this is what happens. We don't pay attention until something big or iconic or memorable happens, and then we all start paying attention, thinking that that shift was the beginning of it all. Like all of these companies just figured it out. Here's where I'm going with this.
MC: 4:17
You remember I can't remember how many years ago it was but when Google finally came out and said, okay, like here's the top three organic ranking factors, and it was, you know, mobile content and rank brain, and it was like, just let's not talk about rank brain, because that sounds scary.
MC: 4:32
I mean, this is going back. What a decade, I don't know, maybe just shy of a decade. Yeah, if people like actually took the time to go and see what rank brain is, they would realize that Google was already working on complex artificial intelligence factors into their algorithm, but nobody was paying attention until search generative experience started taking over the top portion of SERP. So I mean, from your vantage point, I mean like is it one of those things where it's all the hype and the rage now, but it'll probably like die down? It's all the hype and the rage now, but it'll probably like die down, or do we really need to be shifting the way we think about how Google's especially leaning into AI, and, if so, what should we be doing as dealerships or as an industry to lean into that with them?
Dave: 5:19
I think it starts with the understanding. What is your customers are doing, I think, first and foremost. And so Google is losing a little bit of market share. Certainly, you know they're below 50 percent for the first time in however long, but they're still obviously the giant gorilla. And you know those that are leaving. And there's you know there's a small amount compared to how many are still there using it on the regular Again, 88 percent of the market. You know it's not the SEO is dead. You know giant story that we saw 10 years ago. It's not the Wall Street Journal story that you know that Google is the Titanic about to hit the iceberg. I mean that's not going to happen.
Dave: 5:55
But why people are leaving Google is, I think the number one reason they decided is that they don't trust the results. And so I mean, even this past year, google's made some algorithm updates to declutter itself from how AI has changed in the content game. I mean AI has changed dramatically. Heck, you know we subscribe to leveraging AI and using it appropriately. And then you know it's like the hottest job right now is prompt engineer in that environment. Right, I mean, that's the job that wouldn't exist a few years ago. You know it's.
Dave: 6:26
You know Google's going to have put all their focus and they have been on delivering results that match the expectations of the searcher. That's what. If you're doing that, with whatever you're doing whether it's SEO, or you know the right ads going to the right landing pages or whatever if you're delivering content that matches what your customers are wanting, then you're going to win all the time. I mean, that's been the basic SEO and then just marketing concept forever. You know you got customers that want one thing and you have these things to sell and you just want to connect the dots and you know that's what it boils down to.
Dave: 6:56
But how did that, what's changed and how to adapt to that change and stay ahead of others in the change? I think that's really where we're. I think we're falling behind as an industry is that Google has changed a lot and taken away a lot from its advertisers and those that are understanding what that situation is about and how, ultimately, google's making a whole lot more money by doing things a whole lot differently, getting around those environments and getting more bang for your buck and showing up and creating more complexities external to Google. I think that's actually the biggest conversation right now, because they still are 88% market share in that area and people are still using them, with, you know, near the all time highs that they always have.
MC: 7:38
Do you think there's an element here where those of us that are early adopters I'll refer to us like that those of us that like new and emerging things and like to play around and click buttons and do all the things?
MC: 7:54
Do you think there's an element at play here where AI is the big conversation for us because we're in it every day and we can see all of its potential and we're following the news where that may not be the case for quite some time, for a lot of, like you said, just customers that are doing research online, who are looking for a vehicle, who are in shopping activity? I think of my wife, like my wife's not 40 yet, but is like an 86 year old trapped in a 39 year old's body, right Like she could care less about learning how to set up voice assistant and play with GPT and like she just doesn't care. And I don't see a time in my life or hers where that flips and I can't help but wonder well, what is the? The ratio here of people who are more like her, who will just never, who, 30 years from now, will maybe have adopted AI tools, but use them the way most people use Google today, like barely scratching the surface Like what's your thoughts on that?
Dave: 8:57
You know well, I mean, we're sitting here in the holidays where we get to be around a whole lot of family and a whole lot of different people that maybe we don't see all the time. And you know, when you have conversations with all sorts of different folks across all sorts of different demographics and age groups and all those kind of things, you see that it's not nearly as widely adopted yet as what it feels like to us who are living and breathing it every day. You know, I mean it's a constant conversation here, reunion and leveraging ways to make it better and more effective, and all those kind of things. I think it's just it's changing the landscape enough that it's scary, and you know. And you know, I mean the change is all we haven't changed is constant in digital marketing. So I mean leading into it and being at the forefront of it, while still understanding the environment, is probably the most important thing to do right now in terms of getting the most for your investment into marketing. And then the you know the world that we live in, but it's still not nearly as widely used outside of.
Dave: 9:48
You know what Google's using AI for, and so I mean you know what are they using it for where you're showing up. It's when people want to know some basic answers. They're going to get them real fast. I mean these are not people who are, you know, trying to buy cars. You know they're not trying to find dealerships to go to, and where the nearest dealership is, I mean we're getting people are. So you know, when they're in market looking to buy things, they're still. You still want to be doing your SEO and SEM, or you're not going to show up and you're going to lose market share significantly. And so and actually it scares me a little bit, for you know the dealers out there that are ready to just dump you know two of the most low funnel things that are the last decision made before a customer comes to a dealership. I mean it's, I think, just as scary as someone who isn't doing the other advertising mechanisms that help lead to the stimulus part of the advertising that leads to those intense searches.
Dave: 10:39
But just because change is at the forefront, it doesn't mean you need to go all in on that when the vast majority of folks are not in that early adopter stage and the vast majority of the search results that have that SGE experience are not ones that are as bottom of the funnel, roi producing as what so exists, and so I think it's just a matter of you know recognizing how Google's doing things differently and then staying in front of it. You know, frankly, where I get on my soapbox the most is. You know behind the scenes. Google's done a whole lot of things right now that are costing dealers a lot more money because the focus is elsewhere and on ai and sge and and that changing experience. You know changing environment across the results, but you know paid search costs a lot more. You know the close variance environment where google is. You know know teeing you up to show up in way more searches and really be able to spend a whole lot more money and cost you a whole lot more money by delivering you into results that are not what you're even going after, and then the amount dealers are spending more on that, and then you know the search results and then the cost for every search you're doing is going up that much more.
Dave: 11:44
I think because dealers are not doing the same level of. I think we're trusting the algorithm too much as opposed to digging in and then seeing okay, why are we spending 20, 30, 40 percent more on search now for the same results when you really shouldn't have to? It's just it's really easy to hide a lot of that stuff, you know, because people are not digging in as much. Because there's a lot of shiny objects around right now. I mean a lot of neat things out there, but like this is still a basic, essential part of an overall strategy, and I think that's my biggest warning now is people are still using it and then they're still driving people to your dealership, but you're spending a lot more for it and there's a reason, right.
MC: 12:28 (Episode Sponsor Ad: AutoFi)
Hey, I hope you're enjoying this episode so far and before we get back into it, I want to tell you about the sponsor of this episode, AutoFi. You see, selling a car is time consuming and full of friction. We know that time kills deals and profit. We can shout up from the rooftops we're preaching to the choir people and despite mass adoption of technology by dealers, it still takes nearly three hours to buy a car. Whoa, there's several bottlenecks that slow the process down. The technology revolution isn't online, it's in the showroom, where time and money are being left on the table. Selling a car, my dear friends, should not be so hard, okay? Autofi's showroom solution connects the entire point of sale, including payment calculation, pre-qualification desking, credit app, lender routing and the F&I menu all in one, enabling your sales team to immediately present numbers to customers and close deals faster, all with management guardrails to eliminate mistakes and protect profit Sounds safe to me. I love it. Autofi is going to be at NADA 2025 in New Orleans or is it New Orleans, new Orleans? Visit them at booth 4219 to check out their digital retail and showroom solutions. Or you can go to autofi.com/NADA2025 to pre-schedule a meeting with their team. All right, let's hop back into this episode.
MC: 13:53
It especially underscores for me what you're saying here how often Google strongly recommends changes that you make to your campaigns and you're like based on what? And then you know, the scary thought for me is that there is somebody out there that's clicking accept and they're just applying all of these things, not realizing that Google will gladly take all of your money. Yeah, they there's no like want to do the best thing for you, that they are in the business of do the best thing for them. And that kind of, for me, emphasizes the importance of, yes, ai. You use the word augment earlier. Yes, ai to augment certain things, maybe speed up things or help, you know, create processes or workflows. But really the importance of having human touch and human intervention and cross-checking and, you know, looking for errors and mitigating errors, I think is going to be extremely important in the near future.
MC: 14:58
And then I mean, I think about those listening and saying, okay, well, what can I do to future proof? And you said it perfectly. It's like well, yes, start playing around and adopting some of these things, but don't go all in just yet. Have a more balanced approach. You bring up SEO and this debate obviously is always like is SEO dying? And I would argue and I guess as my final question to you, I would argue that it actually makes SEO related activities more valuable, especially if you look like I'm playing around with grok on X, which is actually really neat. Yeah, every time I do a search on grok it shows like 15 different websites that it pulled information from and I think, well, if I'm positioned as a local business and it's definitely pulling live, live data, my SEO efforts, now I'm not just pandering to Google, but I'm actually setting myself up to be the database with which these platforms, even SGE, can use me as the resource. What's your take?
Dave: 15:57
Well, it's funny because the buzz is all AI, and rightfully so, because there's a lot to do with it. And then I remember it wasn't that long ago that the big buzz phrase was content is king. Right now you can create way more content. That is king, you know. Right now you can create way more content that is relevant and helpful and valuable. You know, you know leveraging a database, using prompt engineers, making sure that it's not spam content, because Google is doing everything they can to get rid of that. But because of this new environment where you have this technology, you can create that. And so I think you know what a lot of dealers understand is that SEO right now can get you a whole lot more traffic than ever before for really the same kind of investment that you used to spend, because you can do so much more and create so much more that is helpful to the customer or the future customer coming to your store. So I think a lot of people now you know.
Dave: 16:39
I think I try to understand the landscape. You know where in your market and your AOR you're not showing up and how are people searching for things not showing up? And why are people searching for things if you go to search console or google ads and you can see, I mean in any market, millions of different queries that you might be able to have some kind of penetration into, and now you can do that more than ever because of this environment, and you know who's who is doing it the most and it's kind of goes back to the paid side too is the biggest competitor for dealers. Actually, in a funny way, it's actually the third party sites, you know, and those that's a vendor that you partner with and there's, I mean, you know, I used to have an eight million dollar budget back when I was at lethal auto before starting reunion, you know, years ago, and we spent a ton of money there. I think it's you know, it's still the number one expense is these third party sites. But they show up everywhere for all the different mcmodel searches, because they have a page for everything every year mcmodel and every city in the area, and for every trim package they have content that's relevant to the searcher.
Dave: 17:30
And as people get maybe a little bit more long tail, like we expected voice search to do with AI, I think we're going to see that, you know, creating more content at scale is going to be the answer to be able to show up more, and it's really funny because you know we're big data junkies over here.
Dave: 17:46
You know, outside of being a little bit frustrated, that we're also competing with third parties and the VLAs, using our own investment and showcasing our inventory on those third party sites. We shouldn't have to compete with them and I would recommend to every dealership listening to ask your third party providers to not put your own inventory in the auction against you and the VLAs, and then sometimes the third parties will listen and sometimes VLAs, and then sometimes the third parties will listen, sometimes they don't. But you know, also recognizing that your inventory on those sites is your biggest competition organically, and when you start recognizing why that is, dealers have a huge opportunity to compete for those areas. They just don't realize, I think, where to start often and that data is so much more robust and available and dealers are so much more capable now to compete in that area.
Dave: 18:28
We're having fun watching people significantly grow and that's because they're leveraging AI to do the content is king thing that we used to talk about wanting to have 10 years ago, but it's now possible, even though it's the Titanic, according to some. I think just recognizing where we are is recognizing where the opportunities are, where your customers, and just meet them there. That's marketing 101 from way back when. What are your customers doing? What do they want? And give it to them.
MC: 18:58
That's how you yeah, it just makes all the sense in the world when you approach it from that angle.
MC: 19:03
It's like wait a minute. Actually, things may not be moving as fast as we we thought, because all of the core principles of marketing still stand and hold water today Weird pun, since we're just talking about the Titanic. But it's also like I think the last thing I'm thinking about, as you're saying, all of this is and I don't know if it's the Italian in me or like what, but I'm like what a perfect mafia play. We're going to take everyone's money, then we're going to put it into a big pot and then we're going to compete against you with your money and your vehicles. It's like the most brilliant scheme of a business model when you really think about it. And then you're like, how come I don't show up? And it's like, well, maybe you would have a fighting chance if you didn't just give 20,000 of your dollars, in addition to probably the 20,000 more dollars that you're spending to compete against yourself. Yeah, oh boy, that could be a whole other episode. Let's go on and on about that.
Dave: 20:02
I mean it's it's. There's a lot of ways that the dealers are spending way more money than they need to. I mean, if you get into data and other things, there's a whole other episode too. But I mean the amount of company, the amount of money that the vendors have to pay to get access to data that dealerships should be owning themselves, and so dealers are end up being the one who pays for all of it. Yeah, that's us. I mean there's a lot of ways in which dealers have to, are having to pay for a cost that they shouldn't have to. You know, they're paying for their own data, their own inventory. The latter we can get about that, the more we can help them out.
MC: 20:34
This is why I appreciate you so much. I mean, not a lot of people probably know this, but, like from an agency perspective, you and I technically compete but I feel that I don't feel the way. I think the faux pas in our industry is about that. I actually have such respect and admiration for what you guys are doing.
Dave: 20:53
I love catching up with you. It's always funny.
MC: 20:54
You know it's always going to be a good conversation when you're not here, Because I mean, there are many who compete, and then there are the few, I would say, of us who are genuinely, I believe, are advocates for the dealer body, because we realize that, no matter how many different ways we try and slice the pie, the dealer somehow still loses. And I love that you are advocating for it, I love that we can have conversations like this and say, no, there are more efficient, better ways for us, or the dealer or whoever's managing the money, to be better stewards of the money so that it's not diluted, so that it's not wasted, so that you're getting the most from your investments. And so I appreciate that about you. How can those, as we wind down, how can those listening and watching get in touch with you?
Dave: 21:40
Yeah, just reach out to me. Email's always real easy. Dave at reunionmarketingcom, hit me up, I mean check me out on LinkedIn. I'm pretty active on there too and love, love staying abreast of what's going on in the industry. So, yeah, always love to chat.
MC: 21:52
Love it, man. Thank you so much for joining me on the Dealer Playbook podcast.
Dave: 21:55
Hey, thanks so much. Always great being on, good to see you, as always.
MC: 21:58
(Outro) Hey, thanks for listening to the Dealer Playbook podcast. If you enjoyed tuning in, please subscribe, share and hit that like button. You can also join us and the DPB community on social media. Check back next week for a new dealer playbook episode. Thanks so much for joining.
