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20%-50% of Car Dealer Website Traffic May Not Be Human

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20%-50% of Car Dealer Website Traffic May Not Be Human

by automotiveinternetmedia | March 24, 2025 | Website Traffic, Automotive Industry

Non-Human Traffic

In the digital age, car dealerships face unique challenges. One of these is the issue of non-human web traffic. Studies suggest that 20%-50% of car dealer website traffic may not be human. This includes bots, crawlers, and fraudulent clicks, which can distort analytics data. Digital ad fraud is a significant concern. It can lead to wasted advertising budgets and ineffective campaigns.

Automotive Internet Media has analyzed non-human traffic across hundreds of automotive websites. Through our findings we help dealers optimize their online advertising strategies and target potential customers more effectively.

What is Non-Human Web Traffic?

Non-human web traffic is visitors to a website that are not human; these are frequently “bots” that load web pages, crawl pages, scrape pages, and falsely load ads. Not all of this non-human traffic is malicious – crawlers and search engine bots are good bots.

Non-human traffic can mimic human behavior, inflating website traffic numbers. This skews the analytics data that dealers rely on.

Recognizing the Signs of Non-Human Traffic

What are the indicators that website traffic is non-human? The following can point to traffic being non-human:

  • High Bounce Rate
  • Low Average Session Duration
  • Abnormally High Click Through Rates
  • Unusual Traffic Spikes
  • Unusual Geo Locations

Monitoring and Optimization: Ensuring Traffic Quality

Better quality media will have less non-human traffic and thus provide better outcomes. Monitoring campaigns and optimizing them to minimize non-human traffic is an integral part of what your agency and any paid media vendors should be doing. Eliminating poor traffic sources and placements will maximize the amount you are spending on driving real consumers to your website. Less non-human traffic means less advertising waste!

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About Automotive Internet Media

Automotive Internet Media, AIM, is a leader in digital marketing and technology, headquartered in Hinsdale, Illinois. Our team specializes in media buying and campaign optimization for automotive dealerships across the United States.

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Google’s AI Overviews & AI Mode: How They Affect Your SEO

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Google’s AI Overviews & AI Mode: How They Affect Your Dealership’s SEO

Google’s AI Overviews, formerly known as Search Generative Experience (SGE), launched on May 14, 2024, reshaping search results and negatively impacting organic traffic, conversions, and revenue for businesses, including dealerships.

Now, Google has introduced AI Mode, a new experimental AI-driven search feature. While access is currently limited to U.S. users over 18 who opt in via Labs, it has the potential to impact search rankings and visibility.

Published: Mar. 19, 2025

Automotive Internet Media | Digital Marketing Agency

AI Overviews

About AI Overviews

AI Overviews leverage generative artificial intelligence to deliver quick, interactive responses, improving user experience but diminishing the visibility of traditional organic search results. Here’s how AI Overviews might be impacting your dealership’s SEO:

  • Declining Organic Traffic: AI-generated summaries appear above organic search results, potentially reducing the number of visitors to your website.
  • Lower Search Rankings: Even top-ranked dealership pages are pushed further down as Google prioritizes AI Overviews and paid ads.
  • Rising Advertising Costs: With Google monetizing AI Overviews through new paid ad placements, competition for visibility increases, making it more challenging—and costly—to outrank competitors.
AI Overviews

Adweek.com states “Google launched its artificial intelligence-powered search engine, Search Generative Experience, in beta last May, sending publishers scrambling to prepare for a significant disruption in organic search traffic, with potential declines ranging from 20% to 60%, according to media executives and search engine optimization experts interviewed for this story.” This highlights the significant potential decline in organic traffic that websites may experience due to AI Overviews.

About Google’s New AI Mode

AI Mode

Unlike AI Overviews, AI Mode applies to all search queries, offering broader AI-powered insights. With an interactive chat interface, users can refine their searches and ask follow-up questions—similar to ChatGPT and other AI chatbots. AI Mode is powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.0, Google’s latest AI model.

How We Stay Ahead of the Trends

As AI Overviews and AI Mode change the search landscape and reduce organic visibility, our team at Automotive Internet Media is committed to helping dealerships navigate these shifts. We focus on optimizing for long-tail queries by crafting detailed, authoritative content to improve visibility, enhancing local SEO by strengthening your Google Business Profile, and diversifying traffic sources by expanding your reach through social media and email marketing.

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Tariff Impact on the Auto Industry: Rising Costs and Potential Delays

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Tariff Impact on the Auto Industry: Rising Costs and Potential Delays

Ford, GM, and Stellantis have expressed gratitude to the federal government for postponing tariffs, but it’s evident that they and other automakers are preparing for what’s next.

Published: Mar. 11, 2025

Automotive Internet Media | Digital Marketing Agency

Tariff Affects on the Auto Industry

On March 3, 2025, tariffs enacted by the Trump administration took effect, imposing a 25% fee on all Mexican and Canadian exports and an additional 10% on Chinese goods. However, as of March 5, the White House announced a 30-day pause on tariffs specifically for the auto industry. This temporary hold applies to vehicles complying with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), including those produced by Ford, GM, and Stellantis. These three automakers expressed gratitude for the 30 day exemption – however this doesn’t mean they are in the clear.

The delay on tariffs raises concerns about the federal government’s push to shift production to the U.S., with some analysts questioning its feasibility. If the tariffs ultimately take effect on vehicle imports in April, automakers are expected to face higher costs, which could be passed on to consumers.

When it comes to car parts, even U.S.-made vehicles rely on components from Canada and Mexico. This dependency could lead to higher part costs and production delays. As Kelley Blue Book explains, “A part will see its price increase every time it crosses a border. That means many cars will see their prices rise by more than 25%. Mexico and Canada may retaliate with matching tariffs, doubling the impact.” With that being said, auto dealers may expect new vehicle prices to rise significantly, prompting potential buyers to act sooner rather than later. Additionally, auto dealers can also anticipate a rise in demand for used cars, leading to higher prices as more buyers turn to pre-owned vehicles instead of new ones.

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