Automotive Internet Media

SEO

Google’s New “Preferred Sources” Feature: What It Means for Your Dealership’s Visibility

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Google’s New “Preferred Sources” Feature: What It Means for Your Dealership’s Visibility

Search results are becoming more personal than ever. Google recently launched a new feature called Preferred Sources in the U.S. and India, and it could fundamentally change the way customers discover your dealership online.

Published: October 11, 2025

Automotive Internet Media | Digital Marketing Agency

Preferred Sources

What Are Preferred Sources?

This new feature allows users to choose specific publishers they want to see more often in their search results. Once selected, those sources will appear more prominently in Top Stories and in a new section called “From Your Sources.”

Think of it as a bookmark system that directly influences what shows up in someone’s Google search results. If a user adds your dealership’s website as a Preferred Source, your content gets priority placement when they search for automotive information.

Why This Matters for Automotive Dealerships

For years, SEO has been a numbers game: optimize your content, build links, and hope Google’s algorithm favors you. But Preferred Sources introduces a new variable, user choice.

Here’s what’s changing:

Traditional SEO: Your site competes algorithmically with thousands of others
 Preferred Sources: Users can manually boost your visibility in their personal search results

This shift means:

  • Brand loyalty translates to search visibility. Customers who trust you can now prioritize your content
  • Direct relationships matter more. Getting someone to actively select your site gives you a lasting advantage
  • Competition intensifies. If customers don’t choose you, they may be choosing a competitor instead

If your company is looking for SEO marketing solutions, explore our services today!

The Opportunity: Turn Customers Into Advocates

While this update adds a new layer of complexity, it’s also a powerful opportunity for dealerships that have invested in building trust and providing value.

If your dealership consistently publishes:

  • Local market insights and inventory updates
  • Vehicle buying guides and comparisons
  • Service tips and maintenance advice
  • Industry news relevant to your customers

…then you already have the foundation to become someone’s Preferred Source.

What This Means for Your Content Strategy

Preferred Sources rewards consistency and quality. To make it worth someone’s while to add your dealership:

Publish regularly. Sporadic content won’t keep you top-of-mind
 Stay relevant. Cover topics your audience actually searches for
 Build trust. Accurate, helpful information makes people want to follow you
 Engage locally. Local market insights give you an edge over national publications

This isn’t about gaming the system. It’s about earning a spot in your customers’ trusted circle.

The Bottom Line: Adapt Now, Win Later

Google’s Preferred Sources feature is still rolling out, but the message is clear: search visibility is becoming opt-in, not just algorithmic.

Dealerships that start building awareness and encouraging adoption now will have a major advantage as this feature becomes more widely used. Those who wait risk being left out of their own customers’ search results.

The dealerships that win in this new landscape won’t just rank well. They’ll be chosen.

Need help adapting your content strategy for changes like Preferred Sources?

At Automotive Internet Media, we help dealerships stay ahead of search trends and maximize visibility where modern car buyers are looking. Let’s build a strategy that keeps you front and center, even as the rules change. Contact Automotive Internet Media today to get started.

Recent Posts

YouTube Dominates AI Overviews: What It Means for Your Marketing Strategy

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YouTube Dominates AI Overviews: What It Means for Your Marketing Strategy

Recent data from BrightEdge reveals that YouTube is cited 200 times more than any other video platform by major AI tools including ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI products.

This dominance shows just how central YouTube has become in shaping online visibility and authority, not just in search but now within AI-driven results as well.

Published: October 8, 2025

Automotive Internet Media | Digital Marketing Agency

YouTube Dominates AI Overviews

The types of queries most likely to trigger YouTube citations include:

  • Tutorials (finance, software, medical “how-to” content)
  • Pricing and deal-hunting searches
  • Product demos and reviews

Meanwhile, queries focused on career advice, strategy, or abstract information are less likely to reference video content.

Why this matters:
As AI continues to influence how consumers research and make purchase decisions, YouTube content is becoming a critical SEO lever. Video now plays a major role in how AI tools source and summarize trustworthy information, which means your dealership or business could be missing out if you are not leveraging it.

Our recommendation:
If your brand is not producing consistent, educational video content such as product features, pricing, and “how-to” topics, now is the time to start. YouTube is no longer just a social platform. It is quickly becoming one of the most influential sources in AI-driven discovery.

At Automotive Internet Media, we help dealerships and automotive partners stay visible across every channel, from traditional search to emerging AI ecosystems. Contact Automotive Internet Media today to take your business to the next level. 

Recent Posts

Prepare for Google AI Mode Ads Coming Soon for Q4 2025

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Prepare for Google AI Mode Ads Coming Soon for Q4 2025

Google is gearing up to roll out its latest innovation in search advertising just in time for Q4 2025 – ads in AI Mode. Agencies have already begun receiving updates on how this new format works and how it differs from traditional search ads.

Introduced in May 2025, AI Mode builds on Google’s earlier AI Overviews technology. Much like ChatGPT, AI Mode delivers more in-depth, conversational responses rather than short, static answers. This shift means users are engaging in richer, multi-step interactions — and now, ads are following suit.

Published: August 11, 2025

Automotive Internet Media | Digital Marketing Agency

Google AI Mode Ads

From Queries to Conversations

The biggest change? Targeting in AI Mode won’t just be based on a single keyword or search query. Instead, ads will be informed by the entire context of a user’s AI conversation. Exploratory and complex questions will directly shape ad placements, marking a significant departure from the traditional keyword-based model.

According to Search Engine Land:

“Google’s transition from static search to conversational, AI-driven results is a massive shift that’s bringing advertisers along for the ride. This changes how ads are targeted and placed, relying on the full context of the AI exchange rather than just keywords. With over 100 million users already engaging in AI Mode and ads set to expand before Q4, brands that adapt early will be better positioned to reach high-intent consumers in this emerging search experience.”

Ads are already appearing in AI Mode, but with the broader rollout planned ahead of the holiday season, Google is balancing innovation with the need to maintain ad revenue — all while navigating evolving user behavior patterns.

What to Expect with AI Mode Ads

  • Familiar formats, new placement logic – Ads in AI Mode will remain primarily text-based and product-focused, much like today’s search and shopping ads.
  • Performance Max and AI Max for Search integration – Advertisers using these campaign types will automatically see their ads surface in AI Mode.
  • Clean, accurate product feeds are critical – Google is emphasizing the need for well-maintained and up-to-date product data to ensure optimal performance.

Google is preparing to ramp up AI Mode ad availability in time for the peak holiday shopping period, working closely with advertising partners to fine-tune placements and targeting ahead of the rollout.

Stay Ahead of Q4 Marketing Trends

As the digital advertising landscape shifts toward conversational, AI-driven search experiences, staying informed will be key to maintaining a competitive edge. Visit Automotive Internet Media for the latest industry updates and insights on what’s ahead for Q4 marketing — including how to position your brand for success in the new AI ad era.

Recent Posts

3 Reasons Why Classified Sites Still Matter

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3 Reasons Why Classified Sites Still Matter

If I want to check airline ticket prices for a trip I usually start my search on Expedia. I compare flights and prices then go to the airline site and buy the ticket direct. If I’m shopping for some obscure product I usually start at Amazon. Sometimes I buy the product from Amazon. Other times I just use Amazon as a search tool and buy direct from the company’s website.
Multiple studies and stock prices indicate that I’m not alone.
The same is true for car shopping. Today’s sales funnel has arguably evolved over the years but one thing is constant. When the typical auto shopper gets low in the funnel and ready to buy, they shop automotive classified sites.
Automotive classified sites provide consumers a place to shop and compare thousands of vehicles, models, equipment and price. It’s just easier for the consumer.
Many car dealers and their team members believe Autotrader.com and Cars.com are the only sites consumers shop. Sure these two sites have built good brands in the automotive industry but they are by far not the only sites consumers shop. Actually, because of Google’s constant algorithm changes, other sites are becoming increasingly important and relevant.
Advertising only on Autotrader.com or Cars.com is like only advertising on ABC or NBC and ignoring the other 500 plus television channels. The other channels have solid audiences as well. Same with many other automotive classified sites.
Actually, there are a number of automotive classified sites that perform great.
Here are three key reasons that classified sites should be a part of every dealer’s online marketing efforts:
1. Be Everywhere
Inventory distribution to multiple automotive shopping sites allows your vehicles to be promoted to millions of more auto shoppers. Limiting your exposure to only a couple classified sites reduces the chances of a shopper finding the exact vehicle you have on your lot that meets their needs. As long as the site is sending your traffic and/or leads that are interested in your inventory there is no downside, all upside. Only more exposure.
2. Affordable
OK, I understand the escalating costs of a couple of the more well-known classified sites. However, that shouldn’t stop you from having a dedicated budget for classified advertising. It’s important to just manage your budget wisely. After getting your inventory listed in a category that actually gets it viewed, do you need to spend more? In most cases I don’t believe you do. The law of diminishing returns kicks in when you devote too much budget to one site. Spread the love. Get more sites working for you. CarClicks inventory marketing program distributes your inventory to many automotive sites and only charges you when a customer is interested in your car. You only get charged when a client is sent to your vehicle detail page on your website. This gets your inventory
3. Inventory Turn
Increasing inventory turn is just a fancy way of saying more sales. Three pillars of increasing sales are having the right inventory, at the right price, with the right exposure. Automotive classified sites provide dealers the ability to promote their inventory to millions of monthly online shoppers. The average vehicle is in stock for 53 days and gets looked at online less than 20 times but if you can get your inventory viewed online between 20 to 30 times it will turn 29% faster. And, if you can get your inventory viewed over 30 times it will turn 44% faster. Getting more visibility on your inventory is the single most important factor in making a sale.
Now for the pitch. CarClicks marketing program will pull your inventory from your website daily and promote your vehicles to a network of automotive sites that get over 20 million monthly auto shoppers. Dealerships are only charged when we link a shopper from an automotive classified site directly to your website.
I encourage dealerships to determine if their advertising budget is being leveraged properly to get the most exposure without spending more budget.

AIM One-Stop Shop

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A Look Under the Hood
We are better than your average digital marketing company.  We know how to market your dealership with some of the best, fresh digital content and social presence while keeping your overall goals in mind: more traffic, engaged users and increased sales.
The Best Mix of Marketing Services
Full Service:  Let us take the driver’s seat and drive more traffic to your dealership.  Our full service option lets us help you achieve your over-arching goals using some of the best digital marketing practices including, original website content, social media, SEO, display and retargeting ads, pay per click advertising and more!
Conquest Email Marketing:  You might want to make a U-turn if your dealership isn’t currently utilizing email marketing.  But AIM’s email marketing is not something you’ll find using standard email marketing services.  Our Supercharged email marketing services offer data to dominate your market and increase sales.
Email Newsletters: Living in a digital age, it is important to make sure you are in your customer’s eyes consistently.  AIM’s email marketing allows you to send all your specials and information without having to do the work—we take care of it all!  You’ll expect to have a quick turnaround, a flexible design and high ROI.
Pay Per Click (PPC): Paid search advertising is a great way to drive more traffic to your dealership.  This service allows customers to find your inventory and dealership.  Market your dealership and inventory with AIM’s PPC services.
Retargeting: Leverage your traffic coming to your website and capture those visitors who have expressed an interest in your inventory but didn’t make it to check out.  The consumer will then receive online ads for your dealership with our placement of code.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is an investment and it’s an investment a dealership should highly consider.  It will increase your customer base, your sales, your dealership’s reviews and your visibility on the web.
Social Media: Today it is important and a necessity to have a social presence.  Join the conversation with your customers!  We’re ready to do the work for you by managing your social presence while you sell and service cars.
Video Production:  Expand your brand today with video.  Use video to promote your vehicles, sales and services with YouTube pre-roll.  Let us turn your vision into a reality while we represent you and your dealership.
Web Design: Let us set your business apart from others in the automotive market with a customized, responsive website.  To top it off, we offer a one-stop dealership website experience with a dual language site.  With the click of one button your English site can switch to Spanish.

SEO for Beginners: Understanding the Jargon

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Whether you are a new restaurant, photographer, or a car dealership, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be the helping hand that you have been searching for (pun intended). However, it can be hard for someone to understand exactly how much of an impact SEO can have in driving traffic to your website if you don’t understand the basic jargon first. Here is roundup of the top ten most common terms used when talking SEO. But first things first, what the heck is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the strategic method of increasing visibility and traffic in a non-paid manner to your website to help you climb the search engine ranks. This can be done through a variety of methods. The most common of methods include on-site SEO, which includes various techniques that can be implemented directly on your physical website, as well as off-site SEO which focuses primarily on techniques that take place in locations online other than your actual website.

1. Keywords

Keywords are critical when it comes to SEO. A solid round of keyword research should never be overlooked, as keywords are the foundation for a majority of SEO strategies. What exactly are keywords? Keywords are the words that you want your company to rank for in search engines, as well as the ones you want to optimize your website for. To determine these terms, tools such as SEM Rush or Google AdWords Keyword Planner are there to help.

2. Title Tags

Title tags help search engines define what the pages on your website are about. The titles are the ones that appear on search engine result pages, and are also the ones that can be seen in the tabs in your website browser, as can be seen in the examples below. It is important for each page on a website to have a unique title tag so when search engines crawl the website they can differentiate the purpose of one page from another.

Ex.1 Title Tag in Search Resultstitle tag search result

Ex. 2 Title Tag in Web Browser Tab
title tag web browser

3. Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions can be seen as the overall summary of a page on a website. Meta descriptions are the ones that show up under the title tags on search engine result pages, as highlighted in the example below. Meta descriptions should be added to every page, and should be optimized with your focus keywords.
meta description

4. Alt Text

Alt text is text that can be added to images on your website through the backend or content management platform. Alt text helps search engines determine what the pictures on your website are about, and will also help images on your website populate in image search results. If you do not have alt text on your images it may not hurt you, but it certainly isn’t helping you from an SEO standpoint. The most common way to tell if an image has alt text is by hovering over it, as it can be seen below.

Ex.3 Hovering over an Image to see Alt Text
alt text

5. H1, H2, H3 Tags

The use of H1, H2 and H3 tags/headings are important because it helps search engines crawl your webpages in order of importance. The use of h1, h2 and h3 tags make for the pages to be more visibly appealing, as well as more readable for your website visitors. You can utilize these tags on your webpages, blogs or any other content pages on your website. The h1 tag is the most important tag, generally a title. H2 tags would be the second most important, next to the title, and an H3 tag would be something such as subheadings under the H2 tags.
Take this blog post for example, the title “SEO for Beginners: Understanding the Jargon” is the H1 heading. The H2 headings would be “1. Keywords” “2. Title Tags” “3. Meta Description,” etc.

6. Anchor Text

Anchor text is the text that is hyperlinked on a webpage, so that when clicked on it brings you to a different website, or another internal related page. The anchor text should be relevant to the page it is directing you to. Generally, the anchor text is a keyword or is some form of the brand name.
Let’s take the link below for example; the anchor text would be “CarClicks”, which is the keyword that is linked. When you click on this keyword it will bring you to a landing page that will provide you with more information on CarClicks.

Ex. 4 Anchor Text
CarClicks

7. Google Analytics

As described by SearchBusiness Analytics, “Google Analytics is a free Web analytics service that provides statistics and basic analytical tools for search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing purposes.” It is a platform that allows you to see SEO data and analyze it. Some of the things it will allow you to see include: keywords and terms visitors are searching that bring them to your site, how many times your website URL appeared in search result pages, number of clicks, top locations that are driving traffic to your website and much more.

8. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is non-paid “free” traffic, meaning that the people who visited your website did not arrive there due to paid advertising. Most sites that receive a high amount of organic (natural) traffic are very well optimized for the keywords that they want to rank for by utilizing them in their title tags, meta descriptions, H1 tags, alt tags etc. These sites also have a quality backlink profile. Companies that utilize these practices put themselves in the best position to be seen in search engine results organically.

9. Paid Traffic

Paid traffic is the opposite of organic traffic, as it is traffic that you have to pay for. Examples of this include Pay-Per-Click, Retargeting and Display Ads. For example, as seen in the picture below, when you search for the keyword phrase, ‘Chicago car detailer’ at the very top of the search results page you will see a paid ad. The paid ad in this example is coming from Groupon. You can tell that it is a paid ad as it says “Ad” in a yellow box right next to the URL. For people who search that term, and click on that Groupon link, Groupon will be charged a certain amount of money for that link, which is the paid traffic.

Ex.5 Paid Traffic in Google
paid traffic

10. Backlinks

Backlinks are links on other websites that drive visitors back to your own site. The most common of backlinks can be found in news articles, company reviews, news releases, business profiles etc. Basically, when someone links to your website from another site other than your own, that is called a backlink.
The amount of SEO jargon that is out there is endless, but hopefully this article was able to help simplify some of the main terms used in SEO. To learn more about Search Engine Optimization and how it can help your business contact Automotive Internet Media today!
 
Author Bio:
Kayla Pernai is the Digital Marketing Manager at Automotive Internet Media (AIM), the leading automotive internet marketing agency providing website, SEO, social and many other services.