When Local SEO Beats PPC: A Dealership Decision Framework

Local SEO outperforms PPC for dealerships when competitor bid wars inflate click costs, Google Business Profile markets are saturated, and inventory-specific searches go uncontested. Dealerships typically reduce paid search spending by 50-70% by investing in organic search, which compounds over time instead of vanishing when budgets pause. A local market audit of ad costs, search demand, and competitor density reveals when to shift budget from paid clicks to organic growth