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Powersports Business • October 2025 • 13

The high stakes of ignoring local SEO and AEO

This isn’ t just a wake-up call, it’ s the siren at the track signaling that the race has already started. And if your powersports dealership hasn’ t invested in local SEO and AEO, you’ re not just behind— you’ re off the grid entirely.

The digital landscape is shifting at full throttle. Traditional SEO is a slow build. Local SEO and answer engine optimization JOHN VAUGHAN-CHALDY( AEO) are how consumers find, trust, and choose your dealership in real time. If you’ re not feeding these systems consistently and correctly, your competitors will gladly take the leads, the service work, the parts orders— and the next unit sale.

THE LOCAL SEARCH BATTLEFIELD: VISIBILITY = PROFIT

Today’ s buyers aren’ t just Googling“ ATV dealership near me”— they’ re expecting answers. Fast.

And they’ re not just clicking the first blue link on a website. They’ re reading Google Business Page( GBP) posts, looking at your reviews, checking out your photos, and comparing it all before they ever call or visit.

If your dealership hasn’ t made it a priority to update your local profiles with offers, events, content, and Q & As, then you’ ve already lost that customer. Now multiply that by 30, 50, or 100 missed leads a month.

AEO: IT’ S NOT THE FUTURE IT’ S THE NOW Voice search. AI-powered search. Semantic search. Whatever you call it, it’ s already here— and growing. Platforms like Google’ s Search Generative Experience( SGE), Siri, Gemini, Alexa, and ChatGPT are pulling structured data from online content and giving direct answers to users.

You think your blog post from 2019 about“ best beginner motorcycles” is ranking today? Not without fresh formatting, relevance, and cross-platform validation. These engines want fast, structured, relevant content. If your business isn’ t providing it, your competitors— or AI-built listings— will.

You need to control your presence before the machines rewrite it for you.

WHAT DEALERS ARE DOING: THE HARSH TRUTH Here’ s what we see across the country:

• Most powersports dealers barely touch their GBP

• Only a small minority post updates weekly.

• Reviews go unmonitored or unanswered.

• Few use structured content to feed answer engines.

• Many haven’ t claimed their Apple, Bing, or Yelp listings.

It’ s not just that the opportunity is missed. It’ s that the silence is hurting you. Search platforms treat dead or outdated listings like warning signs. To them, if you’ re not actively speaking, you’ re closed.

RETENTION = REVENUE. BUT ONLY IF YOU STAY RELEVANT

Here’ s the kicker: according to Harvard Business Review, just a 5 % increase in customer retention can increase profits by 25 – 95 %.

If you had started optimizing for Local SEO two years ago and AEO 18 – 24 months ago, you’ d be controlling the search landscape in your region. Now it’ s catch-up time.

Each month you wait means:

• Fewer repeat buyers

• Less service business

• Lower parts revenue

• Lost referrals( because your visibility is gone)

Your dealership may have the best team, best pricing, and best selection— but if no one finds you or trusts you at first glance, it doesn’ t matter.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BE ASKING YOURSELF RIGHT NOW

1. Do I know what Local SEO and AEO truly involve? 2. Do I have the systems in place to feed them consistently? 3. Do I have anyone on my team who understands how to optimize and syndicate content to these platforms? 4. Am I willing to lose to a dealership 50 miles away just because they post once a week to their GBP and I don’ t?

THE CLOCK IS TICKING. BUT THERE’ S STILL TIME TO WIN.

You need someone who understands not just powersports, but the platforms, behaviors, and AI engines driving today’ s buyer decisions. Because if your competitors read this before you act, you’ ll be racing for scraps while they’ re standing on the podium.

John Vaughan-Chaldy is the founder of MaxOpp Marketing and a former dealer principal, sales trainer and self-proclaimed strategy nerd. For more, visit maxoppmarketing. com.

Personal-planning moves to consider before year-end

BY PAULINA MATEL & BRAD STANEK CONTRIBUTORS

Much of our financial planning dialogue tends to center on implications for dealership entities. While these conversations are important, they often overlook a critical piece of the bigger picture— the personal financial planning moves every dealership owner should be considering right now. In this article, we will shift the focus from the showroom floor to your own personal net worth statement— highlighting practical strategies that can help you protect your wealth and align your personal and family goals.

STRESS-TEST YOUR ASSETS Powersports dealership owners often have most of their wealth tied up in the dealership itself— real estate, inventory, and goodwill. While this concentration can drive growth, it also leaves personal finances vulnerable if market conditions shift. Stress testing your portfolio and liquidity— by modeling scenarios in poor, average, and strong market conditions— can highlight potential gaps in cash flow and reveal whether you have enough readily available assets to sustain your lifestyle and obligations.

Unfortunately, we see this story play out all too often. When uncertainty strikes, many dealership owners are forced to borrow against their 401( K) s, tap IRAs prematurely, or take on second mortgages and personal lines of credit just to stay afloat. By proactively addressing liquidity today, you can avoid these costly moves and be better positioned to weather the next downturn with confidence.

SMALL MOVES. BIG RESULTS When we sit down with powersports dealers, we often find they’ re not fully capitalizing on the small, incremental moves that— when compounded over years— can make a significant difference for their long-term wealth and their families. Simple steps like maximizing contributions to the dealership’ s retirement plan( whether a SIMPLE IRA or 401( K)), taking advantage of the expanded 529 provisions for education savings, exploring whether new‘ Trump Accounts’ apply to your situation, and leveraging Roth contributions can all add up. The goal is to intentionally build a mix of tax-deferred, tax-free, and taxable assets giving you more flexibility and efficiency when drawing income from your portfolio in the future.

YEAR-END TAX PLANNING If you heard us speak before, you know we’ re passionate about the importance of a strong advisory team for powersports dealers. This isn’ t just critical in the year of a dealership sale – it matters every single year you’ re operating. One of the most effective steps you can take is scheduling a call with both your tax adviser and your financial planner in the third or the fourth quarter. In just an hour or two, you can review your estimated income and tax liability, and more importantly, explore proactive strategies to manage the year( especially in a year like 2025, where we’ ve seen new tax legislation). The call may include considerations like bunching deductions, can evaluate how impactful charitable donations can be from both a personal fulfillment and tax advantage

One of the most effective steps you can take is scheduling a call with both your tax adviser and your financial planner in the third or the fourth quarter.

standpoint, and review strategies like tax loss harvesting before year-end. A brief, focused conversation with your team can uncover valuable opportunities to help you get ahead of your taxes— not react to them after the fact.

CONCLUSION At the end of the day, protecting your personal wealth as a powersports dealer requires the same discipline and foresight you bring to running your dealership. By stress-testing your liquidity, making small intentional financial moves, and by surrounding yourself with a strong advisory team, you can make a meaningful difference for your future. A dealership is often your largest asset, but your financial security goes beyond the showroom— it’ s about aligning your business success with your family’ s future.

For questions, resources, and help— please contact the Stanek-Haack Group at Morgan Stanley.

Brad Stanek, CFP, is an executive director with the Stanek-Haack Group at Morgan Stanley, email: brad. stanek @ ms. com; Paulina Matel, CFP, is a vice president with the Stanek-Haack Group. Reach her at paulina. matel @ ms. com.