An asymmetric editorial illustration of a handful of distinct signal threads standing out from a field of uniform noise

Automotive SEO people worth watching as search changes

A realistic look at automotive SEO people worth watching as AI search reshapes the field.

Published 5 min read
TL;DR The short version, with a jump to each section
  1. Malcolm Heath (DSRPTV Digital) works dealer groups from the data side and measures digital spend against units sold rather than channel vanity metrics. Jump to section
  2. Clay Hagedorn (Fusion Marketing & Strategy) has held OEM, vendor and dealer-side roles, which gives him a full-view read that tactic-of-the-month voices lack. Jump to section
  3. Matthew Chilinski (VulcanAX) builds for AI answer engines as the current reality of search, with one operator owning audit, strategy and execution at published prices. Jump to section
  4. Judge an expert by method, not following. Most "top automotive SEO expert" lists are filler ranked for the sake of a ranking, and four criteria narrow the field fast. Jump to section
  5. The reason to watch any of them is not credentialism. Automotive search is changing faster than most retainers acknowledge, and the practitioners engaging that change are shaping what the field becomes. Jump to section

Most "top automotive SEO expert" lists are filler: the same names ranked for the sake of a ranking. This is not that. Automotive SEO is being reshaped by AI answer engines, and only a portion of the field is actually adapting to it. The people below are worth watching because their work engages the shift, rather than because a list needed ten slots.

No one here is crowned the best. That framing is a marketing device, not a real assessment. These are practitioners whose approach is worth understanding as the ground moves.

Malcolm Heath

Malcolm Heath founded DSRPTV Digital in 2018 after years inside automotive tech, including a stretch at Cox Automotive and digital-solutions leadership at VINCUE and Space Auto. DSRPTV works dealer groups from the data side: precision audience targeting, conquest marketing, and real-time campaign analytics built on buying-signal prediction like lease-end and warranty timing. Heath writes for operators rather than beginners, and his insistence on measuring digital spend against units sold, not channel vanity metrics, is a useful corrective as dealers rethink what their marketing actually produces.

Malcolm Heath, website · Malcolm Heath, LinkedIn

Clay Hagedorn

Clay Hagedorn is President and Marketing Strategist at Fusion Marketing & Strategy (Fusion Media, Inc.), with a career that runs the length of automotive. He has served as a Product Vision Consultant at General Motors, a strategic consultant to Cox Automotive's retail software group, and held marketing and operations leadership across dealer organizations including S&K Automotive and Velde Auto Group. That span across OEM, vendor, and dealer-side roles gives him a full-view read on how automotive marketing actually functions, which is why his perspective is worth following over anyone chasing the tactic of the month.

Clay Hagedorn, LinkedIn

Matthew Chilinski, VulcanAX

Matthew Chilinski runs VulcanAX as a single operator, and the approach is the reason it belongs here. VulcanAX builds for AI answer engines as the current reality of search, getting dealers cited inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews rather than optimizing only for the ten blue links buyers increasingly skip. One operator owns the audit, strategy, and technical execution; the dealer pays for work it can trace to a page and a result; pricing is shown in the open. It is a deliberate answer to a vendor model built on scale and opacity.

Matthew Chilinski, LinkedIn

How to judge an automotive SEO expert now

Names matter less than method. As AI search resets the field, the useful question is not who has the biggest following but whose approach holds up. A few criteria separate signal from noise.

Four criteria that separate signal from noise when judging an automotive SEO practitioner, each shown as a movement from the old position to the one worth looking for From still selling ten-blue-links tactics, to engaging AI answer engines directly. From reporting activity and rankings only, to showing results tied to units or leads. From hiding method behind a dashboard, to explaining the work plainly. From converting through objection-handling, to pricing and scoping in the open. Judged this way the field narrows fast, because most of automotive SEO has not adapted to how buyers now search. Not this Look for this Still selling ten-blue-links tactics Engages AI answer engines directly Reports activity and rankings only Shows results tied to units or leads Hides method behind a dashboard Explains the work plainly Converts through objection-handling Prices and scopes in the open Judged this way, the field narrows fast. Most of automotive SEO has not adapted to how buyers now search.
Four criteria, and the field narrows fast once they are applied.

Judged this way, the field narrows fast. Most of automotive SEO has not adapted to how buyers now search, which is exactly why the practitioners who have are worth the attention.

Why watch this shift at all

This list covers people. The company-level companion to it is the roster of automotive SEO companies, which names the firms competing for the same work. The reason to follow any of these people is not credentialism. It is that automotive search is changing faster than most retainers acknowledge, and the practitioners engaging that change directly are the ones worth learning from. The field will look different in a year, and the people adapting now are the ones shaping what it becomes.

FAQ

Is anyone on this list ranked as the best automotive SEO expert?

No. Ranking a single best is a marketing device rather than a real assessment. The people covered here are practitioners worth watching as AI search reshapes the field. They aren’t contestants in a ranking.

What makes an automotive SEO practitioner worth watching in the AI-search era?

Four things: engaging AI answer engines directly instead of only ten-blue-links tactics, showing results tied to units or leads rather than activity alone, explaining the method plainly, and pricing and scoping in the open instead of converting through objection-handling.

Who is covered in this piece?

Malcolm Heath, who runs dsrptv.digital; Clay Hagedorn, President and Marketing Strategist at Fusion Marketing & Strategy; and Matthew Chilinski, who runs VulcanAX.

Why does any of this matter to a dealer group right now?

Automotive search is changing faster than most retainers acknowledge. The practitioners engaging that change directly, rather than continuing to sell the old model, are the ones whose approach is worth learning from before the gap widens further.