Ok, everyone, here is your Fast and Action-Packed recap of the 2025 SEMA Data Users Meetup 

For those who made it, thank you for coming and for your participation! ... And we realize that after two weeks from SEMA Week plus that week itself, you may be a little fuzzy on what all was covered.

For those who couldn't make it, we packed this year’s meetup with the kind of insights and news that will make you say, "I really gotta make it to the Meetup!“

TL;DR

Spork Marketing presented on how AI is reshaping search, visibility, and product discovery which makes accurate, complete, and structured data more important than ever. SEMA Data unveiled major upgrades to PIMS, PartsHub, digital assets, and introduced True View Audit by Bridge Below for automated catalog and retail websites accuracy checks.

Actions to Take:

  • Manufacturers: send full product + inventory feeds, upload complete assets, and run a True View Audit sample.
  • Resellers: pull enriched exports, update listings, and optimize PDPs.
  • Everyone: prepare for AI agents, strengthen branded content, and leverage new advertising opportunities on SEMAConnected.com.

The brands who invest in data quality and visibility now will lead the aftermarket in the AI era.
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SEO in the Age of AI: The Game Has Changed, But You Still Win.
(Spork Marketing President and Buick B-body wagon enthusiast, Jason Lancaster, brought both truth and memes.)

Organic search has changed forever.
And yes… it’s because of AI.

Google’s AI Overviews are stealing a massive portion of clicks—leading to a ~35% drop in organic CTR across the industry. Meanwhile, LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini have become the new “search companions,” offering answers directly without sending users anywhere.

But here’s the twist:
Branded searches, commercial product queries, and high-quality PDP content are STILL winning — and will continue to win.

Why?
Because LLMs get their product understanding from structured, accurate, complete data…like the kind scored for and available from SEMA Data.
 

What’s New in PIMS & PartsHub? You’re Going to Want This.

Inventory Management Upgrades

  • Manufacturers can now send inventory feeds through SEMA Data with a flexible import-mapper or by using our Inventory template for fast updates.
  • Resellers can now receive inventory exports via an even easier to use Custom Export Builder or via prebuilt the Inventory template.

Digital Assets and Merchandiser Loadsheets

If your PDPs have been suffering from missing or outdated images, these improvements should help boost conversion:

  • New process to download physical images when only URLs are provided (and provide URLs for physical files when needed)
  • Ongoing automated checks to identify broken or missing links and notifications for updates

SEMA Data has made viewing and requesting Merchandiser Loadsheets easy as part of the improved Custom Export Builder. 

And WDs, if you want to include your loadsheet format to the library for your vendors, reach out to us.

PartsHub updates will drastically cut the time spent with data updates:

  • Segment-only updates for Pricing, Attributes, and Descriptions — the most updated segments.

  • Shows when invalid values in PIES segments are used. No more mystery "red dots."
  • Notifications Center for exports, imports, lists and status changes.

SEMA Connected: The Online Hub for the Aftermarket

SEMA Connected continues to grow as the aftermarket’s online hub with:

  • A unified experience for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers
  • A traffic driver for brands as a place for enthusiasts to research and discover
  • Retailer/shop listings with geolocation
  • Enthusiast-facing tools like find a shop and parts build lists
  • New sponsorship and placement opportunities from Home Page Takeover to Category Sponsorships

Get in early. Stay visible. Own your space.
 

True View Audit — The New Data Auditing Service (and It’s Good!)

SEMA Data has partnered with Bridge Below to introduce True View Audit to the industry.

With the True View Audit platform, you will be able to:

  • Audit fitment, data quality, and accuracy
  • Identify missing assets across websites 
  • Reduce returns, prevent mismatches, and protect brand integrity

All in a slick and centralized dashboard for actionable insights to partner with your customer for greater sales and reduced returns.

 

As always, we're here to help if you have questions. Contact us at  info@semadata.org.

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