Dealers Are Missing Huge Keyword Gaps Because There VDPs Don’t Rank!

[DjSec]

A lot of dealers don’t realize how much buyer-intent traffic they’re leaving on the table. VIN-specific VDPs almost never rank for the long-tail searches people actually type into Google.

Because:

• VDPs don’t target real keywords
• The wording doesn’t match how shoppers search
• The page disappears when the car is sold
• Templates are all the same across vendors
• Schema is usually generic
• Load times are slow
• Zero supporting content to help Google understand the page

So even if you and 100 other dealers all have a 2022 black F-150 4x4, Google will still show Cars.com, CarGurus, AutoTrader, Edmunds, etc. long before your VDP.

And the terms that really convert?

• “used tahoe under 25k atlanta”
• “trucks under 20k near me”

VDPs just don’t show up for these.

If dealers actually started filling these keyword gaps, they’d pull in way more high-intent shoppers.

 

[BillVaughnAlWestNissan]

A lot of dealers don’t realize how much buyer-intent traffic they’re leaving on the table. VIN-specific VDPs almost never rank for the long-tail searches people actually type into Google.

Because:

• VDPs don’t target real keywords
• The wording doesn’t match how shoppers search
• The page disappears when the car is sold
• Templates are all the same across vendors
• Schema is usually generic
• Load times are slow
• Zero supporting content to help Google understand the page

So even if you and 100 other dealers all have a 2022 black F-150 4x4, Google will still show Cars.com, CarGurus, AutoTrader, Edmunds, etc. long before your VDP.

And the terms that really convert?

• “used tahoe under 25k atlanta”
• “trucks under 20k near me”

VDPs just don’t show up for these.

If dealers actually started filling these keyword gaps, they’d pull in way more high-intent shoppers.

Unfortunately, we are stuck with cookie cutter vendors that don't do this.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Hard to get around the templated/cookie cutter designs we are all forced to utilize. Also, with all the money and resources the listing sites have, it's hard to compete in the rankings.

"If dealers actually started filling these keyword gaps, they’d pull in way more high-intent shoppers."

@DjSec have you need able to out rank the listing sites by implementing a keyword strategy on your VDP's? Any provable results?

 

[SethTN]

A lot of dealers don’t realize how much buyer-intent traffic they’re leaving on the table. VIN-specific VDPs almost never rank for the long-tail searches people actually type into Google.

Because:

• VDPs don’t target real keywords
• The wording doesn’t match how shoppers search
• The page disappears when the car is sold
• Templates are all the same across vendors
• Schema is usually generic
• Load times are slow
• Zero supporting content to help Google understand the page

So even if you and 100 other dealers all have a 2022 black F-150 4x4, Google will still show Cars.com, CarGurus, AutoTrader, Edmunds, etc. long before your VDP.

And the terms that really convert?

• “used tahoe under 25k atlanta”
• “trucks under 20k near me”

VDPs just don’t show up for these.

If dealers actually started filling these keyword gaps, they’d pull in way more high-intent shoppers.

This is great advice and I have wondered how to find things outside of what the big sites already own in search and you are 100% right that Google is going to own that scraped data search.

Another topic very similar to this is that you need to try to own your local searches for vehicles, but your terms above are spot on.

Maybe the harder question is how to get the dealer's paid search company to do this as many are farmed out and not done in house (us included). Is it a simply - ask them to do it and see what they say (I actually did this and it seems to be going through a chain of people for an answer) or are there other companies that are better suited for that item. Most dealers, especially ones that are smaller groups, aren't going to have one or even a team of people on staff that can customize ads to fill this best search criteria idean.

 

[DjSec]

Unfortunately, we are stuck with cookie cutter vendors that don't do this.

You’re right, OEM's box you in with cookie-cutter platforms that all look the same and it gives the 3rd party platforms a real edge, even more so when the 3rd part platform is the one building the cookie cutter site for the dealership, they get access to your rankings, stats, customers, and everything else.

At some point, you have to ask whether it’s worth, spinning up a second site, or teaming up with a couple other dealers to power a shared “non-templated” site that isn’t limited by vendor restrictions.

 

[DjSec]

Hard to get around the templated/cookie cutter designs we are all forced to utilize. Also, with all the money and resources the listing sites have, it's hard to compete in the rankings.

"If dealers actually started filling these keyword gaps, they’d pull in way more high-intent shoppers."

@DjSec have you need able to out rank the listing sites by implementing a keyword strategy on your VDP's? Any provable results?

We just launched the new site, and dealership web development is more complex than I was thinking, there are a lot of moving pieces between inventory feeds, templates, schema, load speeds, and keeping pages indexed.

I've seen the site outrank the big players in some local searches already.

My plan is to outrank the big listing platforms in the long-tail buyer-intent queries they don’t target. My plan is to build an entire content layer around these categories:

1. Year + Model + Trim + City pages
“2022 Ford F-150 XLT Columbus NE”
“2019 Honda Accord Sport Columbus NE”
Hundreds of these can interlink into active VDPs.

2. Price-based searches
“Used Tahoe under 25k Columbus NE”
“Trucks under 20k near me”
These convert extremely well, and almost no dealer ranks for them.

3. Feature-based searches
“F150 with tow package Columbus NE”
“3rd row SUVs under 30k Columbus NE”
Shoppers often search by need, not VIN.

4. Problem-solving content
“Best car for a teen driver Columbus NE”
“Affordable AWD SUV near me”

5. Comparisons
“F150 vs Ram 1500 used Columbus NE”
“Accord vs Camry for sale Columbus NE”

6. FAQ-style SEO pages
“Do F150s have transmission issues?”
“What’s the towing capacity of a 2018 Tahoe?”

7. Buyer-intent filters
“Low mileage trucks for sale Columbus NE”
“Certified Camry Columbus NE”

8. Condition + Location
“Used 4x4 trucks Columbus NE”
“Diesel trucks near me”

9. Modified / niche intent
“Lifted trucks Columbus NE”
“Custom wheels SUV Columbus NE”

Each page will include:

• an overview
• FAQs
• rich schema
• internal links to relevant VDPs
• links from sold units, so inventory loss doesn’t kill SEO equity

The goal is to build thousands of these pages and create a content ecosystem that listing sites simply don’t have at the local level.

So short answer: yes, dealers can outrank the big sites, just not with vendor VDP templates alone. You need a content layer built around how real buyers actually search.

But we are just getting set up at the moment.

 

[DjSec]

This is great advice and I have wondered how to find things outside of what the big sites already own in search and you are 100% right that Google is going to own that scraped data search.

Another topic very similar to this is that you need to try to own your local searches for vehicles, but your terms above are spot on.

Maybe the harder question is how to get the dealer's paid search company to do this as many are farmed out and not done in house (us included). Is it a simply - ask them to do it and see what they say (I actually did this and it seems to be going through a chain of people for an answer) or are there other companies that are better suited for that item. Most dealers, especially ones that are smaller groups, aren't going to have one or even a team of people on staff that can customize ads to fill this best search criteria idean.

Everywhere you look there are people offering to market your dealership. From the company that provides your website services, to dedicated marketing agencies. There is no shortage of people ready to put you ahead of the competition for a fee.

As a dealership you want to increase sales, increase efficiency, reduce overhead, and destroy the competition.

Business isn't a game for wimps!

However the OEM will never employ a marketing campaign that will take business away from their other dealers. Your marketing agency will never put together an optimization campaign that will hurt their other dealer clients. Your website provider will never use technology that would put you over the top of their other dealership clients.

And if any of them learn of something you are doing that is generating strong, positive results it will be given to their other clients ... which are your competitors.

None of these vendors are going to make your dealership outrank another one of their clients.​

• OEMs can’t run campaigns that take shoppers away from other dealers.
• Marketing agencies who manage dozens of dealerships won’t build hyper-competitive campaigns that favor one client at the expense of another.
• Website providers absolutely will not roll out technology that gives one store an advantage over the rest of their customers.

And if any vendor discovers something that works well for you?
It gets rolled out to every other dealer by the next product update ... including the competitors in your backyard.

So even when a dealer asks their paid search provider to target long-tail buyer-intent keywords, those requests usually get filtered through:

• account managers
• OEM compliance
• shared ad templates
• “standardized best practices”
• and the vendor’s fear of creating uneven performance across their client base

That’s why the back-and-forth you’re experiencing (getting passed from person to person) is so common.
The only way to own your local searches is to own the strategy.

Dealers should use OEM programs for brand awareness and co-op efficiency but not for controlling the high-intent traffic that actually drives vehicle sales.

OEMs want to help you sell cars, but they don’t want you swallowing every other dealer in your area.

As for data: your CRM, your analytics, and your customer behavior data are gold. OEMs want it because they want to replicate what works for all their other dealers. Sharing too much gives them your competitive edge.

If a dealer wants to win in long-tail search, it’s rarely going to come from the OEM program or the shared agency. It comes from running your own strategy ... your own content, your own buyer-intent pages, your own local search assets, your own website, and setting it up so no else can copy you.

You should be using the OEM to build brand awareness but not to market specific cars. Use them to acquire specific leads through their programs, but never let them see the leads, no website tracking, no sharing of analytics etc.

 

[Christina Bee]

I will disagree - if you have the right partner, they will work for YOU. There are a lot of misconceptions of how the OEM restricts a dealer's marketing, and vendors who want a quick paycheck and easy job. The right agency works for their PARTNER and makes sure you win where you need to, even if there are a few OEM rules that need followed. Each type of marketing, whether SEO, PPC, VDP, etc targets a specific point of the buying cycle. If you have a strong strategy, it will work all channels together with the most effective budget. AND you should be using your data, a CDP, and what is available to jog alongside the consumer on their buying journey. If you have the expertise and time for all the work that goes a full strategy, congrats. That's impressive.

 

[DjSec]

I will disagree - if you have the right partner, they will work for YOU. There are a lot of misconceptions of how the OEM restricts a dealer's marketing, and vendors who want a quick paycheck and easy job. The right agency works for their PARTNER and makes sure you win where you need to, even if there are a few OEM rules that need followed. Each type of marketing, whether SEO, PPC, VDP, etc targets a specific point of the buying cycle. If you have a strong strategy, it will work all channels together with the most effective budget. AND you should be using your data, a CDP, and what is available to jog alongside the consumer on their buying journey. If you have the expertise and time for all the work that goes a full strategy, congrats. That's impressive.

Are you saying you’ll prioritize one dealer’s interests even if it directly harms another dealer client in the same market?

Because that’s the real question here.

If an agency represents 5 Ford stores in the same metro, and one of them wants to dominate long-tail search with inventory-focused SEO, that inherently takes visibility away from the other four. Google only shows a few organic positions. Someone wins, someone loses.

So I’m asking plainly:

Do you intentionally build campaigns that cause some of your dealer clients to lose visibility so others can win?
Or do you balance everything so no single client ever pulls ahead too far?

Most agencies avoid answering that because the truth is obvious.

And the second part of the question is just as important:

If SEO is “being done correctly,” then why don’t dealership VDPs rank for the VIN-level and buyer-intent keywords they’re supposed to?

Because right now:

• VDPs don’t target real search queries
• Templates are identical across hundreds of stores
• The content disappears the moment the unit sells
• Schema is generic
• There’s no supporting content to give Google context
• Load times are slow due to bloated scripts
• And 50+ dealers in the same region all have the same OEM-compliant structure

If SEO were actually being executed at the level you’re describing, VDPs would rank for long-tail searches like:

• “used tahoe under 25k atlanta”
• “4x4 trucks under 20k near me”
• “2022 f150 xlt black crew cab for sale”

But they don’t.

They never do.

Cars.com, CarGurus, AutoTrader, and Carfax do, even though they have zero physical inventory, because their pages are built to rank and dealer pages are not.

If you truly “work for your partner,”
why haven’t dealers broken this pattern in 15 years?

 

[Christina Bee]

At my agency, we are diligent about trying to not represent competitors. I actually had to tell a long time customer (I've recently changed companies) that we wouldn't work with them because of our company's partnership with a competitor. If it is unavoidable to work with a competitor, we have very separate teams working for their dealer. Yes, the tactics can then become similar as we are doing it our way, but the strategies are never exactly the same or discussed.

As for your VDP question, we build to rank, with search, for AI to read and utilize and to be useful for the consumer and dealer. I don't know why you say the VDP "goes away" when sold, as it shouldn't. The third parties have an edge as they are showing large numbers of very similar vehicles, With a OEM dealer, there has to be a decision to what pages are built, what inventory is featured, and then the ranking. You can't have a strategy of put it up, take it down with a Ford dealer gets an Infiniti on trade. If you get too specific, the customer clicks and doesn't see the inventory because they don't have it, the consumer will bounce and the site lose ranking. I did a random search with the longer tail keywords and found some dealers sprinkle in to the third parties. It comes down to SEO being done right for the dealer, not the cheap fix many get sold, but doesn't work.