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

[DjSec]

Yes, I don’t personally believe that keeping sold VDPs live will be the key factor in outperforming third-party sites, but if you do decide to implement it on a dealership website, it would be great to see and share the results.

The more VDP's you have the more SRP's you have ... Then your able to control the link juice from both the sold VDP's and the new SRP's.

I'm going to try and setup a test site this month so I can start doing some testing.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

The more VDP's you have the more SRP's you have ... Then your able to control the link juice from both the sold VDP's and the new SRP's.

I'm going to try and setup a test site this month so I can start doing some testing.

I did something like this and suggested this to a particular provider in the space many MANY years ago - when I was knee deep in SEO. Until reading this, I forgot all about it.

Several of the providers are built on WordPress; throw together a template, fill in the blanks and images, optimize and lett'r fly. Of course there would be more involved but you catch my drift - it's something one could do manually or I'm sure there are ways to automate it.

I would do this with particular sought after vehicles MANY years ago - optimized "blog post." After awhile it did catch hold and was driving additional traffic. Since the vehicle was of course no longer available, you need to be good at influencing the next click to continued relevancy. If I recall, the jump rate/abandonment rate for those pages were super high (wasn't always good for overall SEO) so of course the click through rate was just as bad BUT I do recall it funneling some additional traffic to our SRP's.

What happened after that? I forget. Was only so much tracking one could do back then and when you ask "did it move metal?" I don't know. Maybe - Maybe not. But it's wasn't a lot of additional work, and that was doing it manually.

 

[DjSec]

I did something like this and suggested this to a particular provider in the space many MANY years ago - when I was knee deep in SEO. Until reading this, I forgot all about it.

Several of the providers are built on WordPress; throw together a template, fill in the blanks and images, optimize and lett'r fly. Of course there would be more involved but you catch my drift - it's something one could do manually or I'm sure there are ways to automate it.

I would do this with particular sought after vehicles MANY years ago - optimized "blog post." After awhile it did catch hold and was driving additional traffic. Since the vehicle was of course no longer available, you need to be good at influencing the next click to continued relevancy. If I recall, the jump rate/abandonment rate for those pages were super high (wasn't always good for overall SEO) so of course the click through rate was just as bad BUT I do recall it funneling some additional traffic to our SRP's.

What happened after that? I forget. Was only so much tracking one could do back then and when you ask "did it move metal?" I don't know. Maybe - Maybe not. But it's wasn't a lot of additional work, and that was doing it manually.

What you described did work for its time but it hit predictable limits:

High bounce / abandonment wasn’t the real problem
Google doesn’t punish bounce rate directly. The issue was:

Thin intent matching after the click!

Once the VIN was gone there was no path for the visitor. The page’s purpose died when the inventory died...

Once the vehicle sold:

The page lost freshness

The content stopped matching current demand

The only option was “send them somewhere else”

It was still VIN-first, not shopper-first!

So the traffic was real, but the system wasn’t designed to use it.

I wonder if there is a way to put enough valuable information on the VDP to make people want to stick around and see more?

I’m not talking about ranking a page and serving up a VIN, I'm talking about turning a VDP into a hub, not a dead-end.

1. “Is this car available?”
2. “Is this the right version for me?”
3. “What does ownership look like?”
4. “What should I compare this against?”
5. “What can I do with it?”

Then add in some tools, context, and paths and the behavior changes!

Examples that actually reduce abandonment:

1. Trim & feature comparisons!
2. Build this truck your way, click and see what it looks like with these wheels, tires, lift, accessories ...
3. Common problems
4. Maintenance costs
5. Towing capacity by configuration
6. Local relevance:
7. “Popular F-150 builds in Tampa”
8. “Best trucks under $25k for boat towing”

At that point, the VDP is no longer about that VIN.
It’s about that buyer’s decision.

SOLD VDPs Fail because they’re designed as dead ends!

So what if the VDP wasn’t just “this VIN,” but a decision hub?

Tools, comparisons, ownership context, even light customization (wheels, tires, accessories) give people reasons to stay even after the exact car is gone. At that point, the page still matches intent, just not inventory.

If a shopper lands on a sold Tahoe VDP but ends up exploring:

1. Similar Tahoes under $25k
2. Ownership costs
3. Popular aftermarket upgrades

Especially if parts or accessories are tied in, the VDP stops being disposable and starts compounding value over time, even after the metal moves.

Inventory pages shouldn’t expire ... only availability should.

This aligns with:

1. How Google rewards evergreen content
2. How marketplaces win
3. How dealers stop depending on third-party classifieds

I'm not just talking SEO, I'm talking about changing how dealer websites work!