Motorway Organic Growth Opportunities

Readiness Assessment

Domain Authority
51
Organic Search Traffic
27.83K
Organic Keywords
32.04K
Current Performance
  • You rank for 32k organic keywords and drive ~28k monthly organic visits (traffic value ~$27k), but you’re still #3 on traffic versus Carwow and We Buy Any Car
  • Authority Score is 51 (solid mid-tier authority) supported by ~974k backlinks from 2.7k referring domains, though a large share is nofollow/sponsored (link equity likely weaker than raw totals imply)
  • Organic traffic is concentrated in a few informational/tools pages: “parts of a car” guide (~8k visits; ~28%), /mot-check (~2k; ~9%), and car-research guides like best cars under £10k (~2k; ~6%); top keywords include “mot checker” (60.5k vol), “smart car” (90.5k vol), and “car brands” (74k vol)
Growth Opportunity
  • Your biggest competitor (Carwow) pulls ~246k organic visits/month—~9x your traffic—showing a large, addressable search demand gap you can capture with better rankings and content scale
  • You have broad coverage but weaker traffic capture (We Buy Any Car gets ~71k visits with fewer keywords), suggesting upside from pushing existing rankings higher for high-volume queries (e.g., MOT/ULEZ checks, car valuations, and “sell my car” intent)
  • Your guide hub is already a proven traffic engine; expanding it systematically (more “cost to replace…”, “DVLA/MOT”, make/model explainers, and stronger internal linking into sell/valuation pages) can turn informational wins into bottom-funnel acquisition
Assessment

You have a credible SEO foundation (authority + keyword breadth), but you’re under-monetizing it in traffic versus competitors. Closing the ranking/CTR gap on your existing topics plus scaling the guide template is a clear path to material growth. AirOps can help you execute this content expansion and optimization program systematically at scale.

Your domain is ready for AI powered growth

Competition at a Glance

Across 2 key competitorscarwow.co.uk and webuyanycar.com—Motorway’s current organic search footprint is smaller in overall visibility and traffic.

Motorway.co.uk ranks #3 for monthly organic traffic (27,832 visits) and #2 for ranking keywords (32,044 keywords) among the three brands. This indicates Motorway has relatively solid keyword coverage, but it is translating into fewer visits than competitors.

The market leader is Carwow, with 245,533 monthly organic visits and 253,691 ranking keywords, creating a large gap in both reach and search visibility versus Motorway. We Buy Any Car also sits ahead on traffic (71,005 visits) despite fewer ranking keywords than Motorway, reinforcing that Motorway’s current market position is behind on traffic capture even where it already ranks, while also facing a major scale disadvantage versus the top performer.

Opportunity Kickstarters

Here are your content opportunities, tailored to your domain's strengths. These are starting points for strategic plays that can grow into major traffic drivers in your market. Connect with our team to see the full traffic potential and activate these plays.

1. Make, Model, and Year Specific Seller Landing Pages

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

Create high-intent, conversion-focused landing pages for users looking to sell specific vehicle iterations. This play captures long-tail search demand for exact car configurations that are currently underserved by generic guides.

Example Keywords
  • "sell my Ford Fiesta 2018"
  • "sell my BMW 3 Series 2020"
  • "sell my Audi A3 2015 online"
  • "best place to sell 2019 Nissan Qashqai"
Rationale

Users searching for their specific year and model are at the bottom of the funnel and ready to sell. By providing tailored pages, Motorway can capture this high-intent traffic and move them directly into the valuation flow.

Topical Authority

Motorway already ranks for broad car knowledge and guides; extending this to specific model years is a natural progression that leverages existing domain trust (AS 51).

Internal Data Sources

Utilize historical winning bid distributions, average time-to-collection benchmarks, and dealer demand indices for specific models to provide unique market insights.

Estimated Number of Pages

120,000+ (Covering major UK makes, models, and year derivatives)

2. Condition-Based 'Sell My Car' Problem-Solution Pages

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

Develop a library of pages targeting sellers whose vehicles have specific mechanical or cosmetic issues. These pages provide a clear path to sale for 'problem' cars that users often struggle to price or place.

Example Keywords
  • "sell my car with engine warning light"
  • "sell my car that won't start"
  • "sell my car with gearbox issues"
  • "sell my car with accident damage"
Rationale

Sellers with damaged or faulty cars have high anxiety and are looking for a platform that accepts their specific condition. These pages convert informational 'repair' searches into commercial 'sell' intent.

Topical Authority

The domain already ranks for mechanical repair costs and car-care guides, making it a trusted source for vehicle condition advice.

Internal Data Sources

Incorporate offer-impact benchmarks and disclosure checklists derived from successful sales of non-standard condition vehicles on the platform.

Estimated Number of Pages

40,000+ (Covering hundreds of mechanical issues across top vehicle makes)

3. Finance and Ownership Scenario Resolution Pages

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

Target complex selling scenarios involving finance agreements, missing documentation, or legal constraints. These pages guide users through the specific hurdles of selling cars with PCP, HP, or probate status.

Example Keywords
  • "sell my car on PCP finance"
  • "sell my car without V5C logbook"
  • "sell my car as executor of estate"
  • "sell my car with negative equity"
Rationale

Finance and paperwork hurdles are major friction points for sellers. Providing authoritative, scenario-specific guidance establishes Motorway as the expert solution for complex sales.

Topical Authority

Motorway's existing success with DVLA and document-related guides provides the necessary foundation to dominate these high-intent transactional queries.

Internal Data Sources

Use internal process data on finance settlement handling and support ticket insights to offer practical, step-by-step resolution content.

Estimated Number of Pages

20,000+ (Covering diverse finance, legal, and documentation permutations)

4. Trim and Spec-Level Premium Seller Pages

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

Build deep-intent landing pages for specific vehicle trims and high-value options. This play targets enthusiasts and informed sellers who know the exact specification of their vehicle and expect a tailored valuation experience.

Example Keywords
  • "sell my Golf GTI Performance Pack"
  • "sell my Audi A3 S line with Virtual Cockpit"
  • "sell my BMW 320d M Sport"
  • "sell my Tesla Model 3 Long Range"
Rationale

Trim-level searches indicate a user who understands their car's value. Providing spec-specific data helps justify why Motorway's dealer network is the best place to realize that premium.

Topical Authority

Expanding from model-level to trim-level coverage closes the keyword gap with competitors like Carwow who currently lead in total keyword volume.

Internal Data Sources

Leverage auction outcomes by trim and dealer demand signals for specific optional extras to show real-world 'spec premiums'.

Estimated Number of Pages

350,000+ (Covering the vast UK trim and options landscape)

5. Mileage-Specific Valuation Snapshot Library

Content Creation
Programmatic SEO
Content Refresh

Create a massive index of pages answering exactly what a car is worth at specific mileage intervals. This captures the long-tail of valuation searches that occur before a user enters a formal valuation tool.

Example Keywords
  • "what is my 2017 Ford Fiesta worth with 80k miles"
  • "BMW 3 Series value at 100,000 miles"
  • "resale value of Audi A1 with 50k miles"
  • "how much does 120k miles affect car value"
Rationale

Mileage is the primary variable users check when considering a sale. These pages act as a 'pre-valuation' hook that drives users into the core conversion funnel.

Topical Authority

Motorway's existing 'Car Value Tracker' provides the topical relevance needed to rank for these data-heavy, long-tail valuation queries.

Internal Data Sources

Use sold-vehicle distributions and mileage-based price degradation curves from Motorway's proprietary transaction history.

Estimated Number of Pages

320,000+ (Covering model/year/mileage combinations for the UK's most popular cars)

6. Striking Distance Audit: Guide Hubs and Snippet Wins

Editorial
Content Optimization
Content Refresh
Improvements Summary

Create three hub-and-spoke sections (MOT/documents, hybrid ownership, car parts/repairs) and rework existing guides to link into them with “Related guides” modules and in-copy links. Re-optimise the highest-opportunity page (“parts of a car”) for Featured Snippets/PAA with labeled sections, tables, diagrams, and FAQs, then apply the same snippet-first formatting to Cat S, VIN, V11, hybrid jump-start, and misfuelling pages.

Improvements Details

Prioritise /guides/what-are-the-parts-of-a-car around “parts of car”, “parts on a vehicle”, “all parts of a car”, and “how many parts are in a car” by adding an above-the-fold definition + TOC, H2 answers, labeled interior/exterior/underbody sections, and a UK cost table (part/function/failure signs/cost). Build a new “MOT checks, costs & rules (UK)” hub page and interlink all MOT pages to it and /mot-check; add definition cards + comparison tables on Cat S/VIN/V11, and step-by-step HowTo formatting on “can you jumpstart a hybrid car” and “petrol in diesel car” (include symptoms and UK cost ranges). Publish supporting spokes (Cat N meaning, MOT advisory/history, hybrid battery replacement cost, DPF vs catalytic converter) and add FAQPage/HowTo/Breadcrumb schema plus “Last updated” and citations for GOV.UK/DVSA claims.

Improvements Rationale

The biggest traffic upside sits in a few head terms with long-tail coverage gaps, especially the car parts page (large combined demand), and several definitional/emergency queries that can win snippets with better formatting. Hub-and-spoke architecture plus tighter internal linking helps Google connect related guides, reduces isolated pages, and improves rankings for terms sitting just outside page 1 while also driving users into valuation and selling journeys.

Appendix

Topical Authority
Top Performing Keywords
KeywordVolumeTraffic %
best seo tools5.0k3
seo strategy4.0k5
keyword research3.5k2
backlink analysis3.0k4
on-page optimization2.5k1
local seo2.0k6
Top Performing Pages
PageTrafficTraffic %
/seo-tools5.0k100
/keyword-research4.0k100
/backlink-checker3.5k80
/site-audit3.0k60
/rank-tracker2.5k50
/content-optimization2.0k40

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