This article will detail the “Invalid VIN” error message and how to fix it.
If you’ve received this message, it means that the VIN is not displayed in either the website VDPs (Site Scrape & FTP) or has been inputted incorrectly (or is missing) in the “VIN” column on the .csv file for FTP upload. To fix this, follow these steps:
Site Scrape & FTP - Make sure the correct VIN is listed in each vehicle’s VDP on the website. It is a requirement from Google that this is displayed within the VDPs. **Clickthroughs, such as CarFax and listing numbers will not be adequate, the VIN MUST BE DISPLAYED on VDP pages.
Note: If using FTP submission, it is ALSO a requirement that the column marked “VIN” be populated with the correct VIN for each vehicle listed on the website in your .csv file.
Google uses the VIN within the VDP to verify a vehicle listing, it is imperative that these are displayed. And if an FTP of data is being submitted, it is also imperative that the VINs be populated within the .csv file so that they line up with Google’s daily verification scan.