Auto Repair Website Design Blog

You can't deny the popularity of auto repair discount coupons but do they attract the customers you want?

Most auto repair shop marketing uses price discounting to attract new customers. I call this lazy (or desperate) auto repair marketing. Most shop owners are hooked on it and don't know what else to do.

As you all know search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo are now placing great emphasis on “Local Search”. Google Maps Place profiles have really taken off both from a business and a consumer standpoint and these changes in search engine marketing should not be ignored. Do your auto repair SEO right and you benefit greatly. Ignore local search SEO and your website will have less and less prominence in the search engines as time goes on.

With the arrival of Google’s new social network, Google Plus, many of my auto repair shop website design customers are wondering if they should be jumping on-board Google's latest social media technology. For the vast majority I will say not yet. There are two reasons for me not recommending Google+ at this time.

Link exchanges where two websites link to each other are now largely worthless. Once the mainstay of auto repair SEO two way reciprocal links now have very little auto repair website SEO value and provide little if any website SEO benefit. To be effective auto repair backlinks need to be one-way with at least one degree of separation between the websites that link to each other.

You can improve your auto repair website SEO by claiming a Google Places local listing for your business. It only takes a few minutes to signup and claim your Google Places listing, and you will benefit from increased local exposure for your business. We highly recommend that all our RobertMaxim.com clients claim their Google Places listing.

Top Reasons to Claim Your Google Places Listing:

Multiple domain names can be used to improve auto repair search engine marketing (SEM) and the number of prospective customers who view your website. But forwarding multiple domain names to your main website will NOT help auto repair SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or drive more traffic to your website. You need separate "Micro" websites with content that links back to your main website.

The amount of search engine optimization (SEO) your auto repair website needs dependents on how competitive your online market is. If your website competition has little or no SEO, getting your auto repair website to place at the top of the search results is usually a snap. On the other hand if you have got super aggressive competitors with websites SEO'd to the 9th degree getting your website onto a search engine's first page will take a lot more SEO work!

Have you been throwing lots money at auto repair advertising with dismal results? Business growth has stalled? Here are five simple questions you can ask your customers that will save you auto repair shop advertising money and build customer referrals.

One of our competitors claims that Google's free analytics service is a waste of time and so don't offer it on their websites. They say that the true measure of a website's effectiveness is the number of customers walking through your door and that you don't need a bunch of numbers to show that. While this may be generally true, there is far more value in Google Analytics and its Webmaster Tools companion than just website traffic numbers. And good business management would want to foresee problems BEFORE the phone quits ringing...

Search engines use the 'quality' and 'relevance' of websites linking to your website (backlinks) as a measure of your website's quality and where your website is placed in search engine results (top of page one or page 25). Place links to your website on websites that are very popular (high SEO rank and traffic). One suggestion is social media websites like Yelp, InsiderPages or MerchantCircle.

Search engines use the number of links pointing to your website (backlinks) as an important measure of your website's quality and importance. Social media websites can be used to create high value backlinks that will boost your website search engine ranking.

Website backlinks strongly influence where your website is placed in search results (top of page one or bottom of page 50...). You need to create a network of websites with links back to your website to improve your website SEO.

The auto repair industry as a whole is fighting a generally accepted bad reputation. Building trust with new customers is tough when the public's poor perception is supported by independent studies. The following three part approach can be very effective in developing your reputation and attracting long term customers: awareness, referrals, and an impeccable track record.

Some say that plagiarism is a form of flattery. I call it outright intellectual property theft. A nasty form of disrespect that seems to have become all too common these days. And I'm sick of it. And here is what I'm going to do...

Someone recently asked me to do some auto repair website SEO. I declined. It wasn't that I didn't want to help, but more that no amount of SEO could make their website perform. What was needed was a total rebuild of the website.

Developing customer trust starts by focusing on website content and features. Auto repair shop websites need to make a personal connection and communicate trustworthiness to viewers. Building a feeling of trust should be the overriding website design objective.

Bad economic conditions often force auto repair shop management to look for expenses to cut. Slashing auto repair shop marketing budgets is easy, offers an immediate solution to cash flow problems, but is the worst mistake possible. Outsmart your competition by continuing your marketing - just spend your dollars more wisely. Be primed and ready for economic recovery.

A fabulous example of free automotive service advertising from social media. Any automotive repair shop looking for a great example of free auto repair marketing needs to check out this local community forum posting that just keeps on attracting new customers.

Auto repair shop websites can save you money

Stop spending a fortune on traditional print advertising! Newspapers, flyers, local directories, and Yellow Page print advertising all cost huge amounts with questionable returns. Sure a well designed ad may catch a prospect's eye, but people are still very wary of doing business with an unknown company. Most small businesses just can't afford the size of print advertisement copy that will provide the information that will convert prospects into customers.

The new social media websites seem to be a perfect way to connect with new customers but will social media such as Yelp, MerchantCircle, Twitter, or Facebook work for auto repair shops?

Marketing is all about connecting with people. For advertising to be effective you need the person's attention and interest. Social networking can be a fabulous marketing tool if your target market participates and you provide a common 'local' interest to bring them together.

What would happen if your business only accepted new customers referred by your current customers? No more advertising. No more discounting. Referrals only. Would your business grow, just survive, or quickly die? If the thought of depending on referrals alone frightens you your problem is not auto repair shop marketing – it's service quality.

Local search business listings in Google, Yahoo, Bing search engines are vital to auto repair service shops. The more information about your company out there, the greater chance people are going to find you. It only takes a few minutes to create a listing and where else can you get great free advertising like this!

Reputation rescue

Unhappy customers destroy loyalty and repeat business. Most dissatisfied customers are vocal but silent, unhappy customers are missed opportunities to win the customer back and protect your reputation. When auto repair shop service failures happen, and they will, how you recover makes the difference between being “the best” shop or a “don't go there” shop.

Should you charge environmental fees?

It's all in the presentation

Auto repair shops spend big bucks to dispose of waste generated from repairing vehicles and it is only fair business practise to pass this expense on to the customer. However shops need to be careful how the expense is presented to their customers. Using a separate environmental fee on invoices can have a serious negative impact on the shop's reputation. Instead of highlighting your shops concern for the environment, itemized fees may make your customers feel like they're being gouged.

Be careful that uniqueness and service specialization doesn't put you out of business. If you become so specialized or unique there may not be enough customers to support your business. This may seem obvious but many operators seem to be unaware of the basics of marketing and business management.