Auto Repair Website Design Blog

Articles on auto repair website design, auto repair advertising, auto repair management, auto repair marketing, auto repair website SEO, repair shop advertising, repair shop management, repair shop marketing, repair shop websites, social media marketing, social networking, auto repair SEO, auto shop management and general topics of interest to automotive repair shop managers and owners.

How to get Robert Maxim's RSS Feed

Google Search Rank Improves With Website Age

One of the key factors in Google search ranking is website age. Google intentionally imposes a ranking delay on new websites while they prove their trustworthiness. According to Evan Bailyn, one of the world's leading authorities on SEO, this holdback, or inability to rank, lasts about four years and decreases in progressively smaller amounts over this time. This handicap is why a new auto repair website on a new domain name with no history takes much longer to work its way up in search result position than a new website on a well seasoned domain name.

5 Link Building Ideas

Here are five auto repair website link building ideas you may have overlooked. With the importance of website backlinks for your auto repair SEO you need to take advantage of any way to get a link to your website.

Coupons vs Value Based Auto Repair Marketing

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.

Auto Repair Marketing Strategy For Small Town Auto Repair Shops

Online auto repair marketing strategy differs depending on the size of the city you are located in. If you are situated in a small town you will need to broaden your online auto repair marketing target to include surrounding communities. Since search engines now have a very strong focus on local search you will need website content that is highly focused on geographical location to get page one positions in search engine results targeting those locations.

Auto Repair Local Search SEO

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.

Auto Repair Websites That Work

One of our most successful auto repair website design is for Al's Auto Care in Brick, NJ. A replacement for a cookie cutter website from a well-known auto repair marketing company that just wasn't working. The owner, Chris, was frustrated by a long-term decrease in car-counts even after trying every type of auto repair marketing available. With a little assistance from Robert Maxim Website Solutions he identified his website as the weak link in his auto repair marketing.

Google Plus – Do You Need It?

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.Google Plus image

Submit to Online Directories for Auto Repair Website SEO

Submit Your Website to Online Directories for Auto Repair Website SEO

Submitting your auto repair website to online directories is a very different process than submitting to search engines. A successful Directory submission involves much more than simply providing your website name and URL address. Carefully crafting your directory submission can have big payoff for your auto repair website SEO ranking.

Automotive Link Exchanges are worthless

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.

Auto Repair Website Design That Works - Words vs Graphics

In today’s era of flashy auto repair website design the old marketing debate of "Copy versus Art" rages on. Pretty pictures and flashy designs, or Image Advertising, may initially grab viewer eyeballs, but it is the copy, or written text, that is far more effective at converting viewers into paying customers.

Claim Your Google Places Business Listing for Better Local Search Results

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:

Tire Business Article

Doug Fentiman, owner of Robert Maxim Website Solutions, was interviewed by Tire Business magazine for the May 10, 2011 issue of their Service Zone eNewsLetter. The article, Experts: Make Facebook work for your service business, is about using social media to promote auto repair and service businesses.

Improve Auto Repair SEO with Multiple Domain Names

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.

Social Media Affects Auto Repair Marketing ROI

Auto Repair Marketing brings prospective customers to your business. But it is your reputation that converts them into paying customers. Your reputation provides the trust factor required in moving people from prospect to customer. Shoppers use the Internet to investigate your reputation and decide if they want to do business with you. Social Media is quickly becoming the key component of your online identity and the reputation people create for you.

Auto Repair Website SEO and Grizzly Bears

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!

Specials Calendar incorrectly Named

We now recognize that calling our auto repair shop website event calendar a ‘specials’ calendar was a big mistake. In hind sight this powerful auto repair marketing tool should have been called a 'Promotional Calendar'. The emphasis should have been on using it to promote ANY type of daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal, or yearly event and not just discounted services or products. Robert Maxim's auto repair websites event calendar is a very powerful marketing tool and not making full use of it is a serious oversight by auto repair shop owners.

Decrease Your Auto Repair Marketing Budget

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.

Free services build customer loyalty

Offer your customers a free oil change on their birthday. Free oil change birthday specials are a great way to build that all important personal relationship with your long term customers and keep your auto repair business fresh in their mind.

Value of Google Analytics

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...

Website Backlinks

Backlinks should NOT all point directly to your auto repair website. Select a few key websites to link directly to your homepage. Link your social media profiles to special landing pages (see website Tip #3 on auto repair shop website landing pages) on your website. Link other websites to your main social media websites which then link directly to your auto repair website. The plan is to create a spider web of cross links between websites within your link network.

Website SEO Tip #2

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.

Website Landing Pages

Use multiple website 'landing' pages each offering a unique 'special' service for each different social media website profile. Each landing page must only be accessible from a single social media website profile. Use hits on each landing page as a measure of the effectiveness of different social media profiles. Use customer requests for the 'special' service as a measure of the effectiveness of your offers.

Website SEO Tip #1

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.

Stop Attracting Bad Customers

Many companies spend big bucks attracting auto repair customers who will never stick around long enough to pay back what it costs to acquire them. Are you wasting your auto repair marketing budget on bad customers?

Auto Repair Industry Credibility Sucks!

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.

Advertising vs Marketing

The terms advertising and marketing are often mistakenly interchanged but they have quite different meanings. Understanding their proper definitions can help you define and implement a marketing plan for your auto repair business.

Outright copyright infringement

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...

Is Social Media a Fad?

If you think you can ignore social media and ratings and review sites, think again. Check out this short, thought provoking video on the impact of social media on EVERYONE. It asks (and answers) the simple question: Is social media a fad?

Here are some though provoking quotes from the video:

SEO not needed

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.

Dare to use social media

Do you dare get your business into the social media arena? Are you afraid you will only expose yourself to complainers? You will be happy to know that by far the greater number of Yelp.com users who post reviews give businesses a thumbs up. While there are no guarantees of five star reviews, the feedback will allow you to improve your service quality. And besides, people are going to talk about you regardless so you might as well participate in the party. Social media may be the best free automobile service marketing idea available.

Building customer trust with your 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.

Social media powers new world of marketing

If you have been wondering if social media could help your auto repair shop marketing check out Yamato Auto Repair's Yelp profile. If you have any doubts that social networking and customer driven advertising can attract new auto repair customers just check out the 49+ glowing, thumbs up reviews these guys have. Why wouldn't anyone want to do business with them. One of the strongest examples of referral marketing I've seen. And best of all, it's free!

Don't cut auto repair shop marketing budgets

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.

Stabilize auto repair shop car counts thru better marketing & advertising management

How to stabilize auto repair shop car counts through better management of marketing and advertising. Increase auto repair customer acquisition and retention throughout the year. Decrease marketing spending and increase results.

Free social media advertising

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.

Social networking is forever

When dealing with service failures (screw-ups) and angry customers you really need to think about the long term consequences of how you respond. Social Networking is all about getting people to talk about you. The powerful aspect of this is that what is said lives on the Internet virtually forever. Positive chatter is like a credibility savings account that goes on paying dividends. Negative rants are sticky, reoccurring public relation nightmares that will never go away.

Money saving websites

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.

Social reputation building

Your online social reputation is quickly becoming the life blood of a strong marketing plan. Consumers are dumping their heavy telephone yellow Pages directories and turning to the Internet – 21 million visited Yelp.com in May 2009 alone! Every auto repair shop should be working hard at building social proof of their competence and trustworthiness.

Social media marketing & auto repair shops

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.

Be more referable

Asking for referrals is a great way to find new customers. But being more referable will work even better according to John Jantsch in his article 7 Signs Your Marketing May Need to Evolve. Once you've got people talking about you stop paying for expensive, ineffective advertising and rely on referrals only marketing!

Referrals only marketing

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.

Online reputation management

Social media has given your customers a loudspeaker and you need to monitor what they are saying about you. The Internet provides consumers with limitless vocal power – both positive and negative. Size doesn't matter in this game. Big or small any company can have their reputation damaged by rumors, service complaints, and even malicious competitors. You need to be proactive about building a solid online reputation that can withstand the inevitable service failure complaints of everyday business operations.

Local listings on Bing – get yours now

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!

Unhappy customer strategies

When auto repair shop repairs fail customers react in three basic ways. In all cases there is a very high likelihood you will lose the customer. With proactive follow up communications dissatisfied customers can be uncovered, problems fixed, prevent future service failures, and if you recover well, you can prevent losing the customer.

Service failure recovery retains customers

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.

Personal recommendations increase loyalty

Customers are more willing to forgive service problems if they are recommended to your auto repair shop by a friend. Are you actively asking your customers for recommendations? Robert Maxim has a number of tools to encourage personal recommendations and help build a loyal following of great customers.

Environmental fee charges

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.

Business success through social networking

Power of the collective voice

On-line Social Networking[1] is a recent phenomenon that has exploded in popularity. One outcome of this new virtual community is a collection of shared consumer experiences. Participants are using these collective reviews of products and services to make informed buying decisions. Auto repair shop owners should be participating in these online communities to promote their businesses.

Don't specialize yourself into bankruptcy

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.

Attract more business by being unique

Give them what they want

Are you worried by all the competition in the auto repair and service market? Are you losing customers to big chain and speciality shops? What is it that people are attracted to? The answer is uniqueness. Consumers are willing to pay more for what they can't get elsewhere. Are you providing what your customers want?

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