RobMax Web SolutionsI was recently asked 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 help them. Their website was junk. What was needed was a total overhaul of the website and they didn't want to make any changes to it. Doing SEO would just be throwing good money after bad because your website is the focal point of any SEO.
Bad Website DNA
Most auto repair website search result problems can be traced back to the website's very beginnings. The basic website platform design and structure is a disaster. I call it bad website DNA. Flawed from day one. The majority of poor performing websites I see are five years or older, self made or built by a graphic artist who knew some HTML programming but nothing about website marketing. Obviously there was no understanding of the business, vehicle owner needs, auto repair marketing or auto repair website SEO.
Website Problems
Problems I have seen range from nasty programming errors which prevent search engines from indexing the website, incomprehensible website navigation which drives away website users, unoptimized graphic images which take FOREVER to load... think user frustration, lack of user focused content, and no clear business objective for the auto repair website.
Why No ROI
The common website owner complaint is that after five years their website has no visitors and no ROI. So instead of looking at the reason for the lack of website traffic they want to spend money to push traffic, and hopefully prospective customers, to the website. This auto repair advertising fool's game is similar to pouring money into a worn out vehicle - it never ends! Don't waste your time or money on a sick website. A well designed auto repair website will naturally attract both search engines AND viewers. You shouldn't have to constantly pump SEO life support money into it.
SEO By Design
You want an auto repair website structure that appeals to search engines and allows your website to appear prominently when people search for an auto repair shop in your local area. You want website content that communicates that your shop is the place people should be doing business with (viewer conversion). You want a website that has tools to build relationships with long term customers. You want a website that can be easily updated without spending great amounts of money.
Bottom Line
Once you have a well designed auto repair website, both structurally and user friendly, you can look at doing some auto repair website SEO. Until your website is a solid auto repair marketing platform, SEO is largely a waste.