With the exception of a few specialty type auto shops, most automotive repair shops have a local customer base. This is why it is extremely important to be aware of the most basic ways to market to a local audience. On top of this, since most people use the internet today to locate an automotive shop we should really be aware of how to use the internet to reach potential customers.
Here are five EASY tips to help you rank higher in local search results on Google.
Get listed on “Google My Business” – (FREE Tool)
You have no excuse not to signup for this. This is a completely free resource that Google offers to help you improve your listing on their maps.google.com website along with local search results. This is a powerful tool that allows you to adjust your hours of operation, control your contact details listed within Google, have access to manage your online Google reviews and a lot more. If your business is already listed on Google maps and local search results then you’ll be able to claim that listing and attach it to your Google My Business account to have complete control of the images that are shown in Google for your business listing. Click here to go ahead and create an account.
Create a virtual tour of your auto repair shop – (FREE)
You can either do this yourself (for free) and submit it to Google or you can work with a company that specializes in creating Google virtual tours. A virtual tour is an interactive experience where your potential customers can see your shop prior to coming in for service. It is worth the effort. People actually use it to review a shop before coming in. An added benefit to doing this is that it shows up on your google listing. Google listings with some type of media (picture or virtual tour) get more traffic than those that do not have any media. Learn more about submitting a virtual tour to Google.
Focus on increasing your online reviews. (FREE)
Online reviews are absolutely critical. Stop messing around.
New prospects actually use these to decide if they should do business with you. At minimum, update your company literature that goes to all of your vendors and customers to include a link to your Google Online Review form. Here are some instructions on how to create this link! The more reviews (positive reviews) that you have the more traffic that your search engine result listing will receive. The more traffic that your listing receives means that Google will likely rank this listing higher ABOVE YOUR COMPETITORS! I cannot stress this enough, take it seriously.
Optimize or add your business listing to the major citation distribution resources. (FREE & PAID)
Do you ever wonder how a random site could collect and have your business contact information? You didn’t give it to them yet they still have it? They are collecting this information from major citation vendors that specialize in creating a database of businesses and their contact information. Take a few moments and optimize or add your listing to these major companies so that they can syndicate your business information out to thousands of other sites for you.
At minimum you should have a one page website that has a professional custom domain. I see a lot of automotive repair shops using Facebook business pages as their websites. Do not use your Facebook page as your company website! Sure, it is free but there are lots of other free resources to get a website. Facebook is just another website and nothing special. It may not always be around. What if you invested a lot of time and effort into getting Facebook likes for your business page and suddenly over night the company went out of business. It can happen and it will happen.
Remember that you are trying to grow your business. You are a professional and you should present yourself that way.
Using a Facebook page makes you look like an impoverished amateur. Get a custom domain name from Godaddy and throw up a website. Many vendors only charge $3/month for this.
I’ve worked with a lot of automotive repair shops over the years to help them improve their online presence. The tips above go over the easiest tasks that can be implemented today to nearly instantly improve your online search engine rankings. More positive visibility online will have a significant impact on the success of your business. I can say this with confidence because I have seen it over and over again. Implement the tips above and you will be glad that you did.
If you get stuck on any of the tips please let me know and I’ll make an attempt to help you. Use this form to get in touch with me.
