The Digital Shop® Blog
Nearly 81% of consumers seek out a business’s website before making a purchase. It’s simple. If people can’t find your shop online, if your site is slow, or offers little information, you run the risk of losing customers.
On the other hand, if you have a fully functioning site, built for convenience, you can quickly increase profitability. Here’s how to start leveraging your auto shop website.
Optimize For Mobile
In 2021, mobile devices generated over half of the global website traffic, meaning that when someone finds your auto shop’s page, it’s likely they’re doing so on a smartphone. With this in mind, you’ll want to make sure your website is optimized for mobile. Take a look at your current website on your phone and see if the layout works on mobile, if the font size is big enough to easily read, and if it’s easy to navigate around the site.
Consider incorporating mobile-friendly links that allow people to make direct calls or emails through their phones. Additionally, you’ll also want to consider the page speed of your site. Mobile devices, which tend to run slower than standalone computers, require smaller image files and fewer flash-driven features.
By addressing these issues, you can ensure that clients still find your website professional, helpful, and–most importantly–convenient, even on their smartphones.
Highlight Value Props
As the customer of an auto shop, you know what makes your business special. Perhaps it’s your team, your quality of service, or uniquely affordable pricing. Whatever sets your shop apart from the competition, you’ll want to make it clear to your audience.
Some successful value propositions might include:
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- An enticing service
- 20-minute oil change
- Social proof
- Voted the county’s best auto repair shop in 2022
- A solution to a common problem
- Tired of having to call for a status update? Check us out!
- An enticing service
Additionally, you’ll want to include a call-to-action (CTA) box. For auto shops, this will either trigger a phone call or send users to a scheduling app that allows them to book a service.
Making Branding Consistent
More than your logo, branding helps evoke emotions from customers, establishing what you do and who you are. Images, color scheme, and other design elements will all play into how clients perceive your business.
For example, if your shop is family-owned and has been a part of the community for decades, you might want to put photos of the owners and team front and center. This can help generate trust. Additionally, including the years of operation can also demonstrate a continued commitment to excellence. There’s a reason that many businesses proudly display, Est. 1965 in their branding.
Create a Content Strategy
To make search engines notice you, you’ll need to produce regular content. This not only allows you to demonstrate your expertise and tell your story as an auto professional, but it also boosts your performance in search rankings. Google is more likely to lead users to pages with informative content. The higher you place on Google’s rankings the more likely people are to interact with your brand. For many auto shops, this comes in the form of a blog.
With a blog, you can post regular and informative articles that prove to your customers you’re knowledgeable and credible in the auto repair industry. For example, those seeking a car repair would likely be interested in posts from the owner about ways to augment the lifespan of a car’s engine or how to weatherize your car in the colder months.
Hand it to the Experts
Creating a website and optimizing it––both for users and search engines––can be a full-time job. There’s a reason most larger companies have entire departments devoted to web design and SEO. Because of this, it’s often helpful to turn to auto website professionals who understand the industry and how best to reach the right audience.
AutoVitals is a total solution for auto shop owners looking to build or grow their web presence. In addition to their software tools like digital vehicle inspections, AutoVitals also offers advanced digital marketing strategies and website design. Their team of marketing experts can build a mobile-optimized website for your auto shop, and create a comprehensive marketing strategy to get more customers to your site and in your bays.
Beyond the goal of reaching your audience, the AutoVitals Web.X solution provides review and reputation management, online appointment booking, and digital marketing tools to convert new customers.
Rather than trying to build and manage your website alone, the professionals at AutoVitals can take this task off your hands and put you at ease knowing it’s going to be done right.
