If you want to be a successful independent car repair company, you must focus not just on building a long-term strategy for increasing your client base but also on pivoting in a way that maintains momentum.
The key to implementing this strategy is to focus on a consistent stream of small yet effective efforts, which involves employing dependable tools that are mainly created for you as an auto repair company owner. Utilizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile to its full potential is an effective way to expand your business and reach out to more clients through local search tools, and we can explain why you need to use it to compete.
What Exactly is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free business tool that Google created and maintained. It delivers a list of local brands to individuals in your town looking for a company like yours. If you’ve looked for a service or product on Google, you may have seen Google business listings for auto repair, which lists three firms before other SERP (search engine result page). Google My Business is responsible for these three listings.
Each company is recognized by its name, operating hours, contact information, reviews and ratings, and picture. They’re also positioned above the Google business listings for auto repair on the map concerning your location. This assists local car owners in locating your store rather than taking their vehicles elsewhere for service.
Why Google My Business is Important for Auto Repair Shops
Here are three main reasons why car repair shops should utilize Google My Business:
- Creating and sustaining an internet presence – If your shop isn’t mentioned when customers Google “auto repair businesses” and “car repair shops,” they won’t even know it exists. Sure, they might have seen an ad on the train that morning or recall a bit of your company’s name from a conversation with a colleague two years ago. Still, these aren’t the odds you want to bet your company’s profitability on. Google My Business allows you to appear prominently on the internet’s most popular search engine. Without your information appearing alongside the dozens of choices at one’s disposal, your chances of being found are already much reduced, potentially to nil.
- Making things easier – Put yourself in the shoes of your costumer. Despite how basic the notion is, many auto repair business owners neglect to ask themselves, “What would I do if I needed to locate a car repair company, and what kind of online experience would I appreciate?” In the digital age, clients demand fast and efficient service. Using Google My Company lets you instantly show your business hours, phone number, and directions on Google Search and Maps after a potential client types in a keyword on their device. The best thing is that you can rapidly adjust all your information from one spot, whether for a temporary change in business hours or a move to a new site.
- Establishing a reputation through internet reviews – Customers usually do not visit a small business unless it has many reviews on the web. Reviews are also a clear proof that others have visited your store and had an excellent experience, giving confidence that a potential client will receive the same outstanding service. If you’re confident with your service, you may ask your clients to leave reviews on Google. Most often than not, many would gladly do so.
Google My Business Checklist for Optimization
#1: Confirm Your Information
There are several sections to your Google My Business listing, so let’s start with the most important:
- Name
- Address
- Telephone Number
- Website
- Description
- Category
- Attributes
To begin the listing creation process, Google My Business will ask for your auto repair shop description, which includes the name, address, phone number, and website (also known as NAP) of your business. This data will be indexed by Google search and Google Maps, laying the groundwork for your local SEO.
Your information should be as consistent as feasible with what is already posted on your website. Inconsistencies between your website and GMB information might hurt your search ranking.
When entering your address, ensure it matches the right map coordinates and contains the same zip code as your website. In addition, you should utilize a local number rather than a national or contact center number.
Following your NAP, your Google My Business category and company qualities will be the next section to focus on. You can add as many categories as you like, but you can only select from Google’s pre-made list of categories. Use as many as applicable, but avoid using any extraneous categories.
Keep your keyword strategy in mind when adding your Google My Business category and qualities. However, you must proceed with caution to avoid overloading your listing with keywords.
#2: Keep Your Auto Repair Shop Up to Date With Events and Holidays
Google does not want to send people to your business while closed, so ensure your operating hours cover holidays. You can schedule special hours for holidays and events ahead of time. After logging into your GMB page, go to your dashboard, then to the info tab, and on the left side, there will be a spot for you to edit the special hours.
#3: Look into Potential Keywords
Keywords are word clusters that most people use while searching for services, and these are essential for improving your GMB page. You must select specific car repair keywords in your location to make them more effective.
Keyword research is another topic; however, if your GMB listing has been active for some time, you may utilize it to understand your keywords. Navigate to your GMB dashboard and choose Insights. In addition to monitoring how much traffic your GMB listing generated, you can also view the search phrases people are already using to reach your listing. This might help you decide which keywords to target.
Set the date range to the preceding three months to get the most information from the most recent requests. Then, depending on the number of users searching for your services, examine the queries that appear to be the most popular.
One appealing feature of Google My Business is that its data are based on unique users, unlike Google Search Console, which relies on impressions. This implies that your car repair shop can identify popular words that visitors use to locate your website, and you may do so individually.
#4: Request and Respond to All Reviews
Reviews are essential to local search, and it’s a straightforward formula. When you have positive reviews on your company page, your chances of acquiring more consumers increase. On the other hand, negative feedback may seem like it’s a bad thing but you can actually turn it into a positive. When users read a kind answer from the owner, it would not only show professionalism, but would also display that you actually care about your clients.
Most consumers value a second perspective, which is why 90% of people check online reviews before making a purchase.
When you begin to receive evaluations on your listing, you must react to each one. Even if they are awful – especially if they are horrible, use the Google My Business dashboard to write a message to each reviewer. This is because 45% of customers say they are more inclined to visit a business if the owner responds to bad feedback.
If your reviews have a flawless 5-star review, this is your chance to convert a consumer into a passionate promoter of your company.
So, how do you solicit feedback from your customers? Well, it’s actually as simple as asking them. While other websites may discourage it, Google My Business strongly encourages it. You may send a link to your consumers in a few simple steps.
- Navigate to the Google My Business dashboard.
- Select Info.
- To create your GMB Shortname, click the @ sign.
- Select Home.
- Find the “Get More Reviews” box and click “Share Profile.”
- Please copy and paste the URL into an email, text message, or other instant messaging tool and send it to your consumers.
While the best time to ask for a review is directly after service, ensure you share the connection with your past clients by emailing or texting them the link. The worst that can happen is they don’t leave you a review.
The Bottom Line
Customers can find your car repair shop in various ways, but there’s no disputing that local business listings through a simple Google search are an excellent doorway to your website. To enhance your Google My Business profile and place your car repair business where people searching for it may find it.
Optimizing your Google My Business for car repair is the first step in dominating search rankings and gaining new clients. Learn how we utilized citations to increase client traffic at Los Angeles’ largest car repair business.
Upgrade Your SEO Strategy with Advanced Digital Automotive Group
The first step in your local SEO plan is to create your GMB profile. Because the car repair sector is a highly competitive niche with mechanics offering the same auto repair services list at similar price points, such as brake repair, oil change, engine repair, inspection, preventative maintenance, etc., you must optimize your GMB listing and website to stand out in local search tools, like Google.
Advanced Digital Automotive Group offers a comprehensive range of digital marketing services, including local Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Web SEO, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), and more. If you want to take the next step to improve your digital marketing, reach out to us today!
