A website for a small and independent car repair shop is not only a brilliant idea, it’s practically a requirement if you want your business to succeed. Several studies show that about 65% of customers search online for the services or products they are looking for before making a decision. Without an auto repair website for your shop, you could lose many potential customers and hand them over to the competition.
However, there’s more to managing a website than meets the eye. For your website to achieve its full potential, you must know what elements you should incorporate into it. Read on to find out more.
What Your Car Repair Website Should Have
Websites for auto repair shops should be able to attract customers. If this is not happening, there could be something wrong with how your website was designed.
Below are the essential things your auto repair website should contain for this to appear in different online searches.
1. Domain Name
Domain names are one of the most powerful marketing tools you could have. The URL (or what you type starting with “www”) should have a direct connection to your business. It should either contain your business name or describe what you offer. Additionally, a domain name should be something easy to remember.
2. Clear Branding
Visitors won’t notice your car shop website if it looks the same as everyone else’s. You should have an eye-catching logo, professional and consistent images, and a distinct color scheme to distinguish your site from the rest. Every visual element on your website must work together to produce a unique brand for your auto shop.
It is important to remember, though, that your website should not be considered a separate entity from all your auto repair shop marketing efforts. Instead, it should be seamlessly integrated into your overall plans to promote your car repair business.
3. Good Content
Many automotive repair shops list their business hours and services offered on their website and expect this will be enough to attract customers. This is false because you also need content to fill up your site. Producing content regularly is integral to optimizing your site for SEO purposes.
Understanding search engine optimization (SEO) principles to build a website can be complicated. It is all about structuring and writing content in a way that Google (and other search engines) can find it easily. This can come in the form of blogs, and even a single post about auto repair tips can make a difference to your customer base, especially if it will lead to a job order.
4. Mobile-Friendly Design
In 2016, mobile phones overtook desktops when it came to internet access, and this trend continues to grow. As such, Google has changed its SEO metrics to favor mobile-responsive websites over those designed to only work well on desktops. Google even penalizes those that are not mobile-friendly. Currently, Google ranks mobile-friendly website design as among the top 3 factors determining how high your site will rank in search results.
Given this, you must ensure that your website works well with mobile devices. Since a mobile screen is smaller than a desktop computer’s, your content will look different and even appear distorted. The best solution is to make your website compatible with both a smartphone and a desktop computer.
5. Engaging Home Page
Your website’s home page should be your “home base” and help visitors navigate to other pages. This is where effective website branding should begin.
Avoid cluttering your home page with coupons, discount specials, sliders, and featured services. While these are important as they attract potential customers, they can be pretty distracting. A photo of a happy customer on your home page can be acceptable, but include a call to action button and clarify what services are available in your auto shop.
6. Online Appointment Field
Online appointment scheduling is an excellent option for independent auto shops and other service-based businesses. This will make it easier for potential customers to schedule a visit to your shop, increasing the likelihood that they will do business with you.
Most customers today prefer to book their appointments online since it’s faster and easier than calling you. An online appointment scheduling tool as part of your auto repair shop marketing strategy can help you get tangible results.
7. Optimized Service Pages
Service pages are a website’s meat and potatoes. It’s the reason people visit your site. They want to know if you provide what they need. When creating your service page, there are several features that you should include, like:
- A clear and concise description of what you’re offering
- High-quality images that show your products and services
- Keywords and phrases that are SEO-friendly that will help with search rankings
8. User-Friendly Interface
Your website’s visitors should be able to navigate it easily. It means that you need to put a lot of thought into the design aspect. There may be several auto repair website templates you can follow, but it’s always best to make your own unique design.
If you’re having trouble designing your website’s overall layout and interface, you can always employ web designers and developers to help you. Or, better yet, you can go to a digital marketing agency that offers these web design services on top of all the important aspects of maintaining a website.
9. Customer Testimonials
Although all information on your website is important, customer reviews give people a clearer idea of what to expect if they decide to see your shop. Assuming these reviews are genuine and unfiltered opinions of satisfied customers, they can influence the decision that other people will make when it comes to your business. You can add these testimonials to your auto repair website if you have several customer reviews. This can increase the chances of people booking an appointment with you.
10. Clear CTA
A business website should continue to work for you long after your garage doors close for the night. For service-based companies like car repair shops, it should clearly tell customers what to do once they reach the home page. This is where the CTA or call-to-action button of your website becomes a crucial element. If this is available 24/7, it can make a difference if someone wants to make an appointment with you.
Key Takeaway
A good website not only makes it easy for people to find your auto repair shop, but it also adds significant business value. While there are many things to consider if you want your website to stand out from the rest, the bottom line is that this should reflect your values and the services you offer your customers. However, keep in mind that simplicity is always the best way to go when you are working to spread brand awareness for your business.
Advanced Digital Automotive Group can help you design the best website for your auto repair shop.
Coming up with a website to promote your car repair shop takes work. You have to deal with a lot of technical stuff, which can be difficult, especially if you have no background in web design and digital marketing.
Let Advanced Digital Automotive Group help you out. We have a professional team of web developers, designers, content writers, and SEO specialists who can present you with a website that perfectly represents you in the digital world. Call us, and we’ll sit down to discuss the plan.
