If you own an auto repair business, you probably know that consumers find local businesses online. And if you’ve ever bought a website from someone who doesn’t know much about auto repair or search engine optimization, you’ve probably also learned that it’s not always easy to show up online. After all, every other auto shop in town wants to show up, too, and there’s only so much space on the first page of Google.
You’ve probably also been told by a web provider that they’ll get you results if you’ll just pay them for a few more months. Sure, it takes time to show up on Google – but how much time does it really take?
The short answer is that it takes at least three to six months. You might show up further down the rankings in the first few months, but if your domain is brand new, it really will take some time to get a first or second page search ranking – and that’s if you’re doing everything right.
To get results within a quarter or two, your website needs plenty of content about your auto repair services. It needs to be well written; Google needs to see that it’s written in paragraphs written for humans, not a bunch of spammy keywords designed to trick search engines. Your site should have some good visual content and be linked to other websites relevant to auto repair. Ideally, your web provider will help you get some legitimate links back to your site, which also helps with visibility.
If you want to get the fastest results, there are a few things your provider can’t do without your help. The most important is setting up your Google My Business account; it’s free, and if you don’t have up-to-date, accurate information about your shop here, Google will punish your website in the organic search rankings. If you need help, we wrote a blog about how to set up your Google My Business profile.
Another way to boost your search results (and, more importantly, the number of calls you get) is asking for Google reviews from satisfied customers. Businesses with a strong set of reviews are more likely to search well. They are also far more likely to get called by the people who find them online.
Perhaps the most important part of searching well is to have one website. Obviously, you’re not going to get found easily without a web presence. But if you have several websites, you’re also going to have problems. Google doesn’t like delivering bad information; if you’ve got five web addresses and it can’t figure out which one is the “official” one, it’s not likely to show any of them.
To learn more about Repair Shop Websites and how we can get you found online, call us at 855-294-6397 or email us at Team_RSW@RepairShopWebsites.com.