If you want to become a successful independent auto repair shop, it’s essential that you have your sights on not only developing a long-term strategy for expanding your customer base but also pivoting in a way that has sustaining momentum.
The key to accomplishing this strategy is not by focusing on gigantic steps, but by achieving a steady stream of small efforts, which means using effective and trusted tools that are specifically designed for you as an auto repair shop owner. Fully utilizing your Google My Business (GMB) page is an efficient way to grow your business and we can tell you why you need to be using it to be competitive.
What is Google My Business and how can it help my business become more successful?
The benefits of Google My Business for auto repair shops are plentiful. GMB is a free and completely verified online listing service that uses best practices for getting new customers in the door. Are you the type of business owner who uses an online marketing and branding strategy? If not, you should! Nowadays, you need to have a digital concept to survive in a service-oriented industry and it needs to be based on having ongoing and consistent results, rather than short spurts.
The power of the internet is huge, especially with the growing number of smartphone users. According to recent statistics, there were over 224 million smartphone users in the U.S., and by 2020, it's expected to rise to more than 270 million. How many of those customers do you want to reach for your business?
First things first, we’ll walk you through what you need to include for optimizing your GMB.
Provide Accurate Info
Consistency matters when it comes to your Google My Business listing. Your shop’s name, address, and phone number must be identical anywhere on the web. Any variation in the name of your shop, the phone number you use, or the way you write the address will cause Google search to be less favorable towards it. This goes for the tiniest details, too. If you put “road” instead of “rd” in one location, you’ll need to make sure the style is consistent anywhere it appears online. This is important for your local search results and for Google Maps.
Quality Photos 
Google My Business might be one of the first touch points for customers looking to come to your shop, so you want to have it looking its best, right? One of the ways you can do this is to have nice, high quality photos on your listing. Show off your business! Don’t leave it hiding behind small, fuzzy, hard-to-see images. Let the customer see their destination easily before they even come in. Take pictures of the outside of your shop, your waiting room, and maybe even a shot of your team so they can get a jump start on getting to know your shop from the first time they learn about you.
Managing Reviews
Reviews are important and help improve your auto shop SEO. For auto repair shops, community support means everything, so local SEO is most important. Word of mouth casts a wider net these days than it used to, so having good reviews out there for your shop serves as the modern day equivalent to recommending something to a friend. The more good reviews you have, the more credible you look to people scoping out a good place to take their vehicle. Not to mention, the algorithm looks favorably upon reviews as well, which could help you get into the coveted ‘local three pack’ on Google—the top three search results that appear when someone is searching for local businesses.
Offering Promotions and Incentives 
Rebates, promotions, and other incentives can be featured right on your Google My Business listing. Take advantage of this virtual real estate to entice your audience to make sure they choose your shop as they’re searching.
Insights
Knowledge is power. The more you know, the more you have to work with. Google My Business allows you to see how many people are clicking to call your shop, get directions, or go to your website. You can also see what zip codes they are coming from, to make sure they’re all from the local audience you want to be targeting. You can even see which keywords people are typing in when they show up at your GMB listing.
What else can I do to help my shop be found online?
For increased online exposure and search engine visibility, BOLT ON designed Pit Stop websites, a product that uses innovative technology to its fullest advantages. Through the use of Pit Stop, you can create a website that is not only professional and user-friendly but also customized for your specific business needs.
Customization opportunities:
- Convenient online service appointments
- Recommendation of services for customers to individually select for passive up-selling
- Integration of your current business platform to sync with Pit Stop
- Enabling favorable Google reviews for immediate access to customers
Repair shop websites
Pit Stop websites make it easier and faster for customers to find your business through the use of search engine optimization (SEO). With the digital era, customers want to be able to reach your establishment 24/7 to make decisions, and they rely on websites that are SEO-optimized to receive the best results. Through the use of algorithms, GMB is able to identify relevant search criteria to bring those customers to your Pit Stop website, and ultimately, into your service bays to increase revenue.
