7 Things to Avoid When Building a Website for Your Auto Shop

Running an auto shop isn't a job you take lightly. It involves long hours of serious work on heavy-duty vehicles. Start with the website when you're trying to get your marketing plans together.

Most importantly, learn which mistakes you should avoid when building a website for your repair shop. Let the tips in this article steer you in the right direction. 

1. Failing to Let People Book Car Appointments Online

Every effort you take should involve making your customer's job easier. The easier it is for customers to interact and do business with you, the more likely it is that they will. 

Putting power into the hands of the consumer is a foundational part of winning at digital marketing today. Start by including appointment bookings on your website.

When you let people conveniently book service appointments, you will wake up each day to a full work shift of new business. It cuts out a few steps since customers won't have to show up in person and relay information they could have given in a few seconds online. 

2. Not Making Your Website Optimized for Mobile

Make certain that you order a website that is optimized for mobile devices. Your developer will make it so that your website shows up optimally on any smartphone or tablet.

Mobile devices are the preferred way of accessing the web for most people today, so you need to give the customers what they want. Having someone access your site only to find it difficult to navigate on their phone will turn a customer off, to the point that you miss out on new business. 

3. Building a Website Without a Blog to Go With It

You will always want to build a blog to go with your website. Many auto repair shops fail to include a blog, which leaves plenty of marketing potential on the table. 

By setting up a blog you can feed people plenty of fresh, new content that they will find useful. When people begin to expect your content they will follow it religiously and share posts with their friends and family. 

Creating a blog is one of the most useful ways to get new eyes on your site. Make sure that you use search engine optimization (SEO) keywords throughout that help you turn your website and blog into a marketing powerhouse. 

4. Choosing Designs and Templates That are Outdated or Passe

Many business owners are more concerned with building a site and getting it over with so that they can move on to the next step. While this sounds like a plan, in theory, you're only setting yourself back further when you don't take your time and design your site with care. 

Choose templates that are effective for auto shops. You may want to peek at what other auto repair companies have done with their site since it'll give you a starting point for how you should design yours. 

Avoid outdated web design principles that may not bode well for 2020 and beyond. Your site should always look cutting edge and well-designed. 

5. Making Your Site too Cluttered or Busy

Many companies also get tempted to do too much with their websites. Instead of filling your site with an overabundance of information, you should keep it minimalist and easy to navigate. 

Strip down your site to the most important information, and make your calls to action clear so that people know how to interact with you. Post your contact info prominently so people can call, e-mail, or use a web form if they have questions. 

6. Not Integrating Your Social Media and E-Mail Marketing Strategies

Your third-party marketing tools should be easily integrated into your auto repair shop website. This means that customers should be able to easily click over to your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter account, or YouTube based on the links and layout you include for your site.

Likewise, you should make it easy for people to sign up for your e-mail list. Include an e-mail list signup form on your site that will let you get new subscribers each day that you can then market to. 

Several auto shops run their social media platforms but fail to integrate these sites with their website. When you include everything in one location it'll become easier for people to find you. 

7. Neglecting Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Several auto repair shops know that they need a website, but many neglect search engine optimization (SEO) altogether. This is a fatal flaw because your site is only as helpful as it is easily found. 

When you put some SEO techniques to use you'll build a bigger local presence whenever someone in your city needs to get some repairs on their vehicle. 

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Work to Build the Best Website for Your Auto Repair Business

When you're building a website, it's easy to fall into any of the mistakes above. Avoid them at all costs so that you can get the fresh start that you need for your website. 

Every business today needs to learn how to create a website that people resonate with. Finding a qualified web developer and SEO contractor can help you avoid these mistakes and make the best site possible for your shop. 

We would be happy to make your website optimally effective for your goals. 

Check out our pricing options and reach out to learn more about all of the web development and SEO strategies we can help you with.