If you own an automotive repair shop, then you need to be focusing on Local SEO. Ranking high in your local search results can help customers find your shop and can be the difference maker in getting new business. By creating and maintaining a google business profile, you can help your shop rank higher in organic search.
In this article, we will outline 5 key reasons why your auto repair shop needs a google business profile!
What is a Google Business Profile?
A Google Business Profile is a free listing that appears on Google when customers search for your business. It includes key information about your business, such as your hours, location, contact information, and reviews.
A Google Business Profile enables business owners to manage their online appearance and reputation. Having a Google Business Profile is critical for businesses looking to reach their local markets. Google holds the majority share of the search engine market share on both desktop and mobile. By having a Google Business Profile, you can utilize this free resource to enhance your position in local SEO results. This means that if someone gets a flat tire on the highway and they search “repair shop near me” your business will come up higher – ideally in the top three results – and the customer will come to you instead of one of your competitors.
Having a Google Business Profile can make a difference between getting new customers and losing out to the competition. In this article, we’ll outline a few of Google Business Profile’s key benefits as well as some of the reasons your Auto Repair Shop needs to take advantage of local SEO.
To learn more about Google Business Profiles, check out this article we wrote on How to Get the Most Out of Your Google Business Profile.
1: Google Business Profiles Help Your Shop Get Found Locally
When potential customers in your area are searching for automotive repair shops, you want your shop to be one of the first ones they see. By having a google business profile, you can help improve your shop’s visibility in local search results.
Having a Google Business Profile allows your business to be shown on Google Maps as well as the Google Local Pack listings. Google Maps is important for Auto Repair Shops because it can help customers find you when they’re in your area or if they live in the same city as your business.
The Google Local Pack are the top three listings that Google shows for local searches. These three listings are chosen based on a number of factors, including the relevancy of the business to the searcher’s query, distance from the searcher, and reviews. Being in the Local Pack can greatly help your visibility as these listings take up a good amount of the real estate on a Google Search page. Optimizing your profile for search queries can greatly improve your chances of having your business featured in the Local Pack.
If you want your automotive repair shop to be visible in both Google Maps and the Local Pack, then you need to have a Google Business Profile!
2: Collect Reviews for Your Business
Google Business Profile allows you to collect reviews for your business. These reviews show up on your profile and can impact your ranking in search results. Reviews are also a key factor that Google takes into account when determining which business to feature in the Local Pack.
It is important to actively collect reviews for your automotive repair shop. You can do this by sending customers an email or text after they’ve had their car serviced at your shop. You can also include a link to your Google Business Profile on receipts or in the waiting area of your shop.
When you do get reviews, make sure to respond to them! Google sees businesses that take the time to respond to reviews as being more engaged and credible. Google is the top review site and, therefore, it’s important to keep your shop’s online reputation in mind.
It’s critical to respond to every review your repair shop receives, good or bad. Responding to negative reviews is both important and expected. Customers that leave negative reviews expect the business to get back to them. In fact, 53% of customers expect a response to a bad review within a week and 1 in 3 customers expect to be responded to in 1-3 days. Fast review response times make your business’ reputation seem more positive.
3: Access to Insights
Another key reason to have a Google Business Profile is so that you can take advantage of Google My Business Insights. This feature provides data on how customers find and interact with your business online. With this information, you can make changes to improve your website and online presence.
Google provides a few insights that can be valuable to your automotive repair shop. A few of the key metrics to look at are:
- Views: Google will show you how many views your business profile, posts, and photos are getting. This can help you determine the effectiveness of your campaigns and
- Search Queries: this will show you which terms people are using when your shop comes up. This can help you to adjust your keyword strategy accordingly. For example, using highly targeted longtail keywords, you can increase the number of people that you reach that are seriously interested in using your service.
- Engagement: this will show you the interactions that customers are having with your business’s posts. For example, you can see what posts people are sharing or commenting on. This can help you understand what content your customers resonate the most with.
- Audience: Google Business Profile’s audience insights allows you to get a full demographic picture of the people following your business. This includes age, gender, and country of residence. This can help you in building your campaigns.
- Website Clicks: this indicates how many people clicked on your website link. This is important to track as it will give you an idea of how effective your profile is in directing traffic to your website.
With these insights, you can adjust your strategy to better target potential customers for your automotive repair shop.
4: Share Information About Your Business
A Google Business Profile allows you to share meaningful updates and promotions at your repair shop with your customers or potential customers.
You can use your profile to post:
- Service Information: let customers know what services you offer at your automotive repair shop.
- Coupons and Discounts: running a promotion or sale? Share it on your profile!
- News and Events: did something big happen at your shop? Let people know!
By sharing this information, you can help your automotive repair shop attract new customers and keep existing customers informed. Plus, posting regularly on your Google Business Profile can help your search rankings by indicating to Google that you’re active.
5: A Google Business Profile is Free and Relatively Easy to Use
One of the best things about a Google Business Profile is that it’s free to set up and relatively easy to use. All you need is a Gmail account. You can then claim your business by verifying it with Google. Once your business is verified, you can start adding photos, videos, and other information about your automotive repair shop.
Setting up your profile can be done in a few hours or less from beginning to end. However, being sure that your profile is set up properly is critical. You want to make sure that your automotive repair shop’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) are all correct. Any incorrect information could hurt your ranking in local search results and make it difficult for customers to find you.
If you’re not sure how to set up your Google Business Profile or if you need help optimizing it for Local SEO, contact us! We offer affordable Google Business Profile management to auto repair shop owners like yourself. You can also check out our blog article on getting the most out of your Google Business Profile here.
Conclusion
The automotive repair industry is incredibly competitive and, as a result, it’s important to do everything you can to get an edge on the competition. Creating and maintaining a Google Business Profile is one way to help your automotive repair shop get ahead. It’s easy to set up and, once you have it up and running, it can be a powerful asset to your business.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Agency 8 serves Auto Repair Shops, click here!
