When it comes to marketing, many get caught in traps focusing on one thing or another. If you focus too much on one element or if you don’t pay attention to any part of your marketing, you’re leaving money on the table. Autoshop Solutions can help turn that money into revenue for tire shops by optimizing all four elements of an effective digital marketing campaign. Here are the ways we help tire shops get more traffic and new customers.
Four Online Sources For New Customers
- Organic
- Paid Search
- Social Media
- Direct
1). Organic
If a vehicle owner needs new tires, they look on Google. When they find what they’re looking for, they click a link that takes them to a website. This is considered an “organic delivery” to the website. A large part of new traffic should come to your site organically like this, by people searching for your services and finding your shop.
How can you get more organic traffic? Your website needs to be optimized for search engines. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. By writing high-quality content on targeted keywords that fulfill search queries and resonate with your business’ services, we help tire shops get more new customers. When search engines like Google see the quality content and other important factors on your website, they will add your website to the list of search results when someone Googles something like “tire repair near me.”
2). Paid Search
Paid search, Facebook ads, AdWords, pay-per-click — they’re all names for the same thing. You pay for ads that will show up in front of your target audience. At Autoshop Solutions, we base these ads around targeted keywords that relate to your core services. For example, we might target someone searching for “tire repair near me” in your area.
The benefit of paid search is that you can get very targeted with your marketing budget for the business you really want. We can target ads for brake repair, tire sales, wheel alignment, and so on. However, paid search isn’t effective all on its own. It’s most effective with an SEO-optimized website and consistent online presence, including social media, because algorithms look at all of these elements as pieces of the same puzzle.
3). Social Media
How your business uses social media can say a lot more about you than a few 2-star reviews. Are you engaged and responsive to your customers? That looks great to prospective customers, that do look at your social media to get a first impression of your business. But social media isn’t just for the people or community engagement, although that’s a great reason to have it. Google does use social media activity to assess your overall digital presence and how involved your business is in the marketplace.
Tire shops can’t simply opt out of social media. It’s part of the puzzle Google puts together to assess your online presence. If you want your website or ads to show up and perform effectively, you need to send Google the right signals that your business is doing it all when it comes to marketing. However, tire shops can rest easy knowing that just one or two posts a week are more than sufficient to get the job done. Social media is about consistency, not volume.
4). Direct Traffic
Your on-the-ground marketing efforts generate direct traffic. Buying ad space on the bus stop, on billboards, or in magazines is a great way to get your name out around town. From there, potential customers will type in your website URL and go directly to your website, hence the term “direct.”
Direct also includes the returning customers that come to your site and have the URL saved from their first visit. Tire shops should see between 9-15% of traffic from direct. If yours is lower, then you are not doing enough to get customers to come straight to your site, whether from marketing or return customers. Website traffic determines your conversions and how many cars come into your shop, so it’s important to pay close attention to the numbers.
Your Takeaway
Marketing isn’t what it used to be, and for many reasons, that’s a good thing. Those that take the time and have the integrity to do things right are rewarded and can see great gains in their business. At Autoshop Solutions, we understand that it can be a little frustrating trying to navigate all the details of an effective digital marketing strategy. That’s why we offer comprehensive solutions for the automotive industry! For a more detailed explanation of how effective marketing can grow your tire shop’s revenue, be sure to check out our recent webinar. You can also contact Autoshop Solutions at (919) 342-6024.
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