AUTHOR'S NOTE: The data below is base on the original 250 shops that we audited from late 2020 into early 2021. We have since audited over 450 shops as being presented at the SEMA Show November 2nd 2021.
We audited over 250 auto restoration and performance shop websites (as well as their Google My Business profiles) and the results can help you sell more online.
The auto restoration and performance world is changing fast - increasingly, shop owners are moving online, and the marketplace is changing. Everything from scheduling, parts, sales, and
services are being sold online, and customers are expecting to find everything they need via a quick Google search.
The online world is incredibly competitive - and here at Motorhead Digital, we’re dedicated to helping auto restoration and performance shops compete online, grow their businesses, and keep their shops full of high value projects.
So, we spent six months conducting detailed research into how the auto restoration and performance industry is shaping up online.
We wanted to see how many shops within the industry were set up to compete at the standards customers expect online in 2021 - and attract more of the right clients to their business as a result.
We looked at over 250 auto restoration and performance shops and graded their websites.
We also analyzed their businesses for 7 important elements, took a look to see if they were using social media to promote their shops as well as
YouTube for marketing, we also dug into their
Google My Business profiles to see where they stood and how much they could improve.
Here are the key areas we looked into during our research:
Our team used
HubSpot’s Website Grader tool, to calculate the average score for the site’s performance, SEO, mobile responsiveness, and security standards. The average we found was 71% across all the sites we graded with a low score of 0 to a high of 97.
Here’s how the 257 sites we ran through HubSpot Website Grader scored:
- 8 sites scored in the 0 - 25 range
- 35 sites scored in the 26 - 50 range
- 77 sites scored in the 51 - 75 range
- 137 sites scored in the 76-100 range
Out of the 257 sites we ran through HubSpot Website Grader
only 34 sites received a score of 90 or higher.
We wanted to see what the industry standards were in each of these areas and share the results with you, so you can grade your own current efforts, and improve your online presence to be even more effective than it is now.
Take a look at our findings, figure out where your company is on its digital journey, and start attracting more clients to your business in the future with a few improvements.
User-friendliness of the website
Are auto restoration and performance shop websites mobile-ready?
Almost 60% of websites in the auto restoration and performance industry are mobile-ready. This is great to see because being mobile-ready means that companies within the industry will get more visitors to their websites due to being more accessible on multiple devices.
However, this also means that over
40% of shop websites aren’t mobile-ready and not easily viewed or navigated on a mobile smartphone - which is not a great start for those companies. Having a mobile-friendly website these days is an absolute necessity for any company, so if your website isn’t mobile-ready then you’re going to lose leads.
Why?
Most people access the internet through their phones, tablets, or any other kind of mobile device.
Right now,
83% of the U.S. population uses a mobile device to access and search for products and services on the internet - it's expected to be 86.7% by 2025.
If a site isn’t mobile-ready, it won’t display correctly when viewed on a mobile device. This means someone viewing your site will most likely click away onto someone else’s site that
does work for them.
Make sure your website is made with mobile users in mind:
- Make sure your phone number or phone icon is visible at the top of the site.
- Is your shop address easy to find? So many people use their phone as a tool to navigate via a maps' app to businesses when they’re on the road.
- Check if you can easily read all of your content while on your smartphone.
- See if the buttons are all easy to find and are big enough to tap on the smaller screen.
- Make sure everything loads properly and isn’t distorted on a phone screen.
- Page load speed is a huge factor for mobile, if your site loads too slowly people may go elsewhere.
Take a close look at your website today to make sure it’s accessible on mobile devices.
Is your web page mobile-friendly?
You can test it here. If it fails the test, let’s chat.
Wondering if your site works correctly on mobile?
Schedule a FREE Site Audit and Strategy Session Today
Do auto restoration and performance shop websites look professional?
It’s very important to have a professional-looking site.
94% of a visitor’s first impressions relate to your site’s web design and
75% of website credibility comes down to design.
Just 45% of the websites we audited looked professional
leaving 55% of those websites looking unprofessional. An unprofessional website doesn’t give your business the credit it deserves.
You don’t want to scare away your potential customers or future team members with a website that looks like it was made at the dawn of the Internet in the late 1990s. Even if it’s mobile ready, if it’s not pleasing to look at and easy to navigate, potential customers will leave. Website standards are constantly evolving - your site should be designed to the standards people are used to today.
An updated and professional website is the only way to go and unfortunately less than half of the companies we surveyed had professional looking websites.
You could be losing a lot of clients if your website comes across as unprofessional. If somebody lands on your website and sees that it’s not very well put together, they’ll think your business is the same - and they won’t want to do business with you.
Digital marketing for auto restoration and performance shops
How many auto restoration and performance shop websites have a working email marketing campaign?
We found that
less than 25% of the websites we audited had email opt-ins for an email marketing campaign. This was shocking to see as email marketing is a fantastic way to build regular and happy clients.
It’s crazy to think that 75% of companies in the auto restoration and performance industry don’t run email marketing campaigns. Email marketing has the best return on investment of any digital marketing technique -
boasting a 4200% ROI ($42 for every $1 spent).
Start building your email list and
create an email marketing campaign for your business
and include irresistible opt-in offers on your website so you can convert people into paying clients as they sign up.
How many auto restoration and performance websites have a blog?
Only 12.2% of the websites audited had a blog. Blogs are an incredibly important and vital part of
content marketing for auto restoration shops. They help your website get seen by Google and improve your search engine optimization (SEO) -
companies who blog get 97% more backlinks to their websites.
The more you post on a blog, the more people will see you as an expert in the industry. They’ll see that you’re knowledgeable and trustworthy - and the perfect company for their restoration project or performance work.
If your business doesn’t have a blog then now is the time to add one to your website. Try to add a new post at least once a month with:
- Interesting industry tips
- New technology
- News about your company
- Stories about projects you've done
- or about events that you support or will be attending in the area.
Although It’s not a necessity,
HubSpot notes in this article that a blog post with 2,100-2,400 words is ideal for SEO.
Keep in mind, blogs are best used to help and educate your clients and prospects not sell and once published to your site they can be shared online to your social media channels or via an email blast to your customers and prospects.
Wondering how email marketing can help your business?
Schedule a FREE Site Audit and Strategy Session Today
Do auto restoration and performance shops use social media?
Over 80% of the websites we audited had social media accounts set up - which is a fantastic start.
If you have a social media account make sure you’re posting regular updates with relevant posts so your audience will engage with you more. By doing this, you’ll become better known within the industry and more people will want to work with you.
If you don’t have a social media account then we’d advise getting one setup as soon as possible.
Social media is a great way to connect with your audience and bring more clients to your business.
We recommend that
shops start with Instagram as it’s the go-to social media platform in this industry - in fact,
83% of people on Instagram use it to discover new products and services.
Do auto restoration and performance shops have YouTube channels?
Of the companies that we checked,
only 40% had an active YouTube channel. Video marketing is an excellent way to engage with your audience, show them how you can help, as well as showcasing current projects.
According to a
recent study by HootSuite, YouTube is bigger than any other social media platform. (And every other website, too, except for Google.) YouTube has 2 billion users worldwide (Statista, 2019).
YouTube is a marketing platform that gives you access to millions of potential clients.
You can shoot and upload videos to YouTube that show your audience how to fix or perform simple upgrades to their cars. You can also create vlogs to put on your site featuring events you’ve attended, or projects you've worked on in your shop.
People love explainer videos that show processes, project progress, as well as the end result of that awesome restoration, build, or engine modification you’re working on.
Video is one of the best mediums to advertise and promote your business as people prefer to consume information by watching or listening to it rather than reading it.
Many people don’t know this, but your YouTube channel can help you show up in the search results - YouTube is huge when it comes to SEO, if it’s done correctly.
If you go down the paid ad route,
ads on YouTube receive more attention (62 percent) from viewers than television ads (45 percent).
YouTube has some seriously big sway when it comes to modern consumers’ buying decisions - so get on it!
Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is an absolute must for any business in the auto restoration and performance industry.
It helps you:
- Rank higher on Google for local searches
- Makes you look more professional
- It makes it easier for potential clients to find and contact your business.
Here’s what we found out about auto restoration and performance companies and their Google My Business listings.
Have they claimed their GMB profile?
60% of businesses that we surveyed have claimed their listing on Google My Business. This means that
40% haven’t claimed their company on Google My Business.
If you haven’t claimed your business
you’re missing out on a lot of amazing (free!) marketing opportunities. We’d highly recommend that you claim your GMB listing as soon as possible so you can start getting more clients to your shop.
Did you know that most people who view your Google My Business listing will check out your website too?
According to a recent study, 56% will visit your site, 24% will give you a call, and 20% will ask Google for directions to your shop.
Google My Business is a great promotional tool to have, and an optimized profile can get you serious leads.
96% of local businesses are viewed 25+ times per month in the search results, and 86% receive more than 25 views on Google Maps. 16% of businesses also receive more than 100 calls every month because of GMB.
If you haven’t claimed your Google My Business page, Google has probably already created it for you and is just waiting for you to claim it. To check, search for your business name and it will most likely show up on the right side of the search results. If you’re a new business Google might not have created one for you yet, so you’ll need to create one for your business on
Google Business.
To put it simply - if you want local customers, you need to claim and optimize your Google My Business profile (it’s one of the things we do best, get in touch!)
Be an authority in your niche by promoting your expertise!
Schedule a FREE Site Audit and Strategy Session Today
Have they optimized their GMB profile?
Out of the small percentage of companies who do have a GMB account set up and running
only 19% of those companies have optimized their GMB.
What this means is that they’ve claimed and verified they own the business, but they haven’t optimized the listing to
help with SEO and marketing.
You can optimize your Google My Business by:
- Adding photos of your business
- Writing a description in the bio about your business
- Adding products and services
- Including your opening and closing hours and including your contact information
It’s important to
optimize your GMB profile so potential clients know where you are, what you do, and how to contact you. GMB also has a neat feature called
Posts that will help with your SEO rank and you can also use it as another place to share your blog articles with the world.
Does their GMB profile have customer reviews on it?
Out of the companies who had verified their Google My Business, 76% of the companies had received reviews.
Reviews are incredibly important for a company’s growth as they allow you to learn and grow to be better for your clients.
84% of people trust online reviews - making them incredibly important when attracting new clients.
Not only this, but positive reviews will show your audience that you’re a great company to work with.
Even negative reviews can have a positive outcome, if you respond to them in the right way. By solving the problems your clients had with your service professionally, you’re showing your future clients that you have great customer service skills and if they have a problem you’ll be able to fix it.
Regardless of whether it’s a good or bad review, it’s important to respond to every review your shop gets. If you can it’ll show that you’re on top of things and you care about your clients as well as your shop's reputation.
If you don’t have any reviews on your GMB try to email your clients after you’ve completed a job for them and ask them if they would leave a review on your GMB listing.
Is your business using Google My Business to it's fullest?
Schedule a FREE Site Audit and Strategy Session Today
Website privacy, security & ADA compliance
Do auto restoration and performance shop websites have SSL certification?
An SSL cert is the fighting force behind your online security as it protects all of your sensitive information and the information of your clients.
About 60% of the companies
we audited had an SSL certification in place, but the
other 40% didn’t have it on their website - which is a huge red flag to visitors and Google alike that your site may not be secure.
SSL certification is a necessity for any website. Not only does it protect your data but it also affirms your identity as a business, helps you rank higher on Google, and
improves trust between you and your clients
SSL certification is very important and you now need it to be compliant with the
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Privacy cookie notices
These are the annoying pop up notices that you see on most sites, asking you to approve of the site placing a tracking code (or cookie) on your computer
California’s version of Europe's GDPR law, the CCPA, is an act that gives consumers more control over what personal and tracking information you’re allowed to collect from them, how you store that data, as well as their rights to have you delete their personal data if requested.
This means you’ll have to give your clients certain notices explaining your privacy practices, like those annoying cookie notices you may have noticed popping up everywhere. The CCPA can be enforced across the US, it’s not restricted to just California, so protect your shop and get compliant ASAP.
ADA Compliance
While we’re talking about legal compliance, of the shop websites we audited,
80% were completely non-ADA compliant. 13% were only semi-compliant.
If a website isn’t ADA compliant, they run the risk of being sued.
This is a huge issue in our industry and has put many smaller, family-run companies out of business already.
We can’t emphasize how serious this is - if your website isn’t ADA compliant, you can get sued - this isn’t something you can put off and sort out later. At the end of the day it’s the right thing to do for your clients and prospects that may be physically impaired.
People love to feel safe and secure is your site secure?
Schedule a FREE Site Audit and Strategy Session Today
Conclusion
Our results showed us that there are definitely areas for improvement in the standards of websites, digital marketing and Google My Business in the auto restoration and performance industry.
We found all our data just by looking at the websites and GMB profiles of companies in the niche - just like your audience would.
Think about what the customer wants from you and how you can improve your website, marketing and your GMB to meet those needs.
If you’d like us to assess your online presence,
get in touch. Our Marketing Maximizer program is designed to help you make the most of your website, your content and your Google My Business profile.
