1. Have a website plan… determine the goals of your website. Could be a simple “business card” website (not recommended) or a “money making” website. That’s one where you attract new prospects, provide great resources and keep them coming back (highly recommended)

2. Keep it fresh… update your content regularly. Don’t let your website go stale. Update at least once a month with fresh, useful content that keeps your prospect interested

3. Capture name and email addresses… Offer a free gift, newsletter or something to get your clients to willingly provide you with their name and email address.

4. Stay in regular contact with your online list… This is all about creating a relationship with your prospects and clients. Make use of auto-responders so that you can automate much of this process. Broadcast latest offers to your list or even tips on car care, money saving advice, etc. How often? At least monthly, weekly is better, in certain situations it could be daily.

5. Communicate with your list as if you’re talking to them at the shop counter or over a coffee. Be personable, avoid “technical speak” and make it about them, not you.

6. Make navigation around your website easy. Think of your website as having multiple entrances. You don’t know which page your prospect will find so make sure they can easily find their way around. Once you get them there, you want them to hang around for a while.

7. You’re in the service business… so make sure you have plenty of testimonials from satisfied clients when you are talking about your services. This adds credibility and “proof” that what you say is true. The best testimonials are those that are specific with plenty of detail, not general like “I really enjoyed it”.

8. Promote your website… make sure you refer to your website in all your advertising and on any promotional material. Also, and this is critical, make sure each page is search engine friendly specific to the service you offer and the location you service.

9. Make sure your website loads fast… Avoid glitzy animations and sounds… make use of graphics but make sure they are optimized for viewing on the internet.

10. Make use of Attention Grabbing Headlines… you have very little time to capture the attention of your website visitor so the first thing they should see is some attention grabbing headline. And it should be based on benefits and not features.

So there you are… my top 10 tips for website success! Fact is, there’s many more but I can just about guarantee that your website does not even have all of the elements listed above.

Want a Auto Repair website makeover… then check out this Auto Repair Website Special Report.

I’d bet many Auto Shop owners wouldn’t have a clue about this one! Take a look around at the Auto Repair websites online… check out your competitors. Is it to profitable to have the prettiest pictures, fancy Flash graphics showing the latest diagnostic equipment & car models, how great and clean your Repair shop looks like… or just to to tell everyone how great your service and staff are!

That’s Total B.S.!

If you’re in the Auto Repair business, the purpose of your shop’s website is to SELL something. Forget about anything else. Your website should have ONE main focus. That is, when a visitor comes to your website you should have ONE intended course of action that you want them to follow!

So, when someone comes to your website, it should be clearly obvious what ONE action you want them to take.

Put simply, get them to make a choice and get them to do it NOW! That’s the style of marketing I promote… it’s the type of marketing that will make you RICH! And it’s called Direct Response Marketing!

OK, so we want the visitor to your Auto Repair website to be presented with ONE choice. To do this, you have two options:

Option 1: Buy YOUR product or service
Option 2: Leave their name and email address for future follow up

If your strategy is option 1, then the best way to achieve that is to use a strong selling sales letter as the main text on your website. You don’t want a lot of links, you don’t want them to have to press “continue” to view the rest of your sales piece. The MAIN focus of your website is the sales letter.

Now don’t go thinking your business is different… The answer is clear. For your website to be an effective selling machine your product or service is not different.

Why?

Because you’re still selling to humans and the psychology of buying is all based on emotion. If you target that emotion in your sales copy then you will have a strong chance of success in making the sale.

What about option 2?

If you’re selling a $2,000 product, or even a selection of different services (the typical Auto Repair) to a cold audience of web visitors then that’s going to be hard to achieve. They’re not going to make up their mind straight away after looking at your website the first time.

So what should you do?

You offer them an ethical BRIBE… you give them reason to provide you with their name and email address and possibly other contact information. This BRIBE could be in the form of a free gift, a free report that provides valuable information, or even a free online course delivered by email.

You can then follow them up through effective email marketing. You may not sell them today, but you may have a strong chance of selling to them in the future. Having a qualified (interested in your product or service) targeted opt-in email list is as good as money in the bank!

So when you are building your website you have to choose what your primary goal is. If you’re selling a product under $50 with a proven high conversion rate then option 1 may be for you. But for the typical Auto Repair business, option 2 may prove more effective.

That’s the basis of a Direct Response Auto Repair Website… a website that has a clear identifiable course of action for your visitor… and one that is designed to SELL.