Even if you pour thousands of dollars into your website but don't focus on search terms that people are looking for, your money spent is not serving you.

Ranking number 1 in mechanic near me is a generalist auto repair shop's dream come true. However, if your shop is in an area with established competitors, or if you are a specialty auto repair shop, then you want to target the not-so-obvious keywords that can bring you a lot of business. Now, what are those people searching for?

Of course, the obvious keywords should be focused on, such as mechanic near me, auto repair shop near me, auto repair shop, oil change, and best mechanic with your city to follow. However, sometimes, this search term should not be your primary focus.

 If you live in or near a large city, such as Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, or Houston, you will likely have 50+ shops in your area, and those who are most established online with quality SEO are going to be hard to overtake. It is possible, but it will take time and strategy.

Have you heard of long-tail keyphrases? Long-tail keyphrases are usually a word series for a service that people search for that is not a common page title. Here are some specific examples to help you with your ranking in a competitive area.

• "Powerstroke diesel mechanics"
• "Auto repair shops that work on cars with R12f refrigerant"
• "ADAS calibrations"

Now how do you find these less common terms people are searching for? With Bird's iSocial, we specialize in specialty shops such as European cars. Now, if this shop has "auto repair" optimized, they will be fielding many domestic car phone calls requesting services on Chevys, Fords, or Hondas. This shop will have its service advisors fielding phone calls from clients who are not relevant to their services.

Now, take the shop that uses relevant terms like BMW oil leak repair, and Audi 10k service, the calls coming into their shop will be pertinent to their service, and it will be so much easier for them to rank in these terms.

What is a long-tail phrase that is relevant to me? Here are some examples to get your wheel spinning.

• Headlight restoration services
• Custom exhaust systems
• Cummins diesel injector replacement
• Jeep lift kit installation
• Performance upgrades for diesel trucks

Another highly effective technique is writing blog posts that answer people's questions relevant to your services. Here are some examples of phrases that answer a question. 

• What can I do about my ugly yellow headlights?
• How do you replace Cummins 6.7 injectors?
• Are mobile auto repair services reliable?
• Is a custom exhaust system better than a bolt-on aftermarket system?
• Where can I have a lift kit professionally installed on my Jeep?
• Are performance upgrades for diesel trucks legal?

Each of these examples is an excellent blog post topic and focuses on answering a question for which someone may be using an online search, increasing the likelihood of your website becoming relevant to your ideal customer. Adding in your city and state, and you may be reeling in the customers with this technique when someone asks these questions in a google search.

We want to look for search terms that are not on your competitor's websites. This is usually pretty easy to do; many shops are not putting effort into anything but the obvious. Now, you don't want to ignore the obvious search terms; we want to add to them with these long-tail search terms.

Where to find relevant long-tail search terms?

There are programs such as Semrush, Ahrefs, and BuzzSumo that can aid you, however, they can get expensive to use. There are other easy ways to find keywords, such as looking at the services you provide. Do you offer undercoating and rust prevention? Add a page for that. How about 4-wheel alignments? Or, how about Road Force Balancing? Add a page for each of these services too. Now, these are not services everyone provides, which sets you apart online. You want to have the standard pages, so be sure to focus on those, too, such as timing belt replacements and check engine light diagnosis. This blog aims to stimulate and get your wheels spinning with the less common specialty search terms.

If you are struggling with finding long-tail search terms that your customers are looking for, ask your staff, have them list their most common questions asked, and answer these questions on your website. Add blogs to answer these questions, FAQ pages, and as main content pages. Place a notepad on your service counter, and every time a customer asks a question you can use as content, write it down; this is food for your website and become your long-tail keyphrases.

Your reviews are a hotspot full of ideas for your website and blogs. Check them out and see what your customers are saying about you. Things like "I brought my RV into Stan's for service" give pause for thought. Do you have an RV page on your website? If the answer is no, this would be a perfect addition! Your customer reviews highlight how you are different than the rest. They will also tell you what you are doing well and what you can improve upon, and what your customers value. Use these as learning opportunities and press into your strengths and study how to improve upon your weaknesses. If you do something that people love, press into that strength and master it!

Phone call tracking is a store of quality content ideas; if you take the time to listen, you will find golden nuggets to share. When you just don't have the time to search or build content, turn to the professionals at Bird's iSocial. We are here to help you build your website content, write blogs, respond to reviews, and create a social media schedule to reflect your why and highlight your specialties. Give us a call at 360-319-3242 today!