If you are a business in the automotive industry and looking to increase sales and services creating a strong online presence is a must.SEO is becoming a very competitive arena in a lot of industries, making it harder for companies to compete for top search engine results on Google, Bing, Yahoo. The good news for the automotive industry is that only 5% of automotive repair service companies are actively marketing their website or services. I personally have seen a huge growth in automotive marketing online in California, but other areas of the United States have been a lot slower to adapt. So what does this mean for automotive repair shops across the United States? A huge opportunity for automotive repair shops to beat the competition through actively marketing their website through search engine optimization and making themselves more visible on business directories online where you can rate and review shops. The world has moved away from flipping through the thick Yellowpages Book to find local businesses (more useful as a paperweight) and has moved towards Google.com. Whether on the PC, Smartphone, or tablet.So whats the next step? Do a simple local test search online to see where your company ranks among the competition. (e.g. search “your town or surrounding towns” auto repair or more specific searches “your town” alignment repair, “your town” engine repair). After doing a few test searches how does your company rank? Top of the first page, second page, bottom of the third page, not visible at all? By doing this test you should be able to get a clear understanding where you rank locally online compared to the competition. If your company is at the top of the search results great, but do not get comfortable. Stay offensive and strengthen that position by reaching out to a SEO company or attending an SEO workshop. If your business is not ranked at the top, start planning. Reach out to a couple SEO consultative companies, compare pricing and packages, attend workshops, get your self listed in online directories, join social media websites, and have customers leave reviews on review websites. SEO Packages typically range anywhere from $300/month – $1500/month depending on the local competition and the amount of heavy lifting needed to be done to get your company to the top.Key Takeaway: If you are in the automotive repair industry and want to get ahead do your homework and start planning an effective online marketing strategy. You will be ahead of the marketing curve and it will have a direct impact on revenue.