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Alex

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Posts posted by Alex

    Best Security Camera Setup For Shop

    in Running The Shop

    Posted

    If you are looking for an inexpensive option, I like zmodo for the price and features. The meshare app is pretty good. I use the cameras at my house. The ones below are outdoor but can be used inside, have 1080p and night vision. At $400 for 8 cameras with repeater, hard drive and NVR, its a good deal. This is on amazon. 

    zmodo shop cameras

     

    The indoor ones are good and have an intercom feature where you can speak into it. Here's a mix of 4 outdoor and 2 indoor:

     

    zmodo auto shop camera

     

    Businesses on First Page of Google Have an Avg. 4.4 Star Rating

    in Website Tips

    Posted

    Interesting article on Search Engine Journal about the importance of business reviews. Your business listing is prompted up with more positive reviews which is especially important for local area search.

    Google Local Search Study: Businesses on First Page Have an Avg. 4.4 Star Rating

    Google Business Reviews Rankings

    Businesses ranking on the first page of Google local search results have an average review rating of 4.42 stars.

    This information was revealed in a recent study from BrightLocal which examines Google reviews and how they relate to local rankings.

    A high star rating was found to strongly correlate with better rankings in Google search.

    Businesses ranking in the top 3 positions are more likely to have an average star rating of 4-5 stars (64% of businesses have 4-5 stars).

    Out of those ranking in positions 7-10 59% of were found to have a 4-5 star rating.

    Only 20% of businesses in positions 1-3 were found to have no Google reviews, compared to 26% of businesses in positions 7-10.

    Those numbers stress the importance of having a favorable star rating when it comes to ranking well in Google local search.

    Positive reviews send signals to Google that the business is trustworthy and provides a good experience for customers.

    Therefore, Google will be more likely to direct people toward those businesses when searching for what they offer.

     

    Other Key Findings from the Study

    Only 5% of businesses have an average star rating below 3 stars

    Photographers, alternative therapy businesses, and marketing services have the highest average star ratings

    Senior living services, car dealerships, and hotels have the lowest average star ratings

    Bars, restaurants, and hotels are the industries that are most likely to have Google Reviews

    Accountants are the least likely industry to have reviews on Google

    Results from this study are based on the analysis of 93,000 businesses’ Google reviews in 26 industries.

    Another recent study from Moz further illustrates the growing importance of Google My Business signals in local search results.

     

    Article: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-local-search-study-businesses-on-first-page-have-an-avg-4-4-star-rating/279895/

    Post your shop's website!

    in Management Software, Web Sites & Internet

    Posted

    On 9/3/2018 at 7:29 AM, Pete K said:

    Please check out our website:

    http://www.prospeedautoworks.com

    Would love to hear some feedback, especially around SEO.

    @Pete K around SEO, you should think about running SSL/HTTPS and definitely optimizing for mobile, having your site designed to be responsive. Looks like its built with Google sites, which should have some options there if you are doing it yourself. As far as on page SEO...run your url through an online testing site like: https://www.seotesteronline.com/ then make some edits. 

     

    9 hours ago, autobodyguys said:

    We updated our website based on ASO Staff Members suggestions. Let us know what you think :)

     

    folsom orangevale auto body shop

     

    thanks!

    @autobodyguys looks good but I would think about moving over to https/ssl, otherwise your visitors will get a message in their browser telling them it's not secure like:

    image.png

     

    8 hours ago, wilfredo celedon said:

    ATECHFRESNO.COM

    @wilfredo celedon looks good but same thing:

    image.png

    One thing I noticed when your site resizes for mobile, I would make the phone number clickable to bring up the mobile phone's dialer and the phone icon in the footer, rather than link to the contact page, have that link to the phone dialer as well.  The link should be changed to something like: 

    <a href="tel:559-495-0319">559-495-0319</a>

    image.png

    • Like 1

    [Brand Choice] Automotive Oil Filters

    in Automotive Parts & Suppliers

    Posted

    Oil filters are one of those important parts categories that every shop usually stocks, to turn bays faster and offer an oil change service as a way to capture needed maintenance and repairs. 

    • What is your preferred brand of oil filters and why?
    • Are you stocking oil filters in your shop? How do you keep your inventory stocked and updated if you do?
    • Who is your oil filter supplier and why?
    • Are you using a standard or premium oil filter on average?
    • If you service trucks, are you using Heavy Duty filters; Baldwin, Fleetguard, Luberfiner, etc.?

    image.png

    Google Search - What Happened?

    in Marketing, Advertising, & Promoting

    Posted

    The landscape definitely has changed to incorporate more ads and reviews on search pages so google can make for ad revenue. The reality is that the more ads and suggestions that are running for a particular keyword or phrase, the lower your organic results will be on the search page. Google being by far the #1, it's important to make sure you are listed and listed in a way that makes your business and website pages more relevant than your competitor's web pages. A website alone these days doesn't always cut it, really depends on the area you are in and how many competitors there are. Google business listings are extremely important and not only having a business listing, but having positive reviews which will push your listing up. 

    Nowadays you have to have more than just a great website, you need up-to-date business listings (hours, phone, text, holidays, reviews, pictures, products,. services, specials,, etc.), positive reviews from all sources, continues social network activity with back-links to your site, a website well designed for mobile with up-to-date coding with on page SEO/Content and also run Google ads if you can squeeze it into your budget. Positive online reviews are a big driver of traffic these days for small businesses. 

    Auto shop owner new forum topics

    in Member Feedback

    Posted

    On 8/29/2018 at 5:28 PM, ScottSpec said:

    It seems to me that the forums have been much quieter. I'm not sure if that is correct or not, but I know when I get that email every week, and I see the topic list, I get turned off pretty quickly. Then I stop looking at them all together when they come.

    Scott

    Hopefully the topic email will be a little better categorized moving forward. It does get quieter in the summer every year and it really depends on member participation, which includes starting new topics and replying to existing ones to keep content fresh and going. We keep it very open here and at any time if anyone has any suggestions for forum category layout or additional features, please start a topic in our member feedback forum which I will move this topic to. 😁

    Auto shop owner new forum topics

    in Member Feedback

    Posted

    On 8/19/2018 at 11:02 PM, slowtech said:

    Just got my e-mail on the latest forum topics. Out of 20 topics 7 are marketing ads from the same person. Also under popular forum topics of 5, 3 are ads also by same person of which no discussion took place. So how are these popular. I get a ton of advertising e-mail. Just didn't expect this from ASO. I do look into some ASO sponsor ads. But this is not necessary.

    I've been watching this topic and appreciate the feedback. We definitely have an opportunity to send out the weekly newsletter/digest more refined I suppose. What happens is that the the topics that are listed in the email are the latest NEW topics and most of the ones that are started/created are by sponsor members who pay to be able to post in our forums and support the community. Here are our membership packages: https://www.autoshopowner.com/store/category/1-membership-packages/ 

    That being said, we are going to change around the weekly email a bit starting this Sunday and break out the topics from the two forums where most of the marketing/coaching emails tend to reside and put them into their own block within the email. In addition to that, the new forum topics will now include new and updated topics, which should provide for a better read of activity when you open the email. 

     

    The Road to Great Technicians Webinar With CARQUEST’s Chris Chesney

    in Education & Training

    Posted

    On June 20, the Automotive Service Association (ASA) hosted a webinar called “The Road to Great Technicians” with Chris Chesney, senior director of customer training for the CARQUEST Technical Institute. 

    Written by Chasidy Rae Sisk

    The Road to Great Technicians

    * Attendees qualified for one credit from the Automotive Management Institute. 

    After ASA Vice President Tony Molla introduced the webinar’s presenter, Chesney recounted his collaboration with the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) to identify the Road to Great Technicians. They began in March 2016 when NASTF’s Spring General Meeting focused on the topic of building a road to great technicians.

    Chesney was asked to explain the current state of the aftermarket training industry. He defined the current state of aftermarket training as a lack of industry standards and a structured career path, unorganized training offerings, and disjointed efforts by industry organizations. However, he also identified many good building elements.

    Current problems in the industry include the inability to find new talent, graduates not performing to industry standards, an inability to afford techs and the amount of time is takes to replace a technician or advisor who leaves a company because companies do not build bench strength.

    Chesney stressed, “You have to invest in those new technicians, but many shops cannot find someone who can perform out of the gate, so we need to focus on growing our own and building our bench strength to overcome this problem. We have a need now for the next several years. Reports indicate that we need 80,000 technicians each year, but only 25,000 are being produced.”

    Chesney identified the aging workforce, oncoming tidal wave of technology and lack of a structured career path as reasons for the significant needs for technicians. Focusing on the influx of technology, he explored the unseemly amount of data that is transferred within modern vehicles.

    “It’s not the problem of education,” he said. “It’s our problem, and we’re going to look into that.”

    Chesney presented a picture of the Technician Life Cycle, which included the following seven steps: secondary shadowing, post-secondary intern, entry-level apprentice, technician, senior technician, master technician and specialist; however, he noted that this does not include possible “off ramps” on the Road to Great Technicians.

    Occurring after an industry professional becomes an entry-level technician, these “off ramps” include in-service continuing education and higher education, which can offer technicians a variety of paths to pursue in their careers, ranging from master technician to shop foreman to shop owner or even becoming an engineer for an OEM. 

    In a January 2018 meeting, the education team at NASTF identified a subcommittee of industry experts tasked with creating a framework of education around the life cycle of a technician and other job roles within the industry. This framework is intended for curriculum providers to use in order to offer a career pathway that means something to the industry and is transferrable throughout the industry. The group began with the vision that they would prescribe degrees of competencies at every skill level, focused on the safety and reliability of the ground vehicle fleet.

    This Road to Great Technicians team consists of NASTF Chair Mark Saxonberg, Toyota’s Jill Saunders, WTI’s Rob Morrell, CTI’s Chris Chesney, NACAT’s Bill Haas, of Diag.net’s Scott Brown, WTI’s Mark Warren, NASTF’s Donny Seyfer, ASE’s Trish Serratore, S/P2’s Kyle Holt, DrewTech’s Bob Augustineand Cengage’s Erin Brennan.

    Exploring possible solutions to the industry’s problem, this group defined 13 solution elements, starting with new and enhanced communication with parents and influencers of peripheral students, early engagement with tactile students in middle and high school, support of STEM and development of a well-articulated career path with clear opportunities for advancement and growth that students and parents can see.

    The industry also needs to get involved with vocational education content to ensure these programs provide the right skills to students. 

    Chesney explained, “They’re producing the wrong technicians because we aren’t involved. We have to be involved. We need to design a curriculum for schools and employers to ensure that, regardless of where technicians work, they are uniformly trained for the skill level. We have to provide people with the opportunity to grow throughout their careers.” 

    The team also believes that the industry needs to provide internship experience, develop programs to help in-service technicians become mentors, and ensure that testing and certification programs are uniform and tiered to provide milestones for achievement. Employers also must find ways to provide wages and benefits that are competitive with other industries attracting the same individuals. 

    “As technicians progress through their career, it is imperative to communicate career options to ensure they don’t leave the industry,” Chesney elaborated. “Vehicle technology has accelerated to unprecedented levels, necessitating faster and more thorough technician skill development to ensure public safety. To add further credibility and value to the process, NASTF is encouraging practical examinations similar to other safety-related skills as a means to verify requisite skill level attainment. Currently, this is not regulated and we cannot keep up with the advancing rates of technology, but we need a way to prove our skills and be prepared for what’s coming, not merely what is on the road right now.”

    The current state of industry education is outcome-based and not sufficient to serve today’s technology. The future of education must be competency-based with a focus on mastery of skill and validation of a technician’s mastery and development of skills that are recognized and transferable. A competency-based education offers a variable class structure and the ability to test out of the subject matter at different levels, enabling students to finish as they are able.

    The Road to Great Technicians team defined a new NASTF Technician Life Cycle that includes seven steps: apprentice technician, maintenance technician, service technician, repair technician, diagnostic technician, master technician, and specialist technician. 

    According to Chesney, “Each step would require a variety of requirements as far as training and experience. They would also require mastery of competencies using curriculum provided by the industry, to include mentoring, demonstrated skills and self-paced curriculum. Finally, technicians seeking to advance would prove their skills through oral and hands-on exams.”

    Continuing the work they have started, the team plans to provide the industry with a white paper by the end of the year, but they encourage the industry to comment and opine. While the team will be limited in size in order to maximize effectiveness, they encourage industry professionals to join NASTF and the NASTF Education Team.

     The group’s vision for the future of automotive education culminates in the idea of the Automotive Institute of Science and Technology, which would include a pathway education in a project-based environment. In ninth and 10th grades, students would sample each pathway through projects designed to highlight the different aspects and career fields before choosing a specific pathway in 11th grade to focus on in their final two years of high school. Their choices would be automotive technology as a trade, business, or engineering. While obtaining their associates degree, students would enter the discipline of their choice, working in shops to gain practical experience while simultaneously acting as mentors to younger students. Chesney concluded the webinar with a question and answer session.

    Article Source: https://www.autobodynews.com/index.php/component/k2/item/15820-asa-hosts-road-to-great-technicians-webinar-with-carquest-s-chris-chesney.html










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