1 hour ago, Hands On said:

What happened? What's TireHub?

https://www.moderntiredealer.com/news/730291/bridgestone-is-dropping-atd-as-a-distributor

@JustTheBest You can post the videos directly within the post by just copying and pasting the youtube url into the editor 😁

Auto Care Association Supports Supreme Court Decision Allowing States to Collect Online Sales Tax

The Auto Care Association applauds today’s decision by the Supreme Court to permit states to collect sales tax on purchases of products made over the Internet. The 5-4 decision means that online sellers will now be on a level playing field with brick and mortar retailers regarding charging sales tax. The Auto Care Association had filed an amicus brief with other retail groups urging the Supreme Court to hear the case based on the price advantage that the current system provided on-line sellers. The decision overturns a previous Supreme Court decision that required companies to have a physical presence in the state where the purchaser resided in order to charge sales tax. 

“This is an important decision for many of Auto Care’s retail members and we are pleased that the Supreme Court saw the unfairness in the current system and determined to make everyone play by the same rules,” said Aaron Lowe, senior vice president, regulatory and government affairs, Auto Care Association. “We hope that implementation of the sales tax will be done uniformly across state lines to ensure a fair and efficient system of tax collection.

3 minutes ago, Truett said:

They will have to start charging tax for any state that charges sales tax. Some states do not charge a sales tax.

That's a good point about some states that do not charge sales tax. There's also suggestions being made about having an online sales tax amount that is the same across state borders, so we'll see where that goes. 

Very interesting ruling today and it'll be interesting to see how it affects smaller online sellers. Larger ones like Amazon already comply in some states and will easily implement it, but what about their marketplace sellers that don't charge tax? ebay is another one....

Quote

It’s a huge win for vendors with physical storefronts, which have long argued that their online counterparts enjoyed an unfair advantage because they didn’t have to charge customers local sales tax. Local governments may also see a windfall as a result of the ruling, as the government estimates that between $9 billion and $13 billion in potential tax revenue is left on the table, thanks to earlier Supreme Court decisions on the taxation of online purchases.  https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/states-will-be-able-to-charge-sales-tax-on-online-purchases-thanks-to-the-supreme-court/

On 6/4/2018 at 8:30 AM, tirengolf said:

I have a couple young techs that have been with me for 4 to 6 years. I am in the Panhandle of Florida. I am looking for some training classes, other than the Snap-on, Napa pizza parties. I would like to get them away a few days for some knowledgeable with general info and basic training, I am just not aware of any in the Southeastern USA. Thanks Guys  

Check out some of the instructor led training at CTI http://ctionline.com/index.php/cti-instructor-led-class-schedule.html

Also WTI http://www.worldpac.com/training/classes/technical/

13 minutes ago, cclub said:

It is also worth mentioning that Google seems to reward businesses that are active with Google posts under GMB.  I usually try to post once or twice per week, seems to help.

That's a great tip! 

https://moz.com/blog/boost-conversions-with-google-posts

54 minutes ago, autobodyguys said:

Would love to get everyone feedback. Thanks!

folsom orangevale auto body repair

@autobodyguys Nice layout! Looks like you are using a wordpress theme commonly used to build sites which is good. I would consider moving your domain to https:// at some point and checking your slider images for clarity on larger screens. The car image for instance, its stretched beyond its dimensions causing it to be slightly grainy on larger desktop screens, which you can solve by using a larger image for desktop and smaller image for mobile or resizing correctly. Personally, I'm not a fan of using white text with shadowing on white background like in your logo because it gets lost a bit, but that may be just me. 😋

Maybe put a background on the "collision repair" text within the logo image like you have it on your building:

Your slider image text should be moved higher because its at the bottom of the screen on desktops (checked in Chrome browser). You should put that higher towards the middle of the page view.

This is on a quick look of course...😁

You can run a SEO test here: https://seositecheckup.com, you'll find a few things like image alt tags and page caching to improve speed as opportunities.

Most websites and website designers these days follow the guideline of 160 characters when writing website page meta descriptions. When they are longer, Google just truncates them to 160...well until December 2017 when Google decided to accept that number to be around 300 with some recommending to make it 320. If your web designer wrote your website page descriptions shorter, you aren't taking advantage of the description tag to better your SEO and possibly your click-through rate. It's time to look at your website pages to be sure.

Feel free to join and post in my group and we'll take a peak for you. 

Good read: https://www.compose.agency/insights/meta-description-length-2018

On 4/6/2018 at 11:34 AM, Gerhards Garage said:

Looking for a shop management program that isn't outrageous in price and easy to use. Any suggestions?

There is an ongoing topic you may want to check out:

Welcome to AutoShopOwner! Bumping this topic for you...😉

If anyone is looking for the article @autorepairuniversity mentioned, I believe it's this one by @Elite Worldwide Inc. 

Welcome to AutoShopOwner!

1 hour ago, xrac said:

Are you telling me there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

LOL...somehow facebook makes their 16B a year!

Yes they are tracking us, but we know this, right? I was with a group of people very recently, and they were all thinking about getting off their facebook accounts because of the latest backlash around facebook and their data. The hashtag #DeleteFacebook has picked up some steam and media outlets are all talking about it. Almost as if they didn't know that Facebook was collecting all of their data and when they accessed their facebook app on their phone or mobile device, facebook was tracking a lot more. That's the trade-off for using their free service. Facebook gets loads of data, shows you targeted ads, and is able to monetize that data. Google does the same, its all about the data and parsing that data for profit. Even when you delete your data, is it really gone? 

So the question is, will this hurt facebook? Memberships from the younger generation are declining already, as they flock to snapchat and instagram, so now with a concern of, "what is facebook doing with my information out there", is this a problem for them? Maybe not, we'll have to wait and see.

Facebook is part of so many people's daily lives, so it will be interesting to see where this all goes and if it affects them. Facebook will not last forever because it simply isn't "cool" to the younger generation. It'll probably change and let's not forget that they own Instagram, WhatsApp and a bunch of other companies.

Tip...if you don't want your data tracked, shut off your settings in your facebook account, your apps, and your phone privacy settings. There are many tutorials online that can help you. 🙂

On 1/2/2018 at 1:43 AM, Martin said:

My webpage URL has changed.

http://www.acdautomotiveservices.co.za/

@Martin  I like that you've added Whatsapp as a contact method. On a quick look and not a huge deal, you've got some styling issues in your footer with your links and a little red box coming up on chrome:

Looking at your footer area code, that red box is where your contact form response would be placed. You are using the latest version of wordpress which is good and this is just a template/css fix your designer can make. I would think about moving to https://  you are currently on http://. I would also make your youtube and facebook links larger, they get lost a bit.

On 2/7/2018 at 3:24 PM, risingsunmotors said:

www.risingsunmotorsMD.com

Done by Netdriven out of PA. they do a good job 

Jeff

@risingsunmotors, nice website. Maybe think about contacting Net driven and moving over to https.

On 2/23/2018 at 7:27 AM, Mosher said:

https://www.swampscottautoservice.com Please feel free to give some feedback

@Mosher Looks good, clean design. 👍 Did you use a third party site like WIX or something like that? 

Free webinar for all members hosted by @Ron Ipach from Captain Car Count! 

As you already know, finding good, qualified technicians isn’t as easy as it was in years past. Gone are the days of simply placing a few ads online or in the newspaper help-wanted section. 

When you combine the fact that more shops than ever are in the hunt for qualified applicants, with the ever-shrinking pool of technicians to draw from, it’s no wonder so many shop owners are frustrated with their search. 

Attracting good technicians today requires a radically different approach, and on this highly informative online training event, Ron Ipach, president of Repair Shop Coach, will walk you through the same strategies that his clients are using to attract lots of highly qualified to their shops on a consistent basis.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Time slots vary and are held weekly:

Please reach out to @Ron Ipach for additional information.

On 2/23/2018 at 2:39 PM, spenceauto said:

Just wondering if I was the only fool who signed up for Mitchell 1 at $149 per month, only to realize that this was an "introductory" offer for 6 months and the price then jumps to $219 monthly. My sales person didn't make this clear at the time I signed the contract. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

Sounds like you have the bundle. Do you have manager and prodemand/ondemand for repair? If so they sell the TeamWorks package at $229 plus $15 per additional user. Manager is $119 separate and Prodemand is $169 separate according to their website.

Welcome to AutoShopOwner 🙂

4 hours ago, Hands On said:

Keep in mind anyone can view these forums and sign up, there are plenty of non garage owners here. Also, this kind of thing is what some people worry about. Just my opinion.

I'm not sure what the original post was about or in reference to, but thought I would use this as an opportunity to chime in on what @Hands On mentioned. To not logged in visitors, we only show the first post in each topic. You must be registered and logged in to view all posts within topics. It is difficult to screen everyone that registers but we try to do a good job when when we see something out of the ordinary or are notified by other members. Members should ideally be shop owners, techs who are looking to be shop owners, sponsors, industry writers/publishers and staff mostly with some exceptions. 

Now if anyone wants a private forum/closed off forum, lets say by invite only, you can easily do this by starting your own group and adding a forum to it. The forums can be open or completely off limits to others and by invite only. You may want to discuss topics that you don't want open to everyone, this is where creating your own group and adding a forum to it would come in. For more info, please see this topic 😁:

Google has a great informational page that outlines best practices to increase your website/business ranking in search results. 

Can’t find your business? Improve your info.

You may find that your business doesn’t appear for relevant searches in your area. To maximize how often your customers see your business in local search results, complete the following tasks in Google My Business. Providing and updating business information in Google My Business can help your business’s local ranking on Google and enhance your presence in Search and Maps.

Enter complete data

Local results favor the most relevant results for each search, and businesses with complete and accurate information are easier to match with the right searches. Make sure that you’ve entered all of your business information in Google My Business, so customers know more about what you do, where you are, and when they can visit you. Provide information like (but not limited to) your physical address, phone number, and category. Make sure to keep this information updated as your business changes. Learn how to edit your business information

Verify your location(s)

Verify your business locations to give them the best opportunity to appear for users across Google products, like Maps and Search. Learn more about verification

Keep your hours accurate

Entering and updating your opening hours, including special hours for holidays and special events, lets potential customers know when you’re available and gives them confidence that when they travel to your location, it will be open. Learn how to edit your hours

Manage and respond to reviews

Interact with customers by responding to reviews that they leave about your business. Responding to reviews shows that you value your customers and the feedback that they leave about your business. High-quality, positive reviews from your customers will improve your business’s visibility and increase the likelihood that a potential customer will visit your location. Encourage customers to leave feedback by creating a link they can click to write reviews. Learn more

Add photos

Adding photos to your listings shows people your goods and services, and can help you tell the story of your business. Accurate and appealing pictures may also show potential customers that your business offers what they’re searching for. Learn more

How Google determines local ranking

Local results are based primarily on relevance, distance, and prominence. These factors are combined to help find the best match for your search. For example, Google algorithms might decide that a business that's farther away from your location is more likely to have what you're looking for than a business that's closer, and therefore rank it higher in local results.

Relevance

Relevance refers to how well a local listing matches what someone is searching for. Adding complete and detailed business information can help Google better understand your business and match your listing to relevant searches.

Distance

Just like it sounds–how far is each potential search result from the location term used in a search? If a user doesn't specify a location in their search, Google will calculate distance based on what’s known about their location.

Prominence

Prominence refers to how well-known a business is. Some places are more prominent in the offline world, and search results try to reflect this in local ranking. For example, famous museums, landmark hotels, or well-known store brands that are familiar to many people are also likely to be prominent in local search results.

Prominence is also based on information that Google has about a business from across the web (like links, articles, and directories). Google review count and score are factored into local search ranking: more reviews and positive ratings will probably improve a business's local ranking. Your position in web results is also a factor, so SEO best practices also apply to local search optimization.

There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google. We do our best to keep the details of the search algorithm confidential to make the ranking system as fair as possible for everyone.

Source: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en

This is an exclusive invitation to all AutoShopOwner members!

You are invited to Elite's Employee Management Made Easy webinar on Tue, Feb 13, 2018 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM EST!

Join Elite at this powerful course and you’ll see just how easy it is to improve employee morale, drive up productivity, and increase your profits. During this webinar you will learn…

• the key fundamentals of employee management
• proven tips on how you can improve employee morale
• how to deal with the most difficult employees

5 minutes ago, xrac said:

I have on this and another but haven't heard a thing as yet. Alex, do you have any idea how long it takes for Google to respond or do they respond. 

As fast as 24 hours in some cases if it's a policy violation. Google recommends responding to the review as a message back to the customer, if you haven't done that already. 

Google may have not seen the review as a policy violation in which case it's difficult to remove.

It's worth a shot to report it and dispute.

Ron, I moved this topic into our new forum which includes webinars. I would also suggest posting your webinars in our community calendar by date https://www.autoshopowner.com/calendar/. 🙂

The forum is:

Shop Management Coaching, Business Training, Consulting