Marketing for Auto Repair Shops
For most independent shops, marketing starts with two things people check before they pull in: the Google listing and the website. This page covers what we do on both, what we don’t do, and the rules Google sets on reviews.
Listing first, then the site.
Google Business Profile setup
Claim and verification, categories and services, photos, service area or storefront details, and a review plan.
Monthly profile management
Weekly posts and updates, review monitoring and responses, and photo uploads.
A shop website
Services you actually do, your hours, your bays, tap-to-call, and a short request form.
What we skip
We don’t run Google Ads, so there’s no ad budget coming from us.
Source: 5W: Services & Pricing.
Ask every customer. Pay none of them.
Google’s policy on fake engagement says incentivized reviews aren’t allowed and will be removed. That rules out discounts, free oil changes, or gifts in exchange for a review. What’s left works fine: ask every customer at pickup, text the review link the same day, and reply to every review, good or bad.
Google’s checklist for outside help.
Google’s own tips for working with third parties apply to us too. Their warning signs are worth knowing before you sign with any marketer.
- Get the agreement in writing. An official copy that lists the services and what each costs.
- Look at results monthly. In your profile’s Performance section, not only in a vendor’s report.
- One manager at a time. Google recommends working with one third party at a time.
- Walk away from placement promises. Google lists promised placement as a warning sign.
- Nobody works for Google. Anyone claiming to should have an @google.com email.
Source: Google: tips for working with third parties; Google: performance & insights.
Emissions testing starts November 1, 2026.
TCEQ says enhanced inspections begin in Bexar County on November 1, 2026, and that vehicles registered there can’t renew their annual registration until they pass or otherwise comply. If your shop is a certified inspection station, your listing and site should say so. If it isn’t, neither should suggest it.
Answer the questions drivers ask at the counter.
Makes and vehicles
Domestic, import, diesel pickups, fleet vans: name what you actually work on, and what you send elsewhere.
Appointments or walk-ins
Whether people can drop by, or need to call ahead, and how early the bay door opens.
Waiting and rides
A waiting room, a shuttle, or loaners only if you really have them.
Inspections
Safety or emissions inspections only if you’re a certified station.
What a client said about his website.
This review is from a shop owner. Luis Madera runs Cam Collision, a body shop in New Braunfels, and this is his Google review of the website we built him, word for word:
“I have owned a business for 6 years now and never made a website for two reasons, one I have been luck enough to stay busy and the other is because I'm extremely picky with work that I provide and received. Darren built me a website that was just perfect! Everything about it was exactly what I was looking for and more. I am glad it took me 6 years to get one. Any sooner and I would have missed out on his talent. Thanks again”
What shop marketing costs here.
For a shop, the listing usually comes first: profile setup is $349, or $99 if you keep Monthly GBP Management going at $199 per month. A shop website is $599 once, with $59 monthly Site Care required for hosting and backups. Doing both? The Get Found Bundle starts at $799 and then runs $249 per month. No long-term contracts. Monthly plans cancel anytime.
Google Business Profile is free from Google. Anyone can create and manage a profile at no cost. Our fees pay for our setup and management work. Working with a third party → (opens in a new tab)
All sales are final. Work starts when payment is received. Monthly plans renew automatically until you cancel; cancel anytime, effective at the end of your paid period. No refunds.
Start with the listing drivers see.
Type in the shop name and your number. We search a repair the way a driver with a check-engine light would, record the map results, and send the video, usually the next business day.
- A screen recording of about 3 minutes: your shop’s listing beside the 3 shops the map shows first.
- Three fixes, most useful first, that you could make on your own.
- Free. You keep the video whether or not we talk again.
More for auto, body and diesel shops.
Shop pages
Shop sites by city
Not seeing your town? Check Trades We Serve.
Shop owners ask about marketing.
Do you run Google or Facebook ads?
No. We set up and manage your Google Business Profile and build websites.
Can I offer a discount for reviews?
No. Google’s policy says incentivized reviews aren’t allowed and will be removed.
How do I know it’s working?
Open Performance in your profile each month. Google shows calls, website clicks and direction requests there, and we look at the same numbers.
Can a diesel shop and a body shop use the same plan?
Yes. Body, mechanical, diesel and fleet shops all pay the same rates, and the pages are written for whichever work you do.
What do I need to send you?
Shop photos, the repairs you want booked, your hours, and a manager invite to the profile. No passwords.
Is there a contract?
No long-term contracts. Monthly plans cancel anytime.
Want your shop listing checked?
Shop owners: get the free recorded Map Check first, or call with questions.