Web design for Car Detailers

Just a quick observation/opinion on my part... I really dislike the top of the page in that it reminds me of a cookie cutter website with a white background ad on top. I would recommend at least trying to move the red area with the car and menu buttons to the top of the page, include the "Bright Dynamics Auto Spa" and logo into this red area, and incorporate the mailing list and contact stuff into the actual home page area down on the white part, for example under the message from owner... like this but obviously not done as quickly in PS...



twothirds1.jpg
 
Let's not get obsessed with design.



The site looks good enough to get conversions.



The BIG task comes later: getting traffic.



No matter how beautiful your site is, if you have no traffic, it's like taking a world class, expensive business sign and putting it in your closet.
 
602rwtq said:
Let's not get obsessed with design.



The site looks good enough to get conversions.



The BIG task comes later: getting traffic.



No matter how beautiful your site is, if you have no traffic, it's like taking a world class, expensive business sign and putting it in your closet.
Click to expand...





Thats probaly one of the smartest things I've seen said in this site!!
 
602rwtq said:
Let's not get obsessed with design.



The site looks good enough to get conversions.



The BIG task comes later: getting traffic.



No matter how beautiful your site is, if you have no traffic, it's like taking a world class, expensive business sign and putting it in your closet.
Click to expand...



Traffic is very important obviously, but this definitely goes along the lines of "If you're gonna do something, do it right."



It's a 10 min edit and if it looks better (I'm not saying it does to everyone or even to the owner, just my opinion in this case) I see no reason not to do it. Not going to argue though, you keep on working because it's definitely a huge improvement.. simply wanted to give the owner an opinion to ponder sooner or later.
 
although, i agree it looks cookie-cutter across the top, i don't think consumers would suspect that (or care). As long as the information is accurate, up-to-date and the links don't fall apart when you click, it's going to work.



Just looking at it, I think the spiders will have a feast. Looks like you are using a flash nav bar across the top with text links on the bottom? make sure you add lots of meta data into the images' alt-tags. I found that's very succesful. hell, even that image of the rule that seperates the page, make it have an alt-tag that says "Greenville, SC Car Detailing"



do you have this hosted on a temporary server? you should post a link so we can all give it a test drive!
 
While alt tags are important, make sure you focus on getting links to your site, copy keyword rich website copy, and that you have a good internal link structure. These will have much more impact on SEO and traffic down the road.



tssdetailing brought up another good point in his post, making sure that your links, copy, and meta information is location specific. For keywords like detailing you will not rank well. A lot of things go into ranking, so for time I will skip that aspect. However, it can be quite easy for your to rank well for Greenville car detailing. Which for our business gives us better leads anyways because most of us have a small typical working area instead of nationwide.



Again having meta information, links from other sites to yours with location specific link text, copy on your site, and internal links with keyword rich copy is going to help you rank well and lead to more traffic.



In the way of links, I have town specific business directories help local based search rank quite a bit. Even if it costs money, a link from one of these sites can really boost your rankings.



I would also look to create a Google local business page here:

[url]http://www.google.com/local/add/analyticsSplashPage[/URL]



For your headlines and copy make sure that you are communicating the value of your service. A good example if your homepage. One of the headlines read, " Our most popular package starts at $150." How about, "Add hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth to your car, our most popular package starts at only $150". This difference in the two statements is the latter informs the perspective client of the low price, but also the value in spending their money on detailing. Also, for people weighing if the money is worth it to spend, you are helping that decision process. You can also appeal to people differently. For example a headline like, "What to make people stare at your car in amazement? Our most popular package starts at only $150.



On the before and after page your examples look great, however you are not using the page and the emotions it stirs to the full benefit. What I mean is for some users they are going to arrive to that page and see the pictures and think to themselves,"Man this looks great I want my car to look like that as well." Visitors reach the bottom of the page, and they are left to their own devices to find your contact page, book an appointment, or call you. Instead provide that information for them on the page, so you are capturing them when excitement is most. Something like, "We can transform your car just like these! Call us today at: xxx-xxxx". Online a lot can happen in the time a visitor take to look at the before and after, and then proceeding to the contact us page.



One thing I see lacking in the navigation is testimonials and awards. For the detailing business do not must of your clients arrive to you because of word of mouth? In that case provide a similar feature with some testimonials of your work from satisfied clients. It is also a good idea to sprinkle them throughout the site to continually add credibility and reason to decide on you. In the way of awards, if any of the cars you detail ave won any awards then showcase that on the site.



Hope that helps and let me know if I need to clarify anything.
 
ctrent86 said:
While alt tags are important, make sure you focus on getting links to your site, copy keyword rich website copy, and that you have a good internal link structure. These will have much more impact on SEO and traffic down the road.



tssdetailing brought up another good point in his post, making sure that your links, copy, and meta information is location specific. For keywords like detailing you will not rank well. A lot of things go into ranking, so for time I will skip that aspect. However, it can be quite easy for your to rank well for Greenville car detailing. Which for our business gives us better leads anyways because most of us have a small typical working area instead of nationwide.



Again having meta information, links from other sites to yours with location specific link text, copy on your site, and internal links with keyword rich copy is going to help you rank well and lead to more traffic.



In the way of links, I have town specific business directories help local based search rank quite a bit. Even if it costs money, a link from one of these sites can really boost your rankings.



I would also look to create a Google local business page here:

[url]http://www.google.com/local/add/analyticsSplashPage[/URL]



For your headlines and copy make sure that you are communicating the value of your service. A good example if your homepage. One of the headlines read, " Our most popular package starts at $150." How about, "Add hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth to your car, our most popular package starts at only $150". This difference in the two statements is the latter informs the perspective client of the low price, but also the value in spending their money on detailing. Also, for people weighing if the money is worth it to spend, you are helping that decision process. You can also appeal to people differently. For example a headline like, "What to make people stare at your car in amazement? Our most popular package starts at only $150.



On the before and after page your examples look great, however you are not using the page and the emotions it stirs to the full benefit. What I mean is for some users they are going to arrive to that page and see the pictures and think to themselves,"Man this looks great I want my car to look like that as well." Visitors reach the bottom of the page, and they are left to their own devices to find your contact page, book an appointment, or call you. Instead provide that information for them on the page, so you are capturing them when excitement is most. Something like, "We can transform your car just like these! Call us today at: xxx-xxxx". Online a lot can happen in the time a visitor take to look at the before and after, and then proceeding to the contact us page.



One thing I see lacking in the navigation is testimonials and awards. For the detailing business do not must of your clients arrive to you because of word of mouth? In that case provide a similar feature with some testimonials of your work from satisfied clients. It is also a good idea to sprinkle them throughout the site to continually add credibility and reason to decide on you. In the way of awards, if any of the cars you detail ave won any awards then showcase that on the site.



Hope that helps and let me know if I need to clarify anything.
Click to expand...



These are GREAT suggestions.



We've got his current site ranked for the following terms:



Greenville Detailing: Google Spot 1

Greenville Car Detailing: Google Spot 6

Greenville Auto Detailing: Google Spot 3



This is with no on-page SEO, so the new site, with better on page SEO will rank even higher.



He has lots of backlinks from local directories and various online sources.



Yes, he has a Google local business entry on the first page.



Good point about the before and afters. There's no call to action there. We'll put an invitation to call/email at the bottom.



Also a good point about the testimonials. I'll see if Jake has some. I prefer to sprinkle them throughout the site instead of put them all on one page and hope the visitor goes there.
 
Okay the final page (Frequently Asked Questions) has been designed.



FAQs are great for small businesses because they allow them to:



1. Answer the questions they hear most often.

2. Make a final sales pitch at the end of a customer's visit.



Can you think of the 3 most common questions you receive on the phone and email? Answer them in your FAQ. You'll get more targeted calls and emails after that (ie, people looking to book an appointment instead of taking up your time).



And while you've got the visitor on your FAQ, give them a few final reasons to detail their car, and more importantly, use your service to detail their car.



Jake, like all of us, has "hack" competition in his area (swirls, wet carpets, can't fix difficult issues). Note how in his FAQ we make the argument that his service doesn't make such mistakes and that he's worth the extra money.



Think of your customer's objections (I don't need a car detail, you're too expensive, How can I trust your company?) and answer them directly in your FAQ and throughout your site.



faq.jpg
 
602rwtq said:
These are GREAT suggestions.



We've got his current site ranked for the following terms:



Greenville Detailing: Google Spot 1

Greenville Car Detailing: Google Spot 6

Greenville Auto Detailing: Google Spot 3



This is with no on-page SEO, so the new site, with better on page SEO will rank even higher.



He has lots of backlinks from local directories and various online sources.



Yes, he has a Google local business entry on the first page.



Good point about the before and afters. There's no call to action there. We'll put an invitation to call/email at the bottom.



Also a good point about the testimonials. I'll see if Jake has some. I prefer to sprinkle them throughout the site instead of put them all on one page and hope the visitor goes there.
Click to expand...



Sounds like you have a great start so far. I agree with the testimonials throughout the site and should have clarified, but a central page with testimonials and awards can do good things as well.



On the FAQ page, you might want to break up the page a tad. It is a ton of copy and you want to be easier on the eyes. But also give them a reason to continue down the page. Perhaps a box to the right of a before and after, some testimonials, again it is just really text heavy. You also might want to put some links at the top to navigate the FAQ easy, like a listing of anchor links to the different questions at the top.



Finally, I really the FAQ, "Why you should get your car detailed", deserves its own page. That is a question a lot people might have, especially when they look at prices (packages might be more than expecting). That page I think can help visitors breathe a little easier.



Also, I believe we can add a lot more copy than we have there about why you should get your car detailed. For example, we can talk about the following:

1) Value added to the car

2) Our detailing ensures your paint surface will last much longer (removing

environment fall out, bird droppings etc)

3) Your car is a representation of yourself



As you can see, we can easily fill up a short page about why people should detail their cars.



Lastly, so what happens when a user gets to the bottom of their page and their question is not answered? Again, we are relying on them to then go find some contact information and hopefully call us. Put some copy and contact information at the bottom of the page to do the work for the visitor. Something like, "Still have questions? We are here to answer them with no pressure to buy. Call us at: xxx-xxxx".



That is my .02 cents



Corey
 
ctrent86 said:
Sounds like you have a great start so far. I agree with the testimonials throughout the site and should have clarified, but a central page with testimonials and awards can do good things as well.



On the FAQ page you might want to break up the page a tad. It is a ton of copy and you want so ease on the eyes but also a reason for them to continue down the page. Perhaps a box to the right of a before and after, some testimonials again it is just really text heavy. You also might want to put some links at the top to navigate the FAQ easy. Perhaps a listing of anchor links to the different questions at the top.



Finally, I really the FAQ, "Why you should get your car detailed", deserves its own page. That is a question a lot people might have especially when the look at prices (packages might be more than expecting), and that page I think can help visitors breathe a little easier. I believe we can add a lot more copy than we have there about why you should get your car detailed. For example we can talk about the following:

1) Value added to the car

2) Our detailing ensures your paint surface will last much longer (removing

environment fall out, bird droppings etc)

3) Your car is a representation of yourself



As you can see, we can easily fill up a short page about why people should detail their cars.



Lastly, so what happens when a user gets to the bottom of their page and their question is not answered? Again, we are relying on them to then go find some contact information and hopefully call us. Put some copy and contact information at the bottom of the page to do the work for the visitor. Something like, "Still have questions? We are here to answer them with no pressure to buy. Call us at: xxx-xxxx".



That is my .02 cents



Corey
Click to expand...



More great suggestions we'll implement in the final revisions.
 
Glad you could find some points out of there. I just re-read it, and man there were some parts that were a little rough to understand.



Anyways, if you make any more pages just post them up and I will shoot you some feedback.



Keep up the good work!
 
That looks nice. I have been looking at overhauling my website. Mine more closely resembles the before. Lots of great ideas and I will be coming back to this thread for reference. One thing I wanted to emphasize and it was already mentioned is contact info on every page. I had one customer tell me she couldn't find my phone number even though there was a link to my contact page on every page.
 
The new site is great. A few more tweaks and such and I think it's finished for now (updating will always take place of course) Now I need a good tag line. LOL always up for ideas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top