The insurer approves the claim. The customer still picks the shop.

What a workshop site has to establish

Cars are the second most expensive thing most people own, and handing the keys to a stranger is uncomfortable. Remove the discomfort in the first screen.

• RMI membership, and which specific association within it
• Whether you are approved by the major insurers, and which ones
• Makes you actually specialise in — generalists rank for nothing
• Whether servicing with you affects the manufacturer warranty (it does not, and almost nobody says so)
• Courtesy car, collection and delivery, and what it costs
• Warranty on workmanship, in months, in writing

The warranty myth is free business

A great many South African drivers believe they must service at the dealership until the motor plan expires, or they lose the warranty. Under the Consumer Protection Act that is not so, provided the work is done properly with the right parts. The independent workshop that explains this plainly on its own page picks up customers who never knew they had a choice.

Specialise out loud

"Full mechanical repairs on all makes" competes with every workshop in the province. "Land Rover specialists in Montague Gardens" competes with almost nobody and attracts the exact owner who is tired of dealer pricing.

Accreditation and insurance approval are the whole pitch

For panel work in particular, most customers arrive through an insurer or are checking whether you are acceptable to one. If you are RMI-affiliated, insurance-approved, or work on specific makes to manufacturer spec, that belongs high on the page rather than in a badge at the bottom.

• RMI or other affiliation, and which insurers you work with
• The makes you specialise in — people search by brand
• Whether you offer a courtesy car or lift
• Your workmanship guarantee, in months and in writing
• Whether you handle the insurance claim paperwork yourself

Service pricing by make wins the search

“Major service price” is one search. “Polo major service price” is another, and there is far less competing for it. Workshops that publish indicative service pricing per make pick up a steady stream of work from people who were only comparing, because most competitors make them phone to find out.