What's the minimum budget for running ads for an auto repair shop?

It depends on your area and goals, but we can start small and scale up based on what's working. The management and strategy side starts at $750 a month. Your actual ad spend on top of that can be a few hundred dollars to start — enough to test what converts before committing more.

Should I do Google Ads or Facebook Ads first?

For most auto repair shops, Google search ads tend to bring in people who need help right now — they're already searching for a service. Facebook is better for staying visible to people who might need you soon or building trust with before-and-after content. We'd pick a starting point based on your biggest gap.

How long before I'd see results from digital marketing?

Search ads can bring in calls within the first week or two. Email campaigns to past customers can drive repeat visits quickly too. Building up a social media presence takes longer, but it compounds. We don't ask for months of patience with nothing to show — you should see movement early.

I tried Google Ads on my own and it didn't really work. What went wrong?

Usually it's one of a few things: the keywords were too broad, the landing page wasn't built to convert, or there was no tracking in place to know what was actually happening. Running ads without a proper setup is like changing a part without diagnosing the problem first. The fix is usually straightforward once you see what was off.

Do I need a new website before starting ads?

Not always, but it matters. If your current site clearly lists your services, has your certifications, and makes it easy to call or book — ads can work with that. If it's outdated or hard to use on a phone, we'd probably recommend fixing the foundation first so your ad dollars aren't wasted.

Digital Marketing · New London, TX

Digital Marketing for Auto Repair Shops in New London

New London's the kind of place where everybody knows somebody who works on cars. But when a transmission starts slipping on a Tuesday morning, most folks still grab their phone first. If your shop isn't showing up when that happens, you're invisible right when it matters most.

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Figuring Out Where Your Customers Actually Are

Here's what I'd tell you if we were standing around after a football game at New London ISD: don't spend a dime on marketing until you know where your customers are looking. That's the whole starting point.

For an auto repair shop in a community like New London, your customer base probably stretches into Kilgore, Henderson, Joinerville, maybe out toward Overton. Some of those folks are searching Google when their check engine light comes on. Some are scrolling Facebook at night and would book an appointment if it was easy enough. Some already came in once and just need a reminder that you exist. Each of those people needs a different message in a different place — and that's what real digital marketing actually looks like. Not one ad running forever on Google. A plan.

We'd sit down and figure out which channel makes sense to start with based on what your shop actually needs. If you're trying to get new customers who don't know you yet, search ads can put you in front of someone actively typing 'brake repair near me.' If you've got a solid customer list but people just forget to come back for oil changes, email might be the better first move. Facebook works well for showing off your work — before and after shots of a rusted-out rocker panel you brought back to life, or a quick video walkthrough of what a timing belt replacement actually involves. That kind of content builds trust in a way that a text ad never will. The point is we'd figure out what to do first, not try to do everything at once and spread your budget so thin nothing works.

Spending Money Where It Converts, Not Where It Disappears

The thing that burns most shop owners isn't the cost of ads — it's the uncertainty. You put $500 into Google last month and the phone rang a few extra times. Maybe. Were those calls from the ads? Were they tire-kickers? Did any of them actually turn into a $400 brake job? If you can't answer those questions, you're guessing. And guessing gets old fast.

What we'd set up is tracking that actually connects your ad spend to real appointments. Someone clicks your ad, lands on a page built around the service they searched for — say, AC repair — and either calls you or books online right there. We know which keyword brought them in, which ad they clicked, and whether they converted. That's not fancy marketing talk. That's just knowing whether your money did anything. We can run search ads, manage your social campaigns, set up email sequences for past customers, or build a mix of all of it. Our SEO and ads management starts at $750 a month, and there are no six-month contracts where you're locked in hoping it eventually works.

And if your website isn't ready to receive that traffic — if someone clicks an ad and lands on a page that doesn't mention your ASE certifications, doesn't list your services, doesn't make it dead obvious how to schedule a drop-off — then we should probably fix that first. A full website built around your shop starts at $1,500 and takes about a week. Because sending paid traffic to a page that doesn't convert is just a more expensive way to be ignored.