Searching for Auto Repair Manuals
Remember when you could go to the most popular search engine and just type in the term auto repair manuals and right before your eyes there would be high quality results to browse through (like magic). Well with the latest algorithm ranking update (meant to reduce spam) the results are not what they use to be. I have submitted several requests for someone to look at the results. No changes as of today so I’m posting this.
The number one result for the last several weeks since the update is this page. It is from Haynes auto repair manuals that I have the utmost respect for. Unfortunately this page that now ranks at the top of those search results is of extremely poor quality. It looks like a page from 1996 and there is only two sentences of real content on the whole page. The term automotive repair manuals which would be considered the key words are repeated about five times in two sentences.
This is known in the Webmaster business as “keyword stuffing”. Ironically it is exactly what this last update was supposed to address. But when it comes to searching for an auto repair manual this latest update has made it more difficult to find truly good content on the subject in my opinion. Result number 3 is from Automd.com This is a great site but the page linked in the results is a bunch of how to videos and has nothing to do with auto repair manuals. I could go down the line but you get the idea!
Of course people will say I am biased! This is the auto repair information blog after all and I use to have a page that ranked in the top 20 for three years. That page has now been completely eliminated from the search results. What bothers me the most about having some of my best content removed by a misguided algorithm that has never turned a wrench is the page contained an extremely unique video that could not be found anywhere else on the Internet?
This is because I made it using a screen capture program from scratch. I had purchased a subscription to all data online repair manuals and was showing people how to use it properly. I will include this video below for your convenience as I moved it onto the YouTube service so I could embed it on other important or related pages.
What makes a good auto repair manual?
Although the Haynes and Chilton books are often the most familiar with the do-it-yourself world in my opinion these books leave a lot to be desired. You may be familiar with the feeling of disappointment when you purchase one of the small manuals at your local parts store and they do not include exactly what you are looking for. If you have ever seen the factory information provided to dealership technicians and compared it to these books it would make you laugh.
The online version that I recommend is from all data services a division of Autozone. It is the information program that I use most often and I am an affiliate for the company so I could be considered biased on the subject yet again. But this does not dilute the fact that the information from the all-data service manuals is ported directly from the factory repair manual that a professional level technician would use. Just because someone is an affiliate for the company doesn’t always mean that their recommendations are skewed because of that affiliation.
“Listen to me know and believe me later”Above all I am a mechanic first and a Webmaster second. I have been turning wrenches for 27 years now and have been ASE certified for more than 25 of those years as a master technician. Although the big search engines would like to discount what I have to say about the subject of auto repair manuals, I still feel that my opinion on this subject provides value to weekend wariors. Here is a link to my G+ Profile where you can see some of my credentials.
In this next video which is centered on a Chevrolet repair manual that is still available online I show you a few tips and tricks on how to use the program to quickly find the information that you need for do-it-yourself auto repair. Underneath the video I will put a link so that you can go directly to the website to try it and buy it. If you want to make sure that I do not get compensated for any purchase you can clear your Internet cookies or do not click the link at all.
If I have not convinced you that you should give the online service manual a try then you can get Haynes and Chilton’s manuals below from Amazon. They are often cheaper there and Amazon offers more model coverage then most parts stores. For more information related to car repair you can visit the start page for this auto repair blog from this link.