HVAC SEO Solutions: The Full Guide to Ranking
SEO can be tricky, especially when trying to rank an HVAC company on the top of Google. In this HVAC SEO guide you will learn how to do HVAC SEO, why it’s important, and is it worth the investment.
You might be just starting out on your own, running an already established HVAC business or you’ve been passed the marketing buck and now have to work out what to do. Whatever the reason is, you’ve landed on this page looking for answers. Answers to questions like; what the hell is SEO? Why should I even care? What should I be doing about it? And how can I get my business higher on Google?
Thankfully, you’ve come to the right place. This is the one-stop shop of all HVAC SEO guides and gives you the solutions to the questions that you’ve been asking.
We will cover the following topics:
- Why SEO is important for HVAC businesses
- HVAC SEO Strategy
- How to do SEO for an HVAC website
- Why you should invest time and resources into SEO
What is HVAC SEO?
It’s actually no different from any other kind of trade SEO. It’s the process of optimizing your website so that it ranks highly on Google for certain keywords and phrases. It’s about getting your company visible and being accessible when someone is looking for your services. SEO is just one channel of many to choose from when marketing your HVAC business.
Consider this scenario:
A person in your local area is looking for air conditioning servicing. They head to Google and type in, “air conditioning servicing in [town name]”. They’re then presented with a page full of results. That page will display a shedload of information. Links. Reviews. Maps. Phone numbers. Directions. Websites. Chances are that the person is going to click on something that is right in front of them.
That’s the art of SEO. Being right in front of them at that moment.
Google uses secret algorithms to determine who gets that coveted spot. It’s the job of SEO professionals to try and work out what factors determine good ranking in the algorithm and then implement them into websites.
Why SEO is Important for HVAC Businesses
OK, so we know what SEO is but why is it important for HVAC?
It’s pretty simple when you think about it. Ranking highly on Google hugely increases the chances that someone will click on your website link. In fact, over 95% of all search traffic goes to the top 3 results on page one. Almost all of the remaining 5% click on something else on the first page. Basically no one ventures onto page 2, and page 3 onwards might as well not exist.
If you’re able to rank your website on the first page, or the coveted top 3, then chances are you’ll see an uptick in quality traffic and earn real leads. At that point, it’s a numbers game. The more people on your website, the more people get in touch to ask more or request a quotation. The more people that you can talk to, the more business you’ll do.
HVAC SEO is all about growing your revenue.
The absolute beauty of SEO is that there’s no off switch. It works 24/7, 365 days a year. If you can reach the top spot, and maintain it, you’ll see a steady stream of leads come into your inbox or through to your phone.
There are 3 core areas that HVAC businesses should focus on when it comes to search engine marketing:
- Organic Google Search
- Google My Business
- Google Maps (local search)
Organic Google Search
This is getting your position on Google. These are the blue text links that you see every time that you search for something. They are straightforward website links that show up when a user searches for a particular keyword such as “HVAC maintenance” or “air conditioning repair”. The wider the variety of keywords that your website can rank for, the better.
Think of it like a fisherman throwing nets off the side of the boat. Throw one net out and you’ll catch some fish and that’s great. But throw lots of different nets out and you’re bound to catch even more fish.
Google My Business
The plan here is still to feature on the search engine results page (and highly) but in a slightly different way. Google My Business (GMB) is your business profile that appears on Google Maps.
You’re able to create a profile that includes all of your contact details, your business information, the services you offer, and the areas you offer them, you can even gain reviews from customers. It’s like an online shop window for your business that people can see without having to click on a website.
GMB profiles are free to set up and there’s absolutely no downside in creating one. The best part? They get you one of those famed red pins on Google Maps.
There is a whole group of people who, when searching for services, use Google Maps rather than Google. They’re looking specifically for businesses in a particular area and they want to work with someone local. Therefore, it only makes sense that your business is present in these scenarios.
Google Maps has great real estate on the search engine results page, in fact, it usually shows before the standard organic results and links. It will show 3 results (known as the map pack) and offer a star rating, location information, phone, and email contact details, and a link to the website of the business. Google Maps is especially visible when the user searches with a location tag like “HVAC servicing in New York”.
Many businesses, especially those working in hyperlocal settings, hugely reap the benefits of showing up on Google Maps.
Remember, that in order to show on Google Maps at all you need to have a Google My Business account.
HVAC SEO Strategy
There are two core types of SEO to consider when building an HVAC SEO strategy.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO covers everything that you can do on your own website. This includes creating content, adding images, formatting, adding features, and more. Essentially, it’s improving on the actual website that the user (and Google) sees.
Off-Page SEO
Where on-page is everything on your website, off-page covers everything off the site. These are third-party factors that influence SEO such as online reviews, social media profiles, local directories, map listings, and links from other websites.
Off-page SEO is often seen as the harder of the two to do well as you’re reliant on a wider number of people to help you on your SEO mission.
How to Do SEO for an HVAC Website
Competitor Analysis
Local SEO
Keywords
Picking your keywords is arguably the most important step in on-page SEO strategy. You need to get into the heads of your potential customers. What will they be searching for? Remember that your customers aren’t HVAC professionals and they won’t necessarily use the same technical terms that you use on the day-to-day.
Consider keywords that target services you offer as well as local keywords such as:
“Emergency ac repairs Boston”
“24-hour services near me”
“Jackson HVAC installation”
There are tools you can use to understand how competitive keywords are but you shouldn’t just target keywords because they seem easy to rank for. Go for ones that will deliver the business that you want. It’s also worth noting that keyword research tools typically show data on a country-wide level in terms of difficulty and traffic, while the reality is that it will be easier to rank on a local level.
Optimize Your Google My Business Profile
Creating a profile is one thing but optimizing it is another. Consider including keywords when writing up your business description, your services, and even when you reply to reviews. There’s also an option to regularly post photos or even promotional offers to your business profile that can show up on the search engine results page. Making the most of this profile can hugely impact your rankings.
Technical and Website Optimizations
Optimize for Mobile
Users browse on mobile more than they use computers these days and most of their research is done in the lounge or the kitchen from the palm of their hands. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, even if it ranks well, the user will move on fast.
Security: HTTPS
You’ll have seen HTTPS without realizing it, it’s the little padlock next to the website address on a browser. If the padlock is there, the website is secure and Google will be happy with it. If there’s no padlock, it isn’t secure and Google will look dimly on it.
Add Features for Users
Many website builders are able to offer really useful tools for your user. Quotation tools with sliders so they can get simple estimates, FAQs that give them information on your services, and even a How-To blog that details helpful DIY tips. Using features on your website increases the likelihood a user will stay on your website which Google sees as a positive ranking factor.
Be Careful With Images
When you’re taking photos of your work it’s tempting to move them straight from your phone to your website. The issue is that mobile phones can now take incredibly detailed images that are many megabytes in size. Each byte that a website has increases load time, so great high-quality images often lead to slow-loading websites. Be sure to use a website compressor to reduce image size before uploading.
Meta Descriptions and Tags
You’re able to add small descriptions of every page on your website, these descriptions tell the user and Google what the page is about. You can see them on search result pages under the blue link text. Optimize these with keywords and especially your location to stand a better chance of ranking highly.
Technical and Website Optimizations
Reviews can make a huge difference to your online presence. Remember that you can use your Google My Business account to build out a bank of reviews and have them potentially show right on the front page. The trick is to generate enough of them that your star rating has a strong enough conviction to back itself.
Generating reviews is as simple as asking your satisfied customers to leave you a review by sending them a link. You can typically do this either just before work is completed or when asking for payment.
Many online review platforms offer a way to respond to reviews. This is a great way to interact with customers and you can show that you’re engaged in a public space. The same goes for negative reviews, if you can respond in a polite and courteous manner then it goes a long way to proving your credibility.
Analytics, Tracking & Reporting
Once your SEO campaign is underway you need to understand if what you’re doing is working. Typing your name into Google and seeing what comes up isn’t really good enough. You need cold hard stats and figures. There are lots of free analytics tools out there such as Google Analytics that’ll go a long way to giving what you need. A good strategy is to measure your rankings, traffic, and conversions on a month-by-month basis (or even week-by-week). Mark when you start a new strategy and see if it has any impact.
Do remember that SEO is a long-term strategy. Don’t expect to see a sheer graph with rocketing traffic after month one. It takes time.
Why You Should Invest in HVAC SEO
There’s a strong chance that you’ve read the above and are thinking that sounds like just too much work. You’re not to blame, it is but it’s also really worth it. The long-term implications could change your business for the better forever.
The beauty is that there are many SEO companies out there who do this day in day out for clients across the world. Working with one of those, especially one that specializes in working with HVAC professionals can make all of the difference. It means that the day-to-day hassle of handling SEO is taken off your hands so that you can focus on doing the job you’re a professional at whilst the leads begin to flow in.
Key Takeaways
Launching an HVAC SEO campaign is a serious undertaking but it’s one that can put a rocket booster into your business. It’ll be a slow burn, to begin with, but the dividends will be paid in the long run. Once your business is happily sat on page one, you’ll watch it grow from strength to strength.
- Take time with your initial research, considering the keywords you want to rank for is an important step.
- Don’t underestimate the power of SEO that takes place off your own website.
- If it’s all too much to bother with, invest in a professional company to work with you.
Aaron R. - CEO
Entrepreneur with 20 years experience launching and managing successful web design and marketing companies. As seen in New York Times, Inc.com, Smashing Magazine, Home Advisor and other various mainstream media.
Passionate about #seo #marketing #webdesign #socialmedia #blogging #family #texasbbq