HVAC digital marketing is essential to stand out from your competitors and achieve success as an HVAC business in your area. It’s not enough to just rely on your storefront—your online presence plays a crucial role in gaining new business as well as keeping existing customers happy.
As you boost your online presence you enhance not only your business, but the experience of your customers. In this article, we will teach you the 12 internet marketing strategies your business needs to focus on for better performance online!
12 strategies we’ll be covering:
- Local SEO
- Mobile-Friendly Website
- Fast Site Speed
- Optimize for CRO
- Content Marketing
- Create Business Listings
- Social Media Presence
- Online Reputation Management
- PPC Campaigns
- Email Marketing
- Review Analytics
- Competitor Analysis
12 HVAC Digital Marketing Strategies
1. Optimize for Local SEO
One of the most important elements to HVAC digital marketing is search engine optimization (SEO). If you want your HVAC business to be found online when prospective customers are searching for HVAC help, SEO for HVAC contractors needs to be a priority in your business plan.
Most HVAC businesses operate in a local area, they typically do not have a national customer-base. So for that reason, we will focus on local SEO in this section.
For a successful local strategy, the most important areas to start focusing on first are:
- Verify and optimize a Google Business Profile
- Identify location-specific and “near me” keywords to target on your web pages (example: “HVAC services near me” or “same day AC repair atlanta”)
- Choose keywords that have a healthy search volume but a low keyword difficulty rating (starting less than 30)
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Use the keyword in the following areas:
- Meta title (as close to the beginning as possible)
- Meta description
- Web page URL
- Main heading tags (like an H1, H2, and H3)
- Generate as many authentic and positive Google reviews as possible
- Ensure that your website functions seamlessly on all devices
- Organize your website so that it is easy to navigate and find information
- Create content that answers your target audience’s questions
While SEO is much more comprehensive than the list above, this is a great starting point for HVAC businesses. You can start these immediately if you don’t have the budget to work with a dedicated SEO or digital marketing agency.
2. Make a Mobile-Friendly Website
For HVAC businesses, your clients use both desktop and mobile devices when searching for a home service. In fact, the majority of users are searching on mobile devices. Websites need to be accessible and functioning seamlessly on all devices.
Ever since Google’s Mobile-First Indexing update, businesses risk losing traffic and rankings if their websites are not responsive for all devices. Simply put: If you want to rank better and reach more customers, optimize your site for mobile.
If you are not proficient in web design or development, then we recommend you find a trusted source to work with to make improvements to your website.
3. Have a Fast Site Speed
One of the ways search engines rank content is based on how quick your site speed is. Page speed is a direct ranking factor, which means if your load time is lagging, it can affect how well your site ranks on the SERP (search engine results page). Test your site speed regularly to make sure your images, text, and media are all loading quickly.
Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to test your website regularly and aim for a website load time under 3 seconds.
Slow site speed results in frustrated website visitors that will leave your website for a competitor’s. Often when HVAC customers are searching for services, they are looking for quick response time to fix the issue as soon as possible.
4. Optimize Your Website for CRO
CRO stands for conversion rate optimization. The goal with CRO is to update the website in ways that will increase conversions. As a result, this will work to increase online revenue.
A simple and highly effective way to increase conversions and sales for your business is to make it easily accessible for customers to reach you and request services. And make your contact information easy to find. If you rely on phone calls to make appointments, place your phone number in the main menu so people can access it from every page.
If you have forms they need to fill out, those should also be accessible throughout the website, especially on product and service pages. People don’t want to work too hard to find answers to their questions. Convenience is the main motive and you risk losing customers if your website doesn’t reflect this.
Have clear calls-to-action on your site to help with increasing leads. This includes buttons, forms, internal links, and promotional banners. In turn, this will aid in driving more business and reaching more customers.
5. Prioritize Content Marketing
The well-known saying in digital marketing is content is king, marketing is queen. It means that content marketing is essential if you want to have a presence online. It must be a priority in digital marketing for HVAC companies.
- Create both new content and repurpose outdated content to show search engines your website is fresh. Ensure that your website is displaying accurate and updated information.
- Create content that answers your customers’ questions. This will also alleviate the burden of answering the same question numerous times.
- Start a blog — blog articles are a great strategy for reaching people in every stage of the buyer’s funnel. The stages of the buyer’s funnel are: Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action.
- How-To pieces are high performing pieces that often come with a high search volume. This is a big opportunity for increasing traffic to your website.
If you need some help with ideas, think about the questions you receive most often:
- How often should you replace your furnace filter?
- How often should an HVAC system be serviced?
- Can dust and outdoor elements impact an air conditioning unit?
- How can people save money with a properly maintained unit?
- What are some habits people should avoid that hurt the longevity of their furnace or AC?
The SEO of your content matters, so make sure these pieces have a solid keyword strategy to help them rank higher on search engines. This will bring more eyes to your content and your website.
6. Create Business Listings in HVAC Directories
Your HVAC business needs to take advantage of listings and online search directories to widen your reach. Not only does this help more customers find you online, but this in turn can boost your rankings on search pages. So, where should you create a listing?
We already mentioned Google Business Profile above in the SEO section, but there are plenty of other online directories your HVAC business should be listed in. That includes:
- Better Business Bureau
- greatinflux
- Angi
- Thumbtack
- YellowPages
- HomeAdvisor
- Yelp
- HVACInformed.com
Getting your business listed in relevant HVAC directories increases your target audience reach. It’s also an opportunity to get more online reviews. Google reviews are key to local SEO, but search engines also want to see diversity in online reviews on other trusted sources.
7. Have a Social Media Presence
Social media marketing is a great element to digital marketing for HVAC companies in developing a personality for your brand and reaching more targeted customers. You can also showcase your services and business in new and creative ways to bring more eyes to your business tapping into the power of video and images.
Treat your social media profile like a business listing. In the profile bio, add your website link to bring traffic back to your website and contact information. Additionally, include your hours of operation and storefront location if you have one.
Integrate social media into your content marketing to amplify your videos, blogs, and other content. For example, if you want to show your customers the correct way to clean their HVAC units, you can create a video tutorial with steps on proper care.
In the new age of lo-fi video content, you don’t need expensive equipment other than a cell phone to create and upload videos. Post this out on all your social channels for maximum reach. Create short posts listing how-to’s or service discounts to grab attention.
As you post, analyze the data to see where you have the most reach. Then, if you have the budget, create seasonal social media ads and target your local area on the highest engaging platforms. As social media is an indirect ranking factor, it can help you to expand your reach and find new customers.
8. Maintain a Solid Online Reputation
Maintaining a strong online reputation is an overlooked but vital HVAC marketing strategy.
On top of having your business listed in directories, you should also be listing your website and services on review management sites as well as responding to your customer reviews.
Having positive and even negative reviews is important in building your reputation. As good reviews come in from exceptional customer service, respond with gratitude and thank them for their business and feedback. If you happen to get a negative review, respond promptly with action to fix any issues or better understand frustration.
Customers like to see businesses interact with customers through reviews. And search engines use reviews to help build E-E-A-T as well as increase keyword rankings. If your brand has more bad reviews than good ones, there are methods for how to respond to 1 star reviews.
Additionally, managing your brand on your website and social media can help improve online reputation with your customers. Share positive experiences with staff and customers online in the form of testimonials or videos to showcase your good reputation. This in turn builds trust with current and potential customers which will increase loyalty, conversions, and sales.
9. Run PPC Campaigns
If you have the budget to run ad campaigns, PPC (pay-per-click advertisements) is a great way to generate more leads in a faster time period. However, your success is tied directly to your ad spend. So you will need to continue investing money into your ad budget to generate more traffic and conversions.
Paid search campaigns are vital to digital marketing for HVAC companies, but it should be paired with solutions that require less ad spend, like SEO.
Before you start a PPC campaign, remember these best practices:
- Understand who your target audience is and gather specific demographic information. If you don’t, you risk wasting your ad spend.
- Conduct PPC keyword research to find keywords with the highest traffic potential and with the lowest cost-per-click (CPC). Some industries are highly competitive and a low CPC might not be possible.
- Customize your ad copy with strong calls-to-action and statements that will build trust with people. This can be anything from “Voted #1 HVAC Contractor in Atlanta!” to “BOGO Free AC Tune Up!”
Maintain the integrity of your business by only using factual calls-to-action and business statements. - Keep a careful eye on your ad campaign, but do not change your strategy too quickly. It’s important to collect enough data to determine whether your strategy should pivot if it’s not working as expected.
Track the data in your ads to build a solid marketing campaign for better ROI in real time. HVAC PPC advertisements will help increase your brand awareness and boost your site traffic. Additionally, it’s proven that businesses see on average a 200 percent return on investment (ROI) from Google Ads.
10. Increase Engagement with Email Marketing
Email marketing is effective in providing updates to your existing customers, increasing engagement and traffic to certain web pages, and building loyalty.
Amplify your amazing content, like blog articles and videos. Email marketing is tailored to reach a highly targeted audience. Featuring product and services pages in emails increases the likelihood of people visiting those pages and making a conversion.
Other updates to highlight in your marketing emails:
- Updates to holiday hours
- New deals and promotions
- Brand new services or products
- Asking for reviews or feedback from customers
Remember to pick an email schedule that works for you and your resources, whether that’s a weekly or monthly email.
11. Review Your Analytics Regularly
Now that you have a well optimized strategy for your HVAC business, make it a practice to regularly review your analytics. Identify what’s working in the strategy and what is not.
Are there pieces of content doing better than others? Are there web pages you need to increase traffic to? Do you need more conversions on specific forms? Pivot your internet marketing strategy if the data is showing you that your original plan is not working as expected.
If you haven’t set up analytics tracking, start with the free items:
Once you run a Google Ads campaign, you will be able to gather and monitor data in the Google Ads platform.
12. Stay Ahead of Your Competitors
It’s always a good idea to see what competitors are doing for their HVAC digital marketing strategies. What makes them successful? In turn, what makes your business different and stand out against your competition?
See what they are doing and how you can differentiate yourself from them or how you can do it better.
For example, if your competition is listed on certain directories, you should also list your business there so customers can consider your business, too. Put your business in front of the same customers your competitors are targeting.
Strengthen Your HVAC Digital Marketing with greatinflux
With a strong and well thought out plan, digital marketing for HVAC companies will bring your business big wins. But if you’re not sure how to do this yourself, there are digital marketing agencies dedicated to helping businesses reach their full online potential.
greatinflux is here to help you with your business goals! We offer various online marketing solutions to help your small business reach more customers and increase traffic and sales. Learn more about our services below and get connected with a greatinflux digital marketing expert for answers to your questions!
- Affordable Local SEO
- PPC Consulting Services
- Display Advertising Services
- Affordable Website Design Packages
- Listings Management
