The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry in the US was estimated to have a 5 percent growth this 2019. And globally, the market is “projected to reach about 208.6 billion USD by 2024.” The consumers’ need for this service is increasing by day, and the demand for HVAC equipment is rising.
Still, for those in this industry, those who will get the most out of this abundance are those that put a little more effort into their marketing strategies. Here are 5 marketing secrets HVAC companies ought to implement now to get the gains in the coming years.
1. A Lead-Generating High-Ranking Website
If I’m a residential owner looking for an HVAC company who I will give hundreds if not thousands of dollars to, I will surely research online first. If customers can’t find you this way, will you even be worth giving their attention to?
It’s not harsh, that’s just the way people think nowadays. Having a website is one thing, but what you should know that the customers don’t have to is that your website is highly-optimized to catch the attention of prospects like them.
Optimized for Mobile
One of the most vital features of an HVAC website today, and contractor websites in general, is to be optimized for mobile. People mostly browse the Internet on their phones nowadays. If that’s the case, you should be strategic in how to capture them with your mobile layout.
Secure Website (HTTPS)
Most websites in search results are secure websites or start with “https” in their url. This says a lot about your legitimacy as a company. If your website is a security risk to your customers, that might drive them to other companies who made the simple effort to secure their website.
Attractive Design and Easy Navigation
Your website’s appearance is part of your branding. A good layout and design can draw people in and deem you as an established enough company, even if you’re still only a small business.
Providing easy navigation throughout your pages is another factor to this. When customers do research, we don’t just mean they look for companies and call it a day. They would probably want to look at your site and see as many pages as you have, gathering information. If you make navigation easy, they will stay on your site for longer and may become a lead right away if they see your credibility.
Optimize for Search Engines
Optimizing your website for search engines is not all about keywords on your actual content or pages. There are so many things in the background that can contribute to higher rankings like the following:
- HTML tags
- Meta descriptions
- Title tag
- Alt text on images
- Anchor text
As for the last one, anchor text may be the keywords that you want to rank for. Majority of it will have to be branded or at least include your name or a part of your name. The rest are keywords or phrases that you want to show up on search results for. However, be careful not to use exact matches of keywords and phrases, in the same order over and over again as search engines may disregard your website for abusing the keywords.
Taking these aspects of your website seriously helps organize it and makes it easier to crawl. It informs search providers of what your website is really about, and assists them in ranking you in searches you’re optimized to appear in.
Keyword-Optimized Service Pages
While making sure your whole website is up to par with all the little details and keywords, it’s also important to note that search engines crawl each page too. Create individual pages for each service that you offer and do the same techniques to optimize it to the relevant keywords.
This should be done for your main services like installations of heating or air conditioning equipment and also your complimentary services like repairs and replacements.
This may also apply for optimizing per location. Make geo-tagged pages for each city that you serve, so if you have a large service area, people from outside your main office or primary location can still find you fast.
2. Paid Ads
Paid ads are not necessarily so secret now. Though customers are mindful of companies that incessantly show up everywhere, ads also help them discover the right companies when needed. Search engines have also made the ads less annoying to look at. They look more like a generous sharing of information rather than a bother. Here are some of the options HVAC companies have in terms of running paid ads:
- Google Local Service Ads — Google local service ads are the first things that show up when a person searches for an HVAC service in any major area in the US. Clicking on it shows all your business information and a way to contact you that you can set and track.
- PPC advertising — Even before selling or asking people to contact you, getting traffic and exposure is one of the best ways to get a prospect acquainted with your business. PPC or pay-per-click ads are the way to do that so you appear near the top of the search results, second to the local service ads. Instead of a page with your business information, this directs people to your website which can actually provide more information and engage them according to your website setup. PPC ads are bids for the top spot that will compete with other people who are trying to rank in the same keywords as you do.
- Local Pack — Getting into the local pack, or the results after the PPC ads, will depend on how well you optimize your website, your Google reviews, and how consistent your business information is on all channels.
- Follow up ads/Retargeting/Remarketing — Retargeting is getting more and more popular with HVAC companies because it makes your ads appear and follow prospects when browser cookies collect enough cookies about them that confirm they’re really interested in finding an HVAC business. Constant exposure to people who have interacted with HVAC-related pages or content but may have forgotten it will strengthen brand recall.
3. Local SEO
The basics of local SEO include getting into as many online local directories as you can. Also, making sure that all your business information is correct and consistent on all platforms and your website will help search engines to improve your ranking in local searches.
Google My Business
Setting up your Google My Business is basically standard procedure now for HVAC businesses if you want to be easily accessible from local online searches. Your Google My Business is equal to the legitimacy of your business, and will position you as one of the top businesses to trust in your location.
Active Local Outreach
Ask for reviews from past customers who have enjoyed your service. That being said, don’t snob negative feedback. Make sure you also interact with the people who leave a review, more so the negative. Acknowledge the negative feedback and offer up solutions if you can help. This shows initiative and care for what your customers think and making sure you always deliver top-notch service.
4. Consistent Content Marketing
Every page of your website contributes to its overall optimization. When you have more pages that include keywords you’re trying to rank for, it pushes up your main pages (perhaps an information page about a specific service) to the top results on search engines.
Having a blog section and putting out content regularly on there will provide search engines more data to work with to identify your website for certain keywords. It also provides visitors or prospects more navigation pages to confirm your business is legitimate, credible, and high-quality.
Video Content
For HVAC content, videos are typically get more traction. For the obvious reason that they’re more interactive and engaging, search engines are more likely to put this above results that contain mainly text.
5. Market Differentiation
In this age where HVAC services are becoming a more lucrative business, companies are inevitably becoming more similar to each other. There’s nothing to distinguish one from the other and people usually go for who responds to them first or who gives them the cheapest estimate. It’s rare that a company stands out from the competition.
With this, market differentiation is a necessary effort that an HVAC business needs to focus on to gain more leads and sales. Here are simple ways to implement stand-out qualities in your service:
- Customer Service — Considering this makes up most of the real interaction with customers, most companies often leave this aspect at the bare minimum. If there’s anything you need to put the most effort into, it’s customer service. People remember most those that give them exceptional customer service.
- Personal Story and Credits — HVAC can be a really personal thing because it involves a very integral part of their living. Attaching a personal story to your brand helps to connect with them more, especially if you target their lifestyle and their home.
HVAC Marketing Will Make You Grow with the Market
There’s a big potential for the HVAC market, if those statistics we mentioned in the beginning are to come into fruition. With the current growth rate, it’s not likely to falter in the near future. Following these marketing strategies for HVAC companies will guide you towards immense success by 2024, but it can also give results as soon as a few months or a year.