Although heating, venting, and air conditioning services exist in a niche market, much competition still exists, with over 100,000 active HVAC companies nationwide. In this era, success in the industry now requires far more than placing ads in the paper and relying on referrals.
Today, digital marketing strategies are crucial for finding leads, attracting customers, making conversions, and boosting retention rates. In particular, search engine optimization (SEO) for HVAC companies is a proven digital tactic that forms the bedrock of any successful marketing effort.
Still, it’s not enough to just invest in SEO services. As the owner of a small local business, you need to be sure that your results outperform the local competition. To achieve this, take a look at the following three tips to improve SEO for HVAC businesses from one of our digital marketing experts at Polianna.
Build a Local SEO Strategy
A great place to start is by learning the difference between traditional SEO and local SEO. In essence, traditional SEO focuses on national or global reach. In contrast, local SEO makes your site information available primarily to searchers in your geographical area.
If a searcher types in “AC repair Richmond,” the results will focus on HVAC contractors located within the Richmond area. Alternatively, searchers anywhere can also type “near me” at the end of the phrase, and the search engine will use GPS to pinpoint their location to provide appropriate local results.
As an HVAC company, you offer on-site and in-person services, which requires you to operate in a certain service area. As a result, local SEO is a much more effective strategy for SEO for HVAC contractors like yours.
Still, it’s unlikely that your local HVAC company is the only one around. To guarantee the best results, use the following methods when building your local strategy:
- Make your company’s current name, phone number, and physical address (NAP) available on every page of your website. Search engines like Google give preferential treatment to companies that display this information accurately and consistently.
- Build your reputation on social platforms like Yelp and Google My Business. Local SEO favors companies that have good reviews.
- Work to get your business mentioned on other businesses’ websites and in local news articles. Mentions like these prove to search engines that you are credible and respected.
Design Your Website With Mobile Users in Mind
In 2020, mobile devices generated a whopping 52% of all internet usage, exceeding desktop use. With the proliferation of smartphones, customers on the go are looking for easy-to-use websites. The chances are that you’re losing out on a lot of business if your site is inconvenient to view on a mobile device.
In addition, Google’s search algorithm prioritizes mobile pages that load and scan quickly. Since nearly 94% of organic search traffic comes from Google, having a good mobile design (along with a strong desktop design) can also increase your HVAC search engine optimization ranking.
Here are a few ways to ensure that your mobile site is maximally user-friendly:
- Use HTML web pages instead of PDFs, since mobile devices can’t read PDFs well
- Keep paragraphs brief, at max between 2-3 sentences in length
- Place a navigation tab at the top of the website
- Ensure that contact and inquiry forms are easy to use and large enough to click on with a finger
Utilize the Power of Backlinks
According to many in the SEO industry, backlinking is one of the most valuable techniques for achieving greater visibility. Unfortunately, many companies fail to utilize this tactic effectively.
A backlink is a link that connects one site to another. By having another organization or company hyperlink to your website from anywhere on their page, you gain a backlink.
The presence of backlinks is a vital ranking signal for Google’s search algorithm since it indicates that another party considers your content noteworthy.
Important to remember is that a backlink’s source authority contributes to its value. For example, backlinks from industry-related blogs, news websites, bureaus, and other authoritative sources are especially useful. A backlink from an adult website, gambling page, or unregulated forum can harm your ranking, on the other hand.
If you incorporate SEO backlinking as an HVAC contractor, ensure that the links you receive are at least relevant, if not directly related, to the services you offer.
Bring Your HVAC Business to New Heights With the Power of SEO
At Polianna, our team knows what it takes to help your incomparable business grow at an exceptional rate. We provide full-service search engine optimization for HVAC companies to help them dominate their local markets, organically. Call us at 703-475-6907 to get started with an initial consultation.