Why Should You Work on Your HVAC Site?
When it comes to getting more calls for your heating and cooling business online, your best asset will be your website. In fact, if you disregard your website you’re disregarding one of the most valuable assets of your entire business. A good website that is cared for the right way will generate tons of visits per month from Google and other search engines AND be able to convert those visitors into paying customers.
In our article “HVAC SEO Secrets” we talked about why you should treat your website like real estate and how you can get started with search engine optimization. However, in this article, we’re going to talk more about what makes your website more attractive to prospects and how you can go above and beyond average.
If you’re the kind of guy who doesn’t care to learn new tricks and is okay with being “average” then stop reading because you’ll be wasting your time. That being said, if you’re set on providing your area with quality HVAC service, get ready to take some notes!
Read Our HVAC Marketing Guide
If you’re looking to grow your HVAC business, be sure to check out our HVAC Marketing Guide.
Make a Clear Call to Action
A Call-to-Action or CTA refers to an item that encourages a user to do something. If you take a look the top competitors in your area you’ll likely see they have buttons and links all around their site saying things like “CALL NOW FOR A FREE ESTIMATE” “Schedule an Estimate” or something along those lines.
The reason this is important is because it encourages users to take action. Now if you’re anything like me, you’ll get annoyed when businesses post all across their site “CALL NOW” and stuff like that, but contracting is a bit different.
Most of the time when someone is on your site it’s because they have a serious problem, their heating is out in the middle of the winter or it’s 100 degrees and their AC stopped working. So when it comes to HVAC websites, these call to action buttons and links are important. Because a user doesn’t want to have to scroll down to find your number, they need help ASAP.
Soft vs Hard CTA
A soft call-to-action is something like “Request an estimate” while a hard call-to-action is “CALL AN HVAC SPECIALIST TODAY” notice the difference? One is subtle, suggestive, while the other is bold and immediate.
I’ve worked with contractors who want their customers to feel safe, and comfortable so we often employ the soft call-to-action such as “Contact a technician.” We often use this for maintenance and non-urgent services. When our clients provide a more urgent service we use the hard CTA, something like “REQUEST EMERGENCY SERVICE” since that matches the energy of the customer.
Include Videos if You Can
Videos are the killer weapon of SEO and online marketing. They do two VERY important things: they increase your session rate on your site, and they engage with your users so they’re more likely to take action.
If you don’t know what a session rate is, you can read our article on “SEO Terminology Basics” but essentially it’s the time a user spends on your page. The more time a user, who found you from Google, stays on your page, the better Google will think of your business!
Almost everyone clicks on a video when they see one. If you’re video is a minute, a user who watches your video will have stayed on your page for at least a minute. This sends a positive signal to Google and is the first reason why including a video is important.
The second reason is, psychologically the more we engage with a brand the more likely we are to continue engaging. So if a user watches your video, it’s likely they will keep scrolling and make a phone call.
So if you have a video, even if it’s only 30 seconds, even if it’s a slideshow, whatever it is, include that on your site!!
Make Sure Your Website is Mobile Friendly
These days when someone has a problem with their heating or cooling unit they’ll search on Google using their phone to find a business that can resolve their issue. In fact, roughly 50% of people now search on Google using their phones. With that in mind, you should be focusing on how your website appears on a mobile device. Having a responsive website, simply having a site that responds well to desktop screens, tablets and phones, is critical for your website.
To test if your website is responsive, simply shrink your browser’s width as much as you can. If your website collapses, as shown below, it is responsive. If it doesn’t, and you have to scroll around and things aren’t aligned properly, then it’s likely not going to be responsive on a mobile device either.
Remember, users who are in need of a service don’t have time to go around with a website. If it doesn’t look good they are most likely going to leave and go to your competitor!
List Your Prices (ranges)
This is one that many contractors are afraid of doing. They fear that giving their prices out will show their competitors how much they’re charging and that potential customers will use it as a shopping price and go somewhere else. But here’s the thing, sharing your price range makes people feel safe!!
If someone’s air conditioner breaks in the middle of the day and it’s scorching hot, they’re probably quite anxious. Being transparent and honest will put their nerves at ease and the better you can do this, the more likely they are to leave a good review and refer you!
Don’t Worry About Exact Price Tags
Now I’m not suggesting that you put your exact price, because you may change them according to the situation. What I am saying, is you should put a price range of what a service will typically cost. For instance, you may say “a typical repair for a furnace is between $200-$400” this gives a customer a more clear picture of the situation so they don’t feel worried about the quote.
Yes, there are those who are going to shop around and try to get the cheapest service they can find, but do you even want those people as customers? The type of people who may end up just making the job more difficult anyway?
Create Relevant Content and Pages
Create a blog post, landing page, location page, and anything relevant to what you provide at your HVAC company.
Most sites don’t rank on the first page because they lack content. Their sites are small and they don’t have a lot to offer. Google favors company’s the provide users with a good experience, and providing answers to commonly asked questions is no exception.
So what should you talk about on your HVAC website? Think of commonly asked questions and write out detailed answers addressing concerns and common issues. You can add this as an article/blog or add it to your service page.
Some common questions we’ve found that work well on HVAC sites include:
- How much does X service typically cost?
- How long does X service typically take?
- How can I tell if X unit is broken?
Tip: If you want to rank high, not only should you include content, but make sure it links back to your main service pages and home page so Google will know your main pages are relevant to your keywords.
Post Photos of Your Team
When you’re hiring someone to show up at your house, or business, you want to know what they look like. Adding a face to a name helps build trust and most sites that rank high include a team photo somewhere on their site.
Even if you’re not the most photogenic person, a photo of you or your crew on the job will add lots of trust and once again make people feel more comfortable inviting you onto their property.
Some companies hire professional photographers, but even a simple selfie or group photo of your team on a smartphone will do just fine!
Make Sure Your Site Load Time is Fast
A website that has a long site load time will lose visitors, period. People have such short attention spans that if your site takes longer than 5 seconds, you can forget about those users ever calling you for a job.
You can test your website load time here: https://gtmetrix.com/
If your website load time is 5 seconds or longer there are a couple of things you can do that don’t involve too much technical work. The first thing you can do is compress your images using different tools, just google “image compressor” The second thing you can do is get a cache tool which will reduce the site load time for users returning to your site.
Need Help With Your HVAC SEO?
If you’re looking for an SEO agency to help your grow your HVAC business, then consider reaching out to us at JCSURGE. Our team works with local contractors across the United States to help them generate more phone calls and grow their online presence. We’ll walk you through exactly what can be done to improve your website, and how you can start getting more visits per month!
JCSURGE LLC
401 E 74th St
New York, NY 10021
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (917) 747-423
Services:
- Local SEO
- Local Google Maps SEO
- Web Design & Development
- Facebook Ads
- Free Audits
- Website Design and Revamping
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