Over 95% of potential clients use Google and other search engines to learn more about a local business, so HVAC contractors should consider investing in heating and cooling SEO or search engine optimization.
SEO is the process of optimizing many aspects of your HVAC website, including its technical configuration, content relevance, and link popularity, to improve its search engine visibility. As a result, anyone who searches for services you provide or adjacent topics like the best HVAC software can easily find your website.
In this article, we’ll teach you SEO basics for HVAC companies. We also list strategies that will increase the chances of your website showing up online.
Is SEO a big deal?
It definitely is!
When potential customers search for something online, they typically don’t scroll beyond the first ten items in Google SERPs. SEO is a cost-effective way of pushing your site to the top of the search result page, hence increasing its visibility. It also helps boost the click-through rate (CTR). In fact, the top 5 search results get 70% of clicks.
SEO for HVAC companies offers many other benefits, like driving more organic traffic to your site, positively affecting the buying cycle of customers, and generating more leads. But these impacts of your SEO efforts won’t appear overnight. SEO is a long-term strategy. You need to be patient, but the wait is worth it because SEO can have long-lasting effects on your website.
5 Key Strategies for HVAC SEO
Keyword Research and Targeting
Keyword research and targeting are critical parts of HVAC SEO. After all, search engines use keywords to assess how relevant a web page is to a given query. You cannot optimize your website without using the right keywords on your website.
Keywords are terms that people interested in your product or service type into search engines when looking for information, like the “best HVAC tools.” You can use keyword research tools, such as SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, to find keywords to use. In addition to a list of the most popular keywords, these tools will also let you know how difficult the keyword is to rank for, traffic potential, and other factors.
There will be many keywords to choose from. Usually, you use the ones on the top of the list. However, it’s also critical to consider the relevance, authority, and volume when choosing a keyword to target.
On-page Optimization (Titles, Meta descriptions, Content)
SEO strategies are split into two groups: on-page SEO and off-page SEO. On-page SEO or Onsite SEO refers to everything you do within your website to improve its ranking. Meanwhile, off-page SEO covers strategies you can use outside your website to boost its ranking.
On-page SEO strategies include using high-quality content that your target market will find valuable. The content should have relevant keywords so search engines can find it easily. For example, you can use and distribute the keyword “high velocity HVAC” on blogs about high-velocity HVAC systems.
Additionally, include your target keyword on title tags and meta descriptions. Title tags are the title of your webpage and can influence whether a user decides to click on it. Make it unique and keep it between 50 and 60 characters. Meta descriptions are web page summaries that appear on search results. They don’t directly influence Google ranking but can affect your CTR, so add a clear call-to-action (CTA) and make it interesting.
Local SEO Tactics
HVAC companies operating in a particular region should focus on local SEO because that is where the bookings will most likely come from. List your company in local directories to improve your website’s visibility in local search results. Also, set up a Google Business Profile. With this free tool, businesses can manage all aspects of their Google online presence, such as search and maps. Optimize your business listing after claiming it.
Link Building and Citations
Link building involves getting other websites to link to your website. This strategy can also increase your business’ online visibility. Good links tell search engines that your website is reliable and worthy of being cited, which can boost organic traffic.
Finding unlinked brand mentions and providing testimonials are all ways that HVAC companies can increase backlinks. You can also post guest posts on relevant websites on relevant topics like HVAC business management tips.
Make sure your citations include your company’s name, address, and phone number at the very least. The information should be accurate and uniform, so don’t use different phone numbers, for example. Use well-known local directories such as Foursquare, Yelp, and Yahoo Local Networks.
Mobile Optimization
The importance of optimizing your website for mobile devices cannot be overstated, as the mobile market continues to grow. With a responsive design, your website remains user-friendly no matter what mobile device it’s viewed on.
Users of mobile devices want pages to load quickly because mobile data is typically slower than wired internet. Aim for better page load times by compressing files whenever possible, fixing 404 pages, and optimizing rendering orders.
Importance of Content Marketing for HVAC SEO
A website cannot be visible to search engines and attract visitors if it doesn’t have content. SEO for HVAC and content marketing go hand in hand. You cannot afford to ignore it if you want to rank higher on search engines and establish your business as an expert in the HVAC industry. Here are a few things to consider when creating content to optimize your website:
Creating High-Quality, Relevant Content
Websites need high-quality content not only to rank well but to engage readers, too. So make sure to create high-quality content with strategically placed keywords so your search engine visibility increases. You can do keyword research to get an idea of the topics your target market is interested in. Create pages around these topics so your website shows up when leads and customers do a Google search.
Blogging and Resource Pages
Publishing in-depth and informative content on your website can help in ranking and establishing online authority. For instance, you can show your expertise in the field by writing articles on relevant topics like the best phone systems for HVAC companies.
Video and Visual Content
In addition to blogs, you can post videos and visual content. This helps you to create and connect with leads online, which can increase conversions and sales. Customers can be drawn in, engaged, and retained with the right HVAC content.
5 Technical SEO Strategies for HVAC Companies
Technical SEO is the process of improving the technical components of your website. Its goal is to ensure that search engines can properly crawl, index, and display your web pages. Here are some important technical SEO strategies you must implement to get ahead in the HVAC industry:
Site Structure and Navigation
Website architecture, or structure, refers to how your contents are organized and interconnected throughout your site. You must set up a logical architecture and page hierarchy. That way, search engines will find it easier to index your pages, and your visitors will easily find the content they need.
Page Speed Optimization
From an SEO HVAC standpoint, page load time speed is crucial. It heavily affects bounce rate, and Google uses it as a ranking factor for mobile and desktop searches.
You can improve web speed in various ways. For instance, compress the size of files on your website, like images, codes, and CSS, without compromising quality. Enable browser caching for returning users, use Content Delivery Network (CDN), and reduce HTTP requests. Also, consider upgrading your hosting service.
Schema markup for HVAC Businesses
Schema markup helps search engines recognize and classify the content of web pages. To implement schema markup for your site, first, determine what kind of data you can display on a webpage. For example, a blog post about top HVAC associations can use the “articles” data type. Meanwhile, your HVAC service page can use the “local businesses” data type.
Then, use a schema markup generator tool like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to embed schema markup on preferred pages. Start tagging. Make sure you test it using the structured data testing tools from Bing or Google.
Crawlability and Indexability Optimization
Crawlability and indexability directly affect your website’s visibility on search results. Optimizing them is one of the most crucial SEO basics for growing HVAC companies.
Increase crawlability with an XML sitemap, a well-structured website, and appropriate HTML tags. For indexability optimization, use robots.txt to ensure that bots aren’t unblocked from crawling. You should also avoid or fix duplicate content issues, check logfiles, and make the site mobile-friendly.
Error Handling and Redirection
Error handling and redirects are essential SEO components. They help address HTTP errors that can hinder search bot activity by stopping them from accessing important information on your website. If you are selling an HVAC business, for instance, you might need to create a sales page. This may not get indexed by Google because of errors; hence, it will not appear in search results even if visitors are doing specific keyword research.
Importance of Technical SEO
Optimizing your technical SEO strategies for HVAC lets search engines recognize the quality of your website. It makes sure that the content on your website is easy for search engines to crawl, comprehend, and index. This enhances the visibility of your website on search engine results pages.
The technical side of SEO and SEO in general can be a bit overwhelming for beginners. If you are not tech-savvy, consider hiring an HVAC SEO agency instead. They specialize in HVAC SEO, helping boost your ranking and your business growth.
Drive Your HVAC Business Growth with Podium
Refining your HVAC SEO strategies is crucial in boosting your online visibility. But don’t stop there. Use Podium’s Marketing and Reputation Management solution in addition to HVAC SEO marketing to improve your online reputation, attract more customers, manage reviews, and book more jobs.
