When it comes to your HVAC business, leads are the name of the game. And if you're like most business owners, you've searched Google for terms like "fastest way to get more HVAC leads," "HVAC lead generation," and "best marketing strategy for HVAC companies."
Upon conducting your research, you have likely come across numerous digital marketing agencies that make lofty promises about lead generation. It can be tempting to invest significant amounts of money into leads. However, it's crucial to be cautious about investing too much money in leads that may not result in conversions, as this can be wasteful. There is a pervasive amount of misinformation regarding the most effective strategies for generating leads. It is essential to navigate through this sea of information and determine the methods that truly yield the best results.
The Truth About Digital Marketing for HVAC Companies
You already know there's stiff competition for new customers. Visibility in a crowded market requires a solid online foundation and digital marketing strategy including a combination of web design, PPC, blogging, social media, review and reputation management, and SEO. The combination that's best for you depends on the strength of your foundation plus your short-term and long-term goals.
What to Expect From Your Digital Marketing Investment
High Level Marketing is in the business of helping HVAC companies grow and maximize revenue for the long haul. Here’s what you need to know before you decide on a digital marketing strategy.
Web Design
You get one chance to make an impression and look credible online. You need a fast, responsive website that elevates your brand, engages your visitors, and persuades them to take action. A professionally designed website sets the foundation for your HVAC marketing strategy.
Biggest Impact: Short Term
You're in the business of solving HVAC problems. Homeowners and businesses will find your business through search. You need a professional-looking website designed for conversions.
ROI: Highest
Websites are the cornerstone of all your marketing efforts. A smart HVAC marketer will include the web address or link to your website on every piece of marketing content put into the world. A professional website pays for itself year after year.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Visibility for your services is key to growing your HVAC business. A robust SEO strategy with on-page optimization, off-page optimization, and Google Business Profile optimization will ensure your company reaches the top of search results and stays there.
Biggest Impact: Long Term
SEO increases visibility for your services over time. Once search engines recognize your HVAC business as a trusted authority, your brand will move up in search results. Eventually, if you continue to invest in SEO, you'll build the credibility and history you need to stay on top.
ROI: High
Once your home page and service pages reach the first three positions at the top of HVAC search results, you'll start receiving the lion's share of clicks just for being on top.
PPC/Paid Search Advertising
For some HVAC companies, Paid Search Advertising offers the biggest opportunity to get the most leads. Get in front of customers searching for your service with PPC, Service Ads, and Social Media Ads, then stay in front of those who've visited your hvac website with "remarketing."
Biggest Impact: Short Term
For new HVAC businesses, home-based HVAC businesses, and seasonal slow-downs, PPC and Paid Social Advertising are crucial to getting to the top of search results fast.
ROI: Medium
With PPC, you pay more per lead than other channels, but you also have more flexibility and control over who sees your ads and where.
Review Building/Reputation Management
Search engines, like Google, use reviews in their ranking algorithm, making review building and reputation management a critical component for both short and long-term SEO strategies.
FYI: HVAC businesses need a minimum of five great reviews for Google to even consider ranking them at the top of search results.
Biggest Impact: Short Term
For people, reading reviews is the first step in deciding to trust your business. No homeowner will trust a 2-star HVAC business when they could have a 5-star one. Responding to both positive and negative reviews is key to optimizing this channel.
ROI: High
Requesting reviews and investing time in responding to them comes at little to no cost for your business, but is incredibly impactful when it comes to acquiring new customers.
Social Media
Social media marketing ensures that your company remains active on platforms where users are encouraged to share their experiences, recommend local businesses, and exchange information.
Biggest Impact: Long Term
The value in consistently posting to social media platforms like Facebook is engagement. Engaged customers who find value in your posts will share your content with their networks, turning from a loyal customer into a brand promoter.
ROI: Medium
Social media ROI can be hard to determine. Because social media is mainly for promoting your brand, calculating ROI is usually done by measuring engagement. You'll need a strong content strategy that ties back to your website.
Blogging/Content Strategy
Getting visibility for your HVAC company and its services is key to engaging new customers. A website filled with relevant content and blogs that demonstrate your authority, written in an authentic voice will earn you the trust you need to get ranked by search engines.
Biggest Impact: Long Term
Once you create content and post it, it's there until you take it down. The better the content you produce, the more significant the long-term impact it will have. How-to videos and blogs, video testimonials and case studies, and general tips are ideal for HVAC companies.
ROI: Medium
Content strategy is important to your overall digital marketing strategy, but it takes time or money to create it. The good news is, it doesn't have to be perfect, just purposeful and genuine.
And One More Thing...HVAC Marketing is Not Just for Lead Generation
With the current shortage of HVAC technicians, many HVAC businesses are using digital marketing to recruit qualified technicians.
Are you struggling to get results with your current digital agency? We can help!
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This blog was originally written on June 19, 2021 and was revised and updated on October 20, 2023.
