13 steps to a successful SEO project for your HVAC business

Becoming a leading HVAC business is now proving impossible without a solid online presence. ‘But I already have a website’, you may think. Well, if we looked up your website online, on what page of search engine result pages (SERP) would it display on?

Before attempting to answer that, think about this. In every second of the day, there are more than 60,000 search queries being raised online. And that’s just on Google. Given that there are other popular search engines like Yahoo and Bing, that number could potentially be higher.

That clearly tells you the world’s attention is fast shifting to the online marketplace. And that includes the HVAC world.

Simply put, in today’s world, before a customer requests your heating and cooling services, they will first have to make a quick stop on the internet. Here, they may probably search something like ‘HVAC technician near me’, or ‘affordable furnace installation’, or ‘air conditioner maintenance service’.

The results displayed on SERP will feature top three HVAC businesses near the location of the online consumer. The customer will then compare the service offerings of each of these three businesses along with checking their customer reviews. That’s how they end up making the final buying decision.

If you want your heating and cooling business to be among the top three search results or display on the first page of SERP, you need a powerful search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. With such a strategy you get better search rankings, more lead generation, more lead conversions, and ultimately, increased revenues.

To successfully implement your HVAC SEO strategy, you can adopt the following 13-step process that will guarantee your business online success even in the long-term.

Read on to discover how much visibility potential you can bring to your HVAC business.

 

1.     Setting goals

To undertake this SEO journey, you should employ a systematic approach. Don’t just jump into the SEO ship and start sailing wherever it may lead. No. First take ample time to plan for the entire journey.

 

Effective planning is what eventually yields a reliable SEO roadmap. The roadmap is what acts as the compass for the whole strategy. This compass ensures you remain within course by raising alarm where goal deviation is detected.

 

Right from this first stage, you should seek to work closely with an SEO team that is multi-disciplinary, comprising content creators, editors, graphic designers, videographers, website designers and developers. This will ensure you cover all visibility ground. Of course this team won’t work in isolation. Collaboration with your in-house marketing team will ensure they work through your perspective and specific business needs. Understanding your specific goals is what determines the direction and strategy both teams are going to employ.

 

For example, if your main goal is targeting the younger generation customers, you may draft strategies around making your website more mobile-friendly. If your objective is to retain your preexisting customers, you may consider optimizing your email marketing campaigns for that purpose.

 

This will further help you determine the budget requirements based on the nature of resources you are going to need, project timelines, return on your investment, and future strategy modifications.

 

Moreover, you will be able to ascertain the best way to measure your particular SEO strategy results periodically.

 

Once you have set the goals exhaustively and have a clear direction on the journey you are undertaking, you may then jump into the real action.

 

2.     Website audit

If you already have a functional website, you should perform a thorough audit on it. The purpose of such an audit is to deeply analyze all the elements within your website that affect its visibility in popular search engines.

 

Essentially, the audit will help you garner a full insight into your overall website structure, traffic movement, as well as the performance of your individual web pages. Based on the outcomes of this robust process, you should consider a partial or complete web redesign at the very least.

 

However, if the design is already great there are several actions you can take to optimize it further. For example, increasing the website speed and security, making it more user friendly, keyword integration, high quality content integration, URL optimization, just to mention a few.

 

All such optimization efforts are geared at improving the performance of your website in relation to search engines because if your website has an unfriendly relationship with search engines, all your visibility efforts may not avail much.

 

And there is nothing personal there. Just search engines doing what they do best-rank for quality!

 

 

3.     Competitor analysis

Internet traffic is always up for grabs by any HVAC business-big or small, new or established. Presentation is what really makes the difference between winners and losers. And as soon as this thin line is defined, competition sets in.

 

When performing SEO competitor analysis, you should focus on website traffic generation and search engine result pages (SERP) rankings. By comparing these two crucial metrics against your competitors, you can confidently determine your standing in the HVAC marketplace.

 

Once you understand your current position on the digital market space, you can tell where you should be aiming at and start brainstorming the right strategies to get you there.

 

A competitor analysis is important because it reveals your strengths and weaknesses as well as those of your rivals. Based on that knowledge you can easily improve every other aspect of your SEO.

 

Furthermore, through a robust competitor analysis, you can tell the rival that you should be watching out for and aiming at outranking in SERP. Lastly, the analysis also reveals the keywords for which you are supposed to be ranking as well as the right sources for your backlinks.

 

For example, the only reason your local HVAC competitor may be outranking you on SERP is because of a keyword differentiation. Say their ranking keyword is ‘HVAC technician Brooklyn’ and yours is simply ‘HVAC technician’. When a local search query is raised online, your rival’s business will feature on top because of the location-specific keyword.

 

Once you discover such ranking tricks, look for ways of incorporating them in your own website and content across the internet.

 

4.     Keyword research

This process involves an in-depth collaborative research on common search terms HVAC online consumers use when launching an online search for a typical heating or cooling service. While some consumers prefer to add ‘near me’ at the end of the term, others choose to go with a location phrase instead.

 

Based on the common queries these HVAC online consumers raise, you can effectively narrow down the selection by comparing your researched terms with those from the competitor analysis stage. But where do you derive these common queries?

 

The most reliable sources of common search queries include the ‘People Also Ask’ section of Google SERP, the Table of Content of Wikipedia, Google Keyword Planner, among others.

 

Essentially, you should strategically place the researched keywords inside your content so that it ranks higher on SERP. That’s of course after factoring in the keywords that you currently rank for. Based on your goals, you may retain some of your keywords or modify them slightly to align with popularity.

 

For example, your brand name being a fundamental ranking factor cannot be phased out completely because it is unique to your business. So, if you only specialize in a particular service, say furnace installations, you cannot alter your keyword from ‘furnace installation service’ to ‘HVAC installation service’ as that may deny you your ranking advantage. The best you can do in such a case is adding a location phrase or other local intent somewhere in the keyword.

 

Lastly, you should also expand your keyword selection to include search terms that feature prominently in pay-per-click (PPC) adverts but lack a solid visibility in organic searches. This exercise combines both long-tail keywords and short-tail keywords and phrases.

 

That will ensure you cover the entire HVAC keyword distribution.

 

5.     Strategy formulation

Once you are through with information gathering in the above four stages, you should proceed to apply that information to practical use. The data collected acts as a launch pad for the right approach to successfully set off the SEO strategy for your HVAC business.

 

The aim of the strategy chosen is to help you attain your business goals as set out in the initial stage without deviating. This strategy is also important in planning your SEO priorities.

 

For example, it may help you answer, ‘Should I first integrate the page URL with the researched keywords or should I first go with the META description addition?

 

Understanding these priorities is therefore what guides your strategy implementation in the next project phase.

 

Based on your end goal the strategy formulation process may entail selecting the ideal method of driving more website traffic, determination of the strategy implementation timeline, as well as the determination of the strategy success timeline.

 

That means, if you choose to attract more website traffic by building more external links, for example, how will you incorporate it to capture traffic at its peak, and how long will it take before tangible results start showing.

 

The SEO strategy you formulate should be comprehensive enough to guide every phase of its implementation. By just looking at it you should be able to tell your expected return on investment.

 

In other words, the strategy should be grounded on credible facts and figures and properly aligned with industry-specific SEO best practices.

 

6.     Strategy implementation

Having identified the right SEO strategy for your particular business need, you may then begin the implementation phase.

 

Depending on the scope of your SEO strategy, the implementation process may vary. However, the following key SEO building blocks should never miss in the implementation:

·         Technical SEO

This SEO implementation process focuses on the technical requirements of your website in relation to what search engines expect. The aim of optimizing such requirements is to improve your overall organic rankings.

 

Through technical SEO implementation for instance, you can detect and get rid of thin or duplicate website content that confuses search engines.

 

A search engine like Google interprets duplicate domain names as different websites while you may have actually been referring to a single website.

 

For example, even though https://www.HVAC.com, https://HVAC.com, http://www.HVAC.com, and http://HVAC.com may represent one website, Google sees them as different websites.

 

You should therefore keenly assess your website’s architectural alignment to search engines’ crawling and indexing algorithms such as the one highlighted above. Some of the actions you may undertake to optimize your site for technical SEO include:

a)      Enhancing the user experience of your website by making it safer, faster, and more mobile-friendly

b)      Checking for website crawl errors that make your pages inaccessible

c)       Assessing your website’s link structure to remedy broken internal and external links

d)      Eliminating any instances of duplicate content on your site

e)      Elevating your website to an HTTPS protocol for data encryption

f)       Simplifying your site’s URL structure

g)      Optimizing your site’s XML sitemap for proper indexing in SERP

h)      Incorporating structured data in your website

 

·         On-Page SEO

On-Page SEO implementation involves optimizing what’s already on your webpage for more visibility. While the technical SEO focuses on the site structure, On-Page SEO mostly focuses on the content structure or how much your content integrates the right HVAC-related keywords and that includes your HTML’s source code.

For example, if you search a competitive keyword like HVAC estimates, you discover that the top ranking HVAC businesses have included that keyword in their title tags.

To enhance your site’s ranking, you should optimize:

a)      Title tags

b)      Meta descriptions

c)       Web page content

d)      Internal links

e)      Site URL

f)       Site image

 

·         Off-Page SEO

Going beyond your own website is what gets people talking about your brand and Off-Page SEO plays a significant role in that effort. Every action you take outside your website to boost its rankings on SERP qualifies as Off-Page SEO.

 

In other words, Off-Page SEO shapes your audience perception regarding your site’s authority, credibility, popularity, and relevance. Therefore, when you optimize the site for these factors you will be sure to reap big from all your SEO efforts.

 

One effective way of optimizing your site for Off-Page SEO is when authority sites and reputable people on the internet link to your site or vouch for your content as high quality. This automatically earns your site higher rankings on SERP. Because search engines don’t rank sites based on content alone, Off-Page SEO implementation is paramount.

 

Other non-linking factors that potentially influence Off-Page SEO and you can implement include:

a)      Influencer marketing

b)      Brand mentions

c)       Social media marketing

d)      Customer reviews

e)      Guest blogging

 

7.     Content creation and optimization

SEO implementation is an ongoing process. Therefore, you have to constantly feed your chosen SEO strategy with fresh and relevant data. It’s almost like oiling an engine to keep it running optimally.

 

This SEO feeding process takes the form of content creation and optimization. Backed by a qualified team of content creators, you should begin the content creation process by setting content goals based on your underlying promotional need and target audience. With clear content goals in mind, you can then proceed to launch content research to identify the relevant topics to capture in the content. The research also involves competitor content comparison to determine the content that ranks well on SERP.

 

Once the research is done and you have gathered enough topical ideas, you can then descend on the actual content creation. In this exercise, you should strive to make sure the content is fully optimized for better rankings on SERP.

 

Content optimization therefore means creating original, unique, and informative content in a way that reaches the largest audience. That includes right keyword integration, incorporating title tags, meta descriptions, relevant authority links, as well as optimizing headlines and visual images.

 

As soon as the initial content is complete, you should pass it across several people in your team to verify its quality by proofreading it for grammatical, omission, and structural errors. If the content checks all the quality boxes, it should be published immediately on all your online platforms for a wider audience reach.

 

Since publication is not a one-time thing, your content marketing team should formulate a content calendar for your content marketing. This is like an activity sheet that guides subsequent content updates on your sites so as to remain relevant and interactive with your audience.

 

With a broad overview of upcoming events and publications, the content calendar helps you avoid duplicating content or boring your audience with similar content for a prolonged duration.

 

For example, instead of scheduling all case studies within one month, you can spread them out and alternate them with other content categories such as guides. Moreover, you should ensure the guides you publish don’t cover the same topic consecutively.

 

Such an approach will give you a clear roadmap for valuable content uploads over the next three months or so before reviewing the calendar again.

 

 

8.     Map and local SEO optimization

How well-known is your business in your local service area?

 

Local business rankings are as significant as state and national rankings. Your business can generate new leads and convert more prospects this way.

 

But how do you get there?

 

Through local Map Packs and local SEO. Of course this is still an SEO implementation strategy except with a special focus on local visibility for your HVAC business.

 

Local SEO can therefore be described as strategies to improve the visibility of your heating and cooling business within a certain geographic area. The greatest advantage of local SEO is letting your business appear on both Google organic searches and Google Map search results.

 

For example, when a Brooklyn homeowner searches ‘HVAC installation Brooklyn’ on Google, the SERP only displays the top three local HVAC businesses along with their NAP citations. It also displays the accompanying business hours, driving directions, and customer reviews.

 

With such information, the homeowner only has to compare the reviews, service offerings, and rates before making a service call. Why?

 

Because all the business information they may need to make a buying decision has been made available to them within a single page. They may not have to browse any more pages.

 

That’s how much local SEO and local Map Packs simplify your business visibility locally. Now, imagine what would happen if your HVAC business only displayed on the 5^th or 20^th page.

 

 

Remember, local Map Packs only favors businesses featuring local intent in their listings. Therefore, within your local SEO plan you should strive to incorporate as much of that local intent in your business information as possible.

 

The most effective local SEO strategies that you can implement for your HVAC business include:

 

·         Listing your business on local online directories

·         Claiming your Google My Business listing

·         Managing your online customer reviews

·         Integrating valuable local content in your content calendar

·         Optimizing your site for voice search and mobile friendliness

·         Building links locally for your HVAC business

 

 

9.     Traffic monitoring

Once every SEO strategy is fully implemented and running optimally, the next phase is monitoring the resultant website traffic. Remember, the primary goal of implementing all the aforementioned SEO strategies is to drive more traffic.

 

You should review and analyze your website based on a number of tried and tested metrics to ascertain its performance. This analysis will help you measure site success in terms of traffic attraction rate as well as identify any problematic areas that may need urgent revision on the site itself. It is therefore an ongoing process.

 

Some of the common metrics you can use to monitor your website traffic include:

·         Click-through rate

This metric shows the proportion of internet users that are drawn to a search result related to your business on SERP and actually click on it.

·         Organic traffic flow rate

Traffic flow rate depicts how many website visitors you receive from your ranking on SERP. It is measured through the Google Analytics tool.

·         Bounce rate

The bounce rate shows the number of visitors exiting your site after visiting only a single page.

·         Conversion rate

Through this metric, you can tell the number of website visitors actually converted to customers by the actions they take.

For example, a visitor that opts to sign up for your HVAC newsletter and clicks on the relevant link might actually be interested in buying from you.

·         Keyword rankings

This metric shows your keyword position in comparison with your competitors. Over time, if your keywords no longer appear on the first page of SERP then it means they need to be updated.

·         Website exit points

These points show the pages on your site where visitors exit. It could be that such pages lack useful or interesting information as per the audience needs.

·         Crawling

This measurement is taken through Google Search Console. You should therefore constantly update your site in line with Google crawling criteria to afford it a better ranking position on SERP.

 

Because search engine algorithms are ever dynamic, you should keep close tabs on your specific keyword collection and always make necessary alterations when they become low ranking. In other words, you should always stay updated on the latest search engine behavior.

 

 

10.Monitoring

Your monitoring system should involve an ongoing analysis, reporting, and management process to keep your site dominating SERP rankings. Through this process you can determine the effectiveness of the marketing strategy you implemented for your HVAC business. You can also tell the areas that need minimal focus while eliminating those ones that are no longer relevant.

 

SEO marketing is a highly dynamic process. As newer strategies emerge, you should always strive to revise your SEO strategies by incorporating the new trends after testing their suitability. You can further simplify your work by formulating different monitoring mechanisms for each individual marketing strategy you employed.

 

For example, while the effectiveness of implementing NAP citations is measured by evaluating its accuracy and consistency, the effectiveness of technical SEO is determined by the user friendliness of your site. Such criteria cannot be interchanged.

 

To gather more monitoring information, you may analyze your sales reports to track the changes, issue online questionnaires or polls to gauge customer experience, or evaluate the return on investment of certain SEO strategies.

 

The data gathered here will lead to the next stage of reporting and final data analysis.

 

11.Reporting and analysis

With sufficient data collected, screened, and organized, reporting becomes easier. You can generate individual reports and analysis sheets for each marketing strategy separately. If you encounter trouble interpreting the data, you may seek the assistance of an SEO professional to re-draft it into a jargon-free version for easier understanding.

 

For example, instead of presenting you with just an impressive conversion rate figure, the SEO pro may delve more into the finer details of tracking the customer journey up to conversion and beyond.

 

You should also take the time to sit with your teams and discuss the report together. Here, you may use visual presentations to communicate key industry trends that defined your SEO outcomes. This will further assist you in better planning your marketing activities.

 

Based on the performance reports, you can collect key suggestions from your teams on the needful strategy modifications and improvements. That may entail realigning your marketing team and certain strategies.

 

While reporting for some strategies is on real-time basis such as social media marketing, others like influencer marketing may take a while to manifest and therefore may be reported quarterly or annually.

 

 

12.SEO Improvement

After clarifying and understanding both the technical and non-technical SEO aspects, you may proceed to roll out an SEO improvement plan. Based on the recommendations of your teams, you should perform more checks on the potential causes of highlighted performance issues.

 

For example, checking the XML sitemap for indexing errors, confirming whether Google is actually crawling your site correctly, analyzing your site’s indexing, reviewing the content calendar, restructuring low-traffic web pages, testing user experience on your site, as well as updating low ranking keywords.

 

All these actions represent basic routine maintenance tenets that you should frequently perform on your site to ensure it is always updated and aligned to current digital marketing best practices.

 

13.Continuity

Your business’s continuity should always be top of your mind. For that reason, you should always strive to support your business’s survival by making sure your digital marketing aspect is performing optimally at any given time.

 

You wouldn’t want to be driven out of business simply for lack of relevant and well-targeted HVAC marketing.

 

To ensure successful continuity of your SEO marketing efforts, you should occasionally revise your SEO strategy where necessary and do the following for better outcomes:

·         Empower your SEO team through modern training practices

·         Improve your reporting systems to better monitor progress

·         Keep your communication lines open to provide customer clarity

·         Automate your key processes

·         Acquire more SEO tools

·         Partner with a professional SEO team

 

Ready to get started?

It’s pretty easy. Simply pick up the phone and get in touch with our SEO team for a free SEO analysis.

We value your peace of mind. Therefore, by subscribing to our wide-ranging services we guarantee you a holistic digital marketing campaign so your business keeps running uninterrupted.

And to ensure you always get the best value for your money, we invest in enduring promotion and marketing methods

Our team consistently delivers unbeatable results in HVAC SEO. If you partner with us, we will help you develop a working strategy, implement it to the fullest and let you enjoy the fruits.

So, make that call today!