SEO for HVAC Contractors: What You Need to Know

What if your HVAC business was ignoring your best possible marketing opportunity?

Make no mistake: that opportunity is search engine optimization. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that SEO leads are eight times likelier to become paying customers than the leads you get via traditional ad campaigns.

SEO for HVAC contractors is very important for growing your customer base and your business. If you’re ready to grow, you need to be ready to learn a little bit about the arcane art of convincing Google that you’re a better answer to their searcher’s needs that your competitors.

But what do you really need to know about SEO? You have a heating & cooling business to run!

Fortunately, my overview here encompasses the most important elements you should know in order to know what it takes to skyrocket your rankings.

What is HVAC SEO?

HVAC SEO refers to search engine optimization practices related to HVAC companies.

Aside from the professional focus, an HVAC SEO marketing strategy is no different from any other SEO marketing strategy.

For example, you still need to have a solid HVAC topic and keyword strategy in place. Without such a strategy, pretty much any attempt at SEO is dead on arrival.

Compared to certain other businesses, HVAC companies need to focus more on local SEO. That is because you depend more on local customers than, say, a company that ships products to customers throughout the entire country.

By mastering some of the basics of HVAC SEO, you can leapfrog over your competitors and become the trusted and reputable HVAC authority in your area.

How does SEO help HVAC contractors?

Any HVAC marketing agency that does SEO properly can help HVAC contractors in a few ways. First, it can help them to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), which can result in more website visitors. Second, it can help to improve click-through rates (CTRs) from Google search results, as a well-optimized website is more likely to be clicked on.

How SEO Has Changed in 2023

Back in the day, SEO was mostly a matter of just popping certain keywords and links into your pages. However, Google caught wind of this and wanted to discourage practices like keyword stuffing that resulted in low-quality content rising through the search rankings.

These days, you still need a good HVAC strategy in place. But you also need a mobile-optimized website, and high-quality content along with the right use of images and (I know, I hear you groaning!) videos. Video, especially for mobile users, is more important than ever.

Either way, your website’s content needs to be relevant to user searches and you need to have precise details within your metadata, such as your title tag and meta description.

This guide can get you up to speed when it comes to things like local SEO for HVAC companies. But if you want to stay on top of best SEO practices as they change from year to year, it never hurts to work with a professional marketing company.

Why is Local SEO for HVAC Companies Important?

Leveraging SEO for your HVAC company means more than just adding a random article here or there or the usual site maintenance. It’s about optimizing your online presence to highlight your commitment to efficiency and savings for your customers in residential ventilation and air conditioning services. You must ensure your website is tuned to attract your ideal prospects: customers who value top-notch service.

Local SEO for HVAC companies is important because it focuses on the local customers who comprise most of your business. In this way, local SEO can be more effective than standard SEO as well as more traditional marketing strategies.

Standard SEO often focuses on getting as many people to visit your website as possible. And this is great for companies who do business around the nation or even around the world.

An HVAC business relies more on local customers, and this has traditionally meant relying on things like newspaper advertisements and billboards. However, modern consumers are more likely to trust the internet by performing searches like “best local HVAC companies”, “energy efficient replacement air conditioners” or “green certified HVAC contractors”.

Long story short? Google searches are the new yellow pages, and good local SEO means more customers are likely to discover your business.

Why Your HVAC Company Needs an SEO Marketing Strategy

When it comes to your HVAC SEO marketing strategy, we have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that the vast majority of internet users begin searching for local businesses via Google searches. This means improving your own SEO game could get your business noticed in the Google “Map Pack” (the little spot that shows the map where your business needs to be) by more people than ever before:

The bad news? Most online users don’t go past the first page (or often, even past the map pack!) of search results when they go looking for a local business. So unless you can rank on the first page and in the map for important keywords, your business may go unnoticed.

Here’s a little more good news. The strategies herein can help you land on the first page of user searches and begin growing your business. And of course, my team and I are among the few elite SEO companies who are always happy to work with you more directly if you need help improving your HVAC SEO.

Note that your business information can be edited by you in your Google Business Profile (formerly called “Google My Business”) which can have a positive effect on your rankings.

What Does Local SEO for HVAC Companies Look Like?

So how can you take advantage of local SEO for your own business to get you more website traffic?

Below, I have some simple strategies to help elevate your advertising via HVAC SEO.

Using Local Keywords

Chances are that your website already uses many keywords related to your profession. For example, keywords like “affordable air conditioner repair,” “furnace repair,” and “experienced HVAC contractors” can all help bring people to your site. Unfortunately, you’re competing against every other HVAC company on the planet using those keywords!

That’s why I recommend taking some of your typical keywords and adding local elements to them. For example, if your business is in Chicago, you can use keywords (and a title tag) such as

• “HVAC contractors in Chicago”

This really narrows things down for Chicago-area people trying to get help for their HVAC problems.

When done right, the right mix of keywords can help land you on the first page of search results for simple terms. It can also help land your business on Google’s Local Map Pack (which again, highlights results taken from Google Maps for users running location-based searches). 

All About E-A-T

What are the businesses that rank highest for local SEO? Typically, these are businesses that have mastered E-A-T. This acronym stands for expertise, authority, and trust.

These elements are important to all SEO, but they are most important when it comes to local searches. Locals who need help with things like HVAC systems, ductwork and vents want to hire authoritative local experts they can trust. And Google does its best to promote local businesses with these qualities.

Fair warning: it can take a bit of time for your own business to demonstrate all of the proper EAT qualities in the eyes of Google. But you can get a headstart by creating high-quality site content that provides relevant information and relevant media.

The more local users trust your content, the more reliable Google will consider your business.

The Importance of Authentic Reviews

What’s the first thing you check before making an online purchase? Most people skip to the reviews to see what people are saying. And before hiring your HVAC services, many users will want to know what previous customers have to say.

That’s why you need to get as many authentic reviews as possible. Google Reviews are some of the most helpful when it comes to local SEO. But you should also encourage reviews on services like Yelp and across social media.

These reviews help demonstrate that your business is trustworthy.

Also, you should respond to reviews (both good and bad) when you see them come in. This showcases that your HVAC business is engaged with customers (Hello, Google, we’re engaged with customers! Please like us more!) and their needs.

Another best practice is to respond to bad reviews professionally, as other visitors seeing your caring and knowledgeable response will be more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Completing Your Google Business Profile

One of the best things you can do for your local HVAC contractor SEO is also the simplest. And that is completing your Google Business Profile.

Among other things, completing the profile means giving your business address, phone number, store hours, and other info to Google.

Why is that important? If someone searches for your business on Google, they’ll get a phone number where they can reach out to you at the press of a button. They’ll also get an address that (with the help of Google Maps) can lead them right to your door.

Completing your Google Business Profile also boosts local SEO, making it easier for new customers to discover your company. And once they know who you are, the profile makes it easier for them to contact you and visit you.

Uh, Your Competitors May Do SEO Too!

When it comes to SEO, it’s easy to focus first on creating an HVAC keyword strategy. Before you go any further, though, it’s important to fully research your competition.

What does this mean? In the short run, you need to visit different competitor websites and compare them to your own. Make note of what they do better and what they do worse so you can make a plan to improve your own site.

In the long run (and perhaps with the help of third-party professionals), you can complete an analysis of the SEO used by your competition. This helps you understand what their strategies are and may even give you some ideas for how to counter them.

How To Create an HVAC Keyword Strategy That Works

SEO is like anything else related to your business. As an example, there is a world of difference between having a keyword strategy and having an effective keyword strategy.

The rest of our guide is going to walk you through different strategies for developing your HVAC keyword strategy.

One very basic bit of advice is to look for words that have less competition. It will be far easier for you to rank using these keywords because fewer competitors are using them.

Here’s a quick tip: do a regular search on Google for “HVAC contractors in Chicago”. Make a note of how many results you see. At the time of this writing, Google tells me 18 million!

Now do this search, using a Google “search operator” called allintitle.

allintitle:”HVAC contractors in Chicago”

This gives you the number of web pages that have that exact keyword in their title tag: I see just 250 results.

What does this tell us? Well for one thing, it means there are only 250 other web pages (URLs) that are titled “HVAC contractors in Chicago”. And since Google values a the keywords in a title tag highly, if you create a web page that uses those exact keywords too, your web page could start out life at #251 instead of #18,000,001.

This may sound silly, but these “relevance” signals are very important to Google.

Earlier, we mentioned the need for keywords with local elements, such as “best HVAC services in Chicago.” And even when the keywords aren’t local, using longtail keywords (searches that are more detailed and use more terms) is a great way for you to rank higher on search results.

When picking keywords, you need to focus on search volume (the number of searches that happen each month on this keyword) because this is a very important metric.

A keyword that has little competition may be useless to you if few people are searching for it. Your goal is to find a sweet spot between low competition and high search volume.

If you’re not already using them, apps such as Google Keyword Planner can help you research different keywords. If you wish to overhaul your website, you should consider starting by auditing your existing keywords and making changes where necessary.

HVAC Keyword Research: Finding Your Best Options

Here’s the thing about HVAC SEO: it’s very easy to do the initial research. But it’s very hard to pick the right keywords. How do you get started?

It all starts with knowing what different kinds of keywords are out there and how they work. Let’s talk about the different types of buyer keywords you should be aware of.

Informational Keywords

Some keywords are purely informational. As the name implies, they offer users basic information about a topic. This might include keywords about “air filter sizes” or user questions such as “why is my furnace leaking?”

Informational keywords may seem basic, but they play a major role in bringing new visitors to your site. And by providing direct and relevant answers to user questions, you can better establish trust.

And you’re sending signal flares up to Google about your topical authority.

Commercial Keywords

Commercial keywords are there for users who are ready to make a potential purchasing decision but haven’t made up their minds. An average user may have searched for “why is my furnace leaking” to verify they need professional help.

Commercial keywords anticipate the next searches the searcher might make, such as “best place for furnace repair” or “top-rated HVAC service.”

These commercial keywords are often tied to consumer psychology. Once someone knows they are going to spend money on something, they become interested in getting the most for their money. Commercial keywords can reassure them they have found the best HVAC service in the area.

Local Keywords

We covered local SEO keywords earlier in the guide. Simply put, these are keywords that specify city, state, or other location details for those performing searches.

One time-tested strategy that Google hates is when you create “location pages”, also known as “city pages”. This means you create a bespoke web page that tells the user about your relevance in their location. More about the city pages topic here.

Navigational keywords

Navigational keywords help users navigate to very specific pages. This is often tied to the intent of the user’s search.

For example, someone may look up info about your site by searching “reviews of HVAC services.” This helps them find a variety of reviews, and if you feature reviews on your site, it will lead users to them.

Another common navigational keyword would be “cost of furnace repair in Chicago.” This helps Google provide the most accurate information while linking buyers directly to website pages that discuss cost.

Transactional Keywords

The different kinds of keywords are designed to move site visitors down the sales funnel. And transactional keywords are there to reach customers at the bottom of the funnel.

In other words, they have resolved to spend money on a necessary HVAC service.

Transactional keywords reflect this user intent. These keywords often feature words such as “hire,” “buy,” “for sale,” and so on.

By combining other keywords with transactional keywords, you can attract warm leads to your site. Best of all, these leads are ready and willing to pay for HVAC services!

Optimizing Your Website for HVAC SEO Keywords

With any luck, our guide so far has given you enough information to begin compiling a list of relevant keywords. But how you use those keywords is just as important as which keywords you use.

That’s why we put together a few tips to help optimize your HVAC keyword strategy. By combining the right keywords with the best strategy, you can put your business on the map like never before.

Title Tags

Title tags are very important to HVAC SEO. These tags (also known as header tags) do more than help you to organize your content. They also tell both Google and your visitors which information is most important.

For example, each page should only have one H1 tag, and that is reserved for the title the user sees on the page. Best practices currently are that your H1 tag should match the words you used in your title tag.

After that, most subheaders will use the H2 tag. If you have multiple sub-points to make under this header, you can use the H3 tag. It’s important to use these in their proper hierarchical order so as not to confuse readers (and Google).

It’s possible to subdivide information like this all the way to H6. Just make sure your information is presented so that readers can understand it.

And for best SEO results, make sure your primary “money” keyword is featured in the H1 tag!

The Right Content

So far, we have mostly focused on the keywords themselves. But the content containing those keywords is very important. And you’ll need relevant and authoritative content if you want to rise through the search rankings.

What kind of content do users crave? In short, users want relevant content that helps answer their questions. And, generally speaking, visitors to your site don’t want content focusing exclusively on selling them something.

As an example, you should consider content like “Which HVAC Repairs You Can Handle On Your Own” and “Ways to Save On Your Power Bill Each Month.” Such content focuses on saving consumers money instead of boosting your profits. When users see you are trying to save them money, they are likelier to trust you and your service.

Over time, you can study website analytics, screen recordings and heatmaps to discover what kinds of content your users respond to the most. This gives you the opportunity to tweak both the content and the keywords used for maximum effectiveness. 

How Long Does it Take for an HVAC Company to Rank on Google?

The good news about HVAC SEO is that you can take concrete steps to improve your organic search traffic. The bad news is that this improvement may not be visible for four to six months.

Fundamentally, SEO is about hard work and patience.

It’s possible to simply boost your traffic through pay-per-click services. However, it’s important to work on your organic SEO because the minute you stop doing PPC, your business disappears off of Google. SEO is truly the gift that keeps on giving back to your business.

Better SEO may take a bit of time to take effect, but it provides serious ROI that your company can’t afford to overlook.

Have Web Pages Dedicated to Your Most Important Topics

Earlier, we touched on the importance of putting your primary keyword into the H1 tag reserved for titles. But web pages that rank, usually rank for more than one keyword. Sometimes, many more.

This ties into a larger point: you need to dedicate web pages to your most important topics. Think of topics are the “parent” to many keyword “children”.

If you try to have multiple primary keywords on a single page, they may end up butting heads. Users looking for different things will end up on the same page. And if that page isn’t fully dedicated to the problem they are searching for, they will back out of your page and try to find something more relevant.

At first, the idea of dedicating at least one web page to each of your primary keywords may seem daunting. However, it’s important to look at this as more of an opportunity than an obstacle.

By creating more authoritative content focused on more relevant keywords, you can boost brand awareness as well as your bottom line.

Speed Up Page Loading

Analytics can help you discover pages that have a high bounce rate. These are the pages users aren’t staying on for very long. Once you isolate those pages, you need to figure out what is causing people to hit the “back” button so quickly.

Sometimes, those users aren’t backing out because of your content. Instead, they are backing out because your content isn’t loading fast enough. That highlights a simple point: you need to speed up page loading speeds wherever possible.

Plenty of things can slow down loading speeds. This includes having large images, having too many images, tons of marketing tags in your code, having a bad web hosting provider, or even having an outdated CMS platform.

In addition to being annoying to users, slow loading speeds affect your overall SEO ranking. That’s because Google also notes your slow website and thinks “Well, why should I send my precious users to that website, since these other 10 websites are faster?”

 If you’re new to SEO or just not very tech-oriented, it can be difficult to speed up your page loading speeds. You may be better off working with a third-party professional to overhaul your site. 

What Should You Look for in an HVAC SEO Company?

To get the best SEO for HVAC contractors, you may need to work with an SEO services company. But what qualities do you need to look for to find the right company?

First, make sure the company has a solid track record of success. If they have satisfied customers and a good record, they should be able to do right by your business.

Second, make sure they have good communication skills. You should have multiple ways to reach the company when you need help, and they should be clear and consistent when they communicate.

Third, and finally, make sure the SEO company understands your goals (such as boosting traffic or boosting conversions). This helps them to create a custom SEO game plan that aligns with your exact needs.

Get the Best SEO for Your HVAC Business Today

Now you know all about SEO for HVAC contractors. But do you know who can help take your SEO to the next level?

Here at Boomcycle, my team and I are specialists in all aspects of digital marketing. Ready to make your dreams of a bigger business a reality?

All you have to do is contact Boomcycle today!