HVAC companies are faced with a lot of competition. With so many other HVAC providers out there, it can be hard to stand out and attract the right customers to your company. You want people who need AC repair or furnace installation services in their area to know about you before they go looking for an air conditioning expert, but how do you make sure that happens? Read on below for ten tips that will help optimize your local SEO strategy!
Tip 1: Research and Pick Your Keywords
Keywords are the backbone of any SEO strategy. When you optimize your site for a specific term or phrase, it is called “keyword optimization.” To do this successfully and effectively requires some research and analysis. See what people in your area use to search for HVAC services on popular online platforms like Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, Yelp, and Angie’s List. You can also use Google AdWords Keyword Tool to find out what people are actually searching for related to your business.
Useful Tip: Make sure to check your keywords’ search volume and add your location for your keywords.
Tip 2: Optimize Your Keywords
Once you have an idea of what keywords resonate most with your potential customers, optimize them. Put your main keyword in the title and meta description visible to people searching for HVAC services or AC repairs online. Use your keywords in the page’s URL, headline, and body copy on your website. Also, make sure to add them to all of your business listings on platforms like Yelp, Foursquare, etc. Your keywords are the search terms your potential customers use to find you online, so make sure they are consistent throughout your entire website.
Useful Tip: Avoid keyword cannibalization by performing keyword planning on your website.
Tip 3: Perform Technical SEO Analysis On Your Website
Technical SEO is the process of auditing and optimizing your website to have a solid foundation to build upon for effective local search engine optimization. This includes ensuring you have an XML sitemap, titles and descriptions filled out correctly, proper internal linking structure, and correct use of hreflang tags. Without proper technical SEO, your website will not be able to rank as high as it could in the search engines. Performing technical SEO can also help you clean up any issues that are holding your SEO back.
Useful Tip: Use a tool like Screaming Frog or Website Auditor to help analyze and optimize your website’s technical SEO.
Tip 4: Do On-Page Optimization On Your Website
On-page optimization is the process of optimizing each and every page on your website for a specific keyword or phrase. This includes adding your main keyword to the title, meta description, header tags (Hx), images’ alt text, and throughout the body copy of your website. You also want to make sure that your website’s loading speed is up to par, as this can affect your SEO rankings. Getting your website’s on-page optimization done can be a time-consuming process, but it’s well worth the effort in order to rank higher in the search engines.
Useful Tip: Use the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress websites to help with on-page optimization.
Tip 5: Blogging/Long-form Content
Blogging regularly is one of the best ways you can optimize your local SEO strategy. This content helps search engines learn about your company and what services it provides, so they are more likely to rank you higher in their results pages. It also establishes you as an expert on specific topics related to HVAC services, which will attract people looking for AC repair or furnace installation services to your website. Writing and publishing blogs that are at least 500 words long is an excellent way to make sure your website’s content is of high quality and will help you rank higher in the search engines.
Useful Tip: Try to blog at least once a week, and make sure each post is around 1000 words or more.
Tip 6: Develop Online Directory Citations
Online directory citations are one of the most critical factors for local SEO. When you list your business on websites like Google+, Yelp, Foursquare, and others, it helps search engines learn about your company and its location. The more directories you list your business on, the better.
Make sure to use a consistent NAP (name, address, and phone number) across all of your online directories. Also, be sure to fill out as much information as possible on each directory listing, including website URL, hours of operation, and a brief description of your business. This can help improve your website’s click-through rate (CTR) and help you rank higher in the search engines.
Useful Tip: Use a tool like Moz Local to help manage your online directory citations.
Tip 7: Perform Linkbuilding/Off-page Optimization
One of the most critical factors for local SEO is link building or off-page optimization. This is the process of getting links from other websites pointing back to your own. The more high-quality links you have pointing to your website, the better it will rank in the search engines.
There are a variety of ways you can go about getting links to your website, including submitting articles to online publications, guest blogging on other websites, and participating in social media. You can also use tools like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to find opportunities to get quoted as an expert in news stories.
Useful Tip: Try to get at least 50 high-quality links to your website each month.
Tip 8: Set-Up Your Google My Business (GMB) Account
Creating and managing a Google My Business (GMB) account will help your business appear in the Local Pack on both desktop and mobile searches. This is one of the most important local ranking factors for search engines, so you want to make sure that you have a GMB account set up and that it has all of your business information filled out. You should also optimize your GMB listing as much as possible by using the same NAP across your GMB page and all of your other online directories. Don’t forget to post photos and respond to reviews as well regularly.
Useful Tip: Use a GMB dashboard like Moz Local or Yext to manage your GMB account more effectively.
Tip 9: Ask For Reviews
One of the best things you can do for your local SEO is to ask customers to leave reviews on Google, Yelp, and other online review platforms. Not only does this help potential customers learn more about your business, but it also helps improve your SEO ranking as well. Make sure to ask for reviews regularly and respond to any reviews your business does receive.
Useful Tip: Try to get at least 25 or more reviews on your website each month.
Tip 10: Track Your Results
Last but not least, it’s essential to track your results. Make sure you are checking which keywords people are using when searching for HVAC services in your area and then look at how well (or poorly) you rank on the first page of Google. It would be best if you also used tools like Keyword Alerts or Rank Tracking to help monitor changes in your website’s SEO over time.
Useful Tip: If you’re not seeing much organic traffic coming to your site, try using AdWords or Facebook ads to drive more qualified visitors directly to your website.
Ready to Start Your Local SEO Journey? Ask HVAC Grow!
HVAC Grow can help you with all of your local SEO needs. We have a team of experienced professionals who can help you with everything from creating a Google My Business account to building high-quality links back to your website. Our Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts are available to assist you with any questions or concerns. Contact us today for a free consultation!