Standing out in the clamor of online ads, social media, and search results takes a focused HVAC advertising strategy. These tips can help your company have the best HVAC advertising strategy and better position your business in front of potential customers.
1. Design Your Landing Page
An HVAC marketing strategy has a few goals: drive traffic to your website or landing page, capture leads, and convert leads to new customers. Much of this marketing plan will revolve around your landing page, which means you need to maximize this space.
First, decide on the goal for your advertising campaign. The best HVAC advertising campaigns use specific landing pages that are only used to convert an ad click. What do you want your potential customers to do after they land on your page? Your page design should clearly and easily lead them toward that goal through simple design and a strong call to action (CTA).
Highlight your CTA above the fold so that it’s visible before you need to scroll down, and include an easy way for customers to contact you. You can combine these two pieces with a contact form or a “call now” button linked to a phone number.
Then elevate your page with powerful images and white space, and make it responsive. A responsive site automatically adjusts images and content to fit the screen. More than half of people use the internet on mobile devices, so a mobile-friendly site is important.
2. Write Captivating Copy
Next, simplify your website copy. Customers are more likely to scan your page for key points, so your descriptions should be clear and to the point. Use short sentences and paragraphs and fill in the blanks with photos. Formatting like bullet points also helps make content easy to scan so customers know about your HVAC service quickly.
You should also use the best HVAC SEO practices with your content. SEO stands for search engine optimization and is a key strategy to help you rank better in the search results. Research keywords for your HVAC company and include those in your page titles and throughout your content.
For example, if you offer HVAC services in Seattle, you might use keywords like “Seattle heating and cooling,” “Seattle heating repair,” or “Seattle heating.” Add them naturally throughout your site to your site title, page titles and headers, and the on-page content.
3. Start HVAC Advertising With PPC Ads
Once your website or landing page is customer-ready, your next step is to attract customers. A pay-per-click or PPC ad is an affordable HVAC marketing idea with a good return on investment (ROI).
As it sounds, PPC ads are paid advertising. You run an ad online, usually with Google ads, and pay for every click on your ad. To start, you create an account with Google Ads and bid on keywords with a maximum daily amount you’re willing to pay. Then the bid goes to auction with other advertisers for the same keywords, and the highest bids display first.
Google estimates that advertisers gain a return of $8 in profit for every $1 spent on Google ads. This means Google ads have the potential to generate 8× your budget, making them a bankable marketing channel in your overall strategy.
Your Google ad should entice users to click. You can do this by advertising discounts, specials, certain services, etc. The best way to get a new customer is to match their search intent with your PPC ad. Then, your landing page should do the rest of the heavy lifting.
4. Drive Traffic With Social Media
Social media platforms are another valuable marketing and advertising tool. Your customers already engage with and communicate on these platforms every day, so it’s an opportunity to connect with them where they are.
Use social media to build a public presence and brand awareness. With consistent posts and high-value information, you can give your customers insight into your business and your brand. You can also use social media to engage directly with current or new customers and provide customer service.
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram also have robust social media marketing tools such as Facebook ads. Once you identify your customer, you can run a Facebook ad and drive traffic to your landing page or capture qualified leads.
For example, if you have a fall promotion on pre-winter furnace tune-ups, you could launch a local Facebook ad for people in your area. Use the ad to send them to your appointment page or book appointments right from the ad.
Learn More: Guide to Social Media Advertising for Home Services
5. Run Local Service Ads
Google Local Services Ads (LSA) help you connect with customers in your area. These ads are a type of local SEO strategy where you run paid ads using regional keywords.
While they’re a form of click advertising, they’re different from PPC ads. Local service ads show up above PPC ads and display your phone number, business hours, and business rating. However, Google takes an extra step to qualify your lead.
Let’s say you run an ad for the keywords “Seattle heating.” When a customer enters that term into the search engine, an ad for your business will show up at the top of the screen. Once your customer clicks on the LSA, Google asks them to confirm their location. If you don’t serve that area, Google will suggest another local business.
For PPC ads, you pay every time someone clicks on an ad, but with LSAs, you only pay when someone contacts you from that ad. LSAs can drive sales, but they can also save you the time and cost of weeding out customers you can’t help. The result is a lower cost per lead.
6. Capture and Highlight Online Reviews
Research shows that 82% of customers read an online review before buying a product or booking a service. Customers value other people’s opinions, so reviews can help build trust.
If you don’t have reviews yet, ask your current customers to leave one online. Then feature those reviews on your landing page or social media, where they can act as social proof for potential customers. A good Google review can go a long way.
However, remember that you can’t control reviews. Even if you go above and beyond for your customers, you may still get a bad review. Address these right away. That way, you solve your current customer’s problem and show potential customers that you’re attentive.
7. Attract Customers With Content Marketing
Content marketing is drawing customers to you with high-value articles or other online content using SEO practices. Potential customers search for those topics and land on your website.
The goal is to create content that answers questions or solves problems while also showing how your products and services can help. This attracts leads, helps build a relationship with your customer, and positions you as an expert.
Your HVAC SEO plan can include content marketing tactics such as podcasts, blogging, social media content, or video marketing. You can insert CTAs and links to your services throughout the content, but they should fit naturally and should sound conversational rather than like a sales pitch. The information should also apply to your industry and keywords and should provide real value. For the best results, be consistent with your posting schedule and with your brand voice and content.
8. Use Traditional HVAC Ads
While online advertising is a powerful marketing strategy, traditional ads still hold weight in some of the best HVAC advertising plans. You can incorporate the two styles with a few creative HVAC marketing ideas. For example, a simple but striking billboard ad with your website URL can drive customers to your landing page.
Traditional ads can also include radio or TV ads, print ads, merchandise, or direct mail marketing. Despite what people think, direct mail flyers and postcards still generate a high ROI. A recent survey showed that direct mail was more profitable than online display and paid search ads.
Try pairing your traditional ads with your landing page. Use a simple URL that’s easy to remember or include a scannable QR code. Not only will you build brand awareness, but you’ll also drive traffic to your landing page and be able to track how well your traditional ads work.
9. Set Up a Google My Business Profile
As it sounds, a Google My Business profile is a Google listing of your business. When you set up an account, your business shows up on Google maps and in the search results. It shows all of your local business information, from your address and website to your phone number and business hours.
Customers can leave online reviews, post pictures of your business, and ask and answer questions. You can also customize your profile, which is an excellent opportunity to use local SEO strategy and get your business in the top results. Customers can quickly find your website from here, making it a great way to drive traffic to your HVAC ad.
10. Include Email Marketing
Finally, once you’ve gone through all the work of attracting and qualifying leads, nurture them with email marketing. Encourage your leads to opt into a regular email newsletter or offer a free guide in exchange for their email.
Once they opt-in, you can move them through an auto-campaign series or send business updates and special offers. Make sure your email content is mobile-friendly and includes links to your landing or booking page. To reduce your unopened rate and bounce rate, use catchy subject lines and test all your content and links before you hit send.
Hire an HVAC Marketing Agency
A successful HVAC advertising plan often combines many marketing channels, and each one needs ongoing attention and adjustment. If you have limited time or knowledge, hiring a marketing agency with SEO services might be the best choice. Marketing companies like Scorpion have all the right tools to launch, manage, and measure digital marketing campaigns that grow your sales and your business. Get started with our HVAC marketing services today.
