http://www.godigitalmarketing.com/hvac-owners-wasting-marketing-dollars/
If you’re in the 77 percent majority of HVAC contractors who admit to not having a marketing plan in place, you’re most likely relying on word-of-mouth to gain new leads.
Or, you could be a HVAC contractor who is attempting to increase your business with marketing efforts in the more traditional, and outdated way by listing your business in the Yellow Pages – and completely wasting your money.
The Yellow Pages Are So 2002
In the past, the Yellow Pages were the place consumers turned to when they needed to find a local business, such as a pizza delivery place, a car repair shop, or even a new dentist. However, as technology has advanced in the last few years, people are beginning to use that hefty yellow book more often as a doorstop than as a source for information.
Instead of thumbing through pages and pages of alphabetical lists, 85 percent of consumers report they now use the Internet to find local businesses. The increase of laptops, mobile phones, and tablets are making it easier for consumers to not only find the services or products they need, but also to learn more about businesses. Many consumers check out company websites, read online reviews, and ask friends on Facebook for opinions before ever directly contacting a business.
Meeting Potential Leads Where They’re Searching for You
The ease and efficiency of finding a new business online will cause this trend to continue to grow each year (see graph from Search Engine Watch below), making it a necessity for HVAC owners to begin investing into digital marketing.
For most HVAC owners, this begs the question, “Where do I start?”
Getting Your HVAC Business Found Online
With hundreds of HVAC businesses online competing against you, it’s not enough to just have a website for your HVAC company and hope for the best. You need to also make sure that potential leads can find you when searching for a local business to fix their broken air conditioner or heater. In order to be found in the online marketplace, it’s crucial to invest in a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign.
Increase Visibility With PPC
PPC campaigns allow HVAC advertisers to bid on keywords related to their business such as “heating repair” or “AC units,” so that when a consumer searches for those keywords, the HVAC advertiser’s ads appear in the top paid section and the right hand side of the search results.
PPC campaigns are effective because they target people exactly where and when they need you, thus bringing in more qualified leads. To better ensure success with your PPC campaigns, update the keywords you use often. For instance, in the summertime, it would be a waste of money to bid on keywords related to heating, however you can increase leads by expanding the amount of keywords you use that are related to air conditioning.
Claim Your Search Listings
Search listings are like the Yellow Pages of the Internet. Google Local, Bing Places, and Yahoo Local allow small businesses to appear in the search engine results when someone looks for a business like yours locally.
For example, if someone were to search for “ac repair in phoenix, az,” these search engines will return the claimed business profiles of local HVAC companies above the website results (see image below). By claiming your profiles and optimizing them with relevant information, potential leads can make an informed decision about calling you – and you can show them why you’re better than the competition.
When searching for HVAC services, are your potential customers finding you, or your competitor?
No comments:
Post a Comment