How to Generate More HVAC Leads in 2024

As you may already know, consumers do not look forward to calling an HVAC technician. Part of an HVAC company’s job is to jump into action quickly when a problem occurs at a property. Typically, property owners are unfamiliar with the ins and outs of heating, venting, and cooling systems. When this situation occurs, property owners are typically flustered and frustrated and look for the quickest possible solution to their problems. According to Invoca, “62% of consumers shopping for HVAC repairs ran an online search before deciding on a business to use. Additionally, 84% of potential customers looking for HVAC help did not have a specific company in mind before deciding on one.” How can you use this information to generate HVAC leads for your business?

First, you have to consider your ability to deliver service quickly. Here at Wolfpack, we are based out of Florida. It is safe to say that Floridians are less than patient when it comes to restoring air conditioning to our homes, especially in the brutal Summer months. This could also be true for customers in northern regions who have lost heat. Once you know that your team has the ability to respond to the leads you get in a quick fashion, then you are ready to increase your number of leads.

Why Can Generating HVAC Leads Be Difficult?

No matter how amazing of an HVAC tech you are, strategic online content is a must to generate HVAC leads. That being said, online presence and lead generation are going to take some patience. Companies that have been in business longer than you and those that have focused on the above online marketing strategies for longer amounts of time will rank more highly in search engines. But this does not mean you should give up before even getting started. Why should you care about ranking highly on search engines like Google or Bing? Backlinko tells us, “The top three Google search results get 54.4% of all clicks.”

Let’s learn more about the strategies you can use today to rank more highly on search engines and in turn capture more online HVAC leads.

Use These Strategies to Increase HVAC Leads

• • Know What Your Audience Is Searching For – SEO
  • Show Authority With Your Website
  • Quality Customer Reviews
  • Ensure Your Contact Info Is Ready
  • Be Recognisable – Outbound and Inbound Marketing
  • Paid Online Advertising – PPC
  • Lead Tracking – Know Your Return

Know What Your Audience Is Searching For

This is helpful for HVAC businesses because the average homeowner or property owner does not have detailed knowledge of heating, venting, and cooling systems. These people will need help to solve the HVAC problems they encounter. Where will they go for help you ask? Online! You can give them informative blogs to help them attempt to solve the problems on their own. They can find ways to contact and hire you if they do not want to or can’t problem-solve on their own. The first way to gain traffic to your business online is to attract potential customers with accurate and trustworthy information. Here is how you can do that!

Gain HVAC Leads Using Search Engine Optimization

First, you can do is focus on improving your company’s SEO. To do this, you will need to conduct research on keywords to identify what your target audience is looking for. Knowing what prospects are looking for can help you create and post content aligned with a high number of searches on popular platforms.

For example, if you are an HVAC company in Tampa, FL, you want to target keywords such as…

• • HVAC Help Near Me
  • Air Condition Repairs Tampa, FL
  • Top Rated HVAC Technicians in Florida

Content Writing – Blogs

Next, you can start answering the questions your target audience has. This includes individuals who may not be ready to hire you right now. For example, try targeting keywords and questions of individuals looking to solve HVAC problems on their own. Here are a few examples.

• • How to fix a broken AC unit on my own?
  • How to tell if cold air is coming from my vents?
  • Why won’t the temperature on change on my thermostat?

Targeting these questions can give your site authority over others. It can also help you gain trust with potential customers. If you give consumers accurate information for free, they are more likely to hire you when they are unable to solve a more complex problem on their own down the road. 

After you have conducted some keyword research, you can begin to optimize your website and web pages for those keywords. To do this, you should optimize the following around your keyword:

• • Image Title
  • Image Alternative Tags
  • Keyword in body text
  • Page Title
  • HTML heading tags
  • Meta-description

Taking on Search Engine Optimization can be a large undertaking. Consider hiring an HVAC SEO agency to gain more leads.

Show Authority With Your Website

Next up, make sure your website puts your best foot forward. It would be disappointing to rank highly on Google or Bing and have potential clients click on your site, only for them to leave immediately. In an effort to avoid this, make sure your website has the following.

• • Assessability for individuals with disabilities – ADA Compliance
  • Client testimonials
  • Fast loading speeds
  • Correct company contact information
  • Easy-to-follow and functional navigational menus
  • Accurate and up-to-date information
  • Personalized images reflecting your branding

As mentioned previously, individuals who are looking for an HVAC tech are often looking for help in a hurry. They are not likely to be patient with a website that is not loading properly or contains inaccurate information. That lead will likely leave your site and move on to the next company in your area that offers to same services. 

Consider hiring a professional to build or update your website. A professional web designer builds your website with SEO in mind.

Positive Customer Reviews

The next strategy to implement to generate additional HVAC leads is to ask for positive reviews. BrightLocal’s research found that “60% of consumers feel that the number of reviews a business has is critical when reviewing and deciding whether to use its services.” Companies with larger amounts of positive reviews are more likely to appear first in search engine results. A few platforms which we recommend HVAC companies focus on include Google, Facebook, Yelp, and Bing. These platforms have the most traffic and reviews here will be seen the most. Other sites that HVAC businesses may also want to utilize include Upcity, Home Advisor, or Angie’s List. But, these will have slightly less traffic.

Looking for ways to improve your review count? Try asking consumers to leave a review following the completion of service before leaving the property. You could also try sending them a review link along with their e-receipt. Lastly, try to email them a thank you following the service which includes a review link and a coupon for their next service.

You can also use an email campaign system to request reviews from customers or to encourage them to use your company again. Learn more about marketing automation here.

Ensure Your Contact Information Is Ready

When prospects are searching for an HVAC company in your area, as mentioned previously, they are most likely looking for help quickly. Having your business information up-to-date and easily accessible in popular business directories is a must. If your information is not easily accessible, customers will select the company whose information is.

You can start by checking that you have a Google Business Profile. Then, you can move on to directories such as Apple Maps, Amazon Alexa, Yelp, Bing, MapQuest, LinkedIn, and others. When updating your profile you will want to ensure your NAP information is correct. This includes your HVAC company’s name, address, and phone number.

Be Recognisable

Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing includes advertisements where potential consumers see your company’s information without actively choosing to do so. Someone may see your logo on the side of a company vehicle, on a billboard, or hear a radio ad on their way home from work. These interactions with your brand just happen to happen, but over time will move your brand more recognizable to consumers. People are more likely to trust and hire an HVAC tech whose information they have seen all around town than one whose logo they have never seen before. 

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing, the opposite of outbound marketing, is when you have consumers come to you. Blogging which was mentioned earlier in this article is one example of inbound marketing.

Social Media

Another great example of inbound marketing that can generate HVAC leads is social media. Social media is at the forefront of peoples’ minds nowadays and its utilization can help you stay relevant. If you create and post engaging content, potential customers will choose to follow you and then voluntarily view your content and ads from then on. 

Consider hiring a social media management company for your HVAC business!

HVAC Leads from Paid Advertising – PPC

You can generate HVAC leads by paying for online advertising also known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC). However, we suggest saving this strategy until later on in your digital marketing journey. You want to be on your digital marketing A-game if you are going to pay for ads to drive traffic to your site. For example, you will want to have an organized website, high-ranking keywords, and a large portfolio of online reviews before you start to pay for site traffic. Otherwise, you could waste your ad-spent budget just for prospects to click on your site or business profile and then leave because they are unimpressed by what they see. But, let’s check out a few ways to use this strategy. 

Google Search Ads

Google Ads is a Pay-Per-Click strategy we recommend because it is really effective for your long-term growth. You can see where your business is advertising, adjust budgets, and scale your advertising budget.

Learn more about how Google Ads can advance your business goals, or how long it takes to work.

However, be careful as advertising on Google Ads can easily go through your ad budget if you are not a professional. Hiring a PPC professional is always recommended.

Google Local Ads

Similarly to Google Ads is Google Local Service Ads. Google Local Ads or Google Guaranteed Ads, helps business display their local business to consumers searching within a particular area for businesses/services like yours.

Local Google Ads are one of the most effective online advertising strategies.

To be effective with Google Local Ads and convert leads, use call tracking to track your return on investment (ROI), answer calls quickly, and have a high amount of Google Reviews.

Microsoft Ads (Bing Ads)

Consider using Microsoft Ads to increase your traffic even more with clients who choose Bing as their search engine of choice.

Yelp Ads

Lastly, we have Yelp Ads. Yelp Ads tend to perform well for HVAC professionals and other similar industries that have good Yelp reviews. Consider Yelp Ads along with your Google Ad strategy to diversify your marketing.

Lead Tracking – Track Your Return

Now tie it all together by tracking your Return on Investment (ROI)! You have to know where your HVAC leads are coming from! How many leads are coming in? Is your office converting the leads? How much are you making from each strategy? This is crucial because marketing can take up a percentage of your overall budget. When utilizing so many strategies while running the day-to-day operations of your business, it can be easy to overspend in areas that are not working for you. 

For example, maybe Google Ads is a very lucrative strategy for your area and you are seeing a 300% return from it, but you are losing money every month on Yelp Ads because there are not as many Yelp users in your service area. You can use this data to make the educated decision to spend less on Yelp Ads moving forward and more on Google Ads. Knowing what is and isn’t working and making adjustments as needed to all your HVAC marketing strategies is going to make you the most successful in the long term. It will also prevent your marketing dollars and efforts from going to waste.

The easiest way to track your leads is by investing in a system to help you rather than wasting time and effort doing this on your own and by hand. Consider hiring a marketing agency to help manage your leads and track your ROI.

Other Strategies

Some other strategies for generating HVAC leads you may consider trying to include the following.

1. 1. Flyers, Postcards, & Paper Materials
   2. Facebook Groups
   3. Nextdoor
   4. Sponsoring Local Events
   5. Cold Calls
   6. Door Knocking

Generate HVAC Leads Today!

So there you have it, steps you can take to generate leads! Implement a few of these strategies at a time and track your return on investment to see which are most effective for you.

Interested in HVAC marketing services? Check out our marketing services for HVAC companies!