HVAC Promotions Blog

HVAC Promotions Launches New Website for Jones Plumbing, Heating & Cooling

Jones Plumbing, Heating & Cooling was founded in 1941. Throughout the years they have made a name for themselves in Plymouth, Indiana and the surrounding areas. One thing they were missing from their marketing strategy, however, was a website. Find out how HVAC Promotions worked to establish an online presence for Jones PHC by building a strong, lead-generating website.
 
Websites Establish Credibility Among Potential Customers
 
When Jones Plumbing, Heating & Cooling came to HVAC Promotions they were lacking an online presence and a website. Our first suggestion was to have a starter website built. Why? In today’s world of online search having a website for your HVAC company is a necessity. Without a website, your company lacks credibility with potential new customers and this lack can cause you to lose potential business to competitors who do have a website.
 
A Starter Website is a Great Fit for Smaller HVAC Markets
 
At HVAC Promotions we work with heating and cooling clients in all kinds of markets. From large city markets to smaller, more rural markets we have tested and analyzed dozens of our websites and their performance to know which one works best and where. Our suggestion for smaller markets, such as Jones Plumbing, Heating & Cooling is to build a starter website. These smaller websites, when designed well, are highly effective in generating leads and representing a heating and cooling company online. Starter websites can also have more pages added to them to effectively show up in search results when they grow and expand into more markets.  
 
Our Website Design Incorporated the Existing Logo and Branding
 
Websites should be an extension of a company’s branding, incorporating everything from colors and logos to services and company culture components into the design. The website developers at HVAC Promotions work to do just that. Check out the photo of Jones’ new web design below and see how we worked to integrate their entire branding strategy. 
 

For more information about website design, give HVAC Promotions a call at 855-765-4500.

HVAC Marketing 101: The Basics

Content management systems, pay per click advertising, landing pages, and the list of marketing jargon goes on and on. It is no wonder that venturing from the HVAC world to the marketing one can be slightly overwhelming at times. Because of this, HVAC Promotions put together a list of basic marketing terms for heating and cooling companies to reference! Check it out.
 
Content Management System (CMS): A system built into the back end of a website that allows for the publishing, editing, and modifying of content, such as website pages, blog posts, etc.
 
Online Directory Listings: Website databases that present your company’s information to web-surfers. This information includes address, phone number, website, etc. Examples of this are Google Local, Angie’s List, Yelp, etc.
 
Email Marketing: Directly marketing to a group of people using email. This can be done to cold lists or to a built up database.
 
Landing Page: A website page that a web surfer is directed to after clicking on a search engine optimized search result or an online advertisement. This web page typically contains copy that is an extension of a certain ad, search result, or link.
 
Marketing: A critical component to a company’s success in attracting new customers by effectively communicating the value of a product or service.
 
Mobile Website: A website formatted and optimized for mobile phones. Mobile websites enhance users’ experiences while surfing the web on their phone.
 
Pay-Per-Click Advertising: An Internet advertising tool that directs search engine users to a website when they click on an ad. The advertiser (typically the website owner) only pays when the ad is clicked.
 
Pay-Per-View Advertising: An Internet advertising tool that places a short video ad in front of video viewers. The ad is clickable and directs viewers to a website. The advertiser (typically the website owner) only pays when the ad is viewed from start to finish.
 
Press Release: A statement written or recorded for the purpose of announcing something newsworthy. This statement is directed to the media’s attention so they are able to incorporate it into their work on television stations, radio stations, magazines, newspapers, etc.
 
Responsive Web Design: A style of website design that allows for a website to properly format to a wide range of devices. These devices include anything from mobile phones to tablets to desktop computers.
 
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A process used to affect the visibility of websites or web pages in a search engine’s results. Websites with strong SEO will rank higher in the results pages than those with weak SEO.
 
Social Media Marketing: Marketing through the use of a social network such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, etc.
 
Traditional Marketing: Marketing through the use of traditional channels such as television, radio, print, etc.
 
Website Blog: A website component that features posts or stories from the author (typically the website owner).
 
Do you feel like a marketing pro now? For more HVAC marketing tips and tricks, give HVAC Promotions a call at (855) 765-4500.
 

3 Ways to Spring Clean Your HVAC Company’s Online Branding

Spring cleaning. For most, this task refers to cleaning out one’s home, closet, desk, or even computer. However, for heating and cooling business owners this list should also include their company’s branding. Why? Brands evolve over time as businesses grow. Follow these tips from HVAC Promotions to give your company a good dusting off this season!
 
Scrutinize your HVAC Company’s Target Market
 
Take a peek at your current ideal client profile. Have you already achieved this market? Is it time to expand your reach or to hit a different demographic? These are the types of questions that are important to ask yourself each spring in order to not miss potential business opportunities. Your heating and cooling company’s marketing will benefit greatly from this simple step.
 
Spruce up your Heating & Cooling Company’s Online Directory Listings & Social Media Profiles
 
Two of the most common mediums to neglect are online directory listings and social media profiles. However, these online marketing channels are a go-to for many website surfers. Because of this, taking the time to visit these profiles at least once a year for some sprucing up is important. Ensure that all of the basic information (name, address, phone number, URL) is correct across all listings, add any new services offered, photos, etc. You can even add video or coupons. This is also a good time to update your heating and cooling company’s social networks if you have been neglecting them. You could feature recent projects, new staff members, or any other relevant achievements. Colleen Rowley, the Social Media Specialist at HVAC Promotions, recommends updating them at least once a week!
 
Make your Online Reputation Sparkle
 
Now it is time to act like a consumer. Take a minute and go to Google to type in your company’s name. See what photos, blog posts, articles, social networks, etc. come up. Although you cannot control everything that shows up in a Google search, you can take control of the results by moving certain items higher or lower on the results page through search engine optimization, SEO. Make sure that you are shining on at least page one and two of the Google results.
 
Take the time to spring clean your heating and cooling company’s online branding. For more branding tips and tricks, give HVAC Promotions a call at (855) 765-4500. 

3 Ways Your HVAC Company Can Get The Most Out Of Google’s AdWords Update

A little over a month ago Google announced several large changes for Google Adwords.  They are calling the new format “Enhanced Campaigns”.  Here are the three biggest changes to the new system and HVAC Promotions’ pay per click advice on how your heating and cooling company should adapt to the upgrades.
 
Upgraded Sitelinks for Your Heating and Cooling PPC Campaigns
 
You are now able to segment sitelinks at the ad group level.  Sitelinks are the links that appear at the bottom of the paid ad.  For example lets say it’s summer and your HVAC company wants to push air conditioning repairs and plumbing services. Before you only got one set of sitelinks for all of your ad groups. That meant you might have a plumbing sitelink on your ac ads or vice versa with plumbing ads. Now you have the capability to have only air conditioning related sitelinks on your ac ads and plumbing sitelinks on your plumbing ads. The new changes if done properly will likely give your sitelink click through rate a slight increase.    
 
Remove Your HVAC Company’s Phone Number from Ads
 
In several weeks Google is going to pause any pay per click ads that have the phone number in the ad copy.  We saw a sizable increase in clicks for several local heating and cooling companies when we included the phone numbers in the ad copy. This may temporarily hurt conversions if you do not adapt. The alternative now is to create a call extension that will appear next to your ad.  If you are using Google’s call forwarding number, you can now program AdWords to only allow calls over a certain length to count as a conversion.
 
Separating Pay Per Click Advertising by Device is Eliminated
 
You can no longer separate PPC campaigns by device. Google is taking away a lot of control from the account manager with this change. Before, you could implement a separate PPC strategy for searchers on smartphones compared to those searching from desktops and tablets.  For example if you wanted to go after broad keywords on mobile but phrase keywords on desktop you were allowed to do so. Now Google wants you to combine everything into one campaign. They do give you an option to bid mobile keywords as a whole differently as a percentage of the desktop bid, but that still is a step back from the old format. In your future budgeting planning meetings, take into consideration that it might take more budget to remain at a high impression share for mobile campaigns.
 
For more information about pay per click campaigns for your heating and cooling company, give HVAC Promotions a call at (855) 765-4500.

Four Ways to Get More Out of Your PPC Advertising

Are you communicating with your heating and cooling company’s pay-per-click (PPC) manager on a regular basis? Most HVAC companies will receive a monthly or quarterly report and more often than not, neglect to give it a second glance before moving on with their day. You should know however, that within that report is a treasure box of helpful information.
 
When it comes to PPC at HVAC Promotions, our clients are encouraged to get involved and ask questions. Check out this list of starter questions to ask your pay-per-click manager. These answers will provide new information about your account’s performance that will provide a clearer roadmap on how to shape your marketing strategy.
 
What heating and cooling PPC keywords are getting conversions?
 
This may sound like common sense, but oftentimes clients simply look at the number of leads their PPC advertising generated.  It is a good idea to ask your pay-per-click manager if they are using your company name as a search term. If they are, that will greatly affect how your results look. It is important to understand that you would have likely converted a percentage of those heating and cooling leads organically without going through your PPC budget. Also, be sure to check the specific non-branded keywords that convert. One month, leads may look lower but the keywords that did convert ended up leading to higher margin sales.
 
How does my other heating and cooling advertising affect my PPC campaign?
 
A second question to ask your PPC manager is what other forms of marketing are complementing your pay-per-click campaign. You find these results thru Google Analytics’ conversions tab under the multi channel funnels. For example, this feature will chart if someone finds your site through paid search and then later on types your website in directly to make a purchase. Through Adwords, your heating and cooling PPC campaign would not be credited with the lead but through this tool you can see what platform initially got a customer to a site. 

What new changes has Google or Bing made to their PPC ad platforms?
 
About a month ago Google unveiled a version of their Adwords platform called “Enhanced Campaigns”. Before this change, you could use an entirely different strategy for searchers using their smart phones compared to those who are desktop users. Now, Google has severely muted those opportunities. While it is not necessary to know all of the technical terms for every new feature of PPC, learning about the major changes to search engine platforms and how that affects your heating and cooling company’s pay-per-click strategy will give you a better idea about your account’s performance.  
 
Have you tested your HVAC company’s pay-per-click ads in the last four months?
 
When you see your ad humming along at a respectful click-through rate, it is easy to be satisfied in the pay-per-click world. However, your PPC manager should be consistently asking what new offers or specials your heating and cooling company has coming up. If you have two competing ads with two different offers then, after a certain period of time, they should be telling you which offer worked better. It’s okay if every once in a while a test doesn’t net the results you were expecting. The bigger sin is not trying and staying comfortable with the status quo.
 
If you'd like to learn more about Pay-Per-Click, HVAC Promotions can help. Give us a call at (855) 765-4500 and we can help you set up and manage your PPC account.

The 3 Necessities for a Facebook Post: An HVAC Social Media Marketing Tip

Now that you have learned how to create a Facebook business page for your heating and cooling company, it is time to learn how to craft the perfect Facebook post. While the content within the post can vary from a heating and cooling tip or a recent blog post to a company culture post or a recent customer testimonial, there are three things that HVAC Promotions suggests trying to include within every Facebook post.
 
Determine a Call to Action for Every Facebook Post
 
First things first, determine what you want to gain from creating a Facebook post. It is important to think through your posts and not fire off just anything that comes to mind. Do you want Facebook fans to click a link, like your post, or sign up for something? Be sure to include this call to action in your post. This may sound like common sense but the simple reminder has a positive effect.
 
Send Facebook Fans to Your Heating and Cooling Website with a Backlink
 
One of the goals of social media marketing for HVAC companies is to send Facebook fans and their friends back to your website. When you do this you are driving customers and potential customers further down your sales funnel. So how is it done? Simple, by including a link in your Facebook posts that direct social media users back to your website. You can send them back to a blog post, a contact page, etc. This is a valuable component to social media marketing.
 
 Don’t Forget the Eye Candy of Social Media for HVAC Companies
 
You have now included a strong call to action and a backlink in your Facebook post, so what are you missing? The answer is a little bit of social media eye candy, otherwise known as visual content. Facebook posts with an attention grabbing photo or video are more likely to attract engagement from social media users. If you need more options for adding photos, subscribe to an online photo service like Shutterstock or Thinkstockphotos and for a small fee you’ll have thousands of royalty free photos at your fingertips. Adding visual content is a great way to enhance the effectiveness of your social media marketing.
 
For more information about social media marketing for heating and cooling companies, give HVAC Promotions a call at 855-765-4500. 

Set Up Your HVAC Company’s Facebook Page in 3 Steps

If your heating and cooling company has yet to make its big debut into the social media world you are missing out on opportunities to drive traffic to your website, create a strong online presence, and respond to customers who use social media as a customer service tool.  While it is not a good idea to create an account on every single social media network out there, it is a good idea to find the ones that work for your company. When it comes to social media marketing at HVAC Promotions, we suggest beginning with Facebook. Follow these steps to get your account up and running!
 
Categorizing Your Heating & Cooling Company
 
The first step to take in setting up your heating and cooling company’s Facebook business page is to click this link and enter your business information. HVAC Promotions suggests categorizing your business page as a “Local Business”. Then, agree to the page’s terms and select continue!
 
Customizing Your Facebook Business Page
 
Facebook will then direct you to a landing page where you can upload a photo, also known as your page’s profile picture. We suggest that you make this image your HVAC company’s logo. The next thing that they will ask of you is to fill in your “About” section, which will appear on your main page.  This should be between two and three sentences, briefly describe your company, and include the link to your website. 
 
From here you will want to select “Edit Page” and the “Update Info” option. You can fill in more information about your company. This step is important as Facebook’s new search tool, Graph Search, begins to become an integral part of finding companies on Facebook.
 
Add Custom Content about Your HVAC Company
 
Before you preach to the masses that you have a company Facebook page and ask every single customer, employee, and family member to “Like” your page, you must ensure that you already have quality content on your page. Customize your “Cover Photo”. If you do not have the means to design something that reflects your branding, consider a photo of your team.
 
Next, get a few starter posts up. These can be your company’s recent blog posts, tips and how to’s, or even staff bios! Whatever it is, make sure something is there for your Facebook fans to engage with. 
 
Are you ready to dive into Facebook? We think so! Just follow these three simple steps and you will be rocking the social media world in no time. For more information about social media marketing for heating and cooling companies, give us a call at 855-765-4500.

A Template to Get More Google+ Reviews for your HVAC Company!

Just in case you don’t know about the importance of Google+ reviews for your heating and cooling company, HVAC Promotions marketing agency is going to give you a refresher course. Then, we’ll show you an easy way to get more Google+ reviews. If you already know the importance, you can skip the next paragraph.
 
The Importance of Google+ Reviews
 
If you’re not paying attention to the online world (we know, you’re busy running a heating and cooling company) you may not realize that Google has removed its “Reviews From Around The Web” (reviews from sites such as City Page and Yelp) feature so no third party reviews are seen in local search results. They have been replaced by Google+ reviews. Reviews are a great marketing tool and you want your customers to see them. So, how do you make sure they do? There’s only one thing you can, and should do, get them to Google+ to leave a review.
 
The How-To on Google+ Reviews
 
There are a couple of simple ways to get more reviews on Google+. The secret is taking action and asking for the reviews. You can do this both online and offline. But the important thing is to do it.
 
Online – Send customers an email asking if they would be kind enough to take a few minutes to leave a review on Google. You will want to link them to your Google+ page/About so the “Write a Review” link is visible immediately when they click. You have to
make it easy for them!
 
Here is an email template you can use. Just copy and plug in the link to your Google+ page and send to your customers:
Thank you so much for becoming a valued (your company name) customer. We hope you were happy with our service. We look forward to continuing to provide great service for you and other customers. We’d like to ask your help in spreading the word about the service you received at (your company name). Your opinion is valuable. Please follow
this link (link to your Google + page) to leave a review online to help others find our company and have a great experience too. It only takes a minute. Thanks, and we look forward to serving you in the future.
 
Offline – Create a very simple postcard as a leave behind at service calls that says “Were you happy with the service (or product) you received today? Please help us let others know by reviewing us online! It only takes a minute. Go to (link to your Google + page).Thanks!” You may use a URL shortener (bit.ly is a good one) to reduce the size of your URL to make it easier for your customers to type it in. (Again, the easier you make
it for them, the more reviews you will get).
 
That’s it. All it takes is a little effort on your part to get the reviews to start flowing in. Simply copy the template above, add your Google+/About address and send it to your entire customer list. It’s the easiest and probably the most effective since your audience is receiving the message on an electronic device (desk top, smart phone, or tablet) where it’s easy to just click on the link and fill out a quick review. For more information about HVAC marketing, websites or lead generation, call HVAC Promotions toll free at (855) 765-4500.

4 Fantastic Website Homepages for Heating and Cooling Companies

When it comes to your heating and cooling company, it is important that your first impression on a potential new client is the best impression! In today’s world of Google, Bing, and other online search engines your HVAC company’s website becomes this first impression to hundreds of people every month. In fact if your website is designed correctly, and fantastically, it can even serve as a virtual sales person. So what constitutes one of these awesome website designs? HVAC Promotions is here to show you with four website homepages of heating and cooling companies.
 
Well-Designed HVAC Websites Answers Potential Customers’ Questions at First Glance

                      

First things first! Every strong website answers who, what, where, when, why, and how without requiring potential customers to click off of the homepage. As you can see in Heartland Quality’s website, the website visitor is introduced to all of these aspects of the company. When these questions are immediately answered, your website is also serving as a virtual sales person. It makes the visitor feel more informed and more inclined to give your company a call or fill out a website form.
 
 
Strong Heating and Cooling Websites Appeal to Their Target Market
 
                           

While you should find your website’s design to be appealing, the main person it should appeal to is one who falls within your target market. Remember, this means that your website will speak to your potential customer so ditch the technical HVAC jargon and speak to your website visitor in their language. Rutherford Plumbing, Heating & Cooling’s website breaks down their services for their potential clients to understand, which is why it was chosen as one of HVAC Promotion’s quality website designs.
 
Strong Calls to Action are Website Necessities

                           

Sometimes people need a push in the right direction, which is why effective homepages include at least one CTA, or call to action. This is another example of where your website should act like a virtual sales person. Schneller Air’s website shows their website visitors that they can “Call”, “Schedule Now” or “Request Service or A Free Estimate” all within one glance.
 
 
Fantastic Overall Website Design and User Mobility
  
                           

Part of identifying your company’s overall brand, communicating value, and even developing trust stems from a well designed website. If you can design your heating and cooling website with an effective use of space, layout, call to action placement, and additional elements then your first impression will be a successful one. Take a peek at the Eazy Breezy Heating and Cooling website above. This creative, yet friendly site is designed to provide website visitors with a calm, family-oriented vibe all while being easy to navigate.
 
So there you have it, four fantastic website homepages for heating and cooling companies by HVAC Promotions! Does your HVAC website reflect these? If not, give us a call for a free one-hour consultation at (855) 765-4500.
 

How To Use PPC To Target HVAC Customers Using Tablets

As the PPC Specialist at HVAC Promotions, one of the things I love about working in the PPC world is that there isn’t a broad cookie cutter approach that you can apply to the job. Not only does every HVAC company require a different strategic plan, but every device that a heating and cooling company uses on PPC requires a unique strategy.  
 
For example, last year we saw great success with optimizing heating and cooling companies’ PPC campaigns for mobile devices. People search for businesses differently on their smart phones, so naturally our PPC strategy is different for mobile users than it is for desktop searchers.  For 2013, segmenting your campaigns for tablets is going to be the next step.
 
Tablets Generate 18% of PPC Advertising Clicks
 
According to a study released on searchengineland.com, tablet use accounted for 18% of the PPC clicks in the fourth quarter of 2012.  That is an all time high. That number is expected to rise as tablet sales are projected to reach 145 million units in 2013.  The question you should be asking yourself if you are running PPC ads is how are you going to stay ahead of the curve?
 
HVAC Companies Find Success in Tablet Only PPC Campaigns
 
For some heating and cooling companies we will separate out a campaign just for tablets.  That way we can manage it differently than we manage our campaigns dealing with just desktop and mobile website searches. This allows us to bid differently for keywords that possibly convert better on tablets than other devices. We have seen through our own internal research that tablet cost per clicks have been much lower for our clients than what they would cost for a normal desktop searcher. This allows HVAC companies to get a higher return on their investment.  
 
Pay Per Click Tablet Segmentation Gives Heating & Cooling Companies More Control
 
Tablet segmentation allows us to have more control over when searchers on tablet devices can see your ads. While our strategy is customized to each individual client, we find that most tablet usage takes place on nights and weekends.  We will then adjust bids to make sure your ads are in optimal positions during those times.
 
Is segmenting for tablets right for your account? Again, like I said above, every account is different and has its own unique needs. I would go into your Google Analytics account and look at what percentage of your traffic is coming from tablet use. I am not saying that should be the determining statistic you use for your decision, but it should at least give you an idea on how your account has been converting leads from that device.
 

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