How Paid Search Can Help Your HVAC Business GrowPaid search ads have been a staple of retail and B2B marketing for nearly 20 years now, and there’s still a fair amount of confusion about PPC and its role in advertising and digital marketing. In this article, we’ll define the key differences between search marketing, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and pay-per-click advertising.
We’ll tell you why it makes sense to use PPC for your HVAC or home services company, what’s new in PPC, what to do before your first (or next) campaign, and answer some frequently asked questions.
Definitions & Differences: SM, SEO, SEM, PPC
Let’s first make sure we all have a clear definition of PPC and the key differences between PPC, SM, SEM, and SEO.
Why Paid Search Ads Makes Sense For Your HVAC Company
HVAC and all home services marketing is highly transactional. Paid search, specifically PPC, puts your ads in front of customers searching for the services that your HVAC company provides. There are three key reasons paid search ads are far more valuable for HVAC than other forms of marketing.
Pinpoint Advertising
Unlike traditional media where ads show up to a large audience who may or may not be in the market for what you are selling, PPC ads show up right when consumers want information.
For example, your paid search marketing will bid on ad placement for the query, “heating repair.”
When customers initiate a search, paid search ads become more than a broad commercial. Dynamic copy and powerful landing pages provide a solution to a problem. Paid search is a whole lot more effective than general market advertising.
High Return On Marketing Spend
Within paid search, you can target specific geographical areas and key demographics. Google ads use exceptionally rich data about users to promote your paid search ads to the most relevant audiences. This means your audience is far more accurate.
When a paid search ad appears on Google search results pages you are far more likely to convert that lead into a new customer.
PPC Can “Google-Proof” Your Marketing
All HVAC companies want to be the #1 result on Google. While SEO strategies can help your rankings in search engines, it’s always a moving target. Google is constantly tweaking its search engine algorithms. In fact, every year it makes changes to the algorithm with updates that ripple across organic search results. Some updates are major changes and get lots of press, and some are minor variations. Every one of them has an impact on your search engine rankings.
What is not affected by an algorithm change to organic search listings?
Paid search advertising.
Pay Per Click is an effective safeguard in “Google-Proofing” your marketing. It also provides a lift by supplementing your SEO efforts.
Why Hire Paid Search Specialists for Ad Campaigns?
Paid search is more than just using Google keyword planner and building PPC ads. While you need PPC advertising to promote your HVAC company, ultimately clicks need to translate into leads and new customers. Professional HVAC marketing companies like Valve+Meter optimize your paid search advertising to reduce wasted marketing dollars and maximize your share of the local market.
Before You Start Your First (Or Next) PPC Campaign
Before you dive into PPC ads for the first time, or the next time, you will want to take a moment and do the research you need to launch an effective campaign.
Define Your Results
The first step is to determine what results you want from your PPC ad campaigns. Is it to generate phone calls, fill out an information form, convert to an online sale, or something else? Once you’ve defined the result, confirm all the elements you need are in order. If you want someone to fill out a contact form, design a landing page with a great Call to Action to get the user to fill out the form. If you are looking to sell a specific product, make sure it’s linked directly to the product page and have an easy path to complete the sale.
Competitive Analysis
There’s a pretty good chance your competitors are using PPC advertising in your marketplace. The easiest way to tell is to search for keywords you think someone searching for your goods or services would use and see which companies pop up. Try various keywords and phrases and take notes. Always remember to step outside of your industry jargon.
Regular homeowners, for example, may call the product or service by a less formal or technical name than you. Though the search term may be inaccurate, perhaps, to a professional like you, just remember you’re trying to think like a prospect, not a veteran within the HVAC industry.
While this will give you a quick idea of who is using PPC, you’ll want to do a deep dive into this area by conducting a gap analysis, which involves comparing your HVAC company’s digital assets along with the competitive landscape of your competitors. Google ads can be challenging especially for busy HVAC companies. Wasting money on ad placement is unfortunately a common obstacle to growing your business.
Still ignoring PPC is, in effect, conceding important online advertising and marketing space to your competitors. Think about this: when people go online to search for services within the HVAC industry, they are likely great prospects for both you and your competitors. If you’re in the HVAC business and a user searches for air conditioner repair in your area, it’s a safe bet they have a problem and need a solution. Ignoring PPC means your competitor may get the first call instead of you, giving them a higher chance of converting.
As humans, we tend to go with the path of least resistance. For a homeowner with a broken air conditioner, it’s about solving a problem and solving it fast. The PPC ad at the top of the search page is the epitome of the path of least resistance. While other factors might come into play, there’s a good chance that a customer will choose the first business that comes up in their search results, especially if they have an urgent need.
PPC Keyword Research
Choosing the right keywords is one of the most critical decisions you will make in crafting an effective PPC campaign. It can be time-consuming and choosing the wrong keywords can lead to an expensive mistake. It’s definitely a case where putting effort into the front end of the project will pay off.
Get started by thinking about the reasons people come to your HVAC business. List the specific products and services you provide. Pay attention to the Return on Investment (ROI) of the products or services and decide which items you want to highlight. After all, you can’t afford to spend money advertising everything you offer.
Once you’re there, you can provide exceptional service and gain a customer, sell maintenance agreements, or upsell to a replacement system. You’ll also likely get the first call when they realize they are ready for an HVAC system upgrade. If you had chosen relevant keywords that only revolve around replacement water heaters, you would have missed the biggest source of leads for your HVAC business.
Negative Keywords
It’s also important to know what keywords you don’t want to buy. Traffic to your website or business for services you don’t provide is a waste of your time and the customers, not to mention costing you money for the click you don’t want. Negative keywords are one of the most underutilized strategies when it comes to PPC, and one of the most important to avoid wasted spending.
Need PPC Help?
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