Studies reveal you have just 2 to 6 seconds to capture a visitor’s attention. There are any number of SEO techniques you can employ to drive your HVACR website up in the search engine rankings.
There are dozens of little tips and tricks to grab a larger pool of visitors and drag them to your landing page. But at the end of the day, what is that bundle of clicks and browsers worth?
They are worth no more than your conversion rates.
A conversion happens when a visitor takes positive action with a phone call or email inquiry. If your site lacks quality content, it lacks trustworthiness.
It will rank lower and lower in Google as the search engine realizes that your visitor’s attention span is suffering and that dwindling retention of visitors will be reflected (quite poorly) in your conversions from VISITOR to LEAD to CUSTOMER.
There are 10 questions every HVACR contractor’s site has to answer to remain relevant and competitive and convert browsers into buyers.
However, before we answer those questions, however, here’s one for you:
What do you do if you are on a website that is unimaginative, uninformative, confusing, unattractive or outdated?
Of course, the answer is painfully clear: you leave (Google calls this a bounce).
If you want to keep people from clicking away from your website, here are the questions your visitors need answered, quickly and simply:
Your visitors aren’t interested in you, beyond what you can offer them. Surprise, surprise: humans have a selfish streak, especially where their wallets are concerned. On the other hand, this is fabulous news, because knowing this allows you to cater your content accordingly.
Your website needs to be less, “Look at me!” and more “Look at this!” People aren’t visiting HVACR websites for leisure or entertainment — they want answers and they want them fast.
You have a limited window in which to build the trust capital required to convert a digital passer-by into a real-world, wallet-out and ready-to-buy prospect.
You have just 2-6 seconds to hook them and the best way to do that is by immediately answering this first question with a bold headline:
Get On-Time AC Repair and Same-Day Service from Craftsmen Who Get It Right
… at Prices That Suit YOUR Budget!
If you get them interested quickly, you have a greater shot at a positive response.
People have an expectation of transparency, so there’s no point disguising anything about your company. Visitors should get a clear understanding of your company’s skill set, history and methodology. Don’t bore them — just convince them you know what you’re doing and your business practices suit their needs.
Same. Day. Service. Many times, if you can’t get to them before the other guys, they’re already calling the other guys.
Contractors always get hung up on this one for some reason. In the digital era, a lack of transparency is a non-starter.
Harsh truth alert: You wouldn’t take your car to a shop that couldn’t give you some basic cost information and a confident assessment of the price range of the kind of repairs you need. No HVACR company should expect to be treated any differently.
If you want them to become paying customers, your site visitors need at least a square-one idea of what they’re getting into financially.
Of course you can’t commit to a bid or quote without an on-site visit, but you can make a compelling offer on the diagnostic fees and include a discount on any paid repair that results from your technician visiting their home.
Trustworthiness is another distinct nonstarter. Every tip thus far is about building trust capital. You’ll have laid some groundwork by addressing the first four questions, but now you need to convince them that you’re the Real McCoy.
You’re the only appropriate judge of your best characteristics. The trick is to balance your professional pride with an apparent and sincere respect for your readers. You have to show them you’re fantastic — but you can’t simply brag, either.
It’s a bit of a tightrope, but it’s navigable. It’s also crucial that you spend some real time on this, because visitors to your site are skeptical and they can smell a compromise a digital mile away. There is no room for doubt. They have to be sure.
Every company swears they’re the best. What compelling evidence can you offer that you will provide them with the greatest value?
Without realizing it, every customer is always performing a cost/benefit analysis in their brains when researching HVACR contractors and repair technicians. Your content has to address that tendency.
Present yourself as honest, experienced, innovative and maybe (here’s a shocker) personable, and you’ll separate yourself from the businesslike tedium of a lot of HVACR sites out there.
You’d better, because you can bet someone else does.
Your potential customers are all risk-averse. This isn’t skydiving school. A satisfaction guarantee is a company putting their money where their mouth is, rather than expecting a customer to assume all the risk.
Keep it simple and offer all your services 100 percent risk-free to each prospect. The company that displays that kind of confidence is going to earn more business.
Again, this is a good time for the answer to be all of them. For your system installations page, offer interest-free financing and complete systems from just $XX per month (select the lowest payment factor you offer).
Place the credit card logo image on each page of your website between 3-4 times, depending on the length of the content.
If there’s a traditional transaction type which you are unprepared to accept (AMEX, for example), you’ve just lost the business of any client for whom that is a preferred payment method.
Every single paragraph of your website should be focused on this question. Your visitors should not be wondering; they should be clicking or dialing. If you’re generating leads, each page of your website should include a lead-capture (email) form without the distraction of navigating to the “contact us” page.
Your company name, address and phone number should be prominently displayed on each page. Your visitors should never be left in the dark.
Just as a movie depends on a great director to weave a riveting narrative, a good HVACR website depends on persuasive and empathetic content.
Keep them planted in their seat or they’ll simply dump the popcorn and walk out on you.
Website content is the only proven way to keep a visitor’s attention long enough to convert them into a customer.
Your marketing must include a comprehensive strategy to engage with and obtain new customers online.
10 simple questions your website must answer to covert browsers into buyers
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