7 HVAC advertising ideas you can implement today

Key takeaways

• The HVAC industry is booming, giving you a unique opportunity to win new customers with the appropriate marketing strategies
• An HVAC website is the foundation of your digital marketing initiatives 
• Lead generation channels like email marketing, content marketing, and online reviews can increase traffic to your site and convert online users into paying customers

The HVAC industry is on the rise, with more customers seeking heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) services than ever before. Experts predict a 15% increase in jobs by 2026. If you’re an HVAC business owner, this is a timely opportunity to grow your company and capture new business leads—the trick is using the right digital advertising techniques for HVAC contractors.

This guide gives you seven HVAC advertising ideas for improving your online presence and increasing real-life sales.

7 HVAC advertising ideas

The key to your company’s growth lies in your ability to build trust with potential customers so they choose your HVAC business over your competitors. Here are seven ways you can take your HVAC advertising to the next level.

1. Branding

An attractive, unique, and memorable brand image will set the tone for your HVAC advertising initiatives. A professional-looking logo, clean color palette, and consistent branding elements across all advertising channels will help build brand familiarity.

Start by designing an eye-catching logo if you don’t already have one or would like to revamp your current design. Use a consistent color scheme, typography, and imagery. For instance, if your logo has a mascot or other illustration, make sure it’s consistent across all designs and placements.

You can revamp your brand yourself by using free online design tools like Canva or outsource the work to a graphic designer. Use sites like DesignCrowd or Fiverr to find talented graphic designers who are available for hire.

2. Website

Your HVAC website is typically the final online destination for all traffic and inbound leads that come from your marketing channels. Because of this, it needs to entice visitors and have an easy-to-use interface so that those potential customers are more likely to reach out and request your services.

On your site, be clear about what services you offer and the value you provide consumers. You can summarize this in a brief value proposition and put it at the top of your homepage. An effective heating and cooling value proposition can be something like “Metro Detroit’s Heating and Cooling Experts: Reliable HVAC services at cut-rate prices—rain, snow, or shine.”

Follow up your unique value proposition with a link to your phone number. Write a call to action such as, “Call now for a free estimate!”

Visitors should also be able to easily find all information needed to determine if they want to hire your HVAC company. Segment your site into the following sections to improve the overall user experience:

• Services
• Service areas (i.e., the cities, counties, or neighborhoods you serve)
• About your company
• Testimonials
• Contact information

If you don’t already have an HVAC website, you can use a website builder like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress to design it. These platforms have pre-built templates that will shorten the time it takes to build a site and give you a clean website design right out of the box.

3. Blogging

One way to drive traffic to your HVAC website is content marketing, specifically blogging. An informative blog can increase the number of visitors to your site and provide valuable HVAC information to potential customers.

An effective blog includes well-researched content that people are already looking for. Rather than guessing which articles you think visitors will read, try doing some strategic keyword research.

Keyword research is the process of finding terms that HVAC customers are actually searching online (aka high-traffic keywords). You can use free keyword research tools to come up with a list of relevant terms or phrases about the HVAC industry. Then write an article about every term you find.

For example, you may find that many people are searching “how to change an air filter.” Write an article on this topic to bring potential customers to your site. The goal is to provide value to visitors, even if they aren’t your customers yet. If they’re unable to solve their HVAC issues on their own, there’s a good chance you’ll be the first company they’ll turn to.

4. SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) means adjusting your web content to improve your Google search rankings. There are easy strategies you can implement—like incorporating keywords, optimizing your site for mobile devices, and increasing page speed—that will lift your site’s rankings and improve traffic.

Similar to conducting keyword research for your blog, your entire website should have relevant key terms that homeowners in your area are searching. For example, many people may search terms like “heating company in Boulder” or “HVAC system repair in Austin.” Find highly searched terms like these and insert them into the content on your website to improve your local SEO performance.

More than 50% of global web traffic is attributed to mobile device users. With that in mind, be sure your website is also mobile-friendly so potential customers can easily research your HVAC company on their phones while they’re on the go.

Websites also need to have fast load times so that visitors stick around and explore further. Statistics show that nearly 40% of visitors will immediately leave your site if it takes five seconds to load. 

One way to increase page speed is by optimizing the file size and dimensions of your images. Avoid large image files that bog down your site. Use a tool like TinyPNG to compress your images to improve your loading times.

Luckily, most website-building sites or programs will automatically optimize your site for mobile devices and find ways to improve your page speeds.

5. Email marketing

Email marketing can be one of the most effective ways to maintain relationships with previous clients and nurture relationships with new leads. Research shows that 80% of small business owners use email marketing to acquire and retain customers.

You’ll first need to build an email list before you can start using email marketing. For current customers, you can simply ask for their permission to contact them after you’ve completed a job. For new leads, you can have an email signup form on your website and incentivize them with a free estimate or first-time customer discount.

Email marketing works especially well for sharing seasonal discounts with previous clients. For example, let’s say you serviced a client’s air conditioner last summer. Knowing that another warm season is approaching, you can reach out to them and offer a 10% discount on air filter changes for their air conditioning system. You can also encourage existing customers to join your referral program and give them discounted HVAC services for referring new customers.

You can also send first-time customer discounts to HVAC leads. For example, let’s say you have several new leads who signed up for your email communications via your website. As soon as they sign up, you can send them a welcome email that offers a 15% discount for first-time services.

6. Yelp Business Page

Over 90% of consumers regularly read online reviews with most people trusting online reviews as much as a recommendation from a friend. Clearly, having a centralized location for online reviews can do wonders for your HVAC business.

That’s where Yelp comes in. A Yelp Business Page is home to all information regarding your business, including a business description, photos, contact information, and online reviews.

Not only can previous clients leave online reviews for other potential customers to read, but business owners are also able to respond to these reviews—both positive and negative. This feature gives you an additional outlet to show off your customer service by replying to positive reviews with a simple “thank you” as well as the opportunity to correct any issues that have arisen from previous HVAC jobs.

Potential customers are able to see these interactions and can develop a positive impression of your business before deciding to choose you as their contractor.

Get a free Yelp page

Promote your business to local customers.

Claim your free page

7. Social media

There are two different social media marketing strategies that work well for HVAC companies. Facebook gives you the means to interact with current and potential customers while LinkedIn allows you to network with other small business owners.

A Facebook business page provides an outlet to advertise current promotions, chat with customers, and post photos from your previous jobs. You can even share relevant blog content to increase traffic to your site.

LinkedIn works slightly differently. Since LinkedIn is a professional social network, you can network with other local business owners, like construction contractors, roofers, or electricians. By establishing a professional connection with these business owners, you can potentially build relationships and share referrals with one another. It’s a win-win for both businesses.

Build trust with an established online presence

An established online presence can help build trust with new customers who are researching HVAC companies in your area. Start with polishing your brand image and designing (or updating) your website. You can then direct your efforts to drive visitors to your site with email marketing, content marketing, and online reviews.

For more ideas on HVAC advertising, check out our guide on how to promote your local business, plus more HVAC marketing strategies.