Over 63% of your potential customers begin their buying processes through web searches, out of which 2.14 billion results in purchases annually. These figures explain why every modern-day business is in a rush to optimize its online presence.
Online marketing techniques like Google Pay Per Click campaigns are very popular across all industries, and HVAC & plumbing companies are certainly no exception. Over the last 8 years there has been a drastic rise in the amount of HVAC and Plumbing businesses that use PPC campaigns, especially on Google (which we will focus on in this blog).
Why, you ask?
BECAUSE IT WORKS!
The challenge now, however, is being able to figure out how to utilize PPC campaigns (specifically Google) for your HVAC or plumbing business now that some of your competition is already using it to generate business for themselves. As you may or may not know, there is only 1 top spot for certain Google searches, and you now have to figure out how to get there.
In this blog, we will go over the different things that you can do to help ensure your business is set up for PPC excellence and success in 2022 and beyond.Why Should You Invest In HVAC and Plumbing PPC Campaigns
Pay Per Click is an advertising model in which you pay Google or social networks like Facebook to advertise your HVAC or plumbing services. It’s a technique of attracting traffic to your service landing pages to generate leads and overall business success in both the short term and the long term.
One of the main reasons we explain to our clients as to why Google PPC ads are worth the investment is due to what is called Search Intent. In other words, people looking on Google for “AC Repair” probably have an issue with their ac unit. Investing in a well optimized PPC campaign can put your business in the front of the line for that individual to call your business in order to resolve their AC Repair issue.
A monetary investment alone, however, will not get you to the promised land of PPC glory. There are quite a few things that you need to implement in order to get the positive results you are looking for. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t understand these concepts and lose hundreds, or sometimes thousands of dollars.
Here are the some PPC concepts that will put you on the road to success.Extensive Keyword Research
Keyword research is absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, the most important aspect when it comes to your PPC campaigns. Imagine selling HVAC services, but showing up for vehicle AC repair searches.
Will clicks from these searches convert into sales? No, absolutely not. But, you will still be charged by Google for that particular click. Understanding the keywords that you want to show up for, and also the keywords you don’t want to show up for is absolutely pivotal in PPC campaigns.
Too many times over the course of the years we have talked with business owners scared to run Google campaigns. Their biggest fear is losing money due to paying for clicks that are not relevant to the services they provide. Unfortunately, for these individuals they thought if they threw enough money at Google, they’d get the results they want.
Obviously this is not the case!
So, how exactly, can you get your ads to not show up for terms not relevant to your HVAC or plumbing services?
NEGATIVE KEYWORDS is your answer!
Negative keywords are words that you can identify to Google so they know to not show your ads for that particular word. For example, if you don’t want your HVAC ad to show up for “vehicle ac repair” you can tell Google to not show your ads to anyone searching for anything that has “vehicle” in the search term. Implementing this easy feature can save your business tons of money and help you target the individuals that need YOUR specific services…not some vehicle mechanic.Pay Attention to the Quality Score
The Quality Score of your advertisements have a tremendous effect on not only how often your ads are shown at the top of Google results, but also on your budget.
Google will rank your advertisements on a scale of 1-10 (1/10 not so good; 10/10 Excellent). Obviously, we want to ensure our quality score is around the 8/10 – 10/10 range for optimal performance and results. If your HVAC or plumbing business can optimize your ads within that range, your business should see much better results (results vary) for a much cheaper cost per click (CPC).Implement Specific Keyword Ad Groups
As a Segway from the Quality Score, Specific Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) can ensure that your HVAC or plumbing businesses advertisements show up for the most relevant search terms. Servicehawk recommends the use of SKAGs as a way to keep all search terms, advertisements, and subsequent landing pages RELEVANT.
For example, if we discover through keyword research that “AC Repair in New Orleans” is one of the most popular search terms for HVAC businesses in the New Orleans area, we recommend only using that search term, and terms very similar to it when building the ad group. Then you will only include headlines and description pertaining to “AC Repair in New Orleans” on the ad level. Lastly, you will build out a landing page that highlights “AC Repair in New Orleans”.
Implementing this strategy will not only help your HVAC or plumbing business appear in searches relevant to the keywords most searched for in your area, but will also reduce the cost per click while subsequently increasing your Quality Score.Conversion Tracking
Although this blog is in reference to Pay Per Click, this particular section is relevant for all marketing mediums. Conversion tracking is pivotal to understanding where your marketing dollars for your HVAC or plumbing business IS and IS NOT working.
However, in terms of PPC alone, conversion tracking will help you understand what keywords & ads are converting the best. Knowing this simple metric will allow you to capitalize & optimize on what is working.
The last thing you want to do is keep paying for keywords or ads that are not converting, while other keywords or ads are actually converting. Tacking conversions will give you the insights you need to make the right decisions at the right times.
As you’ve read, implementing proper HVAC and plumbing PPC campaigns that actually produce results require a lot of time, patience, and effort!
With over 25+ years of digital marketing experience, you can trust Servicehawk to ensure your HVAC or plumbing business is managed the right way to produce results your business is looking for. To schedule a FREE 30 minute strategy session please give us a call at 866-528-1779, or you can schedule yourself here: https://call.servicehawk.io/schedule/