HvacTrade

Improve Your HVAC Website’s UI & UX: Key Tips for Higher Customer Conversion

Tou — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 00:01:38 +0000

Top UI/UX Tips to Boost Your HVAC Website’s Engagement

An HVAC website isn’t just a digital storefront; it’s often the first interaction potential customers have with your company. This makes a good user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) crucial to engage visitors, keep them on your page, and convert them into loyal customers. Here are essential tips on how to improve your HVAC website’s design and functionality to create a welcoming, intuitive, and effective online presence.

Words Matter – Making Text Readable and Engaging

Text is one of the main ways to communicate with visitors on your website, so it’s essential to ensure it’s both easy to read and easy to find.

Tip 1: Provide Breathing Room for Text

Text with proper spacing and alignment improves readability and looks more inviting. Here are specific recommendations to give text the breathing room it needs:

Character count per line: Aim for 60 to 100 characters per line. Too few characters can feel choppy, and too many make it hard for the eyes to track.
Line height: Set line spacing, or line height, to 1.4 in CSS. This small adjustment allows lines to breathe without looking cramped.
Padding around text: Adding at least 15px of padding around text blocks gives the text space from other elements, making it easier on the eyes.

By implementing these three steps, you can make reading easier for visitors, which keeps them engaged and more likely to explore your site.

Tip 2: Ensure Text is Legible

No one wants to strain their eyes to read text, especially on a website. Legibility involves factors like font size, color contrast, and font style. Here’s how you can make your text readable for everyone:

Font size: Keep a minimum font size of 16px. Larger font sizes often work better for headers, while smaller sizes may be hard to read.
Color contrast: The colors of text and background must contrast well. Avoid hard-to-read combinations, like yellow text on a white background. Use a contrast-checking tool, like the WebAIM Contrast Checker, to ensure accessibility.
Font style and weight: Choose a simple, professional font like Arial or Roboto. Avoid decorative fonts for body text, which can be hard to read, and use bold text to highlight important information sparingly.

Readable, well-designed text improves user experience and makes it easy for visitors to find information quickly.

Tip 3: Make Content Scannable

Most online readers don’t read every word—they scan for the information they want. Make it easy for them to do this by:

Breaking up text with subheadings: Use descriptive subheadings to separate sections, making content easy to locate.
Highlighting important points: Use bold text or italics sparingly to emphasize key points.
Using lists and short paragraphs: Lists, bullet points, and short paragraphs make complex information easy to digest.

By organizing content into digestible sections, you increase the chance visitors will find the information they’re looking for, which can lead to more conversions.

For an HVAC company’s AC repair page, you could use the “First Two Words” rule to grab attention and quickly convey the purpose. Here are some examples:

Headings and Subheadings

“Restore Comfort” – Briefly introduces that the service will bring comfort back to the home.
“Fast AC Repair” – Signals a quick solution for broken AC systems.
“Avoid Downtime” – Emphasizes prevention of further AC issues.
“Affordable Repairs” – Highlights affordability right away.
“Certified Technicians” – Reassures readers about professional, qualified service.

Calls to Action (CTA)

“Schedule Service” – Directly encourages readers to book a repair.
“Contact Experts” – Reinforces credibility and invites contact.
“Fix AC Today” – Urgent and straightforward, appealing to those needing immediate repair.
“Get Free Estimate” – Provides a clear benefit right away.

This approach uses words that are specific and action-oriented, helping customers find what they need while ensuring the message is clear.

Image and Icon Use – Keep it Relevant and Minimal

Images and icons are visual elements that add character to a website. However, overusing them can lead to clutter. Here’s how to use them effectively.

Tip 4: Use Icons Sparingly

Icons can guide users or add style to a website, but too many can be distracting. Follow these guidelines to use icons without overwhelming the page:

Choose purposeful icons: Each icon should have a specific purpose, like guiding users to contact information or highlighting service areas.
Avoid decorative-only icons: If an icon doesn’t add value, it’s best left out.
Keep them consistent: Use a consistent icon style throughout the site to maintain a clean, professional look.

Icons should support, not distract from, the main content. Used thoughtfully, they enhance navigation and make important elements stand out.

Tip 5: Integrate Photos and Graphics Thoughtfully

Images and graphics are often the first elements a visitor notices, so make sure they align with your brand and message:

Use real photos when possible: Authentic photos, such as images of your team at work or before-and-after shots of jobs, make your HVAC company seem approachable and trustworthy.
Limit stock photos: Stock photos can appear impersonal or generic. While some stock images are unavoidable, limit their use and try to select ones that look natural.
Keep images relevant to the content: If you’re discussing air conditioning repairs, a picture of an AC unit or technician in action works well. Ensure that all images reinforce your message and serve a purpose on the page.

Specific Scenarios on Banner blindness for an HVAC Site

Service Promotion Banners: If a site has a banner at the top promoting a discount on furnace repairs in winter, visitors coming for AC repair info might ignore it as irrelevant.
Top or Sidebar Banners: Visitors tend to skip over banners in predictable places, like the top header or sidebar, especially if they appear to be typical ads rather than valuable service information.
Homepage Rotating Banners: Carousels or rotating banners showcasing various services may suffer from banner blindness since users often ignore slides, especially if they’re waiting for the content below.

How to Reduce Banner Blindness on an HVAC Site

Integrate Banners within Content: Place relevant promotions or CTAs within blog posts or service descriptions, so users encounter them while reading content they’re already engaged with.
Use Clear, Actionable Messaging: Instead of generic “Get a Discount” banners, try actionable messages like “Prepare for Summer: Book Your AC Tune-Up Today,” which directly appeals to user needs.
Personalize Based on Page Content: Show banners related to the service the user is exploring. For example, a user on the AC repair page might see a banner offering a free AC check-up.
Experiment with Design: Avoid traditional ad layouts and try banners that blend with the site’s style while standing out enough to catch attention. Minimalist or “native” styles can sometimes overcome banner blindness.

By using images that support your content, you can create a professional, credible look that attracts and engages visitors.

Design Principles – Logical, Consistent, and Functional

An intuitive, well-structured website helps users find what they need quickly, making them more likely to convert into customers. Let’s explore key design principles for HVAC websites.

Tip 6: Follow Consistent Design Patterns

Design consistency allows users to navigate your site confidently. Here are ways to maintain a cohesive look:

Repeat design elements across pages: Use the same font, color scheme, and button styles on each page. This uniformity helps users recognize elements and find information faster.
Keep navigation consistent: If your contact page is on the top right of the homepage, it should be there on every page. Familiarity in navigation boosts user confidence and improves the overall experience.

Consistency creates a smooth browsing experience, making users feel more comfortable and helping them stay longer on your site.

Tip 7: Apply Progressive Disclosure

Progressive disclosure means showing only the most relevant information upfront and providing more details as users explore further. Here’s how it works:

Use expandable sections: For lengthy information, such as service descriptions, offer an expandable “Read More” link. This reduces visual clutter while giving users control over what they view.
Prioritize essential information: Keep the most important information visible. For example, list basic service details but leave in-depth descriptions hidden until the visitor clicks to read more.

This technique keeps your site clean and easy to browse while still offering detailed information for interested users.

Tip 8: Prioritize Functionality Over Flashiness

Fancy graphics and animations might look cool, but they can slow down your site and make it harder for users to find what they need. Here are ways to prioritize functionality:

Keep the design simple: Clean layouts with well-organized content make it easier for visitors to focus on the essentials.
Optimize for mobile devices: Many HVAC customers will visit your site from a mobile device. Ensure your site adjusts seamlessly to smaller screens, with readable text, clear images, and easy navigation.
Focus on usability: Ensure all links, forms, and buttons work as expected. Broken links or confusing forms frustrate users and make it less likely they’ll return.

To design an AC repair page that follows these principles, here’s a logical breakdown to structure the content and visual elements effectively:

1. Above the Fold (Top Section)

Main Headline: Use a large, bold headline, such as “Fast, Reliable AC Repair Services in [Location],” so users know they’ve reached the right place immediately.
CTA Button: Place a prominent button (e.g., “Schedule Your Repair” or “Get a Free Estimate”) close to the headline. Use a consistent color and style that you’ll carry through for all CTA buttons.
Hero Image: Include a relevant, high-quality image of a technician or an AC unit, preferably with a background that doesn’t distract from the content.
Progressive Disclosure: Have a summary of key benefits (like “24/7 Availability, Licensed Technicians, Affordable Pricing”) visible without scrolling, giving users an immediate overview without overwhelming them.

2. Logical Flow Using the F-Shape Reading Pattern

Top Horizontal Line: Place a short paragraph or bullets just below the headline, explaining why your AC repair service is unique.
- Example: “Get expert AC repair when you need it most. Our certified technicians ensure fast, reliable service across [Location].”
Second Horizontal Line: Introduce a secondary CTA (like “Call Us for Emergency Repair”) and key service icons for instant recognition. This helps users scan and absorb information quickly.

3. Content Below the Fold (Middle and Lower Sections)

Service Details with Alternating Patterns:
- Use a pattern alternating between small, medium, and wide content blocks for readability.
- Start with a small section outlining what’s included in the AC repair service, followed by a medium block on the most common repairs handled, and a wide block with a list of FAQs or testimonials.
- Each section follows the F-shape, with a headline on the left, followed by bulleted points or icons for easy scanning.
Organized Links and Buttons:
- Place links and CTAs consistently in each section, like “Learn More” or “Book Now,” all styled similarly for consistency.
Progressive Disclosure in Details:
- Avoid overwhelming users with text blocks; instead, offer “Learn More” buttons or expandable sections for technical details or extended service explanations.

4. Avoiding Traditional Ad Areas

Consistent Content Placement: Keep important information and CTAs out of banner-like areas. Place all CTAs and key details within content blocks and keep ads or offers embedded in sections where they blend naturally, like a customer review block.

5. Tables and Forms

Service Comparison Table: Use tables sparingly and only for comparing services or pricing options. Ensure they’re easy to scan by left-aligning text and keeping them uncluttered.
Contact/Service Request Form: Use a consistent form style, with clear labels and required fields noted visibly. Include a simple alert message if required fields are missed.

6. Footer Section (End of Page)

Contact Information & Additional Links: Include a final CTA or button (e.g., “Get in Touch” or “Call Us Now”) with essential contact info.
Legal Information: Place terms, privacy policy, and other links at the bottom, out of the main content’s visual path.

7. Back-End Impacts on Front-End

Fast Load Times: Ensure the images are optimized for fast loading since performance issues can frustrate users and lead to poor engagement.
Bug-Free Functionality: Test the contact form, CTA buttons, and any other interactive elements thoroughly to avoid user frustration from functional issues.

By combining these design choices, you’ll create a clean, engaging, and logically organized AC repair page that is both user-friendly and conversion-optimized, focusing on information hierarchy and clear paths for user action.

The post Improve Your HVAC Website’s UI & UX: Key Tips for Higher Customer Conversion appeared first on HvacTrade.

Automate GMB Review Responses

Tou — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 19:51:49 +0000

How to Automate Review Responses for your Google Business Profile

If you were wondering how you can automate responses for your reviews for your Google Business Profile (GBP) we got you covered. I will keep this short and straight to the point. I will be providing a link to copy this automation trigger.

Requirements

Google Business Profile

Well you can't respond to reviews if you don't have a GBP account =D

OpenAI Account (Chat-GPT)

You will be needing an openai account to access your api keys located here: https://platform.openai.com/api-keys

It will cost you about $20/month for access to this.

Zapier Account

This is the platform we will be using where all the automation comes into play.

https://zapier.com/

Copy my Template

I have made my Zap shareable if you would like to just copy it. Please make sure you edit the fields inside to your company settings.

Copy my Template

Step-by-step guide on Building the Automations

If you are interested in building the automations yourself I will provide a step-by-step guide for you below.

Creating the Zap Trigger Flow

Under your main Zapier account, you will see a button on the left "Create Zap". Click that button to move forward with starting your new zap trigger. You can find this under https://zapier.com/app/dashboard

First Trigger - New Review in Google My Business

The first trigger is going to ask you which platform you will be using. In this case we will search for Google My Business and the event will be New Review

You will be prompted to sign into your google account to access your Google Business Profiles
You will have to select your Google Business Profile location you want to set up for this automation.

You will be prompted to select the Google Business Profile you want this automation to work for.

2nd Trigger - Conversation in ChatGPT

This is probably going to be the most confusing part if you are new to GPT. There will be a few events listed once you have selected ChatGPT but we are only focused on the Event Conversation

You will first be prompted to link your openai secret key which can be found here: https://platform.openai.com/api-keys

Once you have selected ChatGPT for the 2nd trigger, you want to choose the event "Conversation"

Setting the Action for User Message

The action we will only need to touch is the *User Message. This is where we will be creating the prompt for ChatGPT to respond to the reviews for us. It doesn't need to be super technical but I will provide the code below if you want a example that I use.

This is where we instruct GPT on how to respond to the review.

Your main job is to respond to Google reviews. We are an HVAC Company and our company name is [Your Company Name]. I want you to include any keywords relating to the review of our HVAC services where applicable. The tone of the response should bee short as possible and humanlike.

Our reviewer's name is: [Reviewers Name]

They left a star rating of Their review is: [Star Rating]

Please respond to their review. [Comment]

You don't need to mess with anything else in this configuration. Now the last step is to create a reply within Google My Business.

3rd Trigger - Create Reply in Google My Business

This last step is pretty easy. You will be choosing Google My Business as the App & Event. Your event will be Create Reply

Creating a reply for your Google Business profile with ChatGPT

Setting up the action

Setting up the action is pretty straightforward.

Selecting the correct Reviewer name
Inserting ChatGPT Reply to the message

preview of chatgpt response to the review

Here is an example of the response given to the review. You can always alter the length of the responses within the GPT prompts. You can keep playing with the test feature before going live to find what works best for you.

Finalizing the ZAP - Going live

The last step for you to do now is to Publish the Zap and it will go live. Congrats you just automated your review responses! Please share my post if you enjoyed the read. Keep an eye out for my new tutorial!

Whats Next? Collecting reviews with Keyword Categories listed

Ever wondered how you can automate collecting reviews that auto-tag service keywords? We can collect reviews and create automation for keyword services the use of triggers within SERA or ServiceTitan! keep an eye out on my next tutorial.

The post Automate GMB Review Responses appeared first on HvacTrade.

Mastering your Google Business Profile Page for your HVAC Company for 2024

Tou — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 22:11:57 +0000

Want more leads and happier customers for your HVAC business? Look no further than Google My Business (now called Google Business Profile)! It’s like a free online storefront that helps local customers find you, learn about your services, and leave reviews.

Think of it like this:

Get top billing in local searches: When people search for “HVAC near me,” your business can show up near the top. Bye-bye, competitors!
Show off your skills: List all your services, from AC repair to furnace tune-ups. Add photos and videos to show off your work.
Build trust with reviews: Let happy customers rave about your service. Positive reviews attract new business and build trust.
Connect with your community: Post updates, promotions, and helpful tips. Engage with your neighbors and build relationships.
Free marketing magic: No need for expensive ads. Google Business Profile puts your business on the map (literally!).

HVACTRADE can help you take your Google Business Profile to the next level. We’ll:

Ready to attract more leads and grow your business? We’ll help you conquer local searches and become the go-to HVAC company in your area.

Here’s what makes Google Business Profile a must-have for any HVAC business owner:

Free: Say goodbye to expensive advertising!
Easy to use: Manage your profile yourself, no tech skills needed.
Boosts local SEO: Climb the search engine ladder and get found by customers.
Builds trust: Positive reviews show everyone you’re the best in the business.
Connects you with customers: Engage with your community and build relationships.

Free: Say goodbye to expensive advertising!

Ditch the Ads, Embrace the Free: Google Business Profile for HVAC Heroes

Forget wasting your budget on pricey ads that barely reach your target audience. Unleash the power of Google Business Profile, the free marketing magic carpet ride for HVAC businesses like yours!

Say adios to:

Thin wallets: Ditch the monthly drain of traditional advertising and channel those funds into growing your business. Google Business Profile gives you all the visibility you need, without costing a dime.
Target misses: No more throwing spaghetti at the wall with broad-spectrum ads. Google Business Profile lets you laser focus on potential customers in your local area who are actively searching for HVAC services right now. Talk about zero wasted impressions!
Confusing contracts and negotiations: Skip the frustrating paperwork and endless back-and-forth with ad agencies. Google Business Profile is simple, straightforward, and completely under your control.

Embrace the freedom of:

Top billing in local searches: Forget scrambling for visibility. Google Business Profile puts your company right at the top of the search results when neighbors type in “HVAC near me.” Boom! Instant recognition and lead generation.
Organic trust-building: Positive reviews from happy customers become your best salespeople. Google Business Profile puts those glowing testimonials front and center, attracting new clients by the truckload.
Direct engagement with your community: Post updates, promotions, and helpful tips. Answer questions, address concerns, and build lasting relationships with potential customers. It’s like having a friendly chat with your neighbors, only online and with the potential to convert them into loyal clients.
Effortless control: No tech headaches involved. Google Business Profile is user-friendly and intuitive, letting you manage your online presence with ease, even if you’re not a tech whiz.

So, why pay for something you can get for free? Take charge of your HVAC business’s online destiny with Google Business Profile. It’s the ultimate marketing weapon for local heroes like you, ready to catapult your business to new heights, without breaking the bank.

Bonus Tip: HVACTRADE Marketing can help you optimize your Google Business Profile for maximum impact. From crafting a winning strategy to tracking your results, we’ll be your secret weapon in conquering local searches and dominating the HVAC game. Contact us today and let’s get started!

Easy to use: Manage your profile yourself, no tech skills needed.

Ditch the Geek Squad, Manage Your Profile Like a Pro: Google Business Profile Made Easy

Picture this: no cryptic code, no endless tutorials, no feeling like you’re navigating the dark web. With Google Business Profile, managing your online presence is so simple, even your tech-averse grandma could do it (okay, maybe not grandma, but you get the point).

Imagine:

Dragging and dropping your way to success: Update your profile info, upload photos, and schedule posts with a few clicks. It’s like playing virtual Legos, only with way more business benefits.
No need for a translator: Forget deciphering jargon and confusing interfaces. Google Business Profile uses plain English, so you can manage your profile without a tech dictionary by your side.
Mobile magic: Update your profile and respond to reviews on the go with the handy Google Business Profile app. Your marketing headquarters fits right in your pocket.
Help at your fingertips: Stuck on something? Google’s got your back with comprehensive support articles and tutorials. Just type your question and voila! Instant clarity, no tech support hold music required.

Say goodbye to:

Feeling lost in the digital wilderness: No more frustration with confusing interfaces and hidden settings. Google Business Profile makes managing your online presence a breeze, even for the most tech-timid individuals.
Hiring expensive experts: Save your marketing budget for things that actually make money. With Google Business Profile, you’re the master of your online domain, no coding classes or freelance web developers needed.
Wasting time searching for help: Forget scouring the internet for solutions. Google Business Profile’s resources are clear, concise, and readily available, making managing your profile a walk in the park (not a trek through the tech desert).

So, who says you need a computer science degree to succeed online? Google Business Profile empowers you to take control of your HVAC business’s online presence, regardless of your tech skills. It’s like having a friendly assistant who does all the heavy lifting behind the scenes, while you focus on what you do best – keeping your customers cool and comfortable.

Boosts local SEO: Climb the search engine ladder and get found by customers.

Ditch the Search Engine Shuffle, Climb the Local Ladder with Google Business Profile

gmb graph showing results of “near me” searches done via tablets and desktops

gmb discovery searches vs direct searches

Forget the days of SEO being a cryptic dance with algorithms and invisible keywords. Google Business Profile is like a rocket booster for your local HVAC business, sending you zooming past the competition and landing you right at the top of search results when your neighbors type in “AC help!”

Picture this:

Dominating local searches: No more struggling to be seen. Google Business Profile puts your company front and center on Google Maps and local search results, making you the go-to hero for anyone needing a furnace fix or AC tune-up.
Leaving the competition in the dust: While your rivals scramble for scraps of online visibility, you’ll be basking in the warm glow of top billing. Google Business Profile gives you the local SEO edge, attracting leads like moths to a flame.
Becoming the neighborhood MVP: People searching for HVAC services in your area will see your smiling face and glowing reviews first. Google Business Profile builds instant trust and recognition, turning strangers into loyal customers.
No more playing the SEO guessing game: Forget the days of pouring over keyword research and tweaking website code. Google Business Profile takes care of the heavy lifting, optimizing your online presence for local searches automatically. Just sit back, relax, and watch the leads roll in.

Say goodbye to:

Invisible online existence: No more feeling like your business is lost in the vast digital ocean. Google Business Profile throws you a life raft and propels you into the spotlight, ensuring local customers can find you with ease.
Wasting time and money on complex SEO: Ditch the expensive consultants and confusing tactics. Google Business Profile gives you all the power you need to dominate local searches, without the technical headaches.
Missing out on potential customers: Stop watching valuable leads go to your competitors. Google Business Profile makes you the local hero, the trusted expert your neighbors turn to for all their HVAC needs.

Visitors actions on your gmb profile graph

gmb graph showing how people find your hvac google my business contact details

So, why settle for anything less than top billing? Google Business Profile is the key to unlocking local SEO nirvana for your HVAC business. Climb the search engine ladder, leave the competition in the dust, and become the hero your customers have been waiting for.

Builds trust: Positive reviews show everyone you’re the best in the business.

Ditch the Doubters, Build Trust Towers with Glowing Reviews: Google Business Profile for HVAC Heroes

Forget shaky handshakes and awkward sales pitches. With Google Business Profile, your happy customers do the talking for you, building trust taller than the Sears Tower (well, maybe not THAT tall, but you get the point!).

graph showing how often customers look at reviews before making a decision

Customers influence on decision-making based on your GMB profile

Imagine:

Positive reviews shining like beacons: Five-star testimonials become your online crown jewels, attracting new customers like moths to a flame. Each glowing review is a vote of confidence, a testament to your skills and dedication.
Skeptics transformed into fans: Worried about potential customers scrolling past you because they’re unsure about your business? Google Business Profile showcases your happy clients’ love, instantly disarming doubts and turning skeptics into loyal fans.
Social proof power: People trust their neighbors more than faceless corporations. Google Business Profile lets your satisfied customers vouch for you, creating a powerful web of social proof that builds trust faster than a speeding furnace.
Responding with grace: Even the best businesses have the occasional hiccup. Google Business Profile allows you to address concerns head-on, turning negative feedback into positive interactions and demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction.

Say goodbye to:

Fighting an uphill battle for trust: No more struggling to convince potential customers you’re the real deal. Google Business Profile lets your happy customers sing your praises, building trust organically and effortlessly.
Wasting time on self-promotion: Ditch the tired sales script and let your satisfied clients do the talking. Google Business Profile showcases real-life experiences, making your marketing genuine and persuasive.
Feeling like a mystery: Don’t let potential customers wonder if you’re trustworthy. Google Business Profile brings your business to life through genuine reviews, allowing customers to connect with you on a personal level.

So, why keep your amazing service a secret? Google Business Profile unlocks the power of positive reviews, building trust like a brick-and-mortar fortress around your HVAC business. Turn skeptics into believers, attract new customers, and solidify your reputation as the local hero of home comfort.

Connects you with customers: Engage with your community and build relationships.

Ditch the One-Way Street, Build a Community Bridge with Google Business Profile: HVAC Heroes, Unite!

Forget the days of being just another business on a cold, digital map. Google Business Profile transforms you into the friendly neighborhood hero, building bridges of communication and forging relationships with your community that are warmer than a perfectly tuned furnace.

Imagine:

Posting like a pro: Share updates, promotions, and helpful tips directly with your local audience. Google Business Profile is your megaphone, amplifying your voice and connecting you with potential customers who are actively searching for your expertise.
Answering the call, one question at a time: No more waiting on hold for faceless customer service lines. Google Business Profile lets you connect directly with potential customers, addressing their concerns and building trust one friendly interaction at a time.
Hosting a virtual town hall: Post polls, ask questions, and engage in discussions about local needs and preferences. Google Business Profile turns you into a community leader, deepening your connection with your clientele and solidifying your place as the go-to expert.
Creating a loyal fan club: Happy customers become brand ambassadors, sharing positive reviews and spreading the word about your amazing service. Google Business Profile fosters a sense of community around your business, turning one-time customers into lifelong fans.

Say goodbye to:

Feeling disconnected from your community: No more being just another blip on the digital map. Google Business Profile lets you engage directly with your neighbors, building local relationships that fuel your business growth.
Lost in the faceless void of online interaction: Forget robotic chatbots and generic email responses. Google Business Profile puts a human face to your business, fostering authentic connections and building trust through real-time interaction.
Operating in a vacuum: No more guessing what your customers need or want. Google Business Profile opens a two-way communication channel, allowing you to gather valuable feedback and tailor your services to meet the specific needs of your community.

So, why keep your expertise locked away? Google Business Profile unlocks the power of community engagement, turning your HVAC business into a welcoming hub for local connections. Build bridges, engage in conversation, and become the trusted hero your neighbors can always rely on, both online and offline.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Google Business Profile for HVAC Companies:

How can I optimize my Google Business Profile (GBP) for better search results?

We’ll cover keyword research, NAP (name, address, and phone number) consistency, category selection, and optimized posts and photos in the article. HVACTRADE also offers comprehensive GBP optimization packages to take the heavy lifting off your shoulders.

Can I have more than one GBP?

It’s generally not recommended to have multiple profiles for the same business. If you serve multiple locations, you can manage them all within one GBP account.

Do I need a website to create a Google Business Profile?

No, you don’t! While having a website adds another layer of online presence, you can still get great results with Google Business Profile alone.

How long does it take for my GBP to show up in search results?

It can take a few days to a few weeks for your profile to get fully indexed and become visible in search results. However, you can usually start interacting with your audience and receiving reviews very quickly.

Can HVACTRADE Marketing help me with my GBP?

Absolutely! We offer a range of services, from initial setup and optimization to ongoing performance tracking and review management.

How do I know my account will get reviews?

We can’t guarantee reviews, but we can help you encourage them by providing excellent service, responding promptly to feedback, and requesting reviews through your email signature or social media.

What is a Google My Business (GMB) post?

(Note: Google My Business is now called Google Business Profile) These are short updates that appear on your profile, allowing you to share news, promotions, tips, or behind-the-scenes glimpses of your business.

Can you help me claim my Google Business Profile (Google My Business)?

Yes, we can! We can walk you through the process of verifying your ownership and claiming your profile, ensuring you have full control over your online presence.

Is GBP mobile-friendly?

Yes, Google Business Profile is fully optimized for mobile devices, so your profile will look great and be easy to use on smartphones and tablets.

What are some advanced GBP features I can use?

Google Business Profile offers a variety of features for larger businesses, such as location groups, appointment scheduling, and messaging. We can help you determine which features are right for your business and how to set them up effectively.

I’m worried about negative reviews. How can I handle them?

Responding to negative reviews professionally and promptly can actually help you turn them into positive experiences. We can offer guidance on how to craft effective responses and manage your online reputation.

How can my GBP help me stand out from other HVAC companies in my area?

By providing detailed information about your services, showcasing positive reviews, and highlighting your unique selling points, you can capture the attention of potential customers looking for HVAC services in your area.

Can I use GBP to offer special promotions or discounts?

Yes, you can use GBP posts to announce special offers or discounts. This is a great way to attract new customers and encourage repeat business.

Can GBP help me connect with potential customers during peak seasons?

Absolutely! By using targeted keywords and seasonal posts, you can ensure your profile is visible to customers searching for HVAC services during hot summers or cold winters.

The post Mastering your Google Business Profile Page for your HVAC Company for 2024 appeared first on HvacTrade.

Automated Facebook Lead & Follow-up Process with GoHighLevel, Zapier, & SERA

Tou — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 03:09:50 +0000

Automated Facebook Lead & Follow-up Process with GoHighLevel, Zapier, & SERA

Ever wondered how you can collect your Facebook leads and follow up with those leads? I will show you how you can build this out yourself and start running some crazy campaigns!

What you will learn after reading this guide

Facebook Ads

You will learn the basics to starting your own facebook campaign and how easy it is to run yourself! I will explain how you can grab your leads via Facebook Forms, Facebook Messages, or offsite Form generators like Typeform
GoHighLevel Pipelines & Workflows

Get familiar with GoHighLevel and setting up your own pipeline for this campaign as well as marketing automations for workflows!
Zapier

Become a JEDI with zapier and the possibilities you can create for your lead generations and follow-ups!
SERA Systems Automation

By the end of this guide you will understand how SERA Automations can play a big role in the customer journey after the lead submission!

Too lazy? If I am free I can help you create this workflow if I have the time =D

Understanding the Process

Creating the Facebook AD

In short what we will be doing is creating a Facebook Ad for whatever it is you are wanting post for your campaign. Our example will be about Unit Estimates for HVAC systems. If you follow along with this you should be able to redesign this to your liking!

Create Typeform or Leadform

You can make your lead generation very simple with just a call, text, or message us via Facebook. We will be using a more complicated version to get more information about our leads by using Typeform.

Go High Level Automations & Pipelines

Once Zapier pushes the information into Go High Level pipeline stage we can trigger internal and external notifications to your liking.

We will inform our staff of the leads coming in. From this point our Sales team will reach out to the leads and move them along the pipeline until they are scheduled.

There will be retargeting triggers to and leads that were dropped for follow-up.

Zapier Integration

Once the lead generation is gathered from the source of your choice we can use Zapier to push out that information out to GoHighLevel. This is where the fun starts!

SERA Trigger

If the right conditions are met and our customer accepts, the Accepted Quote trigger we will send them a thank you message and follow up on their customer journey to satisfaction.

Creating the Facebook Ad

Manage your Campaigns: https://adsmanager.facebook.com/adsmanager/manage/campaigns

Your first step is to create your very first campaign! lets get started with making your Ad.

Choosing your campaign objective:

There are multiple options you can choose for your campaign. We will just be using Traffic for website visits. There are much simpler ways to get these leads into GoHighLevel that doesn't require Typeform or Zapier. In our case we do because we want to gather more information about our leads. That is something you want to think about.

Custom Audiences

If you plan to target a specific demographic this tool is super useful but for the sake of explaining things we will leave this alone for this guide.

Locations:

If you are a Local company then you want to MAKE SURE that you are targeting your leads to locals only!

I have seen where many people mess up here...even agencies.

Placements:

For this step we are wanting to go with Advantage+ Placements. If you are a expert then you can go with Manual

Now comes the Fun part! Making your Ad Creative =D

The fun part is creating your ad creating in facebook

Make sure to upload your images and have the optimized so they don't look odd.

Primary Text:

This is where your AD Creative skills come in hand. I am not an expert but you can copy what I have listed here.

Wondering Which HVAC Unit Your Home Needs?

Don't get lost in options and technicalities! We’ve got you covered!

Unveil our speedy HVAC System Finder:
Simplified - Navigates you through the choices
Customized - Accurately sizes the perfect unit for your home
Variety - Showcases Good, Better, Best options to suit your needs

Find your ideal HVAC system in a flash, with no fuss!

Start here: [your link here]

For peace of mind, our certified HVAC technician will ensure the selected unit matches your home's requirements with a final inspection.

Need assistance? Ring us at [your number here], we’re here to help!

CONTRACTORS LICENSE CSLB [your contractor license]

Make your home’s comfort effortless!

Headline and Descriptions:

This is where you need to focus on engaging hooks to get them wanting to click on your ad! Here is an example of mine.

Submitting your Ad:

Once you have your ad creative all set up it is as simple as publishing your ad. Now our next step is setting up Typeform so we can get more information about our lead.

Create Typeform or Leadform

Creating your ad is going to take some time but make sure you have the right words and focus on engaging Headlines. Your Ads don't need to be super complicated. I will show my setup I created just for this so you guys can follow along. Typeform is pretty basic its a form generator that you create to capture information about what you want to collect. What I am looking to collect with our leads will be listed below:

What type of home do they live in
What kind of unit are they looking for
What is the square footage of their home
If they have zones currently (How many)
Zip Code
Name
Phone Number
Urgency

Here is a sample of what it looks like!

***Remember you don't need to go as extensive as I did. We only did typeform because we wanted more information. If you only need name and phone number you can simply just do facebook messaging and you can skip this whole step***

Once you have your form created you will be linking it into your Facebook Ad as the website click. Once you have this set now we can go into my favorite part! GoHighLevel!!!

Go High Level Automations & Pipelines

Now this is honestly the fun part of me. For all of this to work we need to set up a pipeline for the Facebook leads into GoHighLevel. We will be creating stages in the pipeline to create steps for our team to move those leads where they need to be!

If you do not have a GoHighLevel account you can sign up with my referral link if you want to help support my content.

I will also help you build everything you need for this and more if you sign up as a referral!

Referral Link: https://www.gohighlevel.com/?fp_ref=hvactrade10

Setting up the Pipeline:

The pipeline will be the 1st step of the stage to nuturing our leads! Lets get to it and show you what we will be doing with our leads.

Lead In - The lead submitted is dropped into this stage of the pipeline. There will be multiple triggers happening here where we notify our team and also sending the customer a notification we got their submission.
SMS Sent - Once the stage above is sent the contacts will be moved here notifying us internally that we need to reach out to the lead.
1st Contact - This would be our first attempt to reach out to the potential lead
2nd Contact - If we did not reach this person we would try for another attempt
3rd Contact - If the other two does not lead to a response we will keep them in this stage. If still no point of contact we will trigger another retargeting automation.
Customer Responded - If a customer had responded to our text message they will automatically be moved here for our team to manually review. If the response was negative we will create a trigger that moves the customer to lost.
Needs Follow-up - At this step we had already contacted them and we needed to follow up with them on a certain date or any kind of circumstance.
Financing Qualification - These are people who are ready to move forward and need to be screened for if they qualify for Financing. If they do then we schedule the appointment and move customer to scheduled.
Did Not Qualify for Financing - If the lead did not qualify for financing our team will be notified and we can check if we can salvage the lead into a repair opportunity. Once dropped into this stage they are automatically moved over to another pipeline we have for this certain case.
Scheduled - If all goes well and customer appointment is scheduled. We leave them here until the job is completed for our trigger. We would move them to Won and automate a customer journey survey to our customer and thank them for using our service.
Won - Job completed and trigger our customer journey automation.
Lost - Customer was a lost lead or no longer interested. We can either leave them here or remove them after x amount of days.

This pretty much explains the pipeline and how it works. Now we can get into building the automation triggers for these steps. For the most part it will be manual work when moving people across stages but we do have trigger states.

Example of what it looks like when in the pipeline

Creating The Workflow Automations

Once the leads are in we now need to make a workflow for this in GoHighLevel to Automate the tedious stuff so we can maximize our efficiency!

NOTE: Once you have the pipeline and triggers all set you can see responses on the Conversations tab in the dashboard

Now lets make a Folder for this pipeline!

Now that we have our new folder created we can start with our new workflow!

You will be given a lot of options to choose from but we will be going with start from scratch because I am a God like that. Never use templates. Learn how to create these things yourself!

We will basically be creating the workflow I mentioned above for triggers etc.

Here is the preview of the lead in workflow

Pretty cool right!!!

Here is a snippet of some of the functions inside

Action Name: Send Customer SMS confirming we got their request

Action Name: Internal Notification to Sales Team

For the most part everything here is very simple. Just make sure to turn your Workflow from Draft to Finished to have the automations start rolling.

From this point I will be creating a internal automations for transferring leads to different pipelines based on criteria (did not qualify) that won't be needed for you guys as it is something we do on our end. If you would like to do it. It is very simply.

Once contact enter stage > Trigger to move to another Pipeline>Stage

Zapier Integration

Now comes the part where we link everything together with Zapier for automations to start happening.

Create a new folder on Zapier for this. You want to be organized!!!

The next part is pretty simple you want to link your Typeform account into Zapier by creating a new ZAP.

Once you link your Typeform Account you simply add the next step which is connect with LeadConnector which is GoHighLevel.

You only need to input Name, Email, Number realistically because you can view the form submission in Typeform.

Make sure to put the right information needed and moving the contact into the right pipeline and pipeline stage for this to work!

That's it! you are ready to go live!

SERA Trigger

Hopefully by now you understand how the trigger works. This works the same way but we will use Zapier to trigger a Event.

This would simply be a workflow automation thanking the customer when they accept the invoice. It is completely optional. I don't recommend it because already will be doing a trigger when the job is completed.

Example Cases for SERA Triggers

Quote Accepted:

Thank customer for accepting the quote and we will contact them shortly to schedule the install date and providing a 5-star service.

Appointment Trip Started:

Notify the customer which team is going out and what time to expect them. Also link them to the portal to track where our team members are.

Give a little profile description of who the team members are that are coming out.

Customer Journey Trigger

After the job is completed, one of our team members will move the customer to WON in our pipeline which will trigger a event to send to our customers.

I will create a customer journey automation on a separate post as it will need its own =D

How was your initial experience with us?
Who was the sales member you spoke with?
How was the quality of the conversation you had with them?
Who were the team members who came out to the install?
How was the service you were provided by our installers?
Did our installs clean up any mess left behind during the installation?
How was the overall experience you had with our company?
What did you like most about us?

It seems like a lot but most part is all net promoter score so we can track how our team is doing. We have conditional logics set that when overall the experience is great we would ask if they would leave us a review on google. We would link our google review with the keyword tags for HVAC Installation so the review would autotag to that keyword when submitted.

IF the review was bad, there would be one more question that pops up asking the customer what we did wrong and how we can improve. After this step it would send a message to the Management team so we can solve the situation immediately.

This helps us mediate a bad review from showing up on Google if we gave them the option to vent internally.

If the situation were to ever escalate further, our boss man get involved and he is a beast at customer satisfactions!

Thank you for reading!

If you made it this far I want to thank you for reading my guides. It takes a lot of time to make. I will always create free content to help educate those who are willing to learn. I know there are owners out there who don't have the time. If you need my assistance you can always ask me.

I have many more projects to create and share with the contracting world. Its going to be disruptive and may cause agencies to hate me but I feel the need to show the world lol. Anywho thank you for supporting me and reading my content. IF you ever need to reach out to me, you can find me on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/TrailsoftheNine

Future Projects in mind

Tiktok Lead Generation with GoHighLevel
How to set up your own GoHighLevel Account pipelines/automations scaled to your business needs
Using GHL for Outbound and Inbound call center
Marketing Automation Reports with SERA and Zapier(How to create crazy dashboards withing sheets or Looker Studio)
Many more! (I am open to suggestions)

Please share my post if you like my content! I love to network with other business owners or entrepreneurs (not gurus =)

The post Automated Facebook Lead & Follow-up Process with GoHighLevel, Zapier, & SERA appeared first on HvacTrade.

Effortless Data Visualization: Elevate Your Reports with SERA, Zapier, and API Integrations!

Tou — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 01:44:26 +0000

Effortless Data Visualization: Elevate Your Reports with SERA, Zapier, and API Integrations!

I have received a lot of request to release this sheet so here it is. I am sorry that I have not posted it the sheet for quite some time. I have been super busy these past months. My plans for this dashboard is great and many more features but I figured I just release a quick version for yall.

Once things slow down for me I plan on revamping this dashboard to display the following:

Average Sale
AVG Job Duration
Threshold gift to customer after "$" amount reached
Total Customers MTD
Total Customers YTD
New Customers WTD
New Members MTD

I will also be coming up with a separate dashboard relating to ad sources and their revenue. I have a basic one set up but it varies as you guys might not use the sources I use. I will be coming up with another solution for this in another post.

The Inspiration

Many of you may remember this screenshot I posted. There are a lot of updates that I will be adding to this which will be coming in the future but it requires a lot of work. I have created a simpler version for now showing revenue and how many appointments you had for last week for now. If I see more people are requesting maybe ill just release it =D

WHAT THE SHEETS? Download it now!

I know you guys are busy so I have also provided a version for you guys to copy.

Copy Sheet

Building Your Sheet

I will be showing you how to build the sheet out yourself from scratch if you are interested in following along in this guide. Above I provided a simple download above if you know what you are doing and want to copy it. I still recommend you following this guide.

You will need to make some edits to reflect your services/categories. If you need help feel free to message me on facebook!

Requirements

What you should know about this report

Appointment List

Requirements

In order for this to work you will need a Google account for Google Sheets.

We will be creating 4 Sheets for this dashboard.

Dashboard
New Appointments
New Customers Created
Quotes Accepted

2nd we will be needing a Zapier accounts to link Sera Triggers.

You can get create an account here: https://zapier.com/

What you should know about this report

I want you to know that this report isn't exactly accurate because its all based on quotes accepted via triggers on SERA. This means we might have double jobs on there and its showing sold not collected. So you will see a difference in your actual SERA dashboard.

Many more features can be reported once we see some more amazing updates from SERA.

Appointment List

Your appointment list will be completely different from what we have. Make sure you are updating your appointment list to reflect yours! If you need help feel free to hit me up on facebook!

Zapier Triggers

You will be needing a set of Zapier triggers for this to work. I will be providing how you can set this up for your Sera Account.

Want to build it from scratch?

I will be providing a fully written guide for those who wants to do this step by step to learn. I will update this thread again once I have time over the weekend to finish this page.

Want more content?

Any guide you see on my site from marketing automations, seo, glsa, gmb optimizations and more are all content I provide for free to people in this trade. I believe in free knowledge but obviously and shouldn't be locked behind a paywall or paying a ridiculous fee as a service. All I ask is to support and share my content. Spread the word!

The post Effortless Data Visualization: Elevate Your Reports with SERA, Zapier, and API Integrations! appeared first on HvacTrade.

Filtering Customers by Address in SERA: Membership by Address!

Tou — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 04:57:34 +0000

Filtering Customers by Address: Membership by Address

In the future SERA may have the option to create a list for us to download for those who runs memberships based on Address. For the time being I created a short and simple way of grabbing the list of addresses from a single customer and basing filtering if that address has a membership tied to it.

Requirements

Google Sheets - We will be doing our filters from Google Sheets
TableCapture - App used to capture tables from SERA reporting.
ChatGPT- This is only needed if you don't know how to create formulas in sheets like I do =D. The formula will be listed in this guide.

Exporting Membership Data in SERA

SERA already allows you to export members which is perfect. Once you download this information you will post it on Sheet 2 of in Google Sheets.

The Tricky Part: Pulling Multiple Addresses

Sadly this is not a feature to download (SERA PLZZZZZZ). SO we are going to automate this a bit.

This is the part that is going to take some time to grab based on how much data you have in SERA. We will be using a tool called TableCapture to automate the process of copying all the tables.

Make sure you have the chrome app installed already to start the next process!

Make sure to select Dynamic tables and then the other options on the screen.

Once you press the pagination to "NEXT", the automation will begin gathering the data from your table. This will take time depending on your data.

Once finished click this icon to copy to your clipboard

The final step of this process is to paste the data into Sheet1. Make sure to create 2 more columns in this sheet for final filtering.

We will create a filter because sheet1 has the full address which can cause problems when using the formula so we will clean it up into the 1st new column we created. The 2nd column will be if that address has a Membership tied to it.

The Final Step: GOT FORMULA? ChatGPT?

For those who don't know formulas like me. I will make use of CHATGPT to create the formula for us!

The final step is to input the formula into Sheet1 with with the 2 new columns you created.

"Sheet1 Column D" =LEFT(C2, SEARCH(",", C2)-1)
"Sheet1 Column E" =IFERROR(VLOOKUP(D2, Sheet2!B:C, 2, FALSE), "No")

Make sure to double click the blue dot to replicate this formula downwards!

MAKE SURE TO REMOVE DUPLICATES

Final Steps: What are you going to do with that data?

From this point its really up to what you want to do with this information. We plan on using this for a marketing campaign and importing it into GoHighLevel. Stay tuned for my future updates!

I will post marketing strategies with this in GHL in my next few blog post! Keep an eye out =D

If you have any suggestions on what should be made feel free to message me on facebook!

The post Filtering Customers by Address in SERA: Membership by Address! appeared first on HvacTrade.

Don’t Get Burned: A No-Nonsense Guide to Avoiding Scams in HVAC and Plumbing Marketing & SEO

Tou — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 04:03:21 +0000

Don't Get Burned: A No-Nonsense Guide to Avoiding Scams in HVAC and Plumbing Marketing & SEO

I. Introduction

As a marketing manager at a reputable HVAC and plumbing company, I've seen my fair share of businesses struggle with choosing the right marketing and SEO agencies. The importance of marketing and SEO for our industry is undeniable, but the prevalence of scams and dishonest tactics leaves many business owners feeling lost and frustrated. That's why I'm sharing my knowledge in this long, informal post, aimed at helping you, fellow business owners, to avoid being taken advantage of.

II. Recognizing Red Flags Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let's discuss some common red flags that you should watch out for:

A. Unrealistic promises and guarantees:

Be wary of agencies that promise overnight success or guaranteed rankings. SEO is a long-term investment and results take time.

B. Lack of transparency and communication:

A reputable agency will keep you informed about their strategies and progress. If they're evasive or secretive, consider it a warning sign.

C. High-pressure sales tactics:

Steer clear of agencies that pressure you to sign up immediately or offer limited-time deals. A trustworthy agency will allow you time to evaluate their proposal.

D. Cookie-cutter strategies:

Every business is unique. If an agency offers a one-size-fits-all approach, they likely won't deliver the tailored solutions your business needs.

E. Inflated costs and hidden fees:

A transparent agency will provide a clear breakdown of costs and services. Be cautious of those that don't or have hidden fees.

III. Common Scams and Tactics Here are some scams and tactics often employed by shady marketing and SEO agencies:

A. Black-hat SEO techniques:

Unethical practices like keyword stuffing, cloaking, or doorway pages may bring short-term results but can lead to long-term penalties from search engines.

B. Fake reviews and testimonials:

Some agencies create false reviews to bolster their reputation. Look for verified reviews on trusted platforms, and consider reaching out to their past clients.

C. Plagiarized or low-quality content:

Duplicate or poorly-written content won't impress search engines or your customers. A good agency should provide original, high-quality content tailored to your audience.

D. Inefficient ad spend:

Be cautious of agencies that spend your ad budget without providing a clear plan or measurable results. A responsible agency will optimize your spend to maximize ROI.

E. Link schemes and purchased backlinks:

Building a strong backlink profile is crucial, but buying backlinks or engaging in link schemes can harm your website's reputation. A reputable agency will focus on earning quality backlinks through legitimate strategies.

IV. Choosing the Right Marketing & SEO Agency To find the best agency for your business, follow these steps:

A. Do your research:

Look for online reviews and testimonials on platforms like Google and industry-specific sites.
Check for industry certifications, awards, or memberships in professional organizations.

B. Ask the right questions:

Inquire about their experience in the HVAC and plumbing industry.
Learn about their approach to strategy and customization.
Understand their communication and reporting process.

C. Evaluate proposals and contracts:

Compare costs and services between different agencies.
Make sure the terms and conditions are clear and fair.
Watch out for potential red flags as discussed earlier.

V. Empowering Yourself:

DIY Marketing & SEO Basics While working with an agency can be beneficial, it's essential to understand the basics of marketing and SEO to take control of your business's online presence.

A. Importance of a strong online presence:

Having a well-designed, user-friendly website is crucial for attracting and retaining customers.
Make sure your website is mobile-responsive, as more people use mobile devices to search for local businesses.

B. Content marketing for HVAC and plumbing businesses:

Create informative and engaging content, such as blog posts, how-to guides, and videos, to establish your expertise and build trust.
Share your content on social media and encourage customer engagement.

C. Local SEO strategies:

Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing to improve local search visibility.
Ensure your business's name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all online platforms.

D. Social media marketing:

Be active on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to connect with potential customers.
Share helpful tips, promotions, and company news to keep your audience engaged and informed.

E. Email marketing:

Build an email list to keep customers updated on promotions, seasonal reminders, and helpful tips.
Personalize your emails to make them more effective and relevant to your audience.

VI. Turning the Tables: How to Hold Agencies Accountable To ensure your chosen agency delivers on their promises, follow these steps:

A. Set clear expectations and goals:

Discuss your business objectives and specific marketing goals with the agency.
Establish a timeline for achieving these goals and regularly review progress.

B. Monitor progress and results:

Request regular reports on key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics.
Use tools like Google Analytics to track website traffic, conversions, and other important data.

C. Address concerns and issues promptly:

Maintain open communication with the agency to resolve problems as they arise.
Don't be afraid to ask for changes or adjustments to the strategy if results aren't meeting your expectations.

D. Know when to walk away:

If the agency consistently underperforms or fails to address your concerns, consider ending the partnership.
Seek out alternative agencies or consultants that better align with your goals and values.

VII. Conclusion

In this post, we've covered the red flags to watch out for, common scams and tactics, how to choose the right marketing and SEO agency, DIY basics, and holding agencies accountable. It's time to take control of your marketing and SEO efforts and protect your HVAC and plumbing business from unscrupulous agencies. Share this post with other business owners in the industry to spread awareness and help create a safer, more ethical environment for everyone.

The post Don’t Get Burned: A No-Nonsense Guide to Avoiding Scams in HVAC and Plumbing Marketing & SEO appeared first on HvacTrade.

How I closed $1 Million open HVAC Estimates in 1 month with Retargeting

Tou — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 04:59:54 +0000

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

How I closed $1 Million with Retarging in HVAC Estimates with GoHighLevel
Why Retargeting your HVAC leads are important?
How we used automation systems to close sales for HVAC systems
What's needed to get started?
Best Practices
Setting up Automations within GoHighLevel

How I closed $1 Million with Retarging in HVAC Estimates with GoHighLevel

https://youtube.com/shorts/vqKelVwthG0?feature=share

Hvac Retargeting Video

What happens when your Comfort Specialist or HVAC technician leaves that house with an open estimate for a unit replacement?

Nobody will likely follow up on that lead once the quote is left alone.

Don't worry; I am here to help you figure out how you can set up your GoHighLevel account and start retargeting leads for your HVAC company!

Side note for my viewers:

I am horrible at grammar so if you get an eyesore I am sorry. My intentions mean well though =D

Why Retargeting your HVAC leads are important?

It's no secret that there will be slow days in the HVAC industry...Especially if you're just an HVAC company.

This can be the make-it-or-break-it for those slow seasons or help you meet that goal if you are trying to hit $1M in monthly revenue.

Once you have mastered the effectiveness of retargeting for your HVAC business, lead generation and sales funnel strategies will look better for customer acquisition.

Simply put:

GoHighLevel + Automation = Closed Estimates

GoHighLevel + Automations = Closed Estimates

How we used automation systems to close sales for HVAC systems

We first used GoHighLevel for our HVAC estimates for older quotes that were never followed up on(another story) and generated $1 Million in closed deals with the help of GoHighLevel!

This was also generated on one of the slowest months for HVAC where I am located!

This can be used for many other campaigns but to keep this guide simple we will focus it on HVAC systems with open estimates.

What's needed to get started?

There isn't much needed to get started with retargeting your leads.

You will need access to GoHighLevel first and foremost
- I have access to create multiple sub-accounts on my GHL account if you would like to give it a try without having to purchase or go through a trial. Just hit me up and I can also help guide you through it via google meet or zoom!
Your customer list of open opportunities that you sadly didn't get to close
- Don't worry we will close them in due time!
A little bit of patience to set everything up
- I am showing you how to do everything step by step! Don't rush anything you want to make sure it's planned out properly

Before you start you need a Pipeline!

To start a pipeline is very simple follow these steps:

In you GoHighLevel panel click on Opportunities
You will now be in a pipeline page which you will "Create new pipeline"
Name it whatever you want! For this example we will use Retargeting Campaign and create the stages for this pipeline. (Below is an example I will be using)
- Lead In (This is where I will have manual leads in for a trigger event to send SMS to customer)
- SMS Sent to Customer (Once they were sent a message they are moved over to this stage of the pipeline
- Customer Response (When we get any response to the text message they will be moved to this stage)
- Responded Yes (Create a filter if they responded yes to be on this stage. Easier to track good leads)
- Manual Review (When you need to go over the lead you can drag them in here)
- Won - Congrats you closed the quote!
- Lost - It happens...You will get more No responses than you would like but its okay

Best Practices

Before we get into setting up your retargeting efforts it's best to have a game plan on how you want to approach your customers.

Generate a List of Messages

I know it may be a bit vague but you want to create multiple messages for this campaign and test which one works the best.

You don't need to completely change your script! Just a single word could make a difference. This is basically an a/b test to see which message is converting the best responses.

You need to come up with something that will attract your customer to want to move forward with your message!

Offering a Discount for your HVAC systems estimate

These leads are already considered lost and offering a discount can go a long way. Any money is better than no money!

In digital marketing, there is a strategy where you offer a small discount and then after 3 days of no response, you would give a big discount.

In this case, I say screw it and offer them the 10% discount right off the bat! This led to a lot of "YES" responses from our customers.

Setting up Automations within GoHighLevel

Now we are ready to tackle this bad boy!

I will be showing you a basic setup you can use (we even use this simple setup for our leads!) It doesn't have to excessive.

Keep it short and simple!

Step 1: Your side panel

On the left hand of your side panel click on Automation to access your workflows. We will be creating a new workflow from scratch!

Click on the Automation tab of your panel in GoHighLevel

Step 2: Creating a new workflow

Once you selected the Automation tab you will be in the main Workflow page. On the top right click on Create workflow to get you started.

Click on the green button to create a new workflow

You will want to click on Start from scratch

I usually ignore the premade templates because you want to learn how to create your own automations. It will go a long way!

Always create a new workflow from scratch to test yourself!

Step 3: Retarget Mastermind

Welcome to your first Workflow!

Now this is where all the fun happens!

I like to keep things simple! There are better ways at doing things like creating internal notifications and all kinds of other goodies but for this article we are going to keep it simple and to the point.

Once you are familiar with the system you can make adjustments as you like!

Workflow Trigger

The workflow trigger is a listener that wait until the desired conditions are met to start a trigger event. For this case, we will create a trigger when a lead is brought into the "Lead In" stage.

Its important to set a filter trigger

Make sure you have a filter set for this workflow trigger to the specific Pipeline and Pipeline Stage!

If you don't...well lets just say it can get messy =D

Setting up automated Text Message

The next process of this stage is to hit our customers with a custom text message with whatever messaging you would like.

To create a new action simply click on add your first action or the circle + sign

creating the custom message to your open hvac estimate leads

Remember you can reword this to however you want. Feel free to copy my template if you would like.

{{contact.first_name}} will automatically input the customers first name from the list you provide or manually input into the pipeline stage.

Hello {{contact.first_name}}!

This is Tou with Balanced Comfort Cooling, Heating, and Plumbing. I wanted to follow up on a couple of quotes that were left regarding upgrading your current HVAC system and I wanted to know if you were still interested. If you are, we are currently having a 10% promotion going on for this week.

Please don't hesitate to let us know if there is anything we can do to help you further.

Respond "YES" if you are interested in 10% off your current estimate!

Professional tip: Add your company logo into the text message so customers know it's your company! Sometimes they will think the message is spam but the logo can help that.

You can also test a text message to yourself to make sure it all looks good!

Updating Opportunity

Once the text message is sent we want to automatically move the customer to the next stage of the pipeline.

Create a new action with the action of "Create or Update Opportunity"

updating the customer to the next pipeline stage

Make sure you have the correct filters for Pipeline and stage or they will not move to the next flow.

Wait + If Condition

The next event we will create is wait for customer to respond. This means nothing will happen until we get a text message back from the customer for your hvac estimate.

The If condition allows to to filter what happens based on your customers interations.

Waiting for customer to respond

Configuring IF/Else Statments

The holy grail of IF/ELSE for lead placement

This is the bad boy you want. I have it configured to do 3 things.

If customer responded "YES" it will move them over to the Customer replied YES stage
If customer responded "NO" or the other words I have added in selected responses it will update the opportunity to lost and set the status of the lead to LOST.
If the customer sends any other kind of response it will be moved to Customer Responded
If none of the conditions are met then it will remain until one of those are triggered.

Conditions for replied messages

After that is set you can publish your workflow and once leads are in everything will start triggering!

The End Game

From this point on it's pretty solid. Our technician calls the customer once we get valid leads in on people who would like to follow through. Once that is set we move them over to manual review.

Usually after they respond our chances of them closing is basically right then and there as we lock them down with financing options.

Congrats!!! You just closed your open estimates!!!!

It honestly is a good feeling when you bring back those lost customers to close a deal. Take the time to perfect your craft.

Play around and see what works for you

This is my first article I have about automations and I plan to make more. Its sad to see people put a paywall behind giving knowledge about this. Everyone should learn how to do this!

If you are interested in more be sure to sign up to my newsletter or follow me on my social media platforms. Some of you probably already know me on Facebook.

The post How I closed $1 Million open HVAC Estimates in 1 month with Retargeting appeared first on HvacTrade.

Russ King of Kwik Model 3D

Tou — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:08:14 +0000

Russ King has been in the HVAC Industry for more than 20 years and has became known as one of the leading pioneers of friction rate and airflow. I recently came across his blogs and have learned a lot from him. I was able to get an interview with him so lets get this rocking!

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Russ King – Kwik Model 3D

www.russellking.me

1Tell us more about yourself

2What got you into this industry?

3Kwik Model 3D

4Modern Design Software

5Trades not being properly informed

Tell us more about yourself

Until I went to college my friends and family all called me Rusty. Many still do, but I go by Russ now. It’s more mature. LOL. When I was a teenager, my dad told me that I was an “energy conservation expert”. I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant, but it really impressed me, so that’s what I ended up studying in college. I find out later that he was just calling me lazy.

Just kidding. I had a great family. My dad was an officer in the US Navy the whole time I was growing up. We lived all over the Pacific Ocean: Hawaii (twice), Japan, several places in CA. I graduated from high school on an island called Adak, in the Aleutians. There’s a new Netflix reality show about it, “Pirates Gold of Adak Island”. It’s hilarious to watch. Very overdramatized. They blow up an unexploded artillery shell at the bottom of a hill we used to sled on in the winter. They find gold coins on the beach where we had our senior ditch day.

While on Adak, I had an internship with the Aleutian Island National Wildlife Refuge. I fell in love with wildlife biology and went to Humboldt State University in northern California to study that. Chemistry kicked my butt, so I changed my major to Environmental Resources Engineering with an emphasis on Energy Resources. I was much better at math and physics and also learned a lot about buildings and how they use energy – building science basically.

I also learned about the importance of saving energy. Something that really sticks in my mind is that the percent of energy that is possible to be saved through more efficient technology and proper application of current technology and improved behavior is more than any single energy resource on the planet, coal, oil, gas, solar, wind, etc. I’ve dedicated my career to tapping into that resource. I especially think residential HVAC is one of the lowest hanging fruit there is.

What got you into this industry?

Where did you start?

My first job out of college was creating computer energy models of buildings at Davis Energy Group. My boss was a mechanical engineer named Marshall Hunt. He was the first ACCA certified instructor in CA. He taught me how to do Manual J, S, and D back in 1988, before there was any software. It was all done on worksheets. This was the early days of Manual J/S/D. Very few people knew about it.

How long were you in that position?

About four years. The company was bought out by another company and I stayed a couple more years, until I got my PE license.

What did you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoyed being one of the very few people who knew a lot about something (ACCA Manuals J/S/D). I was still in my twenties when I was teaching classes on HVAC design to people who had been in the industry for 30+ years. It was tough at times though. People really don’t like learning that they have been doing something wrong for 30+ years. Some old dudes got pretty rude about it. Luckily, I was able to show them the math and back it up with real world examples.

What kind of certifications do you have?

My main certification is my Mechanical Engineer’s license. I’m currently licensed in three states, CA, NV, and HI. I was licensed in CO for a while, but I let that lapse. I’m EPA 608 Universal certified. I’ve had a ton of certifications over the years, but if they are not required for the specific work I’m doing, I’ve let them expire. Those include various BPI certifications and HERS certifications. The knowledge is more important than the initials after my name.

Kwik Model 3D

How did you start Kwik Model?

My son Connor graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2018 with a degree in computer science. His dream job was to design video games. He had a real hard time finding a job. That’s a ridiculously competitive field. People will basically work for intern wages. He lived at home and I asked him to make a mock up for me of an idea that I wanted to show some people. His mock up turned out so good that I decided to run with it and I convinced him to start a company with me. We started Coded Energy, Inc. in October 2018.

What were some of the struggles that arises?

The first struggle was that we released our first version almost on the exact same day that the COVID pandemic started. That really took a lot of wind out of our sales, but overall, it has been a blessing. We survived and it allowed us to do a lot more testing on the software than we would have otherwise.

What pushed you into making Kwik Model 3D?

Having used and taught Wrightsoft and Elite for over 30 years. I wrote a blog article way back in 2013 (https://russellking.me/2013/05/25/why-we-need-a-simpler-hvac-design-methodology/) that complained partly about Manual J, but mostly about the available software. It made some people mad, but nothing changed. The software basically looks exactly like it did 30 years ago and is just as hard to use, if not more so. When the opportunity came to write my own software, I jumped on it. Kwik Model is the software I wish I had back when I was doing designs every single day and running very busy engineering departments.

What are the capabilities of Kwik Model?

The main thing is that it is 3D and it is fast. When people think of 3D, they think of Sketchup or Autocad and having to draw a house in 3D. Kwik Model builds a house out of 3D blocks. When you place a single block, you’ve just “drawn” four walls, a ceiling and a floor with one mouse click. It’s more like the Minecraft video game than a CAD program. The 3D visualization gives you a level of confidence in your design that you don’t get in other programs. I think this is very important.

Thanks to our partnership with EnergyGauge (by the Florida Solar Energy Center) our design package, Kwik Model with EnergyGauge Loads, is fully Manual J certified and we are very close to having our Manual D certification. As a licensed mechanical engineer, I can attest to the fact that Kwik Model currently does duct design in compliance with Manual D, we just don’t have the magic certification yet. EnergyGauge does. We are in the process of getting KM and EG to talk to each other so that the design you do in Kwik Model is sent to EnergyGauge, where it gets finalized and “blessed”.

What are your thoughts about software’s having internal database for equipment’s?

It’s very expensive and we have not had a lot of requests for it. In all my years of using Wrightsoft, I never trusted that feature. Sometimes we would go back and put in the same information and get different answers. We ended up not using it. I much preferred getting the data directly from the OEM spec sheets myself. It’s much more useful and informative, to me, to see the data in tabular form right in front of me. That’s how I teach Manual S too.

This sounds really paranoid, but I had a boss who once told me, “Always do a design with the assumption that someday someone is going to sue you over it.” That really stuck with me. I always keep very good records of where I got my information and why I made certain assumptions. I would photocopy the expanded data tables, highlight the numbers I used and stick it in a project folder for that job. Using an automated database did not allow that. If you got bad numbers from the database and got sued, they would ask if you verified those numbers against OEM data. If you have to verify the numbers, why even use the database? I also think that using a database makes people less likely to understand the interactions of outdoor DB, indoor DB, indoor WB, and airflow than if you see it in a table. It’s important for designers to know exactly where those numbers come from. That’s one thing I’m pretty old school on.

Modern Design Software

I noticed your software Kwik Model 3D is a whole lot simpler to use compared to other software such as Writghtsoft, Elite, Adtek, and the others. What makes your software unique to theirs?

I ran two mechanical engineering departments (ConSol and BORM Engineers) where we specialized in residential HVAC design. We used Wrightsoft. I was the Engineer of record on probably 2000-3000 designs. I was never happy with Wrightsoft, but back then there was no other option. We tried Elite when it came out, but it was basically a Wrightsoft clone.

What are some of the problems you had with them?

My blog article linked above talks a lot about that. They did enough to help us get by, but there were so many bugs and workarounds that it was kind of ridiculous. The worst part was trying to teach people how to use them. I taught a 3 day class for PG&E for several years. It was embarrassing. I was basically teaching them how to hack the software to make it work right. There was a lot of “don’t use this page”, “ignore all of this”, “this will screw up your numbers if this little button is checked”, “this doesn’t do what you think it does”, “just put any number here so you can continue”, “this has no impact on anything’, etc.

What did you like about them?

Having done Manual J S and D calculations by hand for a few years made software seem like a blessing from God. Even though they had their issues, we were able to make them work, but there were days when I wondered if it really was easier or not.

New software is always going to be tricky to learn. Is there any documentation, tutorials, or trainings you offer for Kwik Model 3D?

Yes. We have a pretty extensive YouTube channel. Just search for Kwik Model. In the Playlists, there are a couple of recorded classes that are quite in-depth. A few times a year, SoCal Edison hosts a training and I was just signed on to teach classes for PG&E. When those get scheduled, I usually post them on my blog and send out an email to all of our users. You can also get on the Edison and PG&E training mail lists. I’m also available for one on one training and design assistance to our users at greatly reduced hourly rates.

Trades not being properly informed

One of the things that bothers me in the trade are companies just sizing ductwork based on square footage of the home and not accounting for other factors. What are you opinions on this topic?

Oh, man. I could go on all day about this… The single biggest problem in the HVAC industry as it relates to sizing is the misconception that bigger is safer. I will tell you 100% that an oversized system will have more comfort issues than an undersized system. I challenge anyone to prove me wrong. Check out the video on my YouTube channel called “Fun with Dataloggers”. It’s a real eye opener.

Contractors get lazy and they say, “let’s go XXX square feet per ton”, then they round up a size thinking that they are playing it “safe”. That is a recipe for disaster. Then on the next house they say, “Well that last house did not work out so well, let’s go up a half ton on the next one.” Then they undersize the ducts! I would confidently say that the average house in CA, probably the entire US, has oversized equipment and undersized ducts. One of my main reasons for putting Kwik Model out there is that if we can make it faster and easier to do proper design, more contractors will do it and they will learn.

Do you think the industry is keeping people aware of this as of lately?

I think so. There seems to be a lot more training than there used to be. There are a lot of social media groups that seem to be focusing on the right stuff. I’m starting to more and more young HVAC contractors saying the exact right things and it brings a happy tear to my eyes. I’m only on Facebook, but there are some amazing people on the following groups that are really doing the right thing: HVAC Grapevine, HVAC School Group, the “Housh” as a System, Comfort Dynamics, TEC HVAC Airflow, Fans of Retotec\, etc. There are dozens.

I’ve learned that a good HVAC contractor owns a duct tester and a flow hood, but a great contractor also owns a blower door. What’s the difference? The first two test the HVAC system. The blower door tests the house. This means they understand the house’s role in comfort. I tend to beat up contractors pretty good. I would say that the “average” HVAC contractor is still way behind and very much still hurting the industry, but there are a bunch of really good ones out there. It’s tough. It’s `easier to make money doing it the easy/cheap/fast way. We all suffer for it in the end, though.

What kind of an impact would a homeowner have if their homes are incorrectly designed?

Well, less comfort, higher energy bills and shortened equipment life, to start. The problem is that homeowners have the same misconception that uninformed contractors do: bigger is better. Also, homeowners are only concerned with first-cost 95% of the time. They don’t want to pay for good design or quality installation. We need to educate homeowners as much as we need to train contractors.

Thank you for your time Russ King! Be sure to check out our Blog!

The post Russ King of Kwik Model 3D appeared first on HvacTrade.

How to become an hvac technician

Tou — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 09:26:26 +0000

How to become an HVAC Technician

Wondering how to become an HVAC technician? one must receive proper training and education from an accredited institution. There are many HVAC schools across the United States that offer certification programs. Once you have completed an accredited program, you will then need to obtain a state license in order to work as a technician. Be sure to check out our post about What is HVAC? Everything You Need to Know About HVAC

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

How to become an HVAC Technician
How to become an HVAC technician: the basics
The importance of attending an accredited HVAC school
Obtaining a state license to work as a technician
The average salary of an HVAC technician
Is becoming an HVAC technician right for you?

How to become an HVAC technician: the basics

So, you’re interested in becoming an HVAC technician. Great! The first step is to receive the proper training and education from an accredited institution. There are many HVAC schools across the United States that offer certification programs. Once you have completed an accredited program, you will then need to obtain a state license in order to work as a technician.

The importance of attending an accredited HVAC school

As we mentioned earlier, the first step to becoming a technician is to receive the proper training and education from an accredited institution. This is important because it will ensure that you are properly prepared for a career in this field. There are many HVAC schools across the United States that offer certification programs. Once you have completed an accredited program, you will then need to obtain a state license in order to work as a technician.

Obtaining a state license to work as a technician

Once you have completed an accredited program, you will then need to obtain a state license in order to work. The process of obtaining a state license varies from state to state.

I got my EPA Certification via through escogroup

EPA Certification	Equipment	Test Questions	Test Duration
Type I	Small Appliances: Air Conditioners, Domestic Refrigerators & Vending Machines	25 Multiple Choice Questions	30 Minutes
Type II	High to Very High- Pressure Appliances: Residential Air Conditioners, Refrigeration Units & Heat Pumps	25 Multiple Choice Questions	30 Minutes
Type III	Low-Pressure Appliances: Chillers	25 Multiple Choice Questions	30 Minutes
Universal	All of the Above Equipment	25 Multiple Choice Questions	30 Minutes

The average salary of an HVAC technician

The average salary for an HVAC technician is $50,000 per year. This figure can vary depending on experience, location, and other factors.

Is becoming an HVAC technician right for you?

Becoming an HVAC technician is a great career choice for those who are interested in the field of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. With the proper training and education, you can become a certified technician in no time. If you think this career might be right for you, we encourage you to learn more about what it takes to become an HVAC technician. You can start by researching accredited HVAC schools in your area and then begin the process of obtaining your state license. Once you have completed these steps, you will be on your way to a successful career as an HVAC technician!

The post How to become an hvac technician appeared first on HvacTrade.

HvacTrade

Improve Your HVAC Website’s UI & UX: Key Tips for Higher Customer Conversion

Top UI/UX Tips to Boost Your HVAC Website’s Engagement

Words Matter – Making Text Readable and Engaging

Tip 1: Provide Breathing Room for Text

Tip 2: Ensure Text is Legible

Tip 3: Make Content Scannable

Headings and Subheadings

Calls to Action (CTA)

Image and Icon Use – Keep it Relevant and Minimal

Tip 4: Use Icons Sparingly

Tip 5: Integrate Photos and Graphics Thoughtfully

Specific Scenarios on Banner blindness for an HVAC Site

How to Reduce Banner Blindness on an HVAC Site

Design Principles – Logical, Consistent, and Functional

Tip 6: Follow Consistent Design Patterns

Tip 7: Apply Progressive Disclosure

Tip 8: Prioritize Functionality Over Flashiness

1. Above the Fold (Top Section)

2. Logical Flow Using the F-Shape Reading Pattern

3. Content Below the Fold (Middle and Lower Sections)

4. Avoiding Traditional Ad Areas

5. Tables and Forms

6. Footer Section (End of Page)

7. Back-End Impacts on Front-End

Automate GMB Review Responses

How to Automate Review Responses for your Google Business Profile

Requirements

Google Business Profile

OpenAI Account (Chat-GPT)

Zapier Account

Copy my Template

Step-by-step guide on Building the Automations

Creating the Zap Trigger Flow

First Trigger - New Review in Google My Business

2nd Trigger - Conversation in ChatGPT

Setting the Action for User Message

3rd Trigger - Create Reply in Google My Business

Setting up the action

Finalizing the ZAP - Going live

Whats Next? Collecting reviews with Keyword Categories listed

Mastering your Google Business Profile Page for your HVAC Company for 2024

HVACTRADE can help you take your Google Business Profile to the next level. We’ll:

Here’s what makes Google Business Profile a must-have for any HVAC business owner:

Free: Say goodbye to expensive advertising!

Easy to use: Manage your profile yourself, no tech skills needed.

Boosts local SEO: Climb the search engine ladder and get found by customers.

Builds trust: Positive reviews show everyone you’re the best in the business.

Connects you with customers: Engage with your community and build relationships.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Google Business Profile for HVAC Companies:

How can I optimize my Google Business Profile (GBP) for better search results?

Can I have more than one GBP?

Do I need a website to create a Google Business Profile?

How long does it take for my GBP to show up in search results?

Can HVACTRADE Marketing help me with my GBP?

How do I know my account will get reviews?

What is a Google My Business (GMB) post?

Can you help me claim my Google Business Profile (Google My Business)?

Is GBP mobile-friendly?

What are some advanced GBP features I can use?

I’m worried about negative reviews. How can I handle them?

How can my GBP help me stand out from other HVAC companies in my area?

Can I use GBP to offer special promotions or discounts?

Can GBP help me connect with potential customers during peak seasons?

Automated Facebook Lead & Follow-up Process with GoHighLevel, Zapier, & SERA

Automated Facebook Lead & Follow-up Process with GoHighLevel, Zapier, & SERA

What you will learn after reading this guide

Facebook Ads

GoHighLevel Pipelines & Workflows

Zapier

SERA Systems Automation

Too lazy? If I am free I can help you create this workflow if I have the time =D

Understanding the Process

Creating the Facebook Ad

Create Typeform or Leadform

Go High Level Automations & Pipelines

Creating The Workflow Automations

Zapier Integration

SERA Trigger

Customer Journey Trigger