WHY YOUR HVAC BUSINESS MAY HINGE ON NAP+W

Okay fine, that statement may seem a bit extreme. Now that your attention has been piqued let’s take a deep dive into local search engine optimization and how it’s likely to be mission-critical for the search engine optimization goals of your HVAC operations. Local SEO is an often-overlooked aspect of the overall search engine optimization plan, but, especially for HVAC companies, it can be an important piece of the puzzle.

TAKING AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT LOCAL SEO

WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU MEAN BY LOCAL SEO?

Local search engine optimization is of the utmost importance for businesses that find their customers in a small radius of where the business is located. For an e-commerce site that can sell products worldwide, for example, local SEO might not be quite as much of a priority. But, for businesses such as the local heating and cooling service provider, local is everything…making local SEO a top objective. Local search engine optimization combines a variety of factors to serve up your HVAC business to the local consumer at the time they are searching for a business like yours. Your local SEO efforts will marry a combo of localized content, accurate contact information and positive reviews (among other things) to ensure you are front and center when a local prospect looks for you.

WHAT IS NAP+W?

NAP+W might seem like it belongs in your HVAC website’s HTML code, but it’s actually a simple acronym that stands for Name, Address, Phone + Website. (Not sure why these SEO-types have to always make things so cryptic!) What the NAP+W is referring to is how your company is listed online. Think of it like the online yellow pages which is truly what we are talking about here.

WHY NAP+W MATTERS?

If there are more than two reasons NAP+W matters, it’s probably about time to double check on this aspect of your HVAC business’s online presence, don’t you agree?

• I am a customer, and I need your phone number! Imagine the days when brochures or print magazines were the main vehicles of HVAC marketing. Now imagine your copywriter or graphic designer printed thousands of brochures or placed ads all over town with an incorrect phone number. The outrage, shame and remorse would be off the charts! While you are likely still using brochures of some kind and advertising in local publications, the focus of your HVAC marketing is now centered around search engine optimization and capturing more online traffic.
• The Google three-pack! As of an algorithm update in August of 2015, when a user types something like, “Indianapolis Air Conditioner Repair,” Google will serve up three options. Known as the Google three-pack, this update gave priority to businesses that provide accurate NAP+W data for local search results. Here’s how Google works its magic:

1. Google bots collect data about your business from different sources including directories such as Google My Business, social media sites & your own HVAC website verifying the accuracy of the data that’s posted.
2. Once that step is complete and your info is authenticated, Google checks out the reputation of HVAC business based online ratings and reviews.

• Ranking, ranking, ranking! Consistency in your NAP+W is a top ranking factor that can contribute to your HVAC marketing success online. When it comes to local SEO, having inconsistencies in your NAP+W tops the list of negative factors that can kill your success.

A recent survey compiled but the email gurus at ConstantContact revealed that while 85 percent of small businesses feel it’s important for them to be found in local search, only 50 percent have updated their online listings. Even more horrifying is this stat: fifty percent of those surveyed know they have inaccurate NAP+W but haven’t taken the time to fix the issue. The upside of these abysmal numbers is your HVAC business might pluck some low hanging fruit from the tree and gain a competitive advantage in the local SEO game. Have you googled your HVAC business lately? No better time than the present, wouldn’t you agree?

This post originally appeared on HVACMatt.com.