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When I bought my first house, finding a contractor meant opening the Yellow Pages.
Now, I can ask Siri, Alexa, or Google to find a contractor near me, without even typing anything into a search engine.
In a short period of time, the way we find people to help us with problems, big and small, has changed dramatically. While friends and neighbors are still the best option when it comes to pointing you in the right direction, many times those recommendations are being made in Facebook groups, on Twitter and through email.
The Way People Search For Help Affects Your Business
What do you need to do to make sure your business is being considered as an option when someone needs a contractor? Relying on ads in the Yellow pages and in the newspaper isn’t enough anymore.
Let’s Start with Search Engines
Whether you prefer Google, Bing, or any other search engine on the internet, the fact is, when people need to solve a problem, 90% of the time they start with a search online.
source: http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share
95% of Americans own a cell phone, and 77% of Americans own a smartphone according to Pew Research. That means that a business must have a mobile friendly website and understand a few things about making it easier to find your business online, because 77% of people have access to broadband Internet access at home -- and in their pockets every day.
People start their searches in many ways. They may start with knowing they need someone to look at their heating system for example, or they might just type their problem into a search engine. For example, we typed “My furnace is broken” into Google, (and even misspelled it on purpose) and this is what came up:
Becoming a Google-certified contractor is clearly important- it puts you at a significant advantage versus your competition. But also note that the contractor providing helpful advice on their website shows up as well- and that’s a huge trust signal to anyone looking for your services.
At Comfort Media Group, we know how important it is that your business is found when someone needs your help. That’s why everything we do is geared to achieve this goal. We make sure your website is optimized across platforms, so your website looks good on a desktop, tablet and cell phone. We work to add useful, search-optimized content to your website to help people find you, and we work to help improve your local search as well.
For example, did you know how important your Google Business listing- and Google recommendations- can be to making sure you show up on the first page of a Google search result? For the next search, I typed “HVAC contractors in my area”.
Google then showed me a list of other suggested searches. (This is probably a great list to use when considering keywords for website optimization and Google PPC ads)
But on the page, it then showed me, in a square with locations, the local contractors in my area.
Optimizing your local search so your business shows up in this knowledge square is really important. Having reviews in place lets to public find out about how trustworthy you are, and if you aren’t in this box, you may be losing business, because you are just simply invisible to the people in your community who are looking for help.
At Comfort Media Group, we’ve helped HVAC companies across the Country get better leads and grow their business by helping them improve their website and their search ranking, while providing high-quality content that helps educate their customers- growing a loyal customer base that stays with you, recommends you, and helps your business grow, year after year.
If you need help to make sure your business is found online, while enhancing your reputation, give us a call at 888-519-1950, or email us at donjr@comfortmediagroup.com.
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Comfort Media Group is the digital marketing company for growing HVAC contractors.
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