Are you confident that potential customers who visit your website are finding what they need in 8 seconds or less?

Because that’s how much time you have to give people the feeling that they are in the right place.

That’s how much time you have to earn the next 30 seconds of their time, where you need to earn the next minute and a half in the hopes that the visitor will eventually trust you enough to call.

Because that’s what you want them to do; you want them to pick up the phone and call.

So you have your phone number big and bold right there in the header and footer of every page on your website. You do, right?

HVAC Contractor Website Content and User Experience (UX) Matter - A Lot!

What I’m describing here is the human behavioral phenomenon caused by the interplay on your between your website content and the way it is displayed on the website visitor’s device.

This interplay is known as the User Experience, also called UX.

contractor website improvement

When your content and UX are properly aligned with your business goals and your Buyer’s Journey, your website becomes not only a lead generation machine, but a full time (24/7) sales pro who never changes his story, always gets the facts right, and never makes a skinny deal.

They Ask, You Answer

“The day we stopped selling pools and started teaching people how to be better pool buyers, our business exploded and we’ve never looked back!” - Marcus Sheridan, River Pools and Spas

Important questions to ask about your HVAC contractor website:

  • What do you offer the website visitor is not ready to talk yet? A buyer in the early stages of research.
  • Does your website provide buyers with the information they are looking for, or do you leave your website visitors needing to call for the information they really want?
  • Is your website a sales brochure, or is it an educational library answering every question your potential customers might have about your products, services and their home comfort issues?
  • Are answers obvious and easy to find?
  • Does your specialty stand out?
  • Does your website attract and drive visitors toward your most profitable products and services?
  • Is your website easy to navigate on a mobile phone, with video and text that is easy to read and bright-colored call-to-action buttons that are easy to push?

When people come to your website they are seeking answers to their questions and solutions to their specific problems. Period. They don't care about your truck wraps, your philosophy, your four decades in business, or the story of how your great grandfather founded the company in his garage. At least not yet.

HVAC learning libraryMany of our clients are discovering how powerful video can be for their website. We worked with our client ECI Comfort to create a Video Learning Library to educate their prospects.

They want answers to their questions and they want them now. And I’m not talking about an old school FAQ page.

You need to create content that answers the many questions your salespeople and service techs are answering for customers every single day over and over again.

They ask. You answer.

  • What can I expect to spend?
  • How does it work?
  • Which systems qualify for rebates?
  • What are my financing options?
  • Do you work in my neighborhood?
  • Do you have good reviews?

And this is just a list of the most basic questions everybody asks about every major purchase they make. Don't you?

I must be crazy, you say? There’s no way any company can anticipate every answer to every question that every potential customer might ask. Marcus Sheridan eventually wrote blogs on the River Pools and Spas website that answered over 700 different questions including the cost of an in-ground fiberglass pool.

So don’t tell me it can’t be done.

Marcus’ results were immediate and staggering and yours can be too if you simply answer those customer questions on your website.

Between the answers to every question and case studies about your very favorite installations in your favorite neighborhoods on your favorite towns, HVAC contractors could be writing fresh, relevant content for years.

No matter how many times Google has changed the rules of the game over the last twenty years, this content strategy always comes out on top.

Find Out How to Improve Your Online Presence

Great Website Content is Not Good Enough

Unfortunately, most contractor website homepages try so hard to show and tell their visitors about everything all at once, that it’s tough to see any single thing clearly.

Have you ever gone to a website and found an article that looks like a page from an encyclopedia? Lots of words, lots of paragraphs, no headings, no breaks, no pictures, no videos and no end in sight. What did you do? Slog through the article and hope it’s what you really need? Or do you hit the “back” button and look for something less intimidating?

It may have been the best article on the Internet about the topic you were researching, but you’re doing this over lunch and don’t have the time to get it wrong because you promised to have this done last week. You can’t go home and face your spouse without making a decision, so you try the next search result and find something a little easier to digest.

The next website you visit makes a clear statement practically using the same words you used when you did your search.There’s a one minute video right under the big bold heading and the title of the vide o seems to be the answer to your question.

web design for hvac websites

You watch the video and when you are finished, you have learned that everything you needed to find out is right here on this website, logically outlined in a series of short, informative articles backed up by one mega article that answers every possible question you could possible have and a few you didn't know you should be asking.

Along the way there are offers for informative brochures and worksheets that you can download to take home to discuss with your significant other. Something you can put into their hands to show them how thoroughly you’ve done your homework.

Even though the first website was overflowing with excellent information, that second website made it easy for you to find exactly what you needed, and to look like a genius at home (for a change).

That's the power of a good user experience.

Using a combination of good web design principles and thoughtful content that answers your prospects questions and concerns can dramatically improve the effectiveness of your website.

Find Out How to Improve Your Online Presence

Be a Better Marketer

Don Lafferty

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