Use HVAC contractor as your main category, or Air conditioning repair service if repair is almost all of your work. Do the listing work in late winter, before the summer demand. List heating and cooling services separately. Post a maintenance reminder before each season.
How customers search for HVAC companies
These are the searches that produce calls in this trade. Each one has a different value and a different level of competition.
| Search | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| ac repair near me | The largest search of the summer. Volume can double in one hot week. |
| hvac near me | Year-round volume, and it covers both heating and cooling. |
| air conditioner installation | The highest price per job. Customers compare three companies and read reviews. |
| furnace repair | Winter volume, and it rises on the first cold night. |
| heat pump repair | Growing volume, and few companies list it as a service. |
| emergency ac repair | High value, and availability decides who gets the call. |
Your categories
Main category: HVAC contractor
Full-service companies use HVAC contractor. A company that only repairs air conditioners often ranks better with Air conditioning repair service. Look at the three businesses above you before you decide.
Additional categories to consider:
- Air conditioning repair service
- Heating contractor
- Air conditioning contractor
- Furnace repair service
- Air duct cleaning service
Use our category finder to confirm, and read the category guide for the method to change a category safely.
The services to list
Add each service as a separate item. Use the words that customers type, not the words that the trade uses. This list covers most companies in this trade.
- AC repair
- AC installation
- AC maintenance
- Emergency AC repair
- Furnace repair
- Furnace installation
- Heat pump repair
- Heat pump installation
- Thermostat installation
- Duct repair
- Duct cleaning
- Air quality testing
- Mini split installation
- Commercial HVAC service
- Maintenance plans
Write one or two sentences for each service. Add a price or a price range if you publish prices.
Hours and availability
Summer demand goes to the company that answers. If you offer after-hours service, say so in your description and answer the telephone. If you do not, set honest hours. A customer in a hot house does not leave a message.
The photos to take
Take these six photos. Each one answers a question that a customer asks before the call.
- A new outdoor unit, level on a clean pad
- A finished indoor unit with a clean plenum
- A replaced duct run, before and after
- A technician with a gauge set at work
- A new thermostat, installed and set
- Your service truck with the company name
Add three to five photos each week. Our photo audit shows the gaps on your listing.
Your review system
Ask each customer on the day of the job. Send a direct link in a text message. Ask one time, then send one reminder after three days.
Use our review link builder for the link, and the request template for your trade. Answer each review with the reply writer.
Do not offer a discount or a gift for a review. Do not ask only the customers that you think are satisfied. Google and the FTC prohibit both practices.
Your posting plan
Post one time each week. These are the messages that work in this trade.
Late winter
Do the listing work now. A category change needs two to six weeks to affect your position, so February work produces June calls.
Spring
Post a maintenance reminder each week. Customers book service before the first hot week.
The first hot week
Post your availability and your response time. Answer every call.
Fall
Post a heating check reminder before the first cold night.
Suspension risks for HVAC companies
These are the mistakes that remove listings in this trade.
- “AC Repair” or a city name added to the business name.
- A listing for each town that you serve. Use service areas instead.
- A service area that covers the full state.
- Old holiday hours during a heat wave. Customers see “closed” and call a competitor.
- A telephone number that changes between the listing and the website.
Examine your business name with our free name checker.
What your website must do
Google reads your website when it selects the businesses for the map. Three things matter most.
- One page for each main service, with the words that customers use.
- The same business name, address and telephone number as your listing.
- A page for each area that you serve, with real local detail.
See local SEO for your website.
An example of the work in order
An HVAC company that repairs and installs. This is an example that shows the order of the work. It is not a client report.
- The company had a main category of Air conditioning contractor, no heating services in the list, and no posts.
- The corrections: main category changed to HVAC contractor, heating categories and services added, a maintenance post each week from March, and 20 photos of installs.
- The plan: complete the work in February, then measure each month through the summer.
Your checklist
- Main category set to HVAC contractor
- Additional categories added for regular services only
- Each service listed separately, in customer words
- Business name is the real name, with no extra words
- Hours are correct, and they match the telephone that you answer
- Service area covers the places that you drive to
- At least 15 real photos, and new photos each week
- A review request sent to each customer on the day of the job
- Each review answered within 48 hours
- The same business name, address and telephone number on other websites