You Can Kiss AdWords Success Goodbye
If You Are Making These Top 5 Money-Wasting HVAC AdWords Mistakes
Learn how to avoid costly errors and big headaches with Google pay-per-click advertising.
HVAC AdWords Mistake #1: Lack of Attention
One of the biggest reasons HVAC marketers fail at AdWords is lack of time to improve the results. In the beginning you need to spend about 5 hours per week analyzing results such as click thru rates (CTR), monitoring bid costs and ad locations within the search results, etc.
It’s been said that just 1% of HVAC contractors login to their AdWords account on a weekly basis.
If you have any expectations of AdWords success, you have to commit the time and attention required by regularly working on your account. After all, it’s not going to manage itself.
I know how busy most of you are just running your business day to day. The good news is that your competition has the same problem so the HVAC contractor who puts in the extra time and effort can expect an extremely high ROI for the time invested.
I would make it a point to commit to just 2 hours per week and you will be amazed at how quickly your ROI will improve.
HVAC AdWords Mistake #2:
Not Split-Testing Ads
Split testing has been done in the marketing world for years because it helps to isolate offers that customers will respond best to. It means you offer up at least 2 ads for any given ad group and Google alternates these ads to viewers.
Once you have at least 30 clicks per ad, you have a statistically significant result to decide which ad is working the best.
You want enough clicks to ensure the outcome is meaningful and not just the luck of the draw. Once you know, just pause the losers and write one to two more ads and try to beat the winner. Do this over and over.
Split-test the titles and ad text using completely different headline and ad text. Be sure to include action words like “learn”, “how to”, “download” “Free”, etc. Don’t forget to use an exclamation point at the end of the last word in the second line of the ad. Also, capitalize the first letter of each word throughout the ad.
Make sure the keyword is in the title at least once and maybe once again within the ad text.
Split testing use to be time consuming and took weeks or months to arrive at reliable results. Now it’s easy and quick so there’s no reason to spend money on ads that don’t work. Hint- split testing solves this problem!
HVAC AdWords Mistake #3: Ignoring Mobile Traffic
Mobile device searches are expected to overtake desktop and laptop searches in 2014. Studies show that mobile users convert at a higher rate. They want your service NOW and you need to be there for them when they are looking to spend money with you.
Very few of your competitors are doing this properly. Get this right and you’re a step ahead.
Google has recently made the mobile ad display very easy. When setting up your campaigns, select the “mobile bid adjustment”. Here’s how Google describes it:
“Set bid adjustments to increase or decrease your bids and gain more control over when and where your ads show.”
Then, when creating a mobile ad, click the box labeled “mobile” so your ad will show on these devices. Here’s what shows under the ad when you are creating it:
Device preference – Mobile
Simply make sure the “mobile” button is clicked. My AdWords experience has shown that our HVAC customers who search on a mobile device convert (a conversion is when they call or email you) at significantly higher rates than other devices.
Place a higher bid for mobile device ads as compared to non-mobile ads and follow it for the next few days to see where your ad is placing on the mobile device search results.
Since there are only 3 positions for your ad to show on mobile devices (versus 10-12 on non-mobile devices) you want to bid more for the mobile search results, assuming your budget allows. For the HVAC industry, I’ve seen much higher conversion rates from mobile clicks at a lower cost per click, even though I bid more for these clicks.
Remember, there are many factors that determine the price you pay for each click and your bid amount is only one of those factors.
HVAC AdWords Mistake #4: Poor Keyword Selection
Proper keyword selection takes time and effort and is very easy to get wrong. Some of the problems I see include:
- One and two term keyword choices — Long-tail keywords are more cost-effective, especially in competitive niches, but too many HVAC contractors focus on the short, easy to find terms. I always like to focus on customers wanting to replace their system by using keywords with the word “prices”, such as “air conditioning prices”.This is a long-tail keyword because it contains 3 or more words. These keywords, although searched less, convert well and are usually someone looking to buy as opposed to just researching.
- Not using the Google Keyword planner properly – I spend most of my time searching keywords that my competitors miss, or under-utilize. I recommend you watch this Google video on how to properly use this powerful tool.
- Not monitoring and using negative keywords — Negative keywords help filter out unwanted, irrelevant clicks, so they’re a great way to cut wasted spending. However, many of your competitors are throwing huge sums of money at irrelevant clicks. Don’t be one of them. Negative keywords are simply keywords that are being searched to click your ads but are useless. Words like “RV air conditioning”, “air conditioning jobs”, “hvac careers”, etc. Simply input the irrelevant portion of the term, such as “rv” and “jobs” within the negative keywords interface to exclude any keywords that contain the useless words.
HVAC AdWords Mistake #5: Poor Landing Pages
The landing page is where your customer decides whether to spend money with you or move on to your competitor’s page. The landing page experience is huge and is probably the most costly mistake I see. You can have a perfectly setup AdWords account but poor landing pages will instantly kill all your effort.
Your landing page should exactly match the offer in the ad that was clicked. This means that you need to build anywhere from 3-8 special landing pages with compelling offers. This requires some work but is well worth the investment. In fact, this is so important I’m going spend some time on proper landing page design with you.
The first huge mistake is sending your Google AdWords visitors to your home page. DO NOT EVER send visitors to your home page….. Period. If I click an ad that reads “ Men’s Shoes are 50% off Right Now!” and I land on the home page with no mention of the offer, I’m gone! Just too much work is involved in navigating the site to find this offer. Avoid this wasteful error at all costs!
The most important elements of a properly designed landing page are:
- A compelling headline that matches the offer in your ad exactly
- A follow-up sub-head line the further explains the offer. (Just like newspaper headlines handle it)
- Compelling text that fully explains the offer in detail
- A strong call to action so your visitor knows exactly what to do next
- Strong and visible placement of your phone number
- A “Contact Us” box placed very prominently in the upper right or left of the page, well above the fold.
Here’s an excerpt from an article I recently wrote on this very important topic:
The part that really requires a skilled hand is, once they arrive, getting your visitors to request an appointment for a system replacement quote or your maintenance/repair services. Success is practically guaranteed if you offer a unique and compelling visitor experience. That’s right, your customers are looking for something unique and compelling from your website. That’s what it takes to get positive action from your visitors.
Here’s an example of a compelling headline I wrote on a website landing page for a client that we displayed front and center when visitors arrived on his HVAC services website after clicking a Google AdWords ad:
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Is Your Air Conditioner in Need of Repair?
If You Are Tired of Stifling Heat and Humidity and Long For Dependable Comfort Again, Here’s How The XXX XXXX XXXXXXX Rescue Team Can Help – FAST!
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What have we accomplished here? First, the opening headline is all about the reader, not us. We simply asked the single most important question every customer who is searching the web for AC services in Florida has already answered subconsciously. And that subconscious answer is:
“Why yes, how did you know??”
“Because we feel your pain” is the subconscious answer you are offering.
Next we “massaged” that pain a little (but just enough so they know that we feel it too) by describing their discomfort and, most importantly, how to resolve this discomfort and inconvenience quickly.
I then went on to describe my client’s extraordinary promises and guarantees (and yes, they need to be extraordinary). I explained how his pricing was straightforward and fair. I went on to describe his company’s unique service policies, his money back pledge, his 24 hour emergency service, and 13 other unique qualities that every customer who visits your site is longing to see.
I say “longing” because they are just dying to find a contractor who gets it, removes the risk, and allows them to stop drudging through poorly written, boring HVAC websites and get back to their life. Now is the time to brag but only in way that makes it about them, not you. Make it easy for them and they will make it easy for you.
Since my client knew the lifetime value that all new customers represent to HVAC dealers, we combined a compelling offer with a strong call to action like this:
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Try us out right now with this very special introductory offer:
Call us at XXX-XXX_XXXX and save $XX.00 off any air conditioner repair PLUS we’ll waive the entire diagnostic and trip charge fee, an $XX.00 value. This is a very limited time offer made only to our web customers so you must act now. The call is free and your satisfaction is guaranteed!
If you feel as we do that this offer is fair and reasonable then you’ll want to act without delay as it won’t last forever. And we think you’ll agree that all of these services and guarantees are offered at surprisingly modest fees. Don’t forget, we offer next day system replacements as well.
Sincerely,
The XXXXXXXXXX Rescue Team
P.S. Send us an email and we promise to get back to you in 30 minutes or less. Or call XXX-XXX-XXXX now and one of our highly trained and certified Technical Service Advisors will be right there!
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I like to include at least one “P.S.” after the closing just to reinforce the value and commitment we offer “when you call right now.” Simply repeat the most compelling offer or reinforce a claim to be sure they call you and not your competitor.
Sending all visitors to the same landing page or, worse, your homepage is a recipe for failure. Give them a targeted, dedicated landing page that serves one primary purpose only: getting the visitor to call or email you, ensuring that the entire page is closely tied to the keyword and ad that got them to your site in the first place.
To summarize, simply following these 5 important steps can double or triple your conversion rates. You can easily get 2-3 times more revenue from your HVAC marketing efforts and your AdWords budget without any additional spend. Remember, every HVAC marketer I know has his hands full just running his business. The ones who take advantage of this fact and get out there and put in the extra effort will always pull ahead.
You competitor will just never get around to taking these proven steps to HVAC AdWords success!
P.S. Get your free copy of https://tripleyourclicks.com/when-it-comes-to-email-leads-dont-take-five/ You need to read this eye-opening article before you respond to your next email lead. They have a crazy-short shelf life.
Question: Would your customers respond better using this method rather than your typical approach? What else works well for you? Share your comments now