§ 02 Why this vertical
Why HVAC SEO is different
The local-SEO fundamentals are universal, but what actually brings an HVAC company calls is specific. The audit and the work both account for it:
- Emergency and seasonal intent. "AC repair near me," "furnace not working," and "emergency HVAC" are book-now searches that spike with the weather. Being in the pack the moment demand surges is the whole game.
- You're a service-area business. No storefront means you rank by service area, not a street address. Getting your service areas and primary category right in Google Business Profile is make-or-break, and usually misconfigured.
- Reviews drive the call. Homeowners pick on trust under pressure. Review volume and recency move ranking and the click, and most of your local competitors are behind on both.
- Competing with franchises. Big franchise brands outspend you but run cookie-cutter profiles. A sharp local profile plus a steady review cadence beats them in the pack.
§ 03 Sample
What your audit looks like
Roughly a one-page report built on your real numbers and your three closest local competitors. Below is the format, yours will be specific to your numbers and the businesses competing with you for top-3 visibility.
Where you're losing calls
- Review volume: 38 reviews vs the top-3 average of 130+. For an urgent search, review count drives both ranking and the call.
- Local pack position: #7, off the map pack for your primary service, where the book-now searches happen.
- Service areas unset: neighboring towns you actually serve aren't configured, so you never appear for their searches.
Three levers that would move the needle
- Review velocity system: an automatic text-to-review after each completed job, closing the gap to the top-3 count.
- Service-area + category setup: correct primary category, service areas, and seasonal GBP posts so you show up across your whole territory.
- Citation + NAP cleanup: consistent name/address/phone across the home-service directories Google cross-checks.
§ 04 System
How this works
The recurring work agencies bill $2,500 to $5,000/mo for, review monitoring, weekly posts, rank tracking, citation cleanup, reporting, is mostly repetitive. Software does repetitive well; strategy still needs a human. Here's the split.
1
Week 1
Audit + setup
You take the 5-minute self-audit. I review it personally and reply within 24 hours. If we work together, week one maps your service keywords, baselines your reviews and citations, and sets your brand voice.
2
Daily, ongoing
Automated delivery
Review monitoring with drafted responses, GBP posts in your voice, rank tracking, competitor scans, citation building, all on schedule. Your tier sets the cadence.
3
Before publish + monthly
Human review + reporting
Nothing publishes without my review first. On the 1st you get a real report: rank changes, review delta, what moved, what's next.
§ 05 AEO + GEO
Built for how people search now
More and more, customers don't scroll, they ask Google's AI or an assistant for the best HVAC companies near them and trust whatever it answers. That new layer has a name, AEO and GEO (Answer and Generative Engine Optimization), and it runs on the same signals as the map pack: your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and consistent business data. I tune for both, so you're the one that gets found and recommended, not just ranked.
Live rankings
See where you rank right now
I publish live Google Map Pack rankings for HVAC companies across 100+ U.S. markets, who owns the top three spots, their ratings and review counts, and who's stuck below the fold. Find your city and see exactly where you stand today.
§ 06 Engagement
Plans & pricing
Flat monthly, month-to-month, no contracts. Same plans as everything else I do.
Starter
$1,000/mo
- Daily review monitoring + drafted responses
- 2× weekly GBP posts (Tues + Thurs)
- Monthly progress report (1st of month)
- One-time citation cleanup across 30-40 directory sites in your first 30 days
- Rank tracking on your top service keywords + alerts
Start Starter, $1,000/mo →
Standard
$1,500/mo
- Everything in Starter
- 3× weekly GBP posts (Mon + Wed + Fri)
- Bi-weekly competitor scan with specific actions
- Quarterly keyword expansion (5 new service long-tails every 90 days)
Start Standard, $1,500/mo →
Full retainer
$3,000/mo
- Everything in Standard
- 5× weekly GBP posts (every weekday)
- Weekly content briefs + 2 SEO blog posts/month (1,500-2,500 words)
- Bi-monthly reports (1st + 15th)
- Monthly 30-min strategy call
Talk to Jonathan →
Month-to-month. Cancel anytime. No setup fees.
§ 07 Answers
HVAC SEO FAQ
We don't have a storefront, can we still rank?
Yes. You're a service-area business, and Google ranks you by the areas you serve, not a street address. Configuring service areas and your primary category correctly is exactly what most HVAC companies get wrong, and it's the first thing the audit checks.
Our demand is seasonal, does SEO keep up?
Rankings compound year-round, so you're already on top of the pack when the season hits instead of scrambling for visibility mid-heatwave. We lean your posts and keywords into the upcoming season ahead of the surge.
How do we compete with the big franchises?
Franchises run generic profiles and lean on ad spend. A well-configured local profile, a steady review cadence, and seasonal posts beat them in the map pack, where the book-now calls actually happen.
How fast will I see more calls?
Most map-pack improvements land in 30 to 90 days. Emergency intent converts fast once you're visible, being top-3 means you're the first call when something breaks.
Do you only work with HVAC companies?
No, the same playbook works for any local service business. But HVAC is a vertical I work in often, so the audit understands emergency intent, seasonality, and service-area configuration. See the main page →
§ 08 Start here
Start with the audit
No call, no contract, no pitch. Tell me about your business and I'll send back exactly where you rank, your three biggest gaps, and a 60-day plan, usually within 24 hours.
