HVAC Contractor Newsletter

Creating a Search Engine Friendly Website

Search engines are important because over 90% of people find information online by using a search engine. More importantly, 85% of people do not go past page 2 of the search results when looking for information. This means if your website is not on the first or second page, then it is not being found.

Unfortunately, getting on the top 2 pages or in the top 20 results is extremely difficult. For starters, your website is in competition with the websites of fellow HVAC contractors. In the greater Houston area alone, there are over 150 HVAC contractors just in ACCA, not counting the hundreds of other technicians in the area.

In addition, the search engines do not make it easy. They update their method of evaluating websites (their algorithm) frequently. They do not disclose all of the attributes they consider in their evaluation (over 100) or the relative importance of each attribute. Furthermore, the algorithm for each search engine is different.

The good news is that when search engines evaluate your website, they look for information in specific locations on your website. Here are some common, yet effective strategies to improve communication with the search engines:

Strategy #1 - Title Tags
The title tag is a simple piece of HTML code that is located within the header section of your web page. It is the information that is displayed at the top of the browser, above the address bar.

Use the title tag (<title></title>) to add the keywords that describe your business. Make sure the title tag is unique for each page as it should accurately summarize the information on that specific page.

Strategy #2 - Meta Tags
Meta tags are also part of the HTML code within the header section that the search engines use to evaluate the content of the web page. There are 2 primary meta tags ? description and keyword.

The description meta tag tells the purpose of the page:
<meta name="description" content="Write a keyword-rich sentence or two.">

The keyword meta tags identifies the "key" words that describe the page:
<meta name="keyword" content="Insert 2-3 keywords separated by commas">

Again, similar to the title tag, the meta tags should be unique for every single page on the website and accurately describe the information being discussed on that particular page.

Strategy #3 - Web Page Content
Search engines are always looking for unique and relevant content. The more information you have on your website, the more opportunities you give the website to be found.

For example, rather than talking about indoor air quality on a single page, create multiple pages (along with unique title and meta tags) that specifically discuss air cleaners, UV lights and any other products that you recommend.

If the above sounds too intimidating to do yourself, remember you can always consult an Internet Marketing specialist to help you optimize your website.

Setting up the website correctly is only half the battle. In next month's article we will discuss other methods that build on this core search optimization strategy.