Knowing where to get good vitamin C is important to your health and knowing how to get good quality citations is important for your presence on Google Maps.

Why Google Maps are Important to HVAC Contractors Financial Health

The significance of Google Maps to HVAC contractors is great. Google Maps act as both a search engine (because it helps users find the services they are searching for) and a location finder (because it delivers a map).

Consider that more than 60% of mobile searches are location-based and the first stop for many of these users is the “snack pack”, which are the three companies listed at the top of the Google Map search results.

Fast Facts For Google Maps

Getting on the Google Map requires a shift in thinking because it has a completely different algorithm than the one that affects your website.

• Google does not specify how many maps there are for HVAC terms, however, we’ve identified over 1000 listings in some areas.
• Map listings are dynamic — just like web rankings change, so do the companies that show up on the map.
• Just because your company is on the map today, does not mean you’ll stay on the map.
• If you’re not on a map listing, you can “bump” your competitor off.
• Citations are one of the key ingredients in the algorithm.

Citations Are Key to Bursting on the Scene of Google Maps

Citations are a driving factor that elevate you from your competitors. What is a citation? It refers to the occurrence of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) online.  The more places Google identifies these attributes online, the better.

How Google Compares Your Company to Your Competitors

What prompts Google to place one contractor on a map listing and not another? 

The Google My Business map listing is built around an algorithm that has to do with your location, your relevancy, your review profile, and the number of and quality of your citations. 

Quality is measured by the relevancy and authority of the website providing the citation. The higher the relevancy, the better. The higher the authority, the better.

Where Will You Find High Quality Citations?

The higher the relevancy and authority of the citation, the greater the boost your company will get.  In other words, one high quality, high authority citation is more valuable than hundreds of low-quality citations.

Here is a short list of citation types ranked from highest to lowest relevancy:

• Industry niche or sector specific directories;
• Associations like ACCA, ACHR News, and others;
• Industry specific blog posts;
• General business directories (like Yelp);
• Associations;
• Local newspaper; and
• Social profiles

How to Beat Your Competition with Citations

Get more high-quality citations than your competitor. Remember that quality trumps quantity every day.  Look for a quality directory in which the citation has high value in Google’s eyes.

Make sure your address is presented exactly as it is on your website and that all your NAPs display exactly the same way. As an example, if you spell out the word south in your address, make sure it is not abbreviated in other places.

A Plan to Get More Quality Citations

Ask yourself: Where do you want to grow? Start a top five list of products or services you would like greater visibility on. Then ask yourself: Where can you get your company’s NAP listed somewhere off your website?

Help Google connect the dots. Google is looking for a reference off your website that corroborates what you say on your website. So when you want to grow ductless, look for a highly relevant, high-quality reference for ductless. If you want more service business, look for a highly relevant and high-quality reference to validate your service business.

Additionally, seek out opportunities to get featured in blog posts and articles, where you can possibly get a backlink, a citation, and third-party reference.

If your visibility on Google Map is lacking, the remedy could be easier than you think. It’s possible to burst onto the scene with a healthy dose of vitamin C: High quality citations for your company.