Homeowners have started using Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to find local HVAC Companies.
While Google remains the dominant source of HVAC lead generation and yields 11x more monthly unique visitors than ChatGPT, we are still in the early stages of AI adoption.
Most HVAC businesses want to take advantage of the new channel to engage with prospects, and others want to prepare for the future of AI search.
Improving your company’s visibility on AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity is known as LLMO or large language model optimization.
Below, I’ll explain how to implement LLMO into your HVAC marketing strategy:
Factors That Influence ChatGPT and LLM Visibility
Brand Mentions
How frequently credible online sources mention your HVAC business or “brand” directly influences LLM results.
Your brand can include all variations of your company name and location and anything a user would type in while intending to find your company.
For example, if your business name is Air Pro Heating & Cooling, LLC, the exact version of your official business name and variations like Air Pro Heating and Cooling or Air Pro Heating Denver (based on your location) all relate to your brand.
Domain Authority
LLMs like ChatGPT also consider domain authority, although they likely use a different formula than Moz, Ahrefs, or Majestic.
Nevertheless, the authority of your domain will impact your LLM visibility just like it does on Google, Bing, and other search engines.
Domain authority is mainly determined by the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to your domain and their consistency over time.
Relevance to User’s Chat
LLM chat responses like those from ChatGPT are often even more personalized than Google results.
Most users are logged into ChatGPT before starting a chat, meaning responses may be based on previous chat history.
Furthermore, the context in which a question is asked has a broader range than a standard Google keyword, and the user may ask a distinct follow-up question, impacting the responses.
Business Listings and Citations
LLMs are also trained on business listings and citations from Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp, and Better Business Bureau.
NAP Consistency and reviews (with responses) generate positive LLM signals for HVAC companies.
ChatGPT may rely on Facebook recommendations more than other review types, making it a worthwhile consideration for HVAC businesses.
E-E-A-T
Google’s E-E-A-T acronym also applies to LLMs. While Google’s Gemini AI platform is more closely related to the specific E-E-A-T guidelines, other platforms still use the same or similar principles.
The point remains: expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness impact how LLMs view and grade your HVAC business.
Sometimes E-E-A-T can feel more like a concept than something tangible, so consider the example of jobsite social proof in which your website shows evidence of recent HVAC jobs.
What HVAC Companies Can Do to Optimize on ChatGPT / LLMs
Invest in Digital PR
LLMs analyze and predict language sequentially with words or phrases. For example, “air” is tangentially related to “conditioner” but also “purifier” and “quality.”
You can use digital PR to ensure your local HVAC company is put in the proper context for LLM training data.
For example, if your digital PR campaign results in your company appearing on lists like “10 best HVAC companies in Denver,” your company will begin to be associated with “best” and “Denver,” which is precisely what you want.
Build a Digital Brand Through SEO
Ditch old-school SEO agencies and tactics such as stuffing keywords or mass-producing pages. Instated, focus on building a brand through digital signals.
It starts by creating a Google Business Profile and multiple social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) so you can establish a brand footprint.
From there, you must consistently send out brand signals like customer reviews, credible backlinks, social proof, and mentions.
Showcase HVAC Jobs With Social Proof
Use a tool like DataPins to showcase jobsite check-ins on your website and its various pages.
DataPins consolidates dozens of local SEO signals, such as scheme markup, geo-coordinates, mini-maps, unique job photos, SEO-friendly job descriptions, and more.
Not only do traditional search engines like Google pick up these signals, but LLMs like ChatGPT do as well.
Engage on Reddit and Other Forums
Reddit is a foundational part of how many LLMs have been trained. As a result, a thread discussing your HVAC business or HVAC companies in your location may become a training data set for ChatGPT.
You can participate in these threads directly but do so at your discretion. Anything that sounds promotional or manipulative will be banned by moderators or ridiculed by other users.
Consider hosting a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) about your HVAC business to strengthen your brand and provide new information from your perspective.
Examples of ChatGPT Optimization for HVAC Companies
How can local HVAC businesses know that any of these strategies for ranking on LLMs actually work? We have examples of actual companies ranking on ChatPT using the abovementioned tactics.
ChatGPT Map Ranking
The screenshot below shows one of our HVAC Webmasters’ clients in the #1 map position on ChatGPT.
This client used the strategies outlined throughout this guide (with our assistance) to secure this ranking.
ChatGPT Text Ranking
The example below shows ChatGPT recommending another of our clients’ #1 and directly referring to a recent project (thanks to DataPins).
The top ranking increases prospect engagement, and the thorough and detailed description converts users with a specific intent.
Summary of How To Optimize Your HVAC Company for LLMs
Throughout this guide, you’ve learned which factors ChatGPT and other LLMs use to generate responses.
For example, brand mentions, domain authority, relevance, citations, and E-E-A-T play a role.
We introduced multiple proven strategies to influence your HVAC company’s visibility within AI responses based on those factors.
Whether digital PR, branded SEO, DataPins, or Reddit engagement, these strategies have succeeded in the HVAC industry.
To learn more about optimizing your HVAC business for LLMs like ChatGPT, contact my agency for a free consultation.
