How HVAC Companies Get Local Links From Other Trades

What to Confirm Before Writing With Another Trade

An HVAC company's name next to a partner's is a recommendation, so confirm a few trade-specific things first. The general tests are in checking a local partner before you link. The ones below come up in heating and cooling work.

Should Duct Cleaning Come Before or After a New Furnace?

Duct cleaners are the easiest partner for an HVAC company. Homeowners put the same scheduling question to both of you, and the answer depends on the job.

Same house, same week: A homeowner replacing a 20-year-old furnace wonders whether the old ducts should be cleaned first, or whether the install will stir everything up again.

Duct Cleaning and a New Furnace, in the Right Order: This one is for your site. Explain what you see inside old ductwork during a replacement and when you suggest a cleaning. Quote the duct cleaner on what a cleaning can't fix, such as a leaking or undersized duct.

Coordinating Duct Cleaning With HVAC Maintenance: This one is for the duct cleaner's site. The cleaner explains its process and how often it's worth doing. You add a paragraph on what a tune-up covers, so readers know the two visits aren't the same thing.

Splitting the work: The duct cleaner speaks to dust, debris and dryer vents, and you speak to the equipment, the airflow and the repairs.

Does Insulation Change the Size of Furnace You Need?

Insulation contractors change how much heating and cooling a house needs, and that's the figure an HVAC company sizes equipment from. The order of the two jobs is a real question for a homeowner planning both.

Same house, same week: A homeowner with a hot second floor has a quote for a bigger air conditioner and another for attic insulation. Which comes first isn't obvious.

Insulate First or Replace the Furnace First: Write this for your site. Explain how you work out the size of a system and why added insulation can change the result. Leave savings figures out.

Before we size a new system, we suggest asking an insulation contractor whether the attic is due for an upgrade.

Attic Insulation Before a New Heating System: Suggest this for the contractor's site. The contractor describes what an upgrade involves and how to tell when the attic is the problem, and you add what you'd measure again afterward.

Splitting the work: The insulation contractor covers the shell of the house, and you cover the equipment and the load calculation.

Why Would a Chimney Sweep Care About a New Furnace?

Chimney sweeps want to know when a furnace stops venting into a chimney. That change can raise questions about the flue or liner that's left. Few homeowners connect the two jobs until someone points it out.

Same house, same week: A homeowner swaps an old furnace for a high-efficiency model that vents through the side wall. The water heater is now the only appliance on the old chimney.

Replacing a Furnace? Check the Old Chimney Connection: Publish this on your site. Explain how the new furnace vents and what you tell homeowners about appliances still using the chimney. Ask the sweep what a flue inspection looks at, and quote the answer.

When a Heating Appliance Uses a Chimney Flue: This goes on the sweep's site. The sweep explains liners and inspections, and you add a paragraph on how a homeowner can tell which appliances vent where.

Splitting the work: The sweep covers the flue and the liner, and you cover the appliances and their venting. Both articles say plainly that a carbon monoxide concern needs someone on site.

When Should a Remodeling Contractor Call the HVAC Company?

Remodeling contractors bring an HVAC company into additions, finished basements and kitchen renovations. Those jobs go better when the call comes before the walls are closed.

Same house, same week: A family finishes its basement, and the existing furnace now has to heat a floor it wasn't sized for.

Heating and Cooling a New Addition or Finished Basement: Write this for your site. Lay out the options, such as extending the ducts, adding a zone or installing a ductless unit, and what decides between them. Quote the contractor on where mechanical work falls in the schedule.

HVAC Planning in a Home Renovation: Offer this for the contractor's site. The contractor explains where heating and cooling fits in the budget and the timeline, and you spell out the details you need from the plans.

Splitting the work: The contractor owns the schedule and the structure, and you own the load calculation, the ductwork and the equipment.

What Your First Message to Another Trade Should Say

A first message to a duct cleaner or a remodeling contractor works when it reads like one tradesperson writing to another. Four things belong in it.

• A recent job you both worked on, because it shows you aren't a stranger.
• The homeowner question you want to answer, so the partner can see the article is useful.
• An offer to do the drafting yourself, since most small shops have nobody to write.
• One question you'd like to quote the partner on. The guide to requesting a quote from a local expert has wording you can borrow.

Send it only after you've confirmed the business works in your service area and keeps its Google Business Profile up to date.

Dealer Locators and Certifications Are Listings, Not Partners

Your equipment brand's dealer locator, a certification body's contractor directory and the utility's list of rebate contractors are all worth claiming. They are also a different kind of link. Each is a directory listing that any qualified competitor can get too. An article with the chimney sweep down the road exists only because the two of you work together.

For HVAC companies, each row in this table is one of those working partners, with the job you'd write about.

HVAC Link Building Questions From Owners

Do links from other trades help an HVAC company rank in Google Maps?

They can. Google's own explanation of local rankings says a business's prominence comes partly from the information Google has about it from around the web, and it names links and articles as examples. An article on an insulation contractor's site that names your company is that kind of information. It sits beside distance and reviews, so treat it as one part of the work, with no promised result.

Can an HVAC company partner with a duct cleaner if it also cleans ducts?

Yes, if you agree on the line first. Many heating and cooling companies offer duct cleaning as an add-on, so pick a partner whose main work you don't chase. You can also write about the part you don't compete on, such as dryer vents. If either of you would hesitate to refer a customer, choose a different partner.

When should an HVAC company publish partner articles?

Shortly before the season it covers. A furnace and chimney article belongs in early fall, and one about attic insulation and air conditioning belongs in spring. That's when homeowners start searching and when your partner still has time to answer questions. In midwinter both of you are out on emergency calls.

Local Trades an HVAC Company Can Partner With, and Where to Find Them

You know the trades you run into on jobs. What you can't see from the truck is which duct cleaners and remodelers near you keep up a real website. You also can't see who would put a name on an article.

Beyond the four above, Local Link Match pairs residential HVAC companies with appliance stores, property managers, home inspectors, real estate agents and window tinting companies. The list also has a few you might not expect, such as piano tuners and instrument repair shops, whose customers ask about humidity, plus assisted living homes and answering services.

Local Link Match connects an HVAC company with local businesses whose work meets yours on a job. It also considers how established each one is in the area. Browse real matches for your service area before you create an account, from insulation contractors to chimney sweeps.

Sign up once you've found a trade you'd like to write with.