hvac-marketing-skills/skills/hvac-contractor-website-audit/SKILL.md

---
name: hvac-contractor-website-audit
description: "When the user wants to audit an HVAC contractor's website. Use when the user mentions 'audit this site,' 'contractor website review,' 'competitive analysis,' 'website audit,' or 'check this contractor's website.' Crawls up to 30 pages per site, extracts content, classifies quality, and benchmarks against local competitors. Skill 1 of 2 — feeds into hvac-contractor-website-package for marketing package assembly."
metadata:
  version: 2.0.0
  category: discovery-audit
  tier: core
compendium:
  mode: required
  tools: [browse, scrape, search, classify, db, analyze, fetch]
---

## Overview

You are an HVAC website auditor and competitor analyst. Your role is to comprehensively evaluate a contractor's web presence, identify marketing gaps and trust signal deficiencies, and benchmark them against local competition. This is **Skill 1 of 2**—the discovery phase that feeds into the `hvac-contractor-website-package` (Skill 2), which creates the actionable marketing package.

## Crawl Controls

- **Max pages per site**: 30 pages (prevents infinite loops)
- **Max crawl depth**: 3 levels from domain root
- **Domain lock**: Never crawl outside the target domain (no external link following)
- **Respect robots.txt**: Check before crawling
- **Screenshot all pages**: Home, About, Services, Contact, Reviews, Blog (if any)

## Step 1: Discovery & Audit

### Input Requirements
- **Contractor website URL** (from `hvac.contractors` table or provided by user)
- **Geographic market** (for competitor lookup)
- **Service types** (residential, commercial, HVAC-only, or full mechanical)

### Phase 1A: Website Structure & Crawl

1. **Fetch robots.txt and sitemap.xml**
   ```
   GET https://[contractor-domain]/robots.txt
   GET https://[contractor-domain]/sitemap.xml
   ```

2. **Identify critical pages to screenshot**
   - Home page (hero, key messaging, CTA)
   - About/Company page (credibility signals, team bios)
   - Services (main service categories and subpages)
   - Contact page (phone, email, form, hours, service area)
   - Reviews/Testimonials (if separate page)
   - Blog/Resources (if any educational content)

3. **Use Playwright MCP to screenshot each page**
   - Full-page screenshot (mobile AND desktop)
   - Save to `contractor-packages/{contractor-name}/audit/screenshots/`
   - Name pattern: `page-slug-desktop.png`, `page-slug-mobile.png`

4. **Extract structured data**
   ```javascript
   {
     "page_url": "https://example.com/services",
     "page_title": "[h1 text]",
     "meta_description": "[meta desc]",
     "ctas": ["[button text]", "..."],
     "form_fields": ["name", "email", "service_type", "phone"],
     "phone_number": "[extracted]",
     "email": "[extracted]",
     "service_area": "[city/region]",
     "images": ["count", "alt_text_coverage_%"]
   }
   ```

5. **Check Core Web Vitals & accessibility**
   - Page load time (Lighthouse audit)
   - Mobile responsiveness
   - Form functionality
   - Button click zones (mobile UX)

### Phase 1B: Content Classification

Use Compendium `classify` tool on extracted copy:

```
Input: Full page body text
Output:
  - Content type: [marketing, educational, technical, testimonial]
  - Technical level: [beginner, intermediate, expert]
  - Tone: [casual, professional, educational]
  - Trust signals: [true/false + specific signals found]
  - Call-to-action: [present/missing] + [type: phone, form, link]
```

### Phase 1C: Key Audit Findings

Document in `audit-report.md`:

#### Trust Signals Audit
- [ ] **License/Certification displayed** (EPA 608, NATE, local business license)
- [ ] **Years in business** mentioned (establishes longevity)
- [ ] **Team photos & bios** (faces build trust, especially technicians)
- [ ] **Awards/Certifications** (Carrier/Lennox/Trane dealer badges, employee certifications)
- [ ] **Customer testimonials** (5+ reviews, recent dates, specificity)
- [ ] **Service area clarity** (map, list of service cities, "we serve [X] area")
- [ ] **Emergency/24-hour availability** clearly stated
- [ ] **Warranty information** visible (labor & parts)

#### Content Gaps
- [ ] **No "About Us"** or too thin (missing credibility foundation)
- [ ] **Services listed but not explained** (no why/how/when for each service)
- [ ] **No testimonials or reviews** (friction point for decision)
- [ ] **Technical content absent** (no guides, tips, educational value)
- [ ] **Seasonal messaging missing** (AC prep in spring, heat pump topics)
- [ ] **Mobile experience broken** (buttons unclickable, text unreadable)

#### SEO Findings
- **Meta titles**: Optimized for keywords? (check home, services pages)
- **Meta descriptions**: Present & compelling? Coverage %
- **H1 tag**: Unique per page? Strategic keywords?
- **Image alt text**: Present on key images? % coverage
- **Internal linking**: Service pages linked from home? Clear hierarchy?
- **Schema markup**: Missing JSON-LD for LocalBusiness, Service, Review?
- **Local SEO**: Google Business Profile link? Local keywords in copy?
- **Mobile optimization**: Passing Core Web Vitals?

#### Call-to-Action Audit
```
CTA Type        | Present | Where                 | Specificity
Phone           | Y/N     | [page]                | Generic vs qualified
Online Form     | Y/N     | [page]                | Short vs long
Schedule Button | Y/N     | [page]                | "Book Now" vs vague
Chat Widget     | Y/N     | [Y/N]                 | Sales vs support
Email Contact   | Y/N     | [page]                | Generic vs specific
```

### Phase 1D: Store Extracted Content

Save all extracted page copy to `contractor-packages/{contractor-name}/audit/extracted-copy/`:

```
extracted-copy/
├── home.md
├── about.md
├── services.md
├── contact.md
├── reviews.md
└── [other-pages].md
```

Each file: original text as-is, plus metadata (page URL, h1, meta description).

## Step 2: Competitive Analysis

### Phase 2A: Identify Competitors

Use `search` tool to find top 3 local competitors:

```
Query: "HVAC repair [city]" OR "air conditioning service [city]"
Filter: Exclude target contractor, same service type, same geography
Result: Top 3 by relevance + local SEO ranking
```

Store competitor URLs in audit working file.

### Phase 2B: Parallel Audit Top 3 Competitors

For each competitor, repeat Phase 1 (crawl, screenshot, extract) but budget max **10 pages per competitor** (tighter to save time).

### Phase 2C: Comparative Analysis

Document in `competitive-analysis.md`:

#### Messaging Matrix
```
| Aspect | Your Contractor | Competitor 1 | Competitor 2 | Competitor 3 |
|--------|-----------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| Primary message | [headline] | [headline] | [headline] | [headline] |
| Years in business | [stated] | [stated] | [stated] | [stated] |
| Service area | [coverage] | [coverage] | [coverage] | [coverage] |
| Main differentiator | [stated/inferred] | ... | ... | ... |
| CTA prominence | [rating] | [rating] | [rating] | [rating] |
| Mobile UX | [rating] | [rating] | [rating] | [rating] |
```

#### Trust Signals Comparison
```
Signals | Your | C1 | C2 | C3 | Trend
License visible | Y/N | Y/N | Y/N | Y/N | Gap?
Team photos | Y/N | Y/N | Y/N | Y/N | Opportunity
Testimonials | [#] | [#] | [#] | [#] | Competitive level
Certifications | [types] | [types] | [types] | [types] | Missing types?
```

#### Content Strategy Gaps
- **Where are competitors winning?** (detailed service pages, educational blog, etc.)
- **Where is your contractor stronger?** (better CTAs, more testimonials, better UX)
- **What's missing from the whole market?** (seasonal guides, financing info, emergency response times)

#### Local SEO Competitive Landscape
- **Google Business Profile quality**: Yours vs competitors (photos, reviews, rating, completeness %)
- **Local keyword rankings**: Check top 3 for "[service] [city]" keywords
- **Content volume**: Blog posts, guides, educational content across all competitors
- **Social media presence**: Instagram followers, LinkedIn activity, recent posts

## Step 3: Deliverables

Write all outputs to `contractor-packages/{contractor-name}/audit/`:

### audit-report.md
```markdown
# Website Audit Report
[Contractor Name]

## Executive Summary
[1-2 sentence overview of site health, primary gaps, opportunity level]

## Site Structure & Performance
[Phase 1A findings: crawlability, page load, mobile UX, screenshots]

## Trust Signals Analysis
[Checklist results from Phase 1C with specific examples]

## Content Findings
[Copy classification, gaps, tone analysis]

## SEO Findings
[Meta titles, descriptions, schema, local SEO status]

## Call-to-Action Audit
[CTA table, friction points, conversion optimization opportunities]

## Top 3 Priority Fixes
1. [Gap with highest impact]
2. [Gap with medium impact]
3. [Gap with quick-win potential]

## Next Steps
[Recommendations for Skill 2: hvac-contractor-website-package]
```

### screenshots/
Store all page screenshots (desktop + mobile) with descriptive filenames.

### competitive-analysis.md
```markdown
# Competitive Analysis Report
[Contractor Name]

## Competitors Analyzed
- [Competitor 1 URL]
- [Competitor 2 URL]
- [Competitor 3 URL]

## Messaging Comparison Table
[Matrix from Phase 2C]

## Trust Signals Benchmark
[Where contractor stands vs competition]

## Content Strategy Gaps
[Specific opportunities from competitor analysis]

## Local SEO Landscape
[Rankings, GBP quality, social presence]

## Recommendations
[Specific actions to differentiate in market]
```

### seo-findings.md
```markdown
# SEO Findings & Opportunities
[Contractor Name]

## Current State
[Technical SEO score, mobile-friendly status, Core Web Vitals]

## Priority 1: Critical Issues
[Broken schema, mobile UX problems, crawl errors]

## Priority 2: Content Optimization
[Missing keywords, thin pages, schema opportunities]

## Priority 3: Local SEO Quick Wins
[GBP optimization, local citations, review generation]

## Keyword Opportunities
[Based on competitor and market analysis]
```

### extracted-copy/ (directory)
Individual markdown files per page with original copy + metadata.

## Quality Checklist

Before finalizing audit:

- [ ] All critical pages screenshotted (desktop + mobile)
- [ ] Extracted copy stored and organized
- [ ] Content classified using Compendium tools
- [ ] Trust signals documented with examples
- [ ] SEO findings specific and actionable
- [ ] Competitive analysis includes messaging matrix
- [ ] Top 3 gaps/opportunities clear and prioritized
- [ ] Deliverables organized in contractor directory
- [ ] Ready to hand off to hvac-contractor-website-package skill

## Compendium Integration

Reference `COMPENDIUM_INTEGRATION.md` for:
- Querying `hvac.contractors` table for target contractor
- Using `classify` endpoint for content analysis
- Pulling competitor data from `search` tool
- Storing audit findings in structured database format
- Monitoring competitor content changes over time

## Related Skills

- **hvac-contractor-website-package** — Takes audit output, creates marketing package
- **hvac-brand-voice** — Informs competitive messaging analysis
- **hvac-compliance-claims** — Audits claim accuracy in competitor content
- **hvac-content-qc** — Quality-checks extracted copy for factuality

---

**Last Updated**: 2026-03
**Status**: Active
**Related Docs**: `COMPENDIUM_INTEGRATION.md`, `.agents/hvac-marketing-context.md`