Google Ads for HVAC companies: Campaigns, budgets and seasons
An AC repair search in July and a furnace replacement search in October are different customers with different values. Your Google Ads account should treat them differently.
HVAC PPC is not one campaign. It is at least three businesses sharing an account: urgent repairs, high-value replacements and low-cost maintenance. Each needs a different message and budget, and all three change with the thermometer.
Campaign structure
Repair. Keywords such as "ac repair near me", "furnace repair", "heat pump not working". Ads lead with speed, same-day availability and the phone number. These are the highest-volume searches and usually the lowest average ticket.
Replacement. Keywords such as "new ac unit cost", "furnace replacement", "heat pump installation". Ads lead with financing, brands you install, warranties and reviews. These searches are fewer and worth far more.
Maintenance. Keywords such as "ac tune up", "furnace maintenance". Ads lead with price and booking ease. Good for the shoulder seasons and for filling technician time.
Separating these means your replacement budget is not spent on $150 repair calls, and your repair campaign can respond to demand without starving the others.
Budgets that follow the weather
A flat monthly budget overspends in mild weeks and runs out in heat waves. Review budgets at least weekly in peak seasons. Many HVAC companies raise repair budgets as soon as temperatures pass a set threshold, and lower them when the schedule is full. See an HVAC marketing plan built around the seasons.
Location and schedule
Target your real service area with presence-based location targeting. If you do not take after-hours calls, schedule repair ads to stop when nobody can answer, or route after-hours calls to an answering service. Replacement ads can run more evenly, because people research those in the evening.
Call ads and call tracking
Most HVAC leads arrive by phone. Add call assets to every campaign, use call ads for mobile repair searches, and count calls as conversions only above a minimum duration. Use call tracking on your website so calls from ad visitors are also counted.
Negative keywords
Add negatives for jobs, training, parts, DIY and brands or equipment you do not service. For replacement campaigns, consider excluding "repair" so small jobs stay in the repair campaign. See negative keywords for service businesses.
Landing pages
Send each campaign to a matching page. Repair pages need a large phone number, service area and response time. Replacement pages need financing, brands, warranty terms and reviews. Maintenance pages need a price and a booking button.
Teach Google what a good lead is
If you can, import booked jobs and replacement sales back into Google Ads. Automated bidding then optimizes for jobs, not just calls. See offline conversion tracking.
Illustrative example
These numbers are invented to show the effect of separating campaigns.
An HVAC company runs one campaign at $6,000 a month and books 60 jobs, 4 of them replacements. After splitting, it spends $3,500 on repair, $2,000 on replacement and $500 on maintenance. Total jobs stay similar, but replacements rise to 8, adding roughly $35,000 in monthly revenue.
Where to start
Split your account into repair, replacement and maintenance, and review budgets weekly during peaks. Make sure every call is tracked.
Our Google Ads management service builds HVAC accounts this way, and our HVAC lead generation page explains how we work with HVAC companies. If you would like us to review your account, request a free audit.
Questions owners ask
Is PPC worth it for HVAC companies?
For most, yes. Search ads reach people who need heating or cooling help now, and replacement jobs in particular justify the click costs.
How much should an HVAC company spend on Google Ads?
It varies by market. Set budgets from what you can pay per booked job, and raise or lower them with seasonal demand and capacity.
Should HVAC companies run Local Services Ads?
Usually, yes. They charge per lead and appear above standard search ads. Running both increases your visibility on the same search.
Want us to look at your own numbers?
Get a free lead generation audit. We will review your ads, landing pages and tracking, and show you where enquiries are slipping away. If nothing is broken, we will tell you that too.
LeadWise MarketingAn owner-operated lead generation agency based in Cape Town, South Africa, working with service businesses across the United States and Europe. More about LeadWise.
