Google Ads works for HVAC when the account is built around the calls that turn into jobs. That means separate campaigns for emergency repair, system replacement and maintenance, tracking that counts booked calls rather than clicks, a weekly habit of cutting wasted searches, and landing pages that match what the person searched for. Most HVAC accounts that “don’t work” are missing one of those four, not Google Ads itself.
Nathan Synoground has managed $3.8M in Google Ads for HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies across 19 accounts. This is how we build them.
Start with tracking, not ads
Before a single keyword, decide what counts as a win. For an HVAC company the answer is a booked job, and the closest thing Google can see is a qualified phone call.
Set up:
- Call tracking on ads and on the site, so a call from an ad is counted as an ad call even if the customer dialed from your website.
- A minimum call length that filters out hang-ups and wrong numbers.
- Form tracking for quote requests.
- A way to mark booked jobs, ideally by importing them from your dispatch or CRM, so Google learns which calls were worth money.
Without this, Google’s automated bidding optimizes toward whatever you call a conversion. If a thirty-second call from a parts supplier counts the same as a furnace replacement, the system will happily find you more parts suppliers.
Split the account by job type
An emergency AC repair, a full system replacement and a spring tune-up are three different buyers. They search differently, they are worth very different amounts to you, and they need different ads.
Repair and emergency. Searches like “AC not cooling,” “furnace repair near me,” “emergency HVAC.” These people want someone today. The ad should lead with availability and your phone number. Run these during the hours your phones are answered, and bid hardest when it is hottest or coldest.
Replacement and installation. Searches like “new AC unit cost,” “heat pump installation,” “replace furnace.” Higher value and longer decision. The ad should sell the free estimate and the financing options you actually offer.
Maintenance and tune-ups. Searches like “AC tune up,” “furnace maintenance.” Lower ticket, but these customers become your maintenance plan members and your future replacements.
Keeping them apart lets you set budgets by what each is worth and move money between them as the season changes. Lump them together and the cheapest clicks eat the budget.
Keywords and the search terms report
Use phrase and exact match for your core services and add broad match only once tracking is solid and you have negatives in place. Then read the search terms report every week. That report shows what people actually typed before they clicked, and it is where HVAC budgets leak.
Common waste to block:
- Job seekers: “HVAC jobs,” “HVAC technician salary,” “HVAC school.”
- DIY: “how to fix,” “reset thermostat,” “AC filter size.”
- Parts and supply: “capacitor,” “compressor for sale,” “supply house.”
- Brands you do not service and towns you do not drive to.
A list like this should be live before launch and grow every week after.
Ads and landing pages that match
A repair click should land on a repair page with your phone number at the top and a short reason to call you now. A replacement click should land on a page that sells the estimate, explains the process and shows the brands you install. Sending every click to your homepage makes the visitor hunt, and many will not.
In the ads themselves, use what is true and specific about you: the brands you carry, the areas you serve, real offers you run, and call extensions so mobile users can dial straight from the ad. Avoid claims you cannot back up.
Bidding and budget
Start with manual or conversion-focused bidding based on how much call data you have. Automated bidding like Maximize Conversions needs a steady flow of tracked conversions to learn well. With thin data it guesses.
Budget should follow the weather and your capacity. When a heat wave hits, repair searches spike and every competitor bids up. If your crews are already booked out, there is no point paying peak prices for calls you cannot run. In the shoulder months, move money toward replacement and maintenance plans. Our guide to marketing through HVAC’s slow seasons covers this in detail.
Where Local Services Ads fit
Google’s Local Services Ads show above regular search ads for many HVAC searches, and you pay per lead instead of per click. They do not replace search ads, because they show for fewer searches and only a few businesses appear at once. Most HVAC companies do best running both. See Google Local Services Ads for HVAC and how we run HVAC Local Services Ads.
What about Performance Max?
Performance Max spreads your budget across search, Maps, YouTube, display and Gmail. It can work for HVAC once search is profitable and tracking counts booked jobs. Before that, it tends to find cheap, low-quality leads quickly, because that is what weak tracking tells it to find. We treat it as a later step, not a starting point.
A weekly routine that keeps an HVAC account healthy
- Read the search terms report and add negatives.
- Check call recordings or call outcomes for a sample of ad calls.
- Compare cost per booked call across repair, replacement and maintenance.
- Move budget toward what is booking.
- Check ad schedules against when your phones are answered.
That routine is boring, and it is most of the job.
Want someone to look at your account?
We built this page and we rank ourselves first, so judge us by the same checklist. Read how we run HVAC Google Ads, see the agency rankings, or ask for a free review of your account below.