Most HVAC ad accounts I open are one campaign, a pile of broad keywords and a homepage, and the owner is paying for every bad click that setup invites.
TL;DR Split your account by the job, not by the season. Keep repair, replacement and maintenance in separate campaigns with their own keywords, ads and pages. Build a real negative keyword list on day one. Track every call, or you are guessing.
Why HVAC ads go wrong so fast
Heating and cooling is a panic trade for half the year and a research trade for the other half. Someone with no heat on a January night types very different words than someone pricing a heat pump in April.
When both of those people land in one campaign, Google spends your money on whichever one is cheaper to reach. That is rarely the one you want.
Build campaigns around the job
Here is how I lay out Google Ads for HVAC companies. Each campaign gets its own budget, so a cold snap cannot drain the money set aside for installs.
| Campaign | What the searcher wants | Example keywords | Where the click goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency repair | Heat or AC back on, now | furnace repair near me, no heat repair, ac not cooling | Repair page with a big phone button |
| Replacement and install | A new system, a fair quote | furnace replacement, heat pump installation, central air installation | Install page with a quote form and financing info if you offer it |
| Maintenance | A tune-up before the season | furnace tune up, ac maintenance, hvac service plan | Maintenance plan page |
| Ductless and heat pumps | A specific product they already researched | ductless mini split installation, cold climate heat pump | Dedicated heat pump page |
Never mix emergency repair with installs. The intent is too different and the ads should say different things.
Keywords: tight, local, and matched on purpose
Start with phrase match and exact match on the terms that clearly mean a job. Broad match can work later, once you have call data to feed it. Starting there is how accounts fill up with junk.
Group keywords by service so every ad group reads like one promise. “Boiler repair” keywords get a boiler repair ad. Not a generic “Heating and Cooling Experts” headline.
If you are running Google Ads for air conditioning companies, think in terms of symptoms, not jargon. Homeowners search “ac blowing warm air” and “ac leaking water” long before they search “condenser repair.”
Negative keywords are half the work
A strong negative list protects your budget from people who will never hire you. I build one shared list and attach it to every campaign.
- Job seekers: jobs, hiring, salary, apprentice, technician training, school
- Do-it-yourselfers: how to, diy, manual, diagram, reset, wiring
- Parts shoppers: parts, filter, thermostat for sale, wholesale, supply house
- Wrong service: car ac, auto, window unit, rental, commercial refrigeration if you do not do it
- Brand support lines: the manufacturer name plus “customer service” or “warranty registration”
Then I read the search terms report every week for the first month. That is where most of the waste hides.
Location and schedule settings that matter
In location settings, choose people who are in or regularly in your service area. The other option also reaches people who are only interested in your area, and that is how a South Shore contractor ends up paying for clicks from Florida.
Draw your map around where your vans actually go, and leave out towns you do not want calls from in July.
Set your ad schedule to match how you answer the phone. If nobody picks up after hours, either pause emergency ads overnight or make sure an answering service is on the line.
Call tracking is not optional
Most HVAC jobs start with a phone call. If the account only counts form fills, Google is learning from the wrong thing.
On tracking numbers. Use Google’s call reporting for calls from the ad itself, and a call tracking provider with dynamic number insertion on your website so the number changes for ad visitors. Keep your main business number on your Google Business Profile so your listing stays consistent.
On what counts. Set a minimum call length so wrong numbers and hang-ups do not count as conversions. Then listen to a sample of recordings. You will learn which keywords bring real service calls and which bring tire kickers.
If you want the deeper version of this, I wrote about running call-only ads the right way.
Landing pages that book the job
Sending ad traffic to your homepage is like answering the phone with your whole price book. Each campaign needs a page that matches the search.
- The headline repeats the problem: “Furnace Repair in Plymouth County” beats “Welcome.”
- Phone number at the top, tap to call on mobile.
- Your license and insurance noted plainly, plus real photos of your techs and vans.
- Recent reviews from the towns you serve.
- A short form for installs, three or four fields at most.
- Fast load. Google web.dev calls a Largest Contentful Paint of 2.5 seconds or less “good,” and a homeowner standing in a cold house will not wait longer.SourceLargest Contentful Paint (LCP)Google, web.dev, Current guidanceRead the source →
This is the same thinking behind how I work with HVAC companies: fewer pages, each one doing one job well.
What to do today
Open your Google Ads account and look at the search terms report for the last month. Add every irrelevant search to a negative list before you touch anything else. If you are not sure what is leaking, the free Receipt will show you how your business looks when someone goes searching.
Rather hand it off? Run the free audit or book a 30-minute call.