September 12, 2024

Leveraging PPC Ads for HVAC Success: An Easy Guide for HVAC Companies

Christian Watson

PPC Advertising

If you own, manage or in a marketing position of an HVAC company, you’re likely always looking for ways to get more calls and increase your leads. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is through Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.

PPC ads can help your business appear in front of a potential customer right when they need your services the most. Whether it’s a broken AC on a hot summer day or a furnace tune-up before winter sets in. But is running a successful PPC campaign that simple?

Not exactly! PPC can be a competitive space, especially for HVAC companies. However, with the right approach and strategy, it’s a game-changer. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how PPC works for HVAC businesses and what you need to succeed.

Why Should HVAC Companies Invest in PPC?

PPC advertising allows you to pay only when someone clicks on your ad, which means your budget is spent on people who are actively searching for HVAC services. Timing is everything, and PPC is perfect for HVAC companies because your customers usually need services on the spot.

With PPC, you can target high-intent customers, putting your business in front of those who are ready to book.

Key HVAC PPC Campaign Strategies

To get the most out of your PPC campaigns, it’s important to understand the specific needs of your HVAC business. Here are some strategies tailored to different aspects of HVAC services:

General HVAC Services

Comprehensive Keywords: Use a mix of keywords for heating and cooling services to cover your year-round offerings. Separating these into specific Ad Groups so you can target your ad copy and landing pages.
Flexible Ad Copy: Highlight a variety of services so you can easily adjust based on seasonal demand.
Seasonal Promotions: Offer discounts for furnace tune-ups in the winter or AC maintenance in the summer.

Air Conditioning (AC) Services

Seasonal Focus: Target keywords like “AC installation” or “emergency AC repair” during the warmer months.
Highlight Urgency: Focus on quick response times and emergency repairs in your ads.
Energy Efficiency: Appeal to cost-conscious customers by promoting energy-efficient systems and rebates.

Heating Services

Winter Keywords: Focus on terms like “furnace repair” and “heating system installation” in colder months.
Reliability Matters: Emphasize reliable, quick service in your ad copy to attract customers who need immediate heating solutions.
Preventative Maintenance: Encourage customers to schedule maintenance before the cold weather hits to avoid breakdowns.

Commercial HVAC Services

B2B Targeting: Use business-focused keywords such as “commercial HVAC installation” or “industrial heating solutions.”
Highlight Expertise: Showcase your experience in large-scale projects for offices and industrial facilities.
Long-Term Contracts: Promote ongoing maintenance agreements to secure recurring business from commercial clients.

Why PPC Is a Perfect Fit for HVAC Marketing

PPC advertising is especially effective for HVAC companies because of the immediate nature of your customers’ needs. Here’s why:

Timing: PPC ads let you reach customers when they urgently need HVAC services.
Cost-Effective: You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, meaning you’re spending your budget on interested customers.
Flexibility: Whether you’re looking to ramp up during busy seasons or fill your schedule during slow times, PPC allows you to adjust your budget accordingly.

Best Practices for HVAC Marketing: Setting Up a Successful PPC Campaign

To run a successful PPC campaign, it’s crucial to start with a clear understanding of your business’s goals, services, and unique selling points (USPs). Asking the right questions before launching your campaign ensures that your strategy is well-targeted and aligned with your business objectives.

Here are some important questions HVAC marketing managers or owners should consider before starting a PPC campaign:

Service Focus

What are your high-value services (e.g., installations or replacements) and which are lower value?

Why It Matters: Identifying which services bring in the most revenue allows you to prioritize your PPC efforts. For example, focus on installations and replacements in the summer, while repairs and tune-ups are more common in the winter.

AC or Heating

Are you planning to promote both AC and heating services, or focus on just one?

Why It Matters: These two niches have different seasonal demands. Choosing whether to focus on one or both can help you allocate your PPC budget effectively and tailor your ad copy for the right audience at the right time.

Residential vs. Commercial

Does your business cater to both residential and commercial clients?

Why It Matters: Knowing whether to target residential, commercial, or both segments helps create tailored ad copy and landing pages. It also ensures that your ads are shown to the right audience, improving your chances of conversion.

Offers and Unique Selling Points (USPs)

Do you have specific offers or promotions besides free estimates? What sets your HVAC business apart from the competition?

Examples of Effective Offers:

$2000 off a new AC system
$99 system inspection (normally $150)
Free second opinions
Same day repairs
Senior or military discounts
Financing or delayed payment plans

Why It Matters: Highlighting these offers and USPs can make your ads more attractive and increase click-through and conversion rates. Ensure your ad messaging is aligned with these unique points to stand out from competitors.

Certifications and Affiliations

Do you hold any important certifications (e.g., BBB A+ Rating, or partnerships with brands like Carrier, Trane, or Goodman)?

Why It Matters: Certifications and affiliations build trust and credibility, making your ads more reliable to potential customers. Including these in your ad copy can reassure potential clients of your expertise and reliability.

Financing and Tax Credits

Do you offer financing options or available tax credits to customers?

Examples:

0% financing for 60 months
$2,000 in tax credits for older AC unit replacements

Why It Matters: Financing options and tax credits can be a significant decision-making factor for cost-conscious customers. Promoting these can make your services more accessible and appealing to a wider audience.

Emergency Services

Does your company provide 24/7 emergency services?

Why It Matters: HVAC customers often require urgent services, and 24/7 availability can be a major selling point. Highlighting your emergency services can attract customers willing to pay a premium for immediate assistance.

Budget Expectations

What is your estimated budget for PPC campaigns?

Why It Matters: Knowing your budget helps you plan your PPC efforts realistically. In highly competitive markets, it’s essential to set aside a reasonable budget to ensure your ads can compete effectively, especially in peak seasons.

Types of Google Ads for HVAC Companies

There are several types of Google Ads that can benefit your HVAC business:

Search Ads: These text-based ads appear when customers search for terms like “AC repair” or “heating system installation.” They are highly effective for capturing immediate demand and have the highest intent.
Local Service Ads (LSAs): These ads appear at the very top of search results, and their “Google Guaranteed” badge boosts trust. LSAs are excellent for generating local leads ready to book your services.
Display Ads: These visually engaging ads can build brand awareness by showing your services to potential customers across websites and apps, even if they’re not ready to convert just yet. Think of these as a digital billboard or bus bench.
Retargeting Ads: Retarget visitors who have already shown interest in your business by browsing your website. These ads follow them around the web and remind them to book your services.
Video Ads: Use platforms like YouTube to engage potential customers with tutorials, maintenance tips, or client testimonials. Video ads can make a lasting impression and build trust.

Search Ads

Find New Customers With Search Ads

Drive sales, attract fresh leads and increase website traffic by getting your business right in front of people who are actively searching for your products or services.

Local Service Ads

More customers for your local business

Show up when local customers search for your services, and increase confidence with a Google Guaranteed badge. With Local Services Ads you only pay when you get a new customers, not clicks like other ad products.

Display Ads

Memorable And Engaging Ads

Build brand awareness with memorable, visually engaging ads that reach your audience no matter where they are online, including websites, mobile apps and social media.

Retargeting Ads

Retarget interested customers

Keep front-of-mind with potential customers with ads that follow them around the web as they visit other websites.

Video Ads

Bring Your Brand To Life With Video Ads

Boost brand awareness, re-engage with former ad viewers and reach brand new customers while they’re watching videos or searching on YouTube.

How to Set Your HVAC PPC Campaigns Up for Success

To maximize the results of your PPC campaigns, here are a few key steps:

Set Clear Goals: Whether it’s driving more leads or increasing sales, having clear goals will guide your strategy.
Choose the Right Keywords: Identify high-intent keywords like “AC repair near me” or “furnace installation” to reach customers when they’re most likely to convert.
Optimize Your Landing Pages: Make sure your landing pages are mobile-friendly and have a clear call to action like a noticeable phone number or easy-to-fill form.
Monitor and Adjust: Regularly track your campaign performance and make adjustments to bids, ad copy, and targeting to improve results.

Best Practices HVAC PPC Campaigns: Setup and Optimizations

Making sure you’re getting the best ROAS (return-on-ad-spend) out of your PPC campaigns requires careful setup and ongoing optimizations. By following these best practices, you can ensure your campaigns run smoothly, stay competitive, and drive high-quality leads.

Manage Spam, Job-Seekers, and Irrelevant Leads

Action Steps:

Regularly monitor your account performance to identify low-quality leads.
Review the quality of leads coming from Google’s Search Partner Networks before deciding to disable them.
Evaluate the overall cost per acquisition (CPA) of quality leads and adjust strategies accordingly to avoid overreacting to temporary lead fluctuations.

Maintaining lead quality is essential to optimizing your budget and focusing your efforts on qualified, conversion-ready customers.

Leverage Effective Keywords and Ad Groups

Action Steps:

Utilize high-performing keywords and ad groups from previous campaigns to boost underperforming campaigns.
Continuously test and refine your keywords to determine what works best for each service or niche within HVAC (heating, cooling, commercial).

By leveraging proven ad groups and keywords, you can enhance campaign performance and drive better results more quickly.

Prepare for Cost and CPA Fluctuations

Action Steps:

Expect fluctuations in cost per acquisition (CPA) and keyword prices, especially in competitive markets.
Adjust bids and budgets based on performance to maintain campaign efficiency and control costs.

Staying agile with your bidding strategy will help you manage your PPC budget effectively and maintain a steady stream of leads even during peak demand periods.

Optimize Your Landing Pages

Action Steps:

Place your most compelling offers and unique selling points (USPs) at the top of your landing pages to grab attention immediately.
Ensure that landing pages are mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, and have clear calls-to-action (CTAs) like phone numbers or forms.

Effective landing pages increase the chances of turning clicks into leads, maximizing your campaign’s return on investment (ROI).

Use Negative Keywords

Action Steps:

Identify and add negative keywords like “company” or “contractor” if they generate irrelevant traffic.
Review search terms regularly to catch and negate any new irrelevant keywords.

Filtering out irrelevant searches ensures that your budget is spent on high-quality traffic, improving the overall efficiency of your campaigns.

Plan for Seasonal Changes

Action Steps:

Prepare for seasonal changes by adjusting your campaigns ahead of time (e.g., promoting furnace services before winter).
Align your PPC strategy with seasonal demand to ensure your ads are always relevant and in sync with what customers are looking for.

Seasonal adjustments help you stay competitive and relevant, ensuring that your campaigns capitalize on peak periods of demand for HVAC services.

Conduct Competitor Analysis

Action Steps:

Use auction insights to analyze what competitors are doing in your market.
Use tools like Facebook Ad library or Google Ad Transparency to monitor your competitors ads and marketing strategies.
Leverage insights from your competitors’ offers and strategies to enhance your own campaigns.

Understanding your competition allows you to refine your strategy and highlight your unique selling points, giving you an edge over your competitors.

The Importance of Conversion Tracking in HVAC PPC Campaigns

Effective tracking is crucial to the success of any PPC campaign, especially in the HVAC industry where leads can come from multiple channels like phone calls, online forms, and chats. Without proper tracking, it’s difficult to measure the true performance of your campaigns and understand which strategies are driving the best results.

Here’s how we track leads for HVAC companies to ensure every potential customer is accounted for:

Conversion Tracking for Forms: We set up conversion tracking to monitor every form submission on your website. Whether it’s a quote request or a service inquiry, we track when a visitor fills out a form, giving you clear visibility into how many leads are generated from your PPC campaigns.
Call Tracking with CallRail: Many HVAC leads come through phone calls, which is why we integrate call tracking software like CallRail.
Tracking On-Site Chats: If your website offers live chat, we also track interactions through on-site chat systems. This allows you to capture leads from customers who prefer immediate, real-time communication.

Why HVAC Companies Should Consider PPC Management

Managing a successful PPC campaign takes time, expertise, and ongoing optimization. At Local Propeller, we specialize in creating high-performing PPC campaigns tailored to HVAC companies. Our team helps you:

Choose the right keywords for your services
Create compelling ad copy
Optimize landing pages for maximum conversions
Proper conversion tracking and adjustments to your campaigns for the best possible results

Ready to boost your leads and grow your HVAC business? Contact Local Propeller today to learn how we can help you leverage PPC ads for success.

Christian Watson

Christian is an expert in SEO, PPC Management and marketing consultant.
Since graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Marketing he has focussed mainly on the digital marketing side but also has a firm grasp on traditional marketing.