PPC for HVAC Companies: The Definitive Guide [2024]

What is HVAC PPC?

HVAC PPC (pay-per-click advertising) is a form of online marketing in which search engines and social media platforms charge advertisers a fee to promote their HVAC services.

With this marketing strategy, companies pay each time a prospective customer clicks on the ad—an amount they can earn back ten times over when the clicks convert into job bookings.

The most popular form of HVAC PPC is Google Ads—an ad platform that allows companies to display ads across Google’s products, including its search engine. 

This is expected as Google accounts for a large percentage of the world’s online traffic, delivering the most ad clicks and impressions. Plus, most people evaluate local businesses using Google.

How Does PPC Work?

Although there are several PPC ads, they all work virtually the same way. For example, a potential customer searches “HVAC services Chicago” on Google's search engine. 

Each HVAC company’s PPC ad created with that keyword enters an auction automatically.

To pick the winners of the auction, Google’s ad algorithm grades each ad using this formula:

Ad rank = maximum bid * quality score

The maximum bid (also known as the maximum cost per click or CPC) is simply the amount the advertiser is willing to pay per click, while the quality score—on a scale of one to ten—is measured using:

• Landing page experience: How long do people stay on your landing page? Is the information relevant to the searcher’s query? Is the page easy to navigate?

• Ad relevance: This measures how relevant your ad is to the searcher based on its category and keywords. For example, an ad with the “plumbing company” keyword isn’t relevant to an “HVAC company” search query.

• Expected clickthrough rate (CTR): This is drawn from your historical CTR—the percentage of clicks converted into job bookings.

Google then displays a set of three to four auction winners in order of their respective ad ranks—the highest ad rank gets the first position, the second highest gets the second position, and so on.

Here’s a graphical representation of Google using the auction system to pick the ads to display for a search.

The infographic above shows that increasing your ad quality score allows you to lower your CPC and yet still improve your ad rank. Later, we’ll show you how to increase your ad quality score.

What Are The Different Types of PPC Ads for HVAC?

There are eight major types of PPC ads. However, we’ll cover the five relevant to a local business like yours.

We’ll also highlight the marketing objective they can help you achieve and their conversion potential.

1. Paid search ads

These text-based ads appear at the top of search engine result pages. They resemble traditional organic listings, have a sponsored tag, and contain the landing page’s title tag, meta description, and favicon.

Aside from the valuable position they occupy on result pages, search ads are highly efficient and have a high conversion rate since they show up at the exact moment when people are looking for HVAC services.

There are two major types of search ads: Google search ads and Microsoft search ads on Bing. However, as you’d expect, Google search ads are more popular.

2. Display ads

Any internet user is familiar with display ads since they appear on almost every digital platform.

Display ads are textual and visual advertisements on digital platforms such as websites, applications, and Google-owned platforms such as YouTube and Gmail.  

Google’s algorithm selects the display ad an internet user sees based on their browsing history and the topic of the application or web page they’re on. 

Display ads are great for remarketing—retargeting people who previously interacted with your brand—and because of their reach, they are great for building brand awareness and online visibility. 

However, display ads have a low click and conversion rate, as many people find them annoying because they appear while people are consuming other content.

3. Video ads

These are ads featuring audio and dynamic images. They appear on Google’s video partner platforms—games, websites, and applications—and YouTube’s search, home, and video feeds in six formats:

• In-feed ads: Featuring on YouTube’s homepage. They don’t have a maximum length.

• Skippable in-stream ads: Videos that are less than three minutes long, which viewers can watch to the end or skip.

• Non-skippable in-stream ads: Video ads that are 15–20 seconds long, which viewers must watch completely. They appear during, after, or before YouTube organic videos.

• Outstream ads: Unlimited-length videos that appear only on Google’s video partners network.

• Bumper ads: Similar to non-skippable in-stream ads, but they last for only six seconds.

• Masthead ads: Appear at the very top of YouTube feeds.

Like display ads, video ads have a broad reach, making them great for building awareness.

4. Local Services Ads

These ads appear at the top of Google’s local results pages and Google Maps, triggered by local-intent search terms such as “HVAC services near me.” They empower customers to call and message businesses directly from local result pages.

Local Services Ads usually contain three to four local businesses that excel in Google’s three local ranking factors—prominence, proximity, and relevance—alongside their business details and a small map insert.

Local Services Ads are great for HVAC companies for two major reasons.

First, since they appear when people are ready to book your services, they help generate high-quality and qualified HVAC leads. Second, because Google charges per lead generated (a call or message), Local Services Ads have a high return on investment (ROI).

That ROI can be even higher when you use ServiceTitan’s Local Services Ads integration.

Created in partnership with Google, the integration ensures you don’t lose track of Local Services Ads leads, as it automatically pulls in their information alongside job bookings into ServiceTitan.

The integration also makes it easy for prospects to book appointments with just a click. Plus, all job bookings are captured in your marketing scorecard report, so you know the exact ROI your Local Services Ads are generating. 

5. Paid social ads

This involves displaying text, images, or video advertisements to users on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Like search ads, paid social ads have high conversion rates—as long as you’re advertising on the platform your target audience frequents.

That’s because over half of the United State’s population uses social media, and a significant proportion of customers use local businesses after watching, for example, a Facebook ad.

What Are The Benefits of HVAC PPC Marketing?

A major advantage of HVAC PPC ads is that they help generate HVAC leads and new customers. Other benefits include:

Fast results

Unlike online advertising strategies like SEO, PPC marketing takes a short time to yield results.

Targeting the right keywords and using an optimized landing page can help you start generating leads and HVAC job bookings.

Low entry barrier

A small audience, effective keyword research, and compelling ad copy are the minimum requirements for creating a PPC advertising campaign.

Even better, PPC ad platforms have easy-to-understand tutorials and tooltips for setting up your campaign quickly.

Targeted audience

With HVAC PPC ads, you can target audiences using their interests, demographics, location, and browsing history. You can even target prospects who have interacted with your company in the past—i.e., asked for a free estimate, booked an appointment, visited your booking page, or interacted with your social media ads.

This sort of precision helps increase conversions.

Wide reach

HVAC PPC marketing lets you reach people who have engaged with your brand and those who haven’t. So, it generates leads and builds brand awareness at the same time.

This broad reach also delivers valuable insights about your ideal customers, which you can use for other marketing campaigns.

Cost-effective

When running a TV or radio campaign, you pay for putting your brand in front of low-quality and high-quality leads. You have limited control over who sees your ads.

In contrast, PPC ads let you advertise to an audience with a strong buying intent. Plus, you pay only when someone clicks on your ad, and you have complete control over the amount you pay when that happens.

Measurable results

With PPC, you can track your campaign’s performance over time, making improvements and increasing your ROI.

Aside from campaign performance, PPC delivers metrics such as clicks, conversions, and impressions, which you can use to support HVAC SEO and content marketing.

What Are The Drawbacks of HVAC PPC Marketing?

HVAC PPC has its drawbacks and challenges. Some of them include:

Competition 

With the coming of digitization, almost every HVAC company knows about the benefits of PPC ads and is using them to generate leads. 

So, the competition for buying-intent HVAC keywords is fierce, increasing the CPC.

Expertise required

Setting up HVAC PPC campaigns is easy. However, setting them up in a manner that reduces your CPC while increasing revenue is another entirely different thing.

Your success with HVAC PPC marketing, among other factors, depends on your PPC knowledge. That’s because finding the optimal bidding amount, the right keyword, and crafting the perfect copy can be tricky.

You may have to do trial and error or run a/b tests before arriving at the best PPC ad strategy. Some HVAC companies prefer using HVAC digital marketing agencies or PPC companies offering HVAC PPC services.

Dwindling trust in ads

Currently, many customers use tools to block ads or ignore them entirely. They’re tired of seeing paid advertisements everywhere—on billboards, before watching a YouTube video, on websites, in social media news feeds, etc.

How Does Commercial HVAC PPC Differ from Residential HVAC PPC?

PPC campaigns have immense benefits for both residential and commercial HVAC companies.

However, the PPC strategies for a commercial HVAC company may not work for a residential HVAC company. That’s because each type of HVAC company has different audiences, marketing goals, and modes of operation. 

PPC for commercial HVAC

Commercial HVAC companies service, repair, and maintain the HVAC systems of large businesses and organizations such as hospitals, hotels, restaurants, etc.

Commercial HVAC companies serving 24-hour businesses, such as hospitals and hotels, must keep their ads running throughout the day, as repair orders can come in at any time.

Also, commercial HVAC companies have to bid on more specific and technical keywords related to specific equipment, such as “air conditioning system preventative maintenance.” Business leaders use these sorts of keywords to search for HVAC companies.

In addition to keyword specialization, commercial HVAC PPC campaigns aim to ensure the HVAC company remains considered throughout the long, extended decision-making cycles.

PPC for residential HVAC

Residential HVAC companies serve local homeowners who have single, stand-alone HVAC units.

Since residential HVAC companies don’t operate 24/7, they can keep their PPC campaigns active only during the daytime to coincide with their working hours.

Residential PPC ads also target less technical, problem-solving keywords such as “AC repair near me” or “HVAC company.”

Finally, residential PPC ads usually aim to get many leads to book an appointment immediately. That's because the final decision rests on the homeowner alone.

How Can You Start a PPC Campaign For an HVAC Business?

Let's go through the steps for creating and running HVAC PPC campaigns.

1. Determine your goal

Building a successful PPC campaign starts with setting a goal like every other marketing strategy. Here are some examples of PPC campaign goals:

• Building awareness

• Boosting website traffic

• Lead generation

• Driving sales

• Retargeting prospects

Defining your goal ensures you pick an ad type, platform, and budget that helps your PPC ad campaign fulfill business objectives.

Display and paid social ads are the most effective for building awareness and brand visibility. Search ads and Local Services Ads are best for generating job bookings. And your PPC budget should go more into video ads if you want to connect emotionally with prospects.

2. Research your audience and keywords

Find the audience you wish to target.

Discover their interests, location (which should coincide with your local service area), and browsing habits. This is crucial; you’ll need this information when creating your PPC ad and picking a platform.

Next, determine the keywords they are using to search for your services. Pay close attention to the intent behind the keyword and the point of the searcher in the sales funnel. That intent can be:

• Navigational: The searcher is looking for a page or content resource on your website, such as “[name of company] HVAC services.” There’s no need to target these keywords, as you can use SEO to rank for them easily.

• Informational: The searcher is looking for information about an HVAC-related topic. For example, “types of HVAC.” You can target these keywords to grow brand awareness, position your company as an expert, or boost website traffic.

• Transactional and commercial: The searcher is looking to book HVAC services. Examples include “HVAC company near me” and “HVAC company [insert location].” These are the best PPC keywords for HVAC companies, as they generate revenue.

3. Create your landing page

Creating an optimized landing page that matches your ad is crucial, as prospects will only book an appointment if the landing page’s copy matches what convinced them to click on your ad.

That means you’re fulfilling your promise in the ad, proving your experience and expertise, showing social proof, and ending with a clear call to action (CTA).

You should also design your landing page to deliver a positive user experience, increasing your quality score and odds of winning the ad auction.

Here’s an example of optimizing your landing page to deliver your ad’s promise: A+ Air Conditioning and Refrigeration currently runs an HVAC search ad.

Instead of linking to a generic landing page or home page, the ad directs prospects to a page optimized for the target audience—residents of Gainesville, Florida.

The alignment in messaging between the ad and the landing page increases the odds of the visitor taking action.

4. Define your budget

Before creating your ad, you must decide how much you will spend on the PPC campaign. The amount depends on the keywords you picked and the time of year—HVAC PPC ads are usually more costly during summer due to increased competition.

Google Keyword Planner can give you the average CPC of each keyword, which you can use to estimate the amount needed for the entire campaign.

5. Create your ads

Creating your ads is where the real work starts.

First, you must pick a platform and PPC ad format based on your audience and marketing goal.

When creating the ad, use compelling copy and images to communicate your value proposition. Google usually picks ads with the best design.

Also, although your PPC ad can still run without them, it’s advisable to include site links, callouts, location extensions, reviews, and phone numbers. They increase your ad's real estate on search results and push competitors further down the viewport, increasing your ad's odds of getting clicked by prospects.

6. Track, monitor, and optimize your campaigns

Your PPC campaigns are now up and running.

Job done? Not exactly.

To increase your campaign’s ROI, you need to monitor its performance and allocate more resources to high-performing keywords so you don't burn through your credit card.

Here are some metrics to monitor your PPC performance:

• Conversion rate is the percentage of leads that take the desired action. A low conversion rate could Indicate that you have to change your target keywords.

• Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of impressions that convert to clicks. A low CTR means you need to improve the ad copy and visual assets.

• Cost per acquisition (CPA) or cost per lead (CPL) is the amount you pay to acquire a customer (CPA) or a lead (CPL). To lower your CPA and CPL, optimize your ad and landing page copy, and include negative keywords—keywords you add to prevent your ads from showing for certain search terms or phrases––to lower your ad spend.

• Ad quality score shows how your ad’s quality compares to other advertisers on a scale of one to ten. Google displays ads with high-quality scores.

Find out how to improve your ad’s quality score here.

You can use Google Ads, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager to track the performance of your PPC ads. However, such platforms recognize even non-converting clicks and calls as leads.

Imagine a customer dials your number, discovers it’s the wrong company, and then hangs up after one second. Conventional tools will still recognize the call as a lead.

Even worse, Google will automatically re-allocate your budget to the campaigns generating the most calls and clicks, even if those calls and clicks don’t correlate to revenue.

To solve this problem, ServiceTitan developed the Marketing Pro Ads platform, which ties calls and clicks directly to revenue and uses artificial intelligence to optimize your PPC campaign for revenue.

The software connects with your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts, so you can see which campaigns, keywords, and ad groups generate the most jobs and revenue.

Recommended watch: How to connect PPC ads to your ServiceTitan account.

The software lets you create and assign unique phone numbers to each campaign. Using dynamic call tracking, the system matches each call with the ad source, displaying its ROI in real time.

The software has an Ad Optimizer, which uses Titan intelligence—ServiceTitan's AI for the trades—to automatically optimize your campaigns for revenue.

Using conversion data from Google and ServiceTitan, the AI-powered platform trains Google to display your ads only to prospects likely to book your HVAC services.

ServiceTitan's Ad Optimizer also automatically allocates your campaign budget to ads generating the most revenue.

Relying on this precision, Proximo Marketing recently recorded the following results on an ad campaign:

• A 16 percent increase in lead quality (44 percent to 60 percent)

• Almost a 100 percent ROI

“This is a solution that I think any industry would be able to capitalize on and really dig into,” says the senior account manager at Proximo, Liz Soto. “And I personally haven't seen any other software that is trying to do this.”

Recommended watch: How to increase your Google ads revenue with ServiceTitan’s Ad Optimizer.

What Are Best Practices for HVAC PPC?

As we mentioned earlier, PPC has some drawbacks and challenges. However, one way to overcome them and create successful PPC ad campaigns is to use these HVAC PPC ad best practices.

1. Optimize your ads for all devices

Searchers use various devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, desktops, etc. To ensure you don’t lose out on traffic, make your ads viewable on all devices, especially mobile devices, which account for most online searches.

That means your ad copy should be concise. Your landing pages should have single-column layouts, short copy, and easy navigation.

2. Target relevant keywords

You should always target keywords prospects already use to search for HVAC services. You can find them using Google Keyword Planner.

Also, pick long tail, precise keywords such as "HVAC services near me," or “HVAC services around me,” instead of generic keywords such as "HVAC services." This ensures you attract only qualified leads.

Finally, run A/B tests with different keyword variations and include negative keywords (keywords you can add to prevent your ad from appearing for irrelevant queries).

Negative keywords have no buying intent or are irrelevant to your services.

3. Exhaust the recommended character count

PPC ad platforms have their respective character limits. We advise you to use them all to give a detailed explanation of your services and offerings and ensure searchers notice your ad before others.

Pro tip: Always include CTAs in your ad and landing page copy so prospects know what to do next.

4. Time your ad’s appearance

Schedule your ads to appear when people search for your services to save money and boost conversions.

However, if you prefer running your ads throughout the day, schedule keywords with expensive CPCs to appear during your working hours and those with low CPCs to run later.

Also, remember to pause ads advertising maintenance plans and tune-up services during summer and reactivate them during fall and spring.

Pro tip: Consider using ServiceTitan’s Leads Integrations platform to transport job bookings from third-party platforms directly into ServiceTitan to increase data accuracy, facilitate lead follow-up, and manage job bookings efficiently.

5. Run A/B tests

Running A/B tests reveals the best keywords, CTAs, and landing pages, making it more likely that you will achieve your marketing objectives.

A/B tests involve simultaneously running ads that differ in only one respect to see which one performs better. Here are some ad elements that you can measure with A/B tests:

• Audience demographics

• Keywords

• Bidding strategies

• CTAs

• Ad copy and images

Additionally, ensure you use the right structure and bidding strategy. 

“The structure of a Google Ads campaign is vital for PPC advertising,” says Velizara Tellalyan, founder of Digital Concept Consulting.

That’s because it allows for ‘...effective targeting and management, enhancing the overall success of your PPC efforts’."

You should also consider using smart bidding—Google's AI-powered strategy that helps optimize your bidding for conversions.

“In my current company, we saw a decrease of 35 percent in CPL (cost per lead) only by reorganizing our campaign structure and switching to smart bidding,” says Tellalyan.

Recommended reading: More Tips for Optimizing Your PPC Ads.

6. Add callout extensions and site links

In a recent webinar, Brandon Doyle, marketing director at Blue Corona (a digital marketing agency for home service companies), revealed an interesting statistic—50 percent of all contractor phone calls come directly from search engine results pages (SERPs).

This statistic makes it vital to include your phone number in your PPC ad’s callout extension so customers can still call you even if they miss the click-to-call button.

Also, site links should be used to consume more search engine real estate and push competitors further down the viewport. You can also use site links to promote discounts, offers, and coupons, which may entice users to click, increasing conversions.

What Tools Are Used in PPC?

Having the right tools makes tracking your PPC ad’s performance easy. Examples of such tools include:

• Keyword Planner: A free Google keyword research tool to find keywords, discover how much they cost, and their estimated monthly search volumes (MSVs).

• Google Analytics: A free Google web analytics tool to track your landing page's traffic, customer acquisition rate, bounce rate, conversions, etc.

• Google Tag Manager: A tool for installing, saving, and managing code snippets that let you track on-page activity and collect visitor data without altering your website's code base.

• Ad Optimizer: A ServiceTitan Marketing Pro offering that feeds conversion data from your ServiceTitan account to Google’s bots so they can serve your ads to prospects who are likely to convert. You can also use the tool to easily adjust your PPC ad budget when job capacity levels increase or decrease.

Now Over to You

With the competitive nature of the HVAC industry, boosting online visibility and grabbing the top spot on result pages using PPC ads is key.

You want to be visible and be the first company prospects consider when they need HVAC services.

However,  monitor and optimize your campaigns and combine PPC with other marketing strategies such as SEO, email marketing, content marketing, etc.

Consider using a tool like ServiceTitan to increase your PPC ad’s revenue.

ServiceTitan is a cloud-based HVAC software built to help home service companies automate and streamline their business processes. Trusted by over 100,000 contractors nationwide, the software helps home service companies track customer interactions and marketing campaigns.