HVAC Marketing: How to Fill Your Schedule Year-Round
By Charwin Vanryck deGroot
Most HVAC companies have the same problem: too much work in July and January, tumbleweeds the rest of the year.
spike in "AC repair" searches between May and August vs winter months. That's not a gentle curve. That's a cliff. Your marketing has to match this reality.
"Turning away jobs in July then laying off technicians in October isn't a business model. It's a rollercoaster. Marketing can flatten the curve."
That's not a business model. That's a rollercoaster.
The solution isn't magic. It's systematic marketing that shifts demand, builds recurring revenue, and captures every emergency call when they happen. Here's how to actually do it.
The HVAC Marketing Challenge
HVAC has three characteristics that break normal marketing rules.
Extreme seasonality. Your phone rings off the hook when the first heat wave hits or the first freeze arrives. The rest of the year, you're fighting for scraps. Google Trends data shows "AC repair" searches spike 400% between May and August compared to winter months. That's not a gentle curve. That's a cliff.
Emergency vs. planned work. When someone's AC dies at 2pm on a 98-degree Saturday, they're calling whoever answers first. That's a completely different sale than someone researching new HVAC systems for a home they're building. Different intent, different timeline, different marketing approach.
:::key A $150 tune-up and a $12,000 system replacement require completely different marketing approaches. Treating them the same means overpaying for one or underinvesting in the other.
Understanding these dynamics shapes everything that follows. Generic home services marketing advice needs serious modification for HVAC.
The Seasonal Marketing Calendar
Stop thinking about marketing as a constant. Think about it as a calendar with four distinct campaigns running throughout the year.
Pre-Summer AC Prep: March Through May
This is your goldmine for planned work. Homeowners aren't desperate yet. You have time to schedule, upsell, and deliver quality service without emergency pressure.
What to push: AC tune-ups, maintenance plan signups, system inspections, indoor air quality services.
The angle: "Get ahead of summer. Schedule your AC tune-up before the rush." Fear of being stuck without AC when temperatures hit triple digits is real. Use it.
Ad messaging that works: "AC tune-ups fill up fast in May. Book now while you can still choose your appointment time." Scarcity works because it's true. Your schedule will be slammed by June.
Budget allocation: Increase Google Ads spend by 50% starting March 1st. This is when cost-per-click is still reasonable but intent is building.
cost-per-lead for a spring tune-up that converts to an $8,000 system replacement later beats $200 cost-per-lead for an emergency call where the customer is price-shopping three companies.
We've seen contractors who shift 30% of their summer emergency budget into spring prevention campaigns. The math works: $75 cost-per-lead for a tune-up that converts to a $8,000 system replacement six months later beats $200 cost-per-lead for an emergency call where the customer is price-shopping three companies simultaneously.
Summer Emergency Response: June Through August
This is survival mode with opportunity. You can't manufacture more leads. You can only capture more of the leads that exist.
What to push: 24/7 emergency service, same-day appointments, fast response times.
When it's 102 degrees and the AC just died, nobody's waiting for your slow site. If your website takes more than 2 seconds to load on mobile, you're losing emergency calls to competitors.
Implement call tracking with whisper messages so your team knows immediately: "This call is from Google Ads - emergency AC repair." That context helps them answer appropriately.
Ad strategy shifts:
Increase your LSA budget to maximum. Local Service Ads dominate emergency searches. When someone searches "AC repair near me," LSAs appear above everything else. You want that top spot.
Add "emergency" and "same-day" modifiers to your Google Search campaigns. "Emergency AC repair" has 3x the conversion rate of generic "AC repair" searches, even though it costs more per click.
Enable ad scheduling to increase bids during extreme weather days. If it's 105 degrees, your cost-per-click ceiling should be higher because conversion rates will be higher.
Fall Heating Prep: September Through November
Mirror image of spring, different system.
What to push: Furnace tune-ups, heating system inspections, carbon monoxide safety checks, humidifier installations.
The angle: Safety sells better than comfort for heating. "Make sure your furnace is safe before you turn it on" resonates more than "stay warm this winter."
Timing nuances: Start heating campaigns right after Labor Day in northern states, late October in southern states. Match your market's weather patterns.
This is also prime time for system replacement sales. Homeowners who struggled through summer with an aging AC are thinking about replacement before winter hits. Target them with "new system" messaging while the pain is fresh.
Winter Heating Emergencies: December Through February
Same dynamics as summer, different system. Emergency calls spike during cold snaps.
What to push: Emergency heating repair, 24/7 service, no overtime charges for nights/weekends (if you can offer that).
Weather-triggered campaigns: Set up automated rules in Google Ads to increase budget when local temperatures drop below 20 degrees. This requires daily monitoring or automated scripts, but the ROI is significant.
We built a contractor a simple Google Apps Script that checks weather APIs and adjusts their daily budget automatically. When a cold snap hits, their ads spend more aggressively. When it warms up, they pull back. That script pays for itself every winter.
Google Business Profile for HVAC
Your Google Business Profile might generate more leads than your website. Treat it accordingly.
Multiple service categories matter. HVAC businesses should use: HVAC Contractor (primary), Air Conditioning Contractor, Heating Contractor, Air Conditioning Repair Service, and Furnace Repair Service. Each category helps you appear in different searches.
Seasonal posts strategy: Post weekly, but match content to the season.
March-May: AC tune-up reminders, indoor air quality tips, early scheduling benefits.
June-August: Fast response messaging, 24/7 availability, heat safety tips.
September-November: Heating safety checks, furnace efficiency tips, carbon monoxide awareness.
December-February: Emergency heating availability, no overtime messaging, freeze protection tips.
Google's algorithm favors profiles that post consistently. We've tested this extensively. Profiles posting weekly rank higher in the map pack than identical profiles that don't post.
Q&A optimization for HVAC: Seed your Q&A section with questions customers actually ask.
"Do you offer 24/7 emergency service?" - Answer with your availability and response time.
"How much does an AC tune-up cost?" - Answer with your pricing or price range.
"Do you service [neighboring city]?" - Answer with your full service area.
"What brands do you install?" - List your brand partnerships.
These Q&As show up in your profile and contain keywords that help you rank. Free SEO that takes 20 minutes to set up.
Local SEO for HVAC
Beyond Google Business Profile, your website needs location-specific pages that capture searches in every city you serve.
Service + Location page structure:
Create pages for each service in each major city. Not thin doorway pages. Actual content.
"AC Repair in [City]" should include: specific neighborhoods you serve in that city, your response time to that area, any local references or completed jobs, and genuinely useful information about AC problems common in that area.
The page for "AC Repair in Phoenix" should mention monsoon season dust affecting condensers. The page for "AC Repair in Minneapolis" should mention preparing systems for temperature swings. Local relevance beats generic content.
Emergency keyword targeting:
Build pages specifically for emergency searches. "Emergency AC Repair [City]" and "24 Hour Furnace Repair [City]" are different searches than standard service searches. They deserve dedicated pages.
These pages should emphasize: response time, after-hours availability, phone number prominently displayed, and trust signals (insurance, licensing, reviews). Someone searching at 11pm needs to trust you fast.
Technical implementation:
Each location page needs: - Unique title tag: "AC Repair in [City] | [Company Name]" - Unique meta description mentioning the city and your key differentiator - Schema markup with LocalBusiness type and the city's address/service area - Internal links to your main service pages and other nearby location pages
Proper SEO implementation compounds over time. Location pages we built for contractors two years ago still generate leads today without additional ad spend.
Paid Advertising Strategy for HVAC
Paid advertising for HVAC requires understanding the economics of each service type.
Google Ads Seasonal Budgets
Here's a budget framework based on what we've seen work:
Base monthly budget: Whatever you're comfortable spending during slow months.
Shoulder seasons (March-May, September-November): 150% of base. Competition is lower but intent is building.
Peak seasons (June-August, December-February): 200-250% of base. Yes, cost-per-click is higher. But conversion rates and job values are also higher.
Off-peak (the weird in-between weeks): 75% of base. Maintain presence without bleeding money.
Build this into your annual marketing budget from the start. The contractor who plans for $15,000 in July ad spend doesn't panic when costs spike.
Local Service Ads for HVAC
LSAs should be your first investment, not your last.
The math: LSAs charge per lead, not per click. For HVAC, that's typically $25-75 per lead depending on your market. A qualified emergency AC lead that converts to a $400 repair job or a $12,000 system replacement? That's exceptional ROI.
LSA optimization tips:
Respond to every LSA lead within 5 minutes. Google tracks response time and rewards fast responders with more leads. Slow response = fewer leads.
Complete every field in your LSA profile. License numbers, insurance verification, service areas. Google shows more complete profiles more often.
Collect reviews specifically to your Google profile. LSA rankings weight review count and recency heavily.
Set your LSA budget high and let Google limit your spend based on lead availability. Unlike Search Ads, you won't waste money on clicks that don't convert.
Facebook Ads for Maintenance Agreements
Facebook doesn't work for emergency services. Nobody's scrolling Instagram thinking "I should find an emergency HVAC company."
But Facebook excels at maintenance agreement promotion.
The campaign structure:
Target: Homeowners in your service area, ages 35-65, with interests in home improvement, home ownership, or specific home-related pages.
Message: "Stop emergency AC repairs before they happen. Our maintenance plan includes two annual tune-ups, priority scheduling, and 15% off repairs. $199/year."
The goal isn't immediate conversion. It's getting people to your landing page and into your remarketing audience. Then you follow up with email, retargeting ads, and phone calls to close the maintenance plan sale.
in predictable annual revenue from 400+ maintenance agreement customers built over 18 months. Plus the system replacement opportunities that come from regular customer contact.
We've seen contractors build 400+ maintenance agreement customers over 18 months using this approach. That's $80,000+ in predictable annual revenue, plus the system replacement opportunities that come from regular customer contact.
Building Recurring Revenue Through Marketing
Maintenance plans are the path to schedule stability. Marketing should drive plan signups as aggressively as it drives service calls.
Maintenance Plan Promotion
Website placement: Your maintenance plan should have its own dedicated page with clear pricing, benefits, and signup form. Link to it from every service page.
Point-of-service promotion: After every repair call, your technicians should mention the maintenance plan. "This repair was $350. If you'd had our maintenance plan, you'd have gotten 15% off, and we probably would have caught this during your tune-up."
Seasonal campaigns: Run maintenance plan promotions in shoulder seasons when you have capacity. "Sign up in March, get your first tune-up free" moves the needle.
Email Marketing to Existing Customers
Your customer list is gold. Most contractors ignore it.
Quarterly seasonal emails:
March: "Summer's coming. Schedule your AC tune-up." June: "Beat the heat. Our emergency line is available 24/7." September: "Don't get caught in the cold. Book your furnace inspection." December: "Thank you for a great year. Here's a special offer for loyal customers."
Maintenance reminder automation:
When a customer gets a tune-up, mark the date. 10 months later, send an automated email: "It's almost time for your annual AC tune-up. Click here to schedule."
This is basic email automation. Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or your CRM can handle it. Setup takes an afternoon. The leads it generates are nearly free.
Seasonal Reminder Campaigns
Text messages work better than email for time-sensitive reminders.
"Hi [Name], this is [Company]. Temperatures are dropping fast this week. Want us to schedule your furnace check before the rush? Reply YES for available times."
response rates on weather-triggered text campaigns vs 2% email open rates for generic newsletters. Text wins for time-sensitive seasonal reminders.
Website Optimization for HVAC
Your website has specific requirements for HVAC that generic web design ignores.
Emergency Contact Prominent
When someone's HVAC fails, they're not reading your blog. They're looking for a phone number.
Implementation requirements:
Phone number in the header. Visible without scrolling on every page. Click-to-call enabled on mobile.
"Emergency Service" button in the navigation. Bright color. Links to either a phone call or a page with emergency-specific information and a phone number.
Sticky header on mobile that follows the user down the page. The phone number should never disappear.
Financing Options
HVAC system replacement is a $8,000-15,000 decision. Most homeowners can't write that check casually.
What to include:
Dedicated financing page explaining your options (Wells Fargo, GreenSky, Synchrony, whatever you use).
Monthly payment estimates on system replacement pages. "$12,000 system or $189/month for 72 months" is easier to process than a raw price.
"Financing available" messaging on service pages. Even if they're looking at repairs now, knowing financing exists plants a seed for future replacement conversations.
Service Area Clarity
"We serve the greater metro area" is useless. List specific cities.
Create a service area page with every city and neighborhood you cover. This helps SEO and helps users immediately know if you can help them.
Include a map if possible. Visual confirmation matters.
Tracking and Attribution
Without proper tracking, you're guessing. And your guesses are probably wrong.
Call Tracking for Emergency vs. Planned
Different call sources require different handling.
Setup structure:
One tracking number for your Google Ads campaigns. One tracking number for Google Business Profile. One tracking number for organic website visitors. One tracking number for Facebook. Dynamic number insertion on your website that swaps numbers based on traffic source.
Call categorization:
Tag calls as emergency vs. scheduled during or after the call. Your phone tracking software (CallRail, WhatConverts, CallTrackingMetrics) can add tags.
Over time, you'll see patterns. Maybe Google Ads generates 80% emergency calls. Maybe organic traffic generates more scheduled maintenance requests. That data shapes where you spend.
Lead Source by Season
Build a simple dashboard that shows lead sources by month.
You'll likely discover that certain channels dominate certain seasons. LSAs might generate 60% of your summer leads but only 30% in spring. Organic might provide consistent year-round traffic while paid varies dramatically.
This informs budget allocation. If organic provides your shoulder-season floor, protect your SEO investment. If LSAs dominate peaks, make sure your profile is optimized before each peak season starts.
Attribution to closed jobs:
The real insight comes from tracking which leads become customers.
Integrate your call tracking with your CRM (ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber). When a job closes, you should be able to trace it back to the original marketing source.
A $12,000 system replacement that came from organic search has a different value than a $150 tune-up from a Facebook ad. Your marketing decisions should reflect that difference.
Making This Work
HVAC marketing isn't set-it-and-forget-it. The companies that dominate their markets adjust constantly.
Weekly tasks: - Review call volume and lead sources - Adjust ad budgets based on weather forecasts - Post to Google Business Profile - Respond to reviews
Monthly tasks: - Analyze cost-per-lead by channel - Review which services are generating the most interest - Update ad copy for seasonal relevance - Send customer email campaign
Quarterly tasks: - Full marketing ROI analysis - Budget reallocation based on performance - Website content updates for seasonal keywords - Maintenance plan promotion campaign
Annually: - Set marketing budget by month based on historical performance - Plan major campaigns for each season - Review and refresh location pages - Analyze year-over-year performance
The contractors who build these rhythms into their operations stop having feast-or-famine years. They still have busy seasons and slow seasons. But the extremes flatten out.
What Comes Next
This is a lot to implement. Most contractors won't do it all. That's fine. Start with what matters most for your situation.
If your phone doesn't ring in spring: Focus on maintenance plan promotion and seasonal email campaigns.
If you're losing emergency calls to competitors: Fix your website speed, LSA optimization, and call response time.
If you don't know what's working: Set up proper tracking first. Every other decision depends on it.
If you want help building this system instead of figuring it out yourself, that's what we do. We've built HVAC marketing programs that generated 40%+ year-over-year growth by systematically addressing each season's opportunities.
Reach out when you're ready to stop guessing and start knowing exactly where your next job is coming from.