HVAC Company : 101 Conversions at $91.53 Per Lead
The Situation Before
The account had three structural problems running at the same time, and each of them was draining budget independently. The first was search partners being enabled, which was pulling in traffic from low quality partner sites with no real relevance to HVAC service searches. Partner traffic generally converts at lower rates than core Google Search and produces a lot of click volume without producing booked jobs, which is exactly the pattern the data showed in this account before any work was done.
The second was active display network spend, with banner ads running on placements across the broader web where users have no search intent and are not actively looking for HVAC help. Display impressions and clicks were accumulating, but those visitors were not in a buying mindset and the conversion data reflected that. The third problem was broad match keywords running with no proper negative keyword coverage, which meant the algorithm was matching to searches about HVAC jobs, HVAC parts, HVAC school and certification programs, and DIY HVAC repair rather than service calls from homeowners and businesses that needed work done.
Together these three issues meant a significant portion of the budget was being consumed by traffic that would never convert into a booked service call regardless of the quality of the ad or the landing page. The account looked busy on the surface because impressions and clicks were high, but the lead output for the spend did not reflect what a properly structured HVAC campaign should produce.
What Changed
The first change was disabling both search partners and the display network so the entire budget could concentrate on core Google Search where intent is highest. For a local HVAC company this is almost always the correct default, because the searches that come through core Search are from people actively looking to hire someone right now, while partner and display impressions are almost always one or two steps further removed from real buying intent. Concentrating the budget on the most intent rich surface produced an immediate lift in lead quality before any other change was made.
The second change was rebuilding the campaign structure around specific HVAC service types, with separate ad groups for AC repair, heating repair, HVAC installation, and emergency HVAC service. Each of those searches behaves differently, warrants a different bid posture, and benefits from ad copy and landing page experiences built around the specific intent rather than a generic HVAC pitch. That thematic separation is what lifts Quality Score and keeps cost per click in a defensible range across the account.
The third change was building a thorough negative keyword list blocking job seeker searches, parts and supply searches, certification and training searches, and DIY repair searches. Combined with proper conversion tracking on calls and form fills, the account had clean data to optimize against. Concentrating budget on core search with a well structured account and clean negative keyword coverage is what produced the improvement in both lead quality and lead volume.
The Results
101 conversions at $91.53 cost per lead on $9,240 in total spend across 60,100 impressions and 747 clicks from May through August 2024. The conversion volume reflects the lift in lead quality that comes from running on core Search only and matching to genuine service intent rather than the broader pool of partner, display, and off intent broad match traffic the account had been spending against before the rebuild.
For an HVAC company where average service calls run $150 to $500 and equipment installations run $3,000 to $12,000, a $91.53 CPL produces solid ROI especially during the peak summer season when demand for AC repair and installation is at its highest. A single installation closed from this lead flow can pay for several weeks of ad spend on its own, which is the practical reason properly structured paid search remains one of the most reliable channels for HVAC growth.
A Note on This Engagement
This account was managed as part of an agency contracting engagement. The audit, campaign restructure, keyword strategy, negative keyword build, search partner and display network cleanup, and ongoing weekly optimization were all performed directly by me. The results reflect the work I did on the account.
Related Work
You can read more about how I approach Google Ads for HVAC companies, the negative keyword strategy that protects budgets like this one, the role of call tracking in tying phone calls back to the keywords that produced them, or view all case studies for additional examples of accounts restructured for better performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a realistic cost per lead for HVAC Google Ads?
Cost per lead for HVAC typically lands between $60 and $150 depending on the market, the season, and the mix of service repair versus installation work. Service calls like AC repair and heating repair tend to convert at the lower end of that range because the intent is immediate and the searcher is ready to book. Installation searches carry a higher CPL because the project value is much larger and the competition is more aggressive. The $91.53 figure in this case study reflects a well structured campaign during peak summer demand in a moderately competitive market with a thorough negative keyword list and search partners plus display network disabled.
Why should HVAC companies disable search partners and display network?
Search partners are non Google sites that show Google ads, and the traffic from them is typically lower quality and harder to qualify than core Google Search traffic. For a local HVAC company that depends on high intent service inquiries, the partner traffic often produces clicks without producing booked jobs. The display network is even further removed from intent because it shows banner ads to people browsing other websites, not people actively searching for HVAC help. Most local HVAC campaigns perform meaningfully better when both are disabled and the budget is concentrated on core Google Search where the searcher is actively looking to hire someone. Enabling display or search partners can make sense in specific brand or remarketing scenarios, but as default settings on a local service account they usually leak budget.
How do you structure Google Ads campaigns for an HVAC company?
The structure that produces consistent leads separates the account by service type rather than running one general HVAC campaign. AC repair, heating repair, HVAC installation, and emergency HVAC service each get their own ad groups because the search behavior, the urgency, the bid posture, and the ideal landing page differ. Emergency service warrants more aggressive bidding because the searcher will hire whoever responds fastest. Installation warrants higher bids because the project value is larger. On top of the service separation sits a thorough negative keyword list blocking job seeker searches, parts and supply searches, certification and training searches, and DIY repair searches that would otherwise consume budget on traffic that will never book a service call.
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