Google Ads Campaign for AC Replacement — Seasonal Promotion
The 30-second recipe
- Start with
- Google Search campaign — one campaign, two tightly themed ad groups (system failure intent vs. planned upgrade/promo intent)
- Add next
- A second campaign targeting financing-angle queries ("AC replacement financing," "no interest AC install") once the first campaign has 20+ conversions and you've confirmed your financing offer converts — trigger is roughly 3–4 weeks of data with a cost-per-lead you can sustain.
- Not yet
- Performance Max — not until you have at least 30–50 conversions in the account; without that history PMax has nothing to optimize toward and will spend heavily on low-intent display and YouTube inventory that won't close a $7,000 replacement job.
- Wait for
- Roughly 20–30 form fills or tracked phone calls with a cost-per-lead under your break-even threshold (back-calculate from your close rate and average job revenue) before expanding keywords or adding a second campaign.
- Measure
- Cost per lead (form fill + phone call), lead-to-appointment rate (tracked in your CRM, not Google), and impression share lost to budget vs. lost to rank — these three tell you whether to spend more, bid higher, or fix the landing page.
The whole recipe is below ↓
This is a recipe, not a guarantee. How well any ad campaign performs depends on things no recipe can control: your budget, how crowded and expensive your industry's auctions are, the products you sell and what you charge for them, how well your website actually converts visitors, the quality of your customer support, your reviews and reputation, your creative, and plain timing. A perfect recipe on top of a weak offer or a broken website will still lose money — ads amplify what's already there, good or bad.
The budgets shown are suggestions only — yours could and should vary with your available funds and your goals. Follow this recipe with caution: make sure every step lines up with your budget and your business, and edit where necessary. We explain why each step exists, but nothing here is one-size-fits-all. Before you spend a dollar, be blunt with yourself about the list above — get your house in order, then use the recipe to learn and test. That's what it's for.
Check the rules that govern your industry before you run anything. Plenty of businesses carry advertising obligations that have nothing to do with the ad platforms: licensing boards, professional advertising standards, rules about what you may claim and how you must substantiate it, age restrictions, and consent laws covering email, texting, and calling. Those rules are yours to know, they vary by state and country, and they override any step in this recipe.
If you work in a licensed or regulated field — health and medical, legal, financial and lending, insurance, real estate, alcohol, firearms, cannabis, childcare, education, anything with a board or a license behind it — confirm what applies to you before you spend a dollar, and ask your attorney or your licensing body if you are not certain. Nothing on this site is legal advice.
This recipe runs entirely on Google Search. The build order is: confirm prerequisites → launch one tightly themed Search campaign targeting high-intent AC replacement queries with a seasonal promotional hook → monitor cost-per-lead for 3–4 weeks → then consider expanding match types or adding a secondary ad group for financing angles once you have real conversion data. Google Search is the right starting point because AC replacement is almost purely demand-capture: homeowners search when their unit dies or when they’re planning ahead of summer heat, not because an ad interrupted them.
This is for HVAC businesses that already run Google Ads and want a focused campaign built around a seasonal or limited-time AC replacement promotion — a spring early-bird deal, a summer emergency-replacement offer, or a fall closeout on current-season equipment. The core problem is that generic HVAC campaigns waste budget on tune-ups, repairs, and commercial queries when you’re trying to move full system replacements at a $5,000–$12,000 average ticket. This recipe isolates that intent and pairs it with promotional ad copy that creates urgency without resorting to fake countdown timers. Social and display deserve their own recipe for this angle; one sentence is enough to note it.
What can you afford to pay for a customer?
Advertising can only cost what's left after everything else. Put in what a typical order looks like and this works out the rest.
These are your numbers as you've typed them. Connect your store and we'll work this out from your actual orders instead — including the costs most people forget.
Prerequisites Checklist
Before launching, confirm every item below is in place. If more than one or two are missing, you're better served by a from-scratch Google Ads recipe for HVAC companies first — this recipe picks up where that one leaves off.
- Google Ads account active with billing confirmed and no policy holds.
- Conversion tracking firing correctly — at minimum: phone call from ads (Google forwarding number, 60-second minimum call duration), and form submission on the thank-you page. Test both in Tag Assistant before launch.
- Dedicated landing page for the seasonal AC replacement offer — not your homepage. Must include the specific promo (dollar amount off, financing terms, or seasonal hook), a visible phone number, a short lead form (name, phone, address, best time to call), and trust signals (reviews, years in business, brands carried).
- Google Business Profile verified and address confirmed — this feeds Location Extensions and affects Local Services eligibility.
- Call tracking number either via Google's forwarding number or a third-party like CallRail, mapped to the campaign.
- Seasonal offer defined and legal — know your exact promo dates, the specific dollar figure or financing terms, and confirm your state's contractor licensing board rules on promotional advertising claims before writing ad copy. HVAC contractors are licensed trades in most U.S. states and Canada; advertising standards vary — verify your own obligations before running claims about savings, rebates, or financing.
- CRM or intake process ready — high-ticket leads go cold fast; confirm someone can respond to form fills within 5 minutes during business hours.
Make sure your Google Ads account is live, your conversion tracking is actually firing (test it — don't assume), and you have a real landing page built around this specific seasonal AC offer. A campaign pointing to your homepage or a generic HVAC services page will waste every dollar. Also lock in the exact promotional offer — dates, savings amount, financing terms — before writing a single headline, because the offer is what the campaign is selling.
Campaign Architecture & Seasonal Offer Strategy
This campaign uses one Google Search campaign with two ad groups, separated by buyer intent. Do not collapse them — the search behavior and the ad copy angle differ enough that combining them tanks Quality Score on one set or the other.
Ad Group 1 — Emergency/Failure Intent: Targets homeowners whose AC has broken down or is failing. Hook: speed of install, same-day or next-day quotes, trusted brands. The seasonal promo is a secondary message here ("Replace now before the heat peaks — financing available").
Ad Group 2 — Planned Upgrade/Promo Intent: Targets homeowners who are researching replacement proactively, often triggered by age of unit, rising energy bills, or awareness of a seasonal deal. Hook: the specific promo offer front and center, efficiency savings, rebates, brand credibility. This is where the seasonal angle lives hardest.
Offer specificity matters more than cleverness. "Save $500 on a new Carrier AC system — installed before June 30" outperforms "Summer Savings Event" every time at this ticket price. Homeowners spending $7,000+ need a concrete reason to call you over the next result.
Branded vs. competitor keywords: If you carry a named brand (Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Rheem, etc.), you can use that brand name in keywords and ads only if you are an authorized dealer — follow Google's trademark policy and the manufacturer's co-op advertising guidelines. Do not claim to be "the official" dealer unless you can substantiate it. Competitor brand keywords (bidding on Trane when you sell Carrier) are a separate, higher-cost strategy — skip them in this seasonal campaign.
You're building one campaign with two distinct ad groups based on why someone is searching. The first group catches people whose AC just died — they need speed and trust. The second catches people planning ahead and hunting for a deal — they need the specific offer. Keeping them separate means your ads actually match what each person typed, which keeps your costs lower and your call volume higher. The seasonal promo is the star of group two; in group one it's a supporting reason to call you instead of a competitor.
New to "funnel" talk? What top, middle, and bottom mean
Think of every person who could ever buy from you as water moving through a funnel. Top of funnel is strangers — people who've never heard of the business. Campaigns here buy attention and first visits, not sales, so expect cheap clicks and few purchases. Middle of funnel is people who've shown interest — they visited, engaged, or are comparing options. Campaigns here re-engage and build the case. Bottom of funnel is people ready to buy right now — searching for exactly what you sell or abandoning a cart. Campaigns here convert; the clicks cost the most because the intent is worth the most. Full funnel means automated campaigns that work every stage at once. One thing that surprises people: recipes usually start at the bottom — capture the demand that already exists before spending money creating new demand at the top.
Google Search Campaign — AC Replacement Seasonal Promo
One Search campaign, two ad groups, manual CPC to start (switch to Maximize Conversions after 20+ conversions). Budget: $75–$150/day at campaign level. Geographic targeting: your actual service area — city + radius or zip code list, not the full metro DMA if you only serve part of it. Schedule: run 24/7 initially to capture emergency searches; after 2 weeks, pull the hourly report and cut hours with zero conversions if budget is tight.
Reminder: budget figures are suggestions — scale to your funds and goals.
Search captures homeowners who are actively typing AC replacement queries right now — this is the bottom of the funnel, where intent is highest and every dollar spent is competing for someone already ready to get quotes.
- 1. In Google Ads, click '+ New campaign' → select goal 'Leads' → campaign type 'Search' → check both 'Website visits' and 'Phone calls' as conversion goals → click Continue.
- 2. Name the campaign something date-stamped: 'AC Replacement — Summer Promo 2025' so you can identify it in reports. Set network to 'Search Network only' — uncheck 'Include Google search partners' and 'Display Network' for now (partners can add volume later once you know CPL).
- 3. Set locations to your specific service area: use 'Enter another location' and add your city/cities or a radius around your business address. Set location option to 'Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations' — do NOT use 'Presence or interest,' which pulls in people researching your area from outside it.
- 4. Set languages to English (add Spanish if your market warrants it and you have Spanish landing page/phone coverage).
- 5. Set bidding: choose 'Maximize clicks' with a max CPC cap of $35 for the first 2–3 weeks. Once you hit 20+ conversions, switch to 'Maximize conversions' — do not start there without conversion history or Google will spend the budget chasing cheap, irrelevant clicks.
- 6. Set daily budget at $75–$150. Click Save and continue to ad groups.
- 7. Create Ad Group 1 — name it 'Emergency Failure Intent.' Paste in the emergency/failure keywords (phrase and exact match only — see keyword list). Write 3 Responsive Search Ads: pin Headline 1 to your business name or 'AC Replacement [City]'; use at least one headline containing the seasonal promo ('0% Financing — Replace Before Peak Heat'); include at least two urgency-oriented descriptions ('Same-week installation available — call for a free quote today').
- 8. Create Ad Group 2 — name it 'Planned Upgrade Promo Intent.' Paste in the planned-upgrade keywords. Write 3 RSAs: pin Headline 1 to the specific offer ('Save $500 on a New AC System'); include SEER rating and brand references if authorized ('Carrier 18 SEER — Installed & Permitted'); descriptions should name the promo end date if you have one ('Offer ends June 30 — free in-home estimate, no obligation').
- 9. Add extensions: Location extension (link your Google Business Profile), Call extension (your main number or CallRail number — set call reporting to 'on'), Callout extensions ('Licensed & Insured,' 'Financing Available,' 'Free In-Home Estimate,' 'Serving [City] Since [Year]'), Sitelink extensions (link to financing page, brand pages, and review/testimonial page — not just homepage).
- 10. Set ad rotation to 'Optimize: prefer best performing ads.' Enable auto-applied ad suggestions only if you review them weekly — otherwise turn them off to protect promotional messaging integrity.
"AC replacement [city]"
"air conditioner replacement [city]"
"new AC unit installation [city]"
"central air replacement cost"
"AC replacement cost [city]"
"replace central air conditioner"
"AC system replacement near me"
[ac replacement near me]
[central air conditioner replacement]
[new ac unit installed]
[ac replacement cost]
[replace air conditioner unit]
"AC replacement financing"
"air conditioner replacement financing"
"new AC system [city]"
[ac unit replacement near me]
"summer AC deals [city]"
"AC replacement promotion"
[replace hvac system]
"hvac replacement [city]"
repair
fix
recharge
freon
refrigerant
regas
diy
how to
free
window unit
portable
rent
rental
jobs
careers
training
course
Here are the exact steps to build this inside Google Ads. Take your time on the keyword lists and ad copy — those two things determine whether this works or not. The settings below are the ones that matter; everything else can stay at default to start.
Bid Management & Promotional Timing
Seasonal urgency requires active bid management — set a calendar reminder, not a set-and-forget approach.
Pre-season ramp (4–6 weeks before peak): Launch at the lower end of budget ($75/day). Bids at manual CPC max $30. Goal is to accumulate conversion data without overpaying before search volume peaks.
Peak-season push (during promotion window): Increase daily budget to $120–$150. If you've hit 20+ conversions, switch bidding to 'Maximize Conversions' — Google will use your conversion history to find higher-quality clicks. If not, stay on manual CPC and raise max CPC to $40 in the top-performing ad group only.
Promo end date: Update ad copy in both RSAs at least 3 days before the offer expires — Google takes time to re-approve ads. Do not let a 'Save $500 — offer ends June 30' headline run on July 5. It damages trust and may violate Google's ad accuracy policy.
Impression Share monitoring: Check 'Search Impression Share' and 'Search Lost IS (budget)' weekly. If you're losing more than 30% of impressions to budget, increase daily spend before adding keywords — you're already missing qualified clicks. If you're losing impression share to rank, raise bids or improve ad relevance/landing page alignment before spending more.
Important caveat: CPC benchmarks vary significantly by market. In dense metros (Phoenix, Dallas, Miami) AC replacement clicks can run $30–$50+. In smaller markets they may run $10–$20. Your actual CPL depends on your landing page conversion rate, your offer strength, and how fast your team follows up — the campaign settings don't control any of those.
Reminder: budget figures are suggestions — scale to your funds and goals.
Think of the campaign in three gears: a slower warm-up before peak season to gather data cheaply, a full-throttle push during your promotion window, and a clean wind-down when the offer expires. The most common mistake is leaving promotional ad copy live after the promotion ends — it erodes trust and can get your ads flagged. Put a calendar reminder for 3 days before your offer ends to update the copy.
Measurement & Optimization Rules
The only metrics that matter in week one: Are conversions firing correctly? Pull a search terms report after 48–72 hours and add any irrelevant queries as exact-match negatives immediately. Do not optimize bids on day three.
Weekly review checklist (every 7 days):
- Search Terms Report: Add negatives for anything that isn't a homeowner researching AC replacement. Common waste: job seekers ('hvac technician'), renters ('apartment AC'), commercial queries ('commercial HVAC replacement'), and informational queries ('how long does an AC unit last').
- Ad performance: In RSAs, check 'Asset performance' ratings. After 3–4 weeks, swap 'Low' rated assets — but only after statistically meaningful impressions (500+).
- CPL by ad group: If emergency-intent CPL is 40% higher than planned-upgrade CPL, check whether your landing page or phone response speed is the bottleneck before cutting bids.
- Call quality: Listen to a sample of calls weekly (CallRail or Google call recordings if enabled). A low call-to-appointment rate is almost always a phone handling problem, not a targeting problem.
Scale rule: Increase budget by no more than 20–30% at a time. Doubling the budget overnight resets Google's learning phase and CPL spikes.
Cut rule: If after 30 days and $2,000+ in spend you have fewer than 5 conversions and CPL is more than 3× your break-even, the issue is likely offer, landing page, or phone response — not the campaign structure. Pause and fix the conversion funnel before adding budget.
Retargeting note: At this budget level, your site visitor pool will be too small to run a meaningful retargeting campaign separately. Once monthly traffic exceeds roughly 500–800 sessions and you have conversion history, a remarketing ad group or a separate RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads) layer on your existing keywords is a worthwhile next step — but not before that threshold.
Reminder: budget figures are suggestions — scale to your funds and goals.
Week one: make sure conversions are tracking and pull the search terms report to kill obvious waste. Week two onward: review weekly, not daily. The most valuable thing you can do in the first month is add negatives, listen to calls, and leave the bids alone long enough to get real data. If leads aren't coming in after a month and real spend, the problem is almost always the offer, the landing page, or how fast someone answers the phone — not the campaign settings.
The recipe card
- Before anything else: confirm the advertising rules for your own industry and location — licensing board requirements, professional advertising standards, what you may claim, age restrictions, and consent rules for email, texting, and calling. They override every step below.
- Google Search only — two ad groups split by emergency vs. planned-upgrade intent, because the copy and the conversion path differ enough to matter at a $7,000 average ticket.
- Seasonal promotion must be specific: a dollar figure, a brand, an install deadline — 'Summer Savings Event' is not an offer.
- Budget floor is $75/day; below that you won't get enough clicks to learn anything before the promotional window closes.
- Start on manual CPC with a $30–$35 cap; switch to Maximize Conversions only after 20+ recorded conversions — not before.
- CPL, impression share lost to budget, and call-to-appointment rate are the three numbers to watch; everything else is noise until you have 30+ conversions.
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Talk to Gorilla PublicRecipes on this site are educational, not legal advice, and not a guarantee of results. You are responsible for each platform's ad policies and for any laws, licensing rules, or consent requirements that apply to your industry and location.