Quick answer
A heating, air conditioning or plumbing firm should begin Google Ads by tracking calls and forms, then advertising one urgent service such as boiler breakdowns in a tight area it can reach quickly. Add negative keywords from day one, schedule adverts for hours when calls are answered, mention current registrations, and adjust budgets with the seasons.
Heating and cooling work has three features that shape how Google Ads should be run. It is seasonal: the first cold snap brings a rush of breakdown searches, and a hot week in July does the same for air conditioning. It is urgent: someone with no heating in January wants help today, not a brochure. And it is local: a job forty minutes away at rush hour is rarely worth having. Firms that set up their account around those three facts usually find Google Ads pays. Firms that copy a generic set-up often spend their budget on the wrong searches. Here is where to begin.
Step 1: track calls before spending a pound
Most heating and plumbing enquiries come by phone. If Google Ads cannot see your calls, it cannot learn which searches bring work, and neither can you. Before launching anything:
- Add a call asset to your adverts so people can ring directly from the results; Google explains call assets in its help pages.
- Track calls from your website, using a Google forwarding number or call tracking software.
- Track quote and contact form submissions as conversions.
- Decide what counts as a real lead, such as a call lasting over a minute.
Step 2: pick one urgent service to start
Do not advertise every service at once. Start with the work people search for when they need help now, because those searches turn into calls fastest.
| Service | Urgency | Job value | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boiler breakdown and repair | High | Lower | Start here in autumn and winter |
| Boiler servicing | Low | Low, but repeat work | Off-season, to fill quiet weeks |
| Boiler installation | Medium | High | Add once tracking proves out |
| Air conditioning install or repair | High in heatwaves | Medium to high | Spring and summer |
| Heat pumps | Low | High | Longer decisions, separate campaign |
Use Google’s Keyword Planner to see how people phrase searches for your chosen service in your area, and build one tightly themed group of keywords around it.
Step 3: set a tight service area
Target the area you can actually reach in a reasonable time, not the whole county. Set location targeting to people in your area rather than people interested in it, so you do not pay for searches from elsewhere. If one town brings better jobs, raise bids there or give it its own campaign later.
Step 4: add negative keywords from day one
Heating and plumbing searches attract a lot of people you cannot help: engineers looking for work, students looking for courses, and homeowners looking for DIY instructions or parts. Add negatives before launch, such as:
- jobs, vacancies, salary, apprenticeship, course, training
- how to, DIY, manual, diagram, reset, video
- parts, spares, wholesale, trade counter
- brands or services you do not cover
Review the search terms report every week for the first month and add new negatives as they appear.
Step 5: say what makes you trustworthy
People letting a stranger into their home look for proof. Use adverts and assets to show what you can genuinely claim: current registrations such as the Gas Safe Register for gas work, manufacturer approvals, response times you actually meet, fixed call-out prices if you offer them, and your area. Only claim what is true and current; advertising rules require it, and customers increasingly check.
Step 6: send clicks to the right page
An advert for boiler breakdowns should land on a page about boiler breakdowns, with a phone number at the top, the area you cover, what happens when someone calls, and proof such as reviews and registrations. Sending everyone to the homepage wastes money. Our guide to landing page costs explains the options, and our landing page design is £199 one-off.
Step 7: plan for the seasons
Heating searches rise with the first cold spell and fall in spring; air conditioning does the opposite. Plan budgets accordingly:
- Autumn and winter: breakdowns and repairs, with more budget on cold weeks.
- Spring: servicing and installation campaigns, ahead of next winter.
- Summer: air conditioning, if you offer it, and servicing to fill quiet weeks.
Schedule adverts to run when someone can answer the phone. A breakdown call that goes to voicemail at 8pm is a paid click that rings a competitor next.
A worked example
A two-engineer heating firm in Derby started with one campaign: boiler breakdown and repair searches within a twelve-mile radius, call assets switched on, adverts running seven in the morning until seven at night, and a negative list of forty words. The landing page showed the firm’s Gas Safe registration, a fixed call-out fee and the towns covered. In the first month the search terms report found spending on searches for boiler manuals and fault codes, which were added as negatives. By the second month, most spend was on searches that rang. Only then did the firm add a separate installation campaign in spring, with its own quote page.
What to check every week
For the first two months, spend twenty minutes a week on four things: the search terms that triggered your adverts, the calls and forms recorded as conversions, the cost per lead compared with what a job is worth, and whether calls were missed. Small, regular corrections beat a big overhaul every quarter.
Common mistakes
- Launching without call tracking.
- Targeting a huge area to “get more volume”.
- Running adverts at night with nobody answering.
- Sending every advert to the homepage.
- Judging the account after a week.
Getting help
Our Google Ads management is £199 a month and focuses on what each pound of spend brings back; ad spend is paid directly to Google. Our guide to what Google Ads costs covers budgets and click prices, and our guide to branding for trades businesses helps your adverts and vans look like the same firm. All our prices are on the pricing page.
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Frequently asked questions
How much should a heating engineer spend on Google Ads? +
Start with a budget you can sustain for at least two to three months, because the first weeks are mostly learning. Work backwards from what a job is worth and how many enquiries you can handle. Our guide to Google Ads costs covers realistic click prices; many small firms begin with a few hundred pounds a month and grow from what works.
Should I advertise boiler repairs or installations first? +
Repairs and breakdowns usually convert fastest, because people searching for them need help now, though the job value is lower. Installations are worth more but take longer to decide and attract more competition. Many firms start with breakdown and repair searches to prove the account works, then add installations with a dedicated landing page.
Can I mention Gas Safe in my Google Ads? +
If your business and engineers are on the Gas Safe Register, saying so is a strong trust signal for gas work, and customers can check it. Only claim registrations and certifications you currently hold, and keep the wording accurate. Misleading claims about qualifications break advertising rules and can get adverts disapproved.
Do call-only ads work for heating and plumbing? +
They can work well for urgent work such as breakdowns, because people on phones often want to ring straight away. Make sure calls are answered during the hours the adverts run, track calls as conversions, and schedule ads to stop when nobody can pick up. For installations, adverts leading to a quote page usually work better.
