An HVAC company cut its ad cost per job from $400 to $220.

The situation

The campaign looked busy. Clicks were coming in, the phone rang. But a good part of those clicks came from people looking for HVAC jobs, shopping for parts or watching how-to videos, and some of the calls came from areas the team didn’t even serve.

Every one of those was paid for at HVAC click prices, which are some of the highest in home services.

What I found

• The service area was wider than where the trucks actually go.
• Searches for jobs, parts and tutorials were triggering the ads.
• Every service ran in the same campaign, so the budget couldn’t follow the profitable work.
• Calls were counted, but nobody tracked which ones became a booked visit.

What I changed

• The service area set to where the team really works.
• Irrelevant searches excluded, and the list reviewed every week.
• Separate campaigns for each service.
• Calls followed through to the booked appointment.

The numbers

Eight weeks, comparing periods with similar demand.

Why it worked

The budget didn’t grow. It just stopped paying for people who were never going to book. In HVAC, where a single click can cost $15 to $100 at the top of the page, a loose campaign wastes money fast.

Comparing periods with similar demand matters here. HVAC demand swings with the weather, and a summer month always looks better than a spring month.

Real clients. Names and identifying details are withheld, and numbers are rounded. Ad cost figures are media spend only, without the management fee. Results depend on the market and are not a promise of future results. Work done by Leo Agostini.