The Small Business Guide to HVAC Lead Generation
Generating leads isn’t just a marketing task – it’s the lifeline of your HVAC business. Whether you’re just starting an HVAC business or managing a growing operation, a consistent stream of leads keeps your team busy, your jobs lined up, and your revenue predictable. Smart HVAC lead generation helps you book more jobs, stand out from the competition, and build relationships that lead to lifelong customers.
What is HVAC lead generation, exactly?
HVAC lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers who need heating, cooling, or ventilation services and turning them into paying clients. From Google® searches to local partnerships, it’s all about making it easy for customers to find you, responding quickly when they do, and building trust every step of the way.
Lead generation for HVAC firms can take place both online and offline.
Generating leads online
The internet and search engines like Google® have made lead generation much easier and more precise. Here are the building blocks for a stellar lead generation strategy for your HVAC firm.
Build a website that works for you
Your website should be the hub of all your marketing activities. Think of it as your 24/7 sales rep. Whether you hire a web developer or build it yourself with helpful tools for HVAC businesses, be sure to make it mobile-friendly, fast, and full of useful information. Highlight your services clearly, including emergency repairs, installations, and seasonal tune-ups. Add click-to-call buttons and easy quote forms to make it easy for customers to reach you.
Get listed in online directories
Make sure your business appears on platforms like Google Business Profile®, Yelp®, Angi®, and the dozens of other sites that feature business listings. Managing your online listings helps your HVAC business show up in local search results and gives potential customers more confidence to choose you. But having a listing isn’t enough – it needs to be accurate, consistent, and complete.
- Maintain consistent information: Use the exact same business name, address, and phone number across all listings. Consistency is key – even small differences like abbreviations or punctuation can hurt your credibility in search rankings.
- Check often for changes: Listings can change as often as every six days due to algorithm updates, user check-ins, or review activity. Set a weekly reminder to verify your details.
- Add extra details: Include your hours of operation (including holidays), business description, service areas, and a link to your website. Upload high-quality photos of your team, vans, or past jobs to make your listing more compelling.
Show up in local searches
To show up when someone in your area searches for something like “AC repair near me,” you need to make it easy for search engines like Google® to find you. This process is called search engine optimization, or SEO. When you do it for a specific local area, it’s called local SEO, which just means making sure your business shows up in local search results.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Create local pages on your website: If you serve more than one town, make a separate page for each place. Write a few sentences about what you offer in that area.
- Use appropriate keywords on your web pages: Using keywords – simple phrases like “furnace repair” or “emergency AC service” – helps you rank higher in searches for those terms.
- Earn mentions from other websites: When trustworthy sites mention or link to your business, it boosts your credibility. These links are called “backlinks.”
- Encourage customers to leave reviews: Reviews make you more visible and help new customers trust you.
Collect and manage online reviews
An online review is a powerful trust signal for new customers. In fact, many people trust reviews as much as personal recommendations. A strong collection of positive reviews can increase your visibility online, influence buying decisions, and help you rank higher in local search results.
- Ask every happy customer for a review after the job: Timing matters. Ask right after a successful service visit, while the experience is still fresh in the customer’s mind.
- Respond to reviews to show you care about customer service: Thank positive reviewers and professionally address any concerns in negative reviews. Engaging with your reviewers shows you’re listening and builds credibility with potential customers.
- Promote reviews on your website and social media: Positive feedback helps convert curious visitors into confident leads. Use widgets or testimonials to highlight real customer experiences.
Create helpful content
Demonstrate your expertise and build trust with potential customers by sharing tips, how-to videos, and other helpful information. Educational content positions you as a knowledgeable local expert and gives potential customers a reason to engage with your brand before they even need your services.
- Answer common questions: Try topics like “seasonal maintenance checklists” or “What to expect during an AC installation.” These topics answer common customer questions and help demystify the process.
- Be visual: Share photos or quick videos. A short clip explaining how to change an air filter or a graphic comparing types of thermostats can make your content more engaging.
- Post everywhere: Posting content on your website and social media can improve your search rankings and encourage followers to share your content, expanding your reach organically.
- Repurpose content: Turn a blog post into a helpful tip of the month on social media or include it in newsletters and follow-up emails to stay top of mind with leads and customers.
Build a social media presence
Stay top of mind and show the human side of your business. Social media isn’t just for brand awareness – it’s a direct line of communication with your community. It’s also a great way to showcase your team’s reliability, friendliness, and professionalism.
- Share before-and-after project photos: Highlight the quality of your work and give potential customers a look at the results they can expect.
- Run seasonal promotions or service reminders: Use platforms like Facebook® and Instagram® to promote tune-ups, inspections, and limited-time discounts.
- Answer questions in real-time through messaging: Quick replies build trust and can lead directly to booked appointments.
- Post team spotlights and customer testimonials: Show the people behind your services to create a more personal connection.
- Use stories, reels, or live video: Provide quick maintenance tips or walk-throughs of a recent install to engage your audience in a more dynamic way.
Use paid Google Ads
When done right, Google Ads can bring in high-intent HVAC leads fast. These ads appear at the top of search results for phrases like “emergency AC repair” or “best HVAC near me,” giving you instant visibility with people ready to book.
- Target your audience: Tailor ads to your service area by using keywords like “furnace repair” or “AC install.” Use geo-targeting to show your ads only to nearby users, so you’re not wasting money on irrelevant clicks from people outside of your service area.
- Focus on conversion: When leads click on an ad, make sure the landing page they see includes a compelling headline, your service options, a contact form, and trust signals like reviews or certifications.
- Test different ad formats: Try call-only ads for emergency services, display ads for brand awareness, and responsive search ads to match a range of user searches.
- Monitor performance and adjust regularly: Track which keywords are driving results and shift budget to the most effective campaigns.
Generating leads offline
Offline strategies are often overlooked in today’s digital world, but they remain a powerful way to build trust and attract loyal, local customers. These HVAC marketing ideas help you connect with people in your community who may not be actively searching online but still need HVAC services. By putting your brand out there where people live, work, and gather, you build name recognition and earn referrals the old-fashioned way.
Partner with real estate agents and property managers
Real estate professionals and property managers often need reliable HVAC contractors for inspections, quick fixes, and ongoing maintenance. By building strong relationships with them, you can become their go-to provider for multiple properties or clients.
Use door hangers and flyers
Door hangers and flyers are a cost-effective way to target specific neighborhoods, especially those with older homes or high turnover. They put your message directly in the hands of potential customers without needing them to go online.
Sponsor local events or teams
Community sponsorships are a great way to build positive brand awareness and show support for the neighborhoods you serve. When people see your logo at school events, local sports games, or community fairs, your business becomes a familiar and trusted name.
Managing leads with the right tools
Once your marketing starts working, you’ll need a system to keep track of the leads that come in. That’s where a CRM – customer relationship management software – comes in. It centralizes all your contacts, job requests, and communication in one place so nothing falls through the cracks.
With the right tool, you can assign leads to the right tech or salesperson and monitor who’s following up. You’ll also be able to see exactly where each lead came from, whether it was a Google ad, a referral, or a contact form on your website. This visibility helps you double down on your most effective marketing channels and refine the ones that aren’t delivering.
How to nurture leads
Not everyone books the first time they call – and that’s okay. The key is to keep the conversation going so you stay top of mind until they’re ready to schedule. Lead nurturing builds trust, answers common questions, and reminds prospects why they reached out in the first place.
- Send seasonal newsletters with maintenance tips: These provide value while subtly reminding readers of your services. Include timely advice that positions you as a trusted resource.
- Offer special deals to inactive customers: Reach out to past leads with a limited-time discount or tune-up offer to spark interest again.
- Share helpful blog posts or service reminders: Educational content helps solve problems and shows that you understand their needs. Include links in email or text messages to stay in touch without being too pushy.
How to automate lead generation
Generating leads for your HVAC business may seem like a lot of work. Fortunately, automation tools and HVAC software can simplify and speed up every step of the process – from first inquiry to final follow-up. When done right, automation helps you stay responsive and consistent without adding more to your to-do list.
- Let customers book online: Online scheduling software for HVAC companies lets customers book a service anytime, without needing to call. This reduces missed calls and makes it easier to fill your calendar with minimal effort.
- Send automated review and referral requests: After each job, automatically send a thank-you message with a link to leave a review or refer a friend. It’s a simple way to build your online reputation and generate word-of-mouth business.
- Respond to inquiries instantly: Set up automatic replies for your website forms, Facebook messages, and other channels. This assures customers you’ve received their request and gives them a great first impression.
- Follow up after each job: Use HVAC service software to automatically follow up with customers after each service. A quick message asking how things went – or offering a post-service tip – keeps your business top of mind.
- Nurture leads with email and text campaigns: Create automated email or text drip campaigns for people who haven’t booked yet. Regularly sending helpful content, special offers, or service reminders keeps customers engaged until they’re ready to schedule.
- Stay organized with automated task tracking: Use HVAC management software to automatically log interactions and assign follow-up actions. This helps you stay on top of each lead without needing to manually track every step.
Thryv: a do-it-all sales and marketing platform
Thryv is an online platform designed to help small businesses find customers faster, communicate more easily, and run more efficiently. For HVAC companies, that means an easier time with lead generation, fewer missed opportunities, and more time for jobs.
Thryv’s HVAC business software features all the tools you need to generate leads while simplifying back office management. With Thryv, you get:
- Marketing tools to enhance local listings, manage your online reputation, build a professional website, send automated text and emails, and manage your social media from one dashboard.
- Sales solutions to simplify scheduling appointments, keep customer data organized in a CRM, produce estimates and invoices faster, and track leads and sales from start to finish.
- Automated tools to streamline marketing efforts, generate more customer reviews, process payments seamlessly, and improve efficiency.
- Communication software including a centralized inbox, TeamChat, phone and video calls, WebChat, and customer communication management software.
How to get HVAC leads faster with Thryv Leads
When you’re ready to ramp up your lead generation, Thryv Leads can help you get more HVAC customers by running smart, automated ads on platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Bing. This add-on to the Thryv platform is powered by AI, which means it handles all the ad management and optimization for you, so you can focus on your business, not your marketing.
Here’s what Thryv Leads can do:
- Run smarter ads automatically: AI adjusts your campaigns in real time for the best performance.
- Put your business front and center: Your ads show up in the top spots where customers are actively searching.
- Create eye-catching ads: Thryv builds professional ads using photos, videos, and attention-grabbing formats.
- Send leads straight to you: You get calls and form submissions delivered directly to your inbox.
- Track results in real time: Use a simple dashboard to see how many people are seeing, clicking, and contacting you.
- Advertise across platforms without the hassle: Manage all your campaigns from one place instead of jumping between tools.
- Start with expert guidance: Thryv helps set up campaigns based on your goals and local competition.
- Use your budget wisely: The system shifts your budget to the best-performing ads automatically.
- See clear reports: Get transparent analytics so you know what’s working and where to improve.
With Thryv Leads, you get high-quality leads without having to become a digital marketing expert. It’s a powerful tool for growing your HVAC business while saving you time.
Why choose Thryv?
Over 100,000 small businesses use Thryv’s software solutions to communicate easily, stay organized, and grow their businesses. Thryv’s HVAC software for small businesses offers:
- One login. Instead of continually logging in to multiple software solutions, Thryv lets you log in once to access all the tools you need – all day long.
- Access anywhere you go. Use Thryv software on any device – mobile phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop – anywhere you have an internet connection. With Thryv, your business tools are always at your fingertips, no matter where your day takes you.
- Integration with other tools. Thryv integrates easily with dozens of popular business and productivity apps – the software tools you already know and love. That means you can keep using software like QuickBooks, MailChimp, Gmail, and Clover, while adding the power of the Thryv platform to your workflow.
- Advanced security. Cutting-edge data encryption and customizable account access controls ensure your business information stays safe and your customers’ data stays protected.
- Unmatched support. Thryv offers unlimited, 24/7 support from specialists who are experts in using Thryv software to solve small business challenges.
Additional Resources for small HVAC businesses
Small Business Software for HVAC Businesses
HVAC Calculator: Small Business Job Price Calculator
How to Earn Your HVAC Technician Certification & License
