Marketing for New HVAC Companies — From Zero to 100 Leads/Month
Just started an HVAC company? Here's the marketing playbook to go from 0 leads to 100 qualified service calls per month in 12 months. No big budget required.
Overview
Starting an HVAC company with no reputation, no reviews, no rankings? Here's the proven playbook to go from invisible to booked solid in 12 months.
The Reality for New HVAC Companies
You have:
- 0-5 Google reviews
- No ranking anywhere on Google
- No brand recognition in your city
- $1,500-$5,000/mo marketing budget
- Some trucks, some techs, a license, and a willingness to work
What you need: 100 qualified service calls/month within 12 months. This is achievable on a minimal budget.
The 6-Month Foundation Phase
Months 1-2: Foundation
- Claim + verify your Google Business Profile
- Set up CallRail ($40/mo) for call tracking
- Get your first 10 Google reviews (ask every customer + give 10% off if they leave a review before your tech leaves)
- Build a basic 5-page website (Home, About, Services, Reviews, Contact)
- Set up a tracking phone number for each marketing channel
Months 3-4: Local SEO
- Build city pages for each service area
- Create cornerstone content (we wrote 8 of these for free, you can copy the structure)
- Submit to 30+ directories with consistent NAP
- Get to 30+ Google reviews
Months 5-6: Paid Acquisition
- Launch Google Ads with $500-$1,000/mo budget
- Test 5-10 emergency keyword + service+city keyword combinations
- Track CPL + ROAS weekly
- Cut losers, double down on winners
The 6-Month Growth Phase
Months 7-9: Reputation + Referrals
- Systematize review requests (SMS post-job)
- Launch referral program (existing customers refer new)
- Add 5-10 new Google reviews/mo
- Ramp Google Ads to $1,500-$3,000/mo based on ROI
- Add Meta Ads (Facebook + Instagram) for awareness
Months 10-12: Expansion
- Ranking #1 for primary keywords
- GBP views 2,000+/month
- 50-100 qualified leads/month
- Ready to expand services or locations
The Cheat Code: Trades Marketing Co's Starter Plan
If you're starting from scratch and want to skip the 6-month foundation phase, our $1,500/mo Starter plan handles Months 1-6 of this playbook in one package:
- Full GBP setup + verification
- 5-10 city pages
- 5-10 new Google reviews/mo
- 30+ directory citations
- Monthly content publishing
- Google Search Console + call tracking setup
Total cost: $9,000 over 6 months = $1,500/mo
Expected output by month 6: 30-50 qualified leads/month, GBP fully built, ready for Google Ads scaling.
What NOT to Do
- Don't pay for HomeAdvisor/Thumbtack/Angi leads — they're shared with 4 competitors, low close rates, and eat your budget
- Don't run Google Ads without CallRail tracking — you'll have no idea what's working
- Don't buy a fancy website before validating demand — a 5-page site is enough to rank locally
- Don't spend $5,000/mo on ads before testing $500/mo — scale once ROI is proven
- Don't ignore your GBP just because you have a new website — GBP drives 70% of local searches, your website drives 20%
The Realistic Timeline
Here's what realistic growth looks like:
| Month | Google reviews | GBP views | Organic leads/month | Total leads/month (organic + ads) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5-10 | 0-500 | 0-2 | 0-5 (mostly referrals) |
| 3 | 15-20 | 500-1,500 | 2-5 | 5-15 |
| 6 | 30-50 | 1,500-3,000 | 10-25 | 30-50 |
| 9 | 50-100 | 2,500-4,500 | 20-50 | 60-100 |
| 12 | 100+ | 3,000-5,000+ | 50-100 | 100-200 |
Free Resources for New HVAC Companies
- Google Business Profile Guide for HVAC — the GBP playbook we use
- Local SEO for HVAC: Complete Guide — city pages + on-page SEO
- HVAC Marketing Cost Guide — what to budget
- HVAC Google Ads Cost Guide — paid acquisition playbook
- HECS USA Case Study — real example (going invisible → booked solid)