An HVAC company owner in central Texas told me his summer revenue was six times his winter revenue. June through September, the phone rang constantly. October through March, he laid off techs and worried about payroll. He’d been running the business for nine years and assumed that’s just how HVAC works.
When I looked at his Google presence, it explained the gap. His Google Business Profile mentioned air conditioning twelve times and heating zero times. His website had a dedicated page for AC repair and nothing for furnace service, heat pump installation, or heating maintenance. He was invisible for half the searches in his industry because he’d built his entire online presence around summer.
His competitor across town had pages for both seasons, reviews mentioning both heating and cooling work, and a GBP that listed every service for both systems. That competitor’s off-season wasn’t great, but it was three times better than his.
HVAC is a seasonal business. But the degree of that seasonality is something you can control with how you show up on Google.
The dual-season search pattern
HVAC searches follow a predictable curve. AC-related searches spike from May through September. Heating searches spike from November through February. March-April and October are shoulder months where both overlap.
What most HVAC companies miss is that the shoulder months and off-season still produce significant search volume. “Furnace repair near me” in January gets fewer searches than “AC repair near me” in July, but it’s not zero. In a mid-sized Texas market, heating-related searches run 800-1,500 per month during winter. Those are high-intent searches from homeowners whose heat just stopped working. They’re calling someone today.
The HVAC companies that win year-round build their Google presence for both seasons simultaneously. When summer marketing takes all the attention, winter visibility atrophies. When winter hits and you suddenly need heating calls, you’re starting from scratch against competitors who built their heating presence all year.
Google Keyword Planner shows that HVAC-related searches in a metro like San Antonio run 8,000-15,000 per month across both seasons. “AC repair near me” dominates in summer. “Heater repair near me,” “furnace not working,” and “heat pump installation” dominate in winter. Emergency searches like “AC not cooling” and “no heat” happen year-round and convert at the highest rate because the caller has no choice but to hire someone today.
Your Google Business Profile needs both seasons
The Map Pack is where HVAC calls start. When a homeowner’s AC dies in August, they search “AC repair near me” and call one of the three businesses in the map. When the furnace stops in January, same pattern. You need to show up in both versions.
Set your primary category to “HVAC Contractor.” Add secondary categories for both seasons: “Air Conditioning Repair Service,” “Air Conditioning Contractor,” “Heating Contractor,” “Furnace Repair Service,” “Heat Pump Installer.” Most HVAC companies I audit use “HVAC Contractor” alone and miss the season-specific categories that capture targeted searches.
Your service list in GBP should cover the full spectrum. Break it out individually: AC repair, AC installation, central air installation, ductless mini-split installation, furnace repair, furnace installation, heat pump repair, heat pump installation, heating maintenance, AC maintenance, duct cleaning, thermostat installation, indoor air quality assessment. Each service entry ranks independently for related searches. A homeowner searching “ductless mini-split installation near me” will only find you if it’s listed.
Your business description should mention both seasons explicitly. “Full-service HVAC company serving San Antonio and surrounding areas. Air conditioning repair and installation, heating and furnace service, heat pump systems, ductless mini-splits, preventive maintenance plans, duct cleaning, and 24/7 emergency service for both heating and cooling emergencies” covers both seasons in 750 characters and tells Google you’re relevant year-round.
Emergency vs. maintenance keywords
HVAC keywords fall into two categories with very different conversion rates and customer value.
Emergency keywords convert fastest and have the least price sensitivity: “AC not cooling,” “furnace not working,” “no heat in house,” “AC blowing warm air,” “heater won’t turn on.” These searchers have an immediate problem and will pay whatever it costs to fix it today. They call the first company that answers. The same rules apply here as for any emergency service: your phone must be answered, your GBP hours must be accurate, and your website must show “24/7 Emergency Service” above the fold.
Maintenance and installation keywords convert slower but have higher lifetime value: “AC tune-up [city],” “furnace maintenance near me,” “new AC unit cost,” “heat pump vs furnace.” These searchers are planning ahead. They’ll compare 2-3 quotes. They read reviews more carefully. And a maintenance customer who signs up for a bi-annual plan is worth $300-500 per year in recurring revenue plus the inside track on replacement sales when the system reaches end of life.
Build your keyword strategy to capture both types. Emergency keywords need your GBP optimized and your phone answered. Maintenance and installation keywords need dedicated pages on your website.
Build service pages for every offering
Your website should have individual pages for every major service, not a single “Services” page with bullet points. Each page targets a specific search term and can rank independently.
For summer: AC repair, AC installation, central air replacement, ductless mini-split systems, AC maintenance and tune-ups, indoor air quality.
For winter: furnace repair, furnace installation, heat pump repair, heat pump installation, heating maintenance, thermostat installation.
Year-round: duct cleaning, HVAC maintenance plans, emergency HVAC service.
Each page should be 500-800 words, mention the cities you serve, describe the problem the customer is experiencing, explain your approach, and include a tap-to-call phone number. “Your AC stopped cooling in the middle of July. The house is 90 degrees and climbing” is a better opening than “We offer comprehensive air conditioning repair services.”
Then build location pages for every city in your service area. If you serve San Antonio, Boerne, New Braunfels, and Helotes, each city gets its own page. Mention area-specific details: older homes in certain neighborhoods with outdated ductwork, areas with well water that affects humidifier systems, specific subdivisions where you’ve done multiple installs. Google can’t rank you for “AC repair Boerne” if Boerne doesn’t appear on your site. Location pages compound over time and are the most underused tactic in HVAC marketing.
Reviews across both seasons
HVAC companies have a built-in review advantage: you serve the same customers twice a year if you do both heating and cooling. Every maintenance visit, every repair call, and every installation is a review opportunity.
The top HVAC companies in most markets have 200-500 Google reviews. If you run 8-10 jobs per day across your team and 15-20% leave reviews, that’s 6-10 reviews per week. Within a year, you’re competitive with anyone in your market.
The system matches what works for any service business: tech finishes the job, confirms the customer is satisfied, and sends an SMS with a direct link to your Google review page. SMS converts at 34%. Don’t wait until the end of the week to send batch emails. Text immediately after the job while the customer is enjoying their working AC or heat.
Reviews that mention specific services help your search visibility. A review that says “They replaced our 15-year-old furnace with a heat pump system” helps you rank for heat pump searches. A review that says “They came out at 11pm when our AC died” helps you rank for emergency searches. You can’t tell customers what to write, but you can ask “Would you mind sharing what we did and how it went?” which naturally produces the detailed reviews that help your ranking.
Respond to every review within 24 hours. Mention the specific work. “Glad that Carrier system is keeping the house comfortable. Those variable-speed units are worth the upgrade” signals expertise to future readers and helps your local ranking.
Seasonal Google Posts
Weekly Google Posts keep your profile active and visible. For HVAC companies, the content writes itself because it follows the calendar.
Spring: AC tune-up reminders, filter change tips, “book your maintenance before the rush” promotions.
Summer: completed AC installations with photos, energy efficiency tips during heat waves, emergency service availability reminders.
Fall: heating system inspection offers, furnace tune-up promotions, “don’t wait for the first cold front” messaging.
Winter: completed heating installations, cold weather preparation tips, heat pump vs. furnace educational content.
Year-round: maintenance plan promotions, team photos, completed jobs with before-and-after when applicable.
Post once a week. It takes 5 minutes. The compounding effect on your profile visibility is worth far more than the time investment. Businesses that post weekly get 5x more profile views than those that don’t.
Photos that build confidence
HVAC equipment doesn’t photograph as dramatically as a kitchen remodel, but the right photos still build trust. Clean installations with neat wiring and proper ductwork. Your trucks with branding. Your team in uniform. Before-and-after shots of an old rusted unit replaced with a new one. Indoor and outdoor units properly installed and leveled.
What customers want to see is professionalism and care. A photo of a clean, organized work van tells them you take the job seriously. A photo of a neatly installed thermostat with clean drywall around it tells them you respect the home. Businesses with 100+ photos get 520% more calls than average. Every job is a photo opportunity, and every photo is free advertising.
Avoid stock photos entirely. Customers can tell. A stock photo of a smiling technician in a crisp uniform standing in front of a generic house erodes trust rather than building it.
What to do before next season
Search “AC repair near me” and “heater repair near me” from your phone. See if you show up for both. If you only appear for one season, that’s the gap to close first.
Check your GBP: are both heating and cooling services listed individually? Does your description mention both? Are your hours correct for emergency calls?
Check your website: do you have separate pages for AC services and heating services? Do you have location pages for every city you serve?
If you want to see exactly where the gaps are, the free audit checks your Map Pack visibility, review strength, and GBP completeness against the top HVAC companies in your market. It takes 30 seconds and shows you what’s costing you calls in both seasons.