An HVAC Marketing Plan for Vancouver Companies: Season by Season

Behnam Dehghan is a Vancouver digital marketer specialising in home services and trades businesses, with a particular focus on HVAC. Since 2022 I have worked as Digital Marketing Specialist at Angels Heating and Cooling, an HVAC company in Metro Vancouver, and before that I spent years building and marketing websites for businesses in Iran and Canada.

HVAC marketing in Vancouver is shaped by the weather more than almost anything else. This article lays out a season-by-season plan I would use as a starting point for a heating and cooling company in Metro Vancouver. It is a framework, not a script: every company has different crews, margins and service areas, so adapt it to your numbers.

Why seasonality matters so much in Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver has mild, wet winters and mostly moderate summers, with occasional cold snaps and occasional heat waves. The 2021 heat dome changed how many homeowners think about cooling, and interest in heat pumps has grown as people look for one system that heats and cools. Cold snaps in winter create sudden spikes in “no heat” and “furnace not working” searches.

That gives HVAC companies a predictable rhythm with unpredictable peaks:

• Fall: furnace and heat pump tune-ups, heating system checks, early replacement decisions.
• Winter: emergency no-heat calls during cold snaps, replacement of failed systems.
• Spring: the quieter window for planned installations, heat pump quotes and rebate research.
• Summer: cooling and heat pump demand, which can spike sharply during heat warnings.

A good marketing plan prepares for each of these before it arrives.

The foundations (do these once, keep them up all year)

Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is often the first thing a homeowner sees. Make sure the categories are right (for example, HVAC contractor, plus relevant secondary categories), the service area reflects where you actually work, hours are accurate, and services are listed in plain language: furnace repair, heat pump installation, AC repair, ductless mini-splits, maintenance plans. Post updates seasonally and add real photos of your team and installs.

Reviews

Reviews influence Maps rankings, Local Services Ads and the homeowner’s final decision. Build a simple system: a text with a review link sent the same day the job is completed, a gentle reminder a few days later, and replies to every review. Avoid incentives for reviews; it breaks Google’s policies.

Service-area pages

For a company serving Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, the North Shore and the Fraser Valley, individual service-area pages help with local search, but only if each page is genuinely useful. Talk about the housing stock (older homes with forced-air furnaces, townhouses, newer builds), the services you offer in that area, and how quickly you can usually get there. Do not copy and paste the same page with a different city name.

Call tracking

Most HVAC leads arrive by phone. Without call tracking, you cannot tell whether Google Ads, LSA, organic search or your truck wrap produced the call. I set up tracking numbers by source, connect them to Google Ads and GA4 as conversions, and, where possible, record which calls became booked jobs. This is the single most important piece of the plan, because it is what lets you shift budget with confidence.

For more on these basics, see my HVAC marketing page and the guide to local SEO in Vancouver.

Fall (September to November): tune-ups and heating readiness

Fall is when homeowners turn the heat on for the first time and discover problems. It is also when you can fill the schedule with planned work before emergencies take over.

• Tune-up campaign: email and text past customers in early fall to book furnace and heat pump maintenance. Lead with convenience and safety, not discounts you cannot sustain.
• Google Ads: shift budget toward heating terms such as furnace repair, furnace tune-up and heat pump service. Pause or reduce cooling campaigns.
• Content: publish or refresh pages about furnace maintenance, carbon monoxide safety basics, and when repair versus replacement makes sense.
• Maintenance plans: fall is the natural time to sell or renew maintenance plans and memberships.

Winter (December to February): emergencies and replacements

When a cold snap hits, search volume for “no heat” and “emergency furnace repair” can jump quickly. The companies that win are the ones who answer.

• Answer every call: if your office closes at 5 p.m., decide how to handle evening and weekend calls: on-call staff, an answering service, or a missed-call text-back that confirms you received the request. I write about this in AI for contractors: never miss a lead after hours.
• Ads schedule: if you offer emergency service, keep ads and LSA running in the hours you can actually respond. If you cannot respond at night, do not pay for night clicks.
• Budget flexibility: keep some budget in reserve so you can increase spend during cold snaps without starving the rest of the season.
• Replacement pages: many emergency calls turn into replacement conversations. Make sure your website explains furnace and heat pump replacement options clearly, including financing if you offer it.

Spring (March to May): heat pumps, rebates and planned installs

Spring is the best time to sell planned projects, because homeowners are not in crisis and crews have more availability.

• Heat pump education: many homeowners in BC are researching heat pumps, often because of rebate programs and interest in cooling. Write clear content about how heat pumps work in our climate, ductless versus ducted options, and what an installation involves.
• Rebates, carefully: rebate and incentive programs in BC change often, and eligibility rules can be detailed. Mention that programs exist, link to the official program pages, and keep your page updated. Avoid quoting dollar amounts unless you are sure they are current.
• Google Ads: run campaigns for heat pump installation and replacement terms, and send them to dedicated landing pages with a quote request form, not your homepage.
• Prepare for summer: book AC and heat pump maintenance before the first warm spell, and update GBP with cooling services.

Summer (June to August): cooling and heat waves

Summer demand in Vancouver is uneven. A cool July can be quiet; a heat warning can produce more calls than you can handle.

• Heat wave playbook: decide in advance what you will do when demand spikes. Which campaigns will you increase, which will you pause, and how will you communicate wait times honestly?
• Google Ads: increase spend on AC repair, heat pump and cooling installation terms, and consider pausing campaigns when the schedule is full so you are not paying for leads you cannot serve.
• Website messaging: a simple banner with current availability or booking lead times can reduce frustration.
• Late-summer pivot: in August, start promoting fall tune-ups to past customers.

Google Ads budgets by season

I do not believe in one fixed monthly Google Ads budget for HVAC. Budgets should move with demand and with your capacity. A simplified view:

Season	Heating focus	Cooling focus	Notes
Fall	Increase	Reduce	Tune-ups and maintenance plans
Winter	High, flexible	Minimal	Reserve for cold snaps
Spring	Moderate	Build up	Heat pump and replacement quotes
Summer	Minimal	High, flexible	Watch capacity during heat waves

The exact split depends on your margins, crew capacity and conversion data. I explain how to target specific municipalities in Google Ads Vancouver local targeting, and you can read more about my Google Ads management.

Maintenance plans and memberships

Maintenance plans smooth out the seasonal swings. They create predictable work in shoulder seasons, keep you in contact with customers, and put you first in line when equipment eventually needs replacing. From a marketing point of view, promote plans:

• On the invoice and in the follow-up email after every service call
• On a dedicated plan page that explains what is included in plain language
• In fall and spring email campaigns to past customers

Email and SMS to past customers

Your past customers are often the cheapest source of booked work you have. Two or three well-timed messages a year (fall tune-up, spring cooling check, plan renewal) can be more valuable than a lot of new ad spend. Keep messages short, useful and clearly from your company, and follow Canadian anti-spam rules (CASL): have consent, identify yourself, and include a working unsubscribe option. If you are unsure about consent, get legal advice.

Putting it together

A strong HVAC marketing plan combines SEO, Google Business Profile, reviews, Local Services Ads, Search ads that move with the seasons, and steady communication with past customers, all measured with proper call tracking. If you are considering LSA, read my practical guide to Google Local Services Ads for contractors in BC. For my broader approach to trades, see home services marketing.

FAQ

When should an HVAC company in Vancouver start its fall marketing?

Late August to early September is a good time to start messaging past customers about tune-ups, so the schedule fills before the first cold weeks.

Should I run Google Ads all year?

Usually yes, but with different focus and budgets by season. Heating and cooling campaigns should be adjusted as demand shifts, and paused when your schedule is full.

Can I mention BC heat pump rebates in my marketing?

Yes, in general terms, and link to official program sources. Programs and amounts change, so avoid quoting figures unless you keep them up to date.

What is the most important tracking to set up?

Phone call tracking by source, connected to Google Ads and GA4, plus a way to record which calls became booked jobs.

Do you work with HVAC companies outside Vancouver?

Yes. I work with trades across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in person and remotely across Canada.

Next step

If you run an HVAC company in Metro Vancouver and want a marketing plan that follows the seasons instead of fighting them, get in touch.