Google Ads for HVAC and plumbing: what it costs
The management fee depends on your total monthly ad budget — LSA and Search count together, with no extra channel fee. Ad spend goes directly to Google. Add a website or review system only if you need them.
Google Ads management fee
| Monthly ad budget | Management fee |
|---|---|
| Under $600 Starter | $300 / month |
| $600 – $3,999 | $599 / month |
| $4,000 – $49,999 | 15% of ad budget |
| $50,000 – $90,000 | 14% of ad budget |
| $90,001+ | 12% of ad budget |
Example: with a $5,000 monthly ad budget, the fee is $5,000 × 15% = $750.
One-time setup fee
| Service term | Setup fee |
|---|---|
| 1 month | $699 |
| 3 months | $499 |
| 6 months | $299 |
| 12 months Best value | $0 — no setup fee; AI search optimization and automated review requests included |
Setup covers account build, keyword research, ad copy, and call and form conversion tracking.
By public benchmarks, home improvement search leads average about $90.92, and LSA leads about $76 for HVAC, $57 for plumbing and $36 for electrical. For steady calls we generally suggest at least $1,500/month; summer and winter are peak HVAC seasons, so plan budget ahead.
Help ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews know and recommend you
Included only with a 12-month term — not sold separately. No setup fee, plus all 8 AI search optimization tasks below, every month.
AI visibility check
Every month we ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot 20 local questions in English and Chinese, and record whether you’re mentioned, how you’re described and which sources are cited.
Consistent business facts
Your English and Chinese name, address, phone, hours and services match across Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook and data aggregators. When facts conflict, AI tools hesitate to recommend you.
Structured data
Schema markup for your business type, services, service area and FAQs, linked to your listings so AI tools know they’re all the same business.
Answer-first content
Real customer questions written as a one-sentence answer plus detail — 4 new ones a month, in English and Chinese. It’s the format AI tools quote most.
Open to AI crawlers
We add an llms.txt file (a plain summary of your site for AI) and allow ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and other AI crawlers to read your site.
Bing & instant indexing
Bing Webmaster Tools and IndexNow, so search engines hear about every update right away. Microsoft Copilot answers from Bing’s results.
Third-party mentions
AI trusts what others say about you. We review legitimate directories, local media and community sites, fill the gaps, and can pair this with a press release.
Reviews & monthly report
We invite customers to mention the service and city in their reviews (never scripted or rewarded). Your report shows how often AI mentions you and how the cited sources change.
Questions we test each month, for example
- best HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical near me
- Chinese-speaking HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical near me
- most trusted HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical in my area
- how much does a HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical charge
No one can guarantee an AI recommendation. We make your business easier for AI to find, understand and trust — and show you the results every month.
Add what you need
Not everyone needs all of these — we’ll recommend what fits.
Website
$799 / $1,999 / $2,999 (one-time)Hosting & care $79 / month
A lead-focused site with a page per service, price ranges, service area, license, insurance and warranty; or just upgrade your current site ($799).
Google Business Profile management
$199 / month (billed quarterly)$199 setup
Service-area setup, weekly job photos and replies to every review; more reviews help both LSA and Maps ranking.
AI receptionist chat
$199 / month$999 setup
Answers “do you fix this, how soon, roughly how much” on your website 24/7 and emails you the lead so you can call back.
Automated review requests
$59 / month$199 setup · included with a 12-month term
No new software: we set it up on the booking, POS or field-service system you already use. Every customer gets a review request after the job, and new reviews show on your website.
Before you spend, know what a lead usually costs
These are public industry benchmarks, not promises. Your real costs depend on city, season and competition — we estimate them for your service area during the consultation.
| Metric | Benchmark | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| LSA cost per lead · HVAC | $76.45 | Pay per lead, not per click; the Google Verified badge builds trust |
| LSA cost per lead · Plumbing | $56.90 | Emergency plumbing customers usually want someone the same day |
| LSA cost per lead · Electrical | $35.70 | The cheapest of the three — a good place to start with LSA |
| LSA approval time | 2–6 weeks | License, insurance and background checks; run Search ads while you wait |
| Search ads, cost per click (Home & Home Improvement) | $8.33 | Varies by keyword, city and season; urgent or high-value terms cost more |
| Search ads, click-through rate (Home & Home Improvement) | 6.47% | About 1 in 15 people who see the ad click it |
| Search ads, cost per lead (Home & Home Improvement) | $90.92 | A lead isn’t a job yet — fast answers and clear quotes close it |
Drag to see what your budget could bring
Simple estimates from public industry benchmarks — not a guarantee. Real numbers depend on your city, competition, season and website; we estimate them for your area during the consultation.
How many leads become jobs depends mostly on answering fast and quoting clearly.
Sources: 99calls LSA Cost Per Lead, Q1 2026 · LocaliQ Search Advertising Benchmarks 2026
About pricing
Is ad spend included?
Is there an extra fee for LSA?
What is the service term?
How do you charge for multiple trades or cities?
Can I buy AI search optimization on its own?
Let us take a free look first
We review your ads, LSA eligibility, Google listing and website against the top competitors nearby, then tell you which service and ZIP codes to start with.