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This guide is for the owner of a small Utah County heating and air shop: two trucks out of Spanish Fork, a family business in Orem, a new outfit chasing new builds in Saratoga Springs. It covers where the calls come from, what Google charges, which utility rebates you can put in an ad, and what Utah's contractor law says about advertising.
A Utah County HVAC company gets most new customers from the Google map results for searches like "furnace repair Orem", from Google Local Services Ads, which bill per valid lead instead of per click, and from past customers who come back for tune-ups. The strongest local hook is money the homeowner gets back: Enbridge Gas Utah's ThermWise program pays $300 or $350 for a qualifying gas furnace and up to $1,200 for a dual-fuel system, and Rocky Mountain Power's wattsmart tariff allows up to $2,500 for a heat pump. Utah law makes it illegal to advertise as a contractor without the right DOPL license.
Picture a homeowner in Lehi on the first cold night in November. The furnace clicks, the blower runs, and the air coming out of the vents is cold. She grabs her phone, types "furnace repair Lehi", and calls one of the companies in the map box or the ad with the phone button above it. If you do not pick up, she calls the next one.
That emergency call is one of three ways work comes in. The second is the planned replacement: a family in Provo with a twenty-year-old AC that gets three quotes and picks the company that explained the options and the rebates. The third is the customer you already have. A spring and fall tune-up puts your tech in the house twice a year, and that customer calls you when the system finally dies.
For a side-by-side look at the channels, see our guide to where to advertise in Utah County.
Most HVAC shops go to the customer's house, which makes you a service-area business under Google's rules. Google's Business Profile guidelines say a service-area business should hide its address from customers, and they use the example of a plumber who runs the business from home. If you work out of your garage in Mapleton, hide the address and list the cities you drive to instead: Provo, Orem, Springville, Spanish Fork, Payson, American Fork, Lehi. Google says the service area generally should not extend farther than about two hours of driving from where you are based.
The business name has to be your real name. Google does not allow taglines or service descriptions in the name, so "Smith Heating & Air" is fine and "Smith Heating & Air Best Furnace Repair Provo" is not. A rented mailbox or an empty coworking desk in Lehi does not count as a second location; Google says a virtual office is not eligible unless it is staffed during business hours.
Then list each service you do (furnace repair, AC install, heat pumps, evaporative coolers, maintenance plans), add photos of your trucks and techs, and post hours that match when someone answers. Use the same name and number everywhere, including our Utah Valley Local Directory.
Local Services Ads are the listings with a phone button at the top of searches like "AC repair Orem". Google lists HVAC (heating or air conditioning) as an eligible category. To start running ads before the full badge is approved, Google asks for a license or business registration and for you to confirm you hold the business licenses you need.
Google says you pay for valid leads, not clicks, and that lead prices vary by location, job type, lead type and bidding mode. A lead is an answered call, a missed call during business hours where the caller stays on the line more than 20 seconds, a message, a voicemail, or a booking request. Google reviews charged leads for 30 days and automatically credits ones it judges poor quality, duplicate or invalid. You set an average weekly budget, and the ad stops showing for the month once you hit the monthly cap.
Regular Google search ads charge per click. Point each one at a page about that exact job: a furnace repair ad goes to your furnace repair page, not your home page. Whichever you run, answer the phone. A missed call at 7 p.m. in January can still be a lead you pay for.
A replacement shopper is comparing prices, and a rebate is money back after the job. Put it on your quotes, website and ads, using the numbers from the utility's own page.
Enbridge Gas Utah runs its gas rebates under the name ThermWise. Its appliance rebate page lists $300 for a gas furnace rated 95% to 97.4% AFUE and $350 for one rated 97.5% or higher with an ECM motor. A dual-fuel system, a ducted heat pump paired with a natural gas furnace that switches over at 40 degrees or lower, pays $700 to $1,200 depending on the efficiency tier and whether the gas backup is new. A smart thermostat pays $50 or $75. The rebate request has to be postmarked within six months of the installation date, so put the form in the customer's hand on install day.
Rocky Mountain Power runs the electric side through wattsmart Homes. The Schedule 111 tariff sheet it filed with the Utah Public Service Commission in January 2026 lists maximum incentives of up to $2,500 for a heat pump, $400 for a central air conditioner, $150 for an evaporative cooler and $100 for a smart thermostat. Those are ceilings, so check the current rebate chart before you print a number. Rocky Mountain Power also runs a trade ally program for contractors, with an enrollment form and co-branded marketing materials.
One thing to take out of old ads: the federal 25C tax credit for efficient furnaces, AC units and heat pumps. The IRS says it is not allowed for property placed in service after December 31, 2025.
This is a summary of the published statute, not legal advice. For a question about your own ads, read the current code on the Utah Legislature's site or call DOPL, the Division of Professional Licensing.
Plan the year around the weather instead of running the same ad in April and January.
Ask every customer for a Google review before the tech leaves, then send a text with a direct link that evening. Google's review policy bans reviews given in exchange for an incentive and bans asking only the happy customers, so no $25 off the next tune-up for a review, and no form that routes unhappy customers somewhere private.
The FTC's rule on consumer reviews, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews, payment conditioned on a positive or negative review, undisclosed reviews from your own people, and threats to get bad reviews taken down.
Google catches people who are already searching. Local media puts your name in front of homeowners before the furnace dies, so they search for you by name later. The options here include the Daily Herald, KSL Classifieds, sponsoring a youth league or a city festival, and Utah Valley Chamber events, where you meet property managers and builders who hire contractors over and over.
Local email newsletters are another option, and we sell one, so weigh this with that in mind. Provo FOMO goes to 3,000+ Utah County subscribers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with no more than three ads per issue. One closing ad in one issue costs $99, a top image ad in one issue costs $199, and a Local Directory listing is $99 a month. A fall furnace tune-up offer in a Wednesday issue is a cheap test. The options are on our advertise page.
If you want to write your own service pages and follow-up texts with AI tools, our free AI 101 class for local business owners covers the basics.
If you are starting from nothing, do it in this order. None of it needs an agency.
