MT

Google Ads — Seasonal Runbook

Mechanical Temp · Metro Detroit
CONTROL PANEL
❄ Cooling Season

AC Mode

~ MAR → OCT
● AC ad groups ENABLED
🔥 Heating Season

Furnace Mode

~ SEP → APR
● Furnace ad groups PAUSED
RIGHT NOW: COOLING SEASON Run AC · pause furnace · budget on the AC campaign · flip in fall
ACCOUNT 591-198-3591 · Campaign: HVAC - Search - Metro Detroit · Landing: promo.mechanicaltemp.com
00

The One Rule That Prevents 90% of Problems

Three on/off switches stack. All three must be ON for an ad to actually show. Pausing any one upstream kills everything below it.

1. CAMPAIGN — must be Enabled
  └─ 2. AD GROUP — must be Enabled ← this is the season switch
     └─ 3a. ADS — Eligible (not "Limited"/"Not eligible")
     └─ 3b. KEYWORDS — Enabled ← the silent killer

"Enabled" at one level means nothing if the level above it is paused. A green dot on the ad ≠ serving.

01

Switch to Cooling Season (Spring)

do once each spring

AC ON Turn the AC machine on

  • ENABLE the 3 AC ad groups: Emergency AC Repair, AC Tune-Up, New AC Installation — Ad groups view, flip each to Enabled.
  • PAUSE the 3 furnace ad groups: Emergency Furnace Repair, Furnace Maintenance, New Furnace Installation.
  • Confirm keywords are Enabled inside each AC group — Keywords, check Status column says Enabled (NOT Paused). Select all → Enable if needed.
  • Confirm each AC ad shows Eligible (not Pending/Not eligible). New/edited ads sit "Pending" ~1 day.
  • Set budget back up (cooling demand is high). Start ~$20/day, scale once leads cost what you like.
  • Check Locations = Metro Detroit, targeting set to "Presence: people in your targeted locations."
02

Switch to Heating Season (Fall)

do once each fall

HEAT ON Turn the furnace machine on

  • ENABLE the 3 furnace ad groups: Emergency Furnace Repair, Furnace Maintenance, New Furnace Installation.
  • PAUSE the 3 AC ad groups.
  • Confirm furnace keywords are Enabled (Status column) and ads are Eligible — the furnace ads got flagged for Capitalization once; re-check.
  • Set budget for heating demand. Cold snaps = emergency calls; consider bumping during freezes.
  • Locations + Presence-only targeting still correct (carries over).

Shoulder seasons (Mar/Apr, Sep/Oct): fine to run BOTH for a few weeks — demand overlaps.

03

Your 6 Ad Groups

campaign: HVAC - Search - Metro Detroit
❄ Emergency AC Repair
cooling · highest intent · /ac-repair/emergency
🔥 Emergency Furnace Repair
heating · highest intent · /furnace-repair/emergency
❄ AC Tune-Up
cooling · spring · /ac-tune-up/special
🔥 Furnace Maintenance
heating · fall · /furnace/service
❄ New AC Installation
cooling · install · /new-ac/quote
🔥 New Furnace Installation
heating · install · /new-furnace/quote
04

Local Services Ads (LSA) — The Other Channel

pay-per-lead · Google Guaranteed

LSA is separate from Search Ads. It's the "Google Guaranteed" badge ads at the very top. You pay per lead (call/message), not per click. Different rules than search ads — read this:

  • Leave job types ON year-round. Unlike search ads, you pay per lead not per impression — so extra job types cost nothing until someone actually contacts you. Turn on everything you're licensed and willing to do; no seasonal toggling needed.
  • Key job types to keep ON: Repair AC, Repair HVAC, AC maintenance, Install AC, Repair heating system, Heating maintenance, Install heating system, Repair/Install thermostat.
  • Bidding: Automated (maximize leads). Leave target CPL unchecked at first — setting it too low starves volume. Watch actual cost-per-lead for ~2 weeks, then add a target only if leads run pricey.
  • Control spend with weekly budget, not per-lead caps. Don't go below ~$75/week or you barely enter the auction. ~$40/lead means $230/wk ≈ 5-6 leads.
  • Dispute junk leads (wrong number, spam, out of area) — you get refunded AND it protects your ranking. Do this regularly.
  • "Direct Business" leads = people who searched your name (existing/referral). "Category" leads = new customers searching "ac repair near me." If you only see Direct Business, your job types for that category are probably OFF.

LSA ranking is driven by: review count/recency, response speed, and proximity. Fast callbacks rank you higher AND close more — it matters more than budget.

KEY DIFFERENCE LSA vs. Search Ads

  • Search Ads: pay per click. Budget waste is real — so you DO toggle ad groups by season (the runbook above).
  • LSA: pay per lead. No impression waste — so you DON'T toggle by season. Set it once, leave it, just dispute junk and answer fast.
05

Troubleshooting — Every Trap We Hit

click to expand
0 IMPR Ad group is Enabled but getting zero impressions ▸

Group is on, but nothing's serving. Two causes, in order of likelihood:

Fix

1. Keywords are Paused. Go to Keywords — check the Status column. Paused keywords can't trigger ads. Select all → Enable.

2. No ads in the group / ads not Eligible. Open Ads, confirm there's an Eligible ad inside. (Empty group = 0 impressions even when "enabled.")

PAUSED "Enabled but Paused" — the nesting confusion ▸

The green dot is at one level; "Paused" is at another. Campaign / Ad group / Keyword / Ad each have their own switch.

Fix

Read the Status column, not the colored dot. Find which level says Paused (often the ad group or the keywords) and enable that level. A green ad inside a paused ad group still won't run.

CAPS "Not eligible / Approved (limited) — Capitalization" ▸

Google flags ALL-CAPS words in ad text (and on the landing page). One flagged word limits the whole ad. Killed our CTR (0.38%).

Fix

Edit the ad — convert ALL-CAPS to Title/sentence case. The sneaky one that bit us: "OFF" in "$50 OFF Any Repair" — one tiny capped word flagged EVERY ad. Watch for capped OFF, FREE, NOW, FAST, BEST, SAME-DAY. AC, HVAC, 24/7 are allowed acronyms. Same rule on the landing page. Re-review clears in hours–1 day.

If you believe it's wrong: Tools → Troubleshooting → Policy manager → Appeal.

NAME Business name "Mechanical Temp" disapproved ▸

Account is verified under Brian Estes (personal), so the business-name asset only auto-approves if it matches the verified name OR the domain — and the name must appear as readable text on the landing page (not just inside the logo image).

Quick fix

Keep "Mechanical Temp" visible as plain text high on promo.mechanicaltemp.com (it's woven into the hero subhead). Domain = mechanicaltemp.com, name under 25 chars → passes on domain-match.

Permanent fix

Verify the LLC as advertiser: Admin → Policy → Account → Reset verification, re-verify as Mechanical Temp LLC. Then the name just works — no more workarounds.

DUP "Duplicate value" won't let the ad save ▸

Usually a wedged field in Ad URL options (empty/duplicate Custom parameter rows or a repeated key in the Final URL suffix) — NOT the headlines.

Fix

1. Clear extra Custom parameter rows. 2. Confirm Final URL suffix has no repeated key. 3. If still stuck: Cancel and rebuild the ad fresh — fastest path, the form state clears.

HIDDEN "My ads disappeared / ad groups look empty" ▸

A preset filter at the top of the Ads view was hiding them. The ads existed the whole time.

Fix

Look for the filter chip near the top (e.g. "Ad status: Enabled, Paused" or a campaign/group filter). Remove or widen it. Set the date range wide enough too.

PENDING Ad stuck on "Pending" / built months ago, never approved ▸

Ads in paused/dormant groups don't get prioritized for review. They sit "Pending" until they're about to serve. Normal — clears within ~1 day once active.

Watch for

If it goes Pending → Not eligible (Capitalization) instead of Eligible, apply the CAPS fix above.

LSA "My LSA doesn't do squat / only getting Direct Business leads" ▸

LSA running but no new-customer (Category) leads — only "Direct Business" (people searching your name). Cause: the relevant job types are turned OFF. We hit this with all the AC job types off in summer.

Fix

Open LSA → Job types → turn ON everything you're licensed for (Repair AC, Repair HVAC, AC maintenance, Install AC, etc.). They're pay-per-lead, so leaving them all on costs nothing until someone contacts you. Also confirm service areas cover your metro and budget is ≥$75/week.

06

Monthly 60-Second Health Check

catch problems early
  • Right season's ad groups Enabled, off-season ones Paused?
  • Active ads all say Eligible (no "Limited" / "Not eligible")?
  • Keywords in active groups all Enabled?
  • Budget actually spending? (If $/day cap hit by midday, raise it.)
  • Conversions > 0 — is call tracking firing? Check Goals.
  • CTR above ~3%? If stuck near 0.4%, suspect a policy limit or wrong-season ad.
  • Answer the phone fast. Missed paid calls = wasted spend + lower ranking.
  • LSA: dispute any junk leads (wrong number, spam, out of area) for refunds.
  • LSA: getting Category leads, not just Direct Business? If only Direct Business, a job type is off.

Tip: bookmark this file. Open it twice a year (spring + fall) and run the switch list.