The Wasted HVAC Co-Op Marketing Dollars Have Been Found
Chris Smith • January 5, 2026
The Wasted HVAC Co-Op Marketing Dollars Have Been Found
John Wanamaker, a pioneering American retailer, famously made the statement, “Half of my advertising budget is wasted; the problem is I don’t know which half.” With our experience, artificial intelligence, and data science, we now know exactly which half is wasted when it comes to HVAC co-op marketing budgets, and this knowledge can fundamentally transform market share for the manufacturers who embrace the changes needed to win in today’s market.
For decades, HVAC manufacturers have invested millions—often tens or hundreds of millions collectively—into co-op marketing programs designed to support dealer growth, increase brand visibility, and drive market share. The intention has always been right. The execution, however, has been deeply flawed.
At All Contractor Marketing (ACM), we work with hundreds of HVAC businesses every year. We see behind the curtain of dealer marketing operations, from small family-owned companies to multi-location enterprises. What we see repeatedly is not malicious intent or negligence, but a systemic failure of experience, process, and data visibility—a failure that quietly wastes an estimated 52% of all HVAC co-op marketing dollars.
This article will outline how that waste happens, why it persists, and—most importantly—how HVAC manufacturers can eliminate it without spending one additional dollar, while dramatically improving dealer performance and market share outcomes.
The Hidden Scale of the HVAC Co-Op Marketing Problem
HVAC manufacturers often assume that co-op waste happens at the margins: a bad agency here, a weak dealer there. The reality is far more alarming. The waste is structural, pervasive, and embedded into how co-op marketing is currently executed.
Most HVAC dealers are not sophisticated consumers of digital marketing. They don’t understand ad platforms, attribution models, conversion tracking, lead quality metrics, or sales analytics. They trust local marketing companies, regional agencies, or “HVAC marketing experts” who often lack true HVAC experience and rely heavily on white-label services, offshore labor, and generic marketing playbooks.
Manufacturers, meanwhile, lack visibility beyond invoices and surface-level reports. Without standardized data, dashboards, and performance benchmarks, there is no way to truly know whether co-op dollars are driving phones to ring, leads to close, or systems to be installed.
The result is predictable: money gets spent, activity gets reported, but results don’t materialize.
To illustrate the depth of the issue, consider the following three examples. These are not edge cases—they represent the most common failures ACM encounters every year when onboarding new HVAC clients.
Example 1: $2 Million Spent, Almost Nothing Gained
The first company was a 20-year-old HVAC business that had partnered with a local digital marketing company. Over four years, the HVAC company spent $500,000 per year, totaling $2 million in digital marketing spend. A significant portion of that spend was funded through manufacturer co-op programs.
The local marketing company did not perform any services in-house. SEO was subcontracted to a firm in India. Paid advertising was subcontracted to a white-label paid ads provider that also relied on offshore labor. None of the companies involved had deep HVAC marketing experience.
When the HVAC business owner contacted ACM, they were understandably disappointed. They believed digital marketing “didn’t work” and felt it produced little to no return on investment.
Our audit revealed two critical failures.
Ineffective Top-of-Funnel Advertising
The offshore ad suppliers had built a top-of-funnel display advertising strategy using programmatic ads, banner ads, and display retargeting—an approach that might work for retail products like clothing or handbags, but is fundamentally misaligned with HVAC consumer behavior.
HVAC purchases are driven by urgency, trust, and intent. When an air conditioner fails in July or a furnace stops working in January, homeowners do not browse banner ads and “consider” options over weeks. They search with high intent and call companies they trust.
Display advertising suffers from ad blindness—a well-documented phenomenon where consumers subconsciously ignore banner ads due to overexposure. For HVAC, ad blindness renders display-heavy top-of-funnel strategies largely ineffective.
The Silent Drain of Subcontracted Ad Spend
Even more damaging was the financial structure. By the time the HVAC dealer paid the local marketing company, and that company paid the white-label provider, and that provider paid offshore labor, more than 50% of the ad spend was gone before a single ad reached a homeowner.
Multiple layers of profit extraction meant less media spend, poorer optimization, and minimal accountability. The end result: very few leads, almost no measurable ROI, and a business owner who didn’t know enough to question the process.
When asked why they hadn’t spoken up sooner, the owner said:
“I really do not understand how all this works and the local guy I dealt with seemed really nice. I had no idea what was actually happening and I did not even know how to question the process.”
This failure didn’t just hurt the dealer. It resulted in approximately $1 million in wasted HVAC co-op marketing funds—money that could have significantly increased manufacturer market share if executed by a vetted, experienced HVAC marketing partner.
Example 2: The Phone That Nobody Was Answering
The second company was a 15-year-old HVAC business that had historically focused almost entirely on new construction. They decided to diversify into residential retrofit and became a conversion customer for a regional distributor.
As part of the conversion program, 100% of the marketing costs were covered, with a $350,000 annual budget. The distributor selected All Contractor Marketing to execute the program.
Within just two months, ACM’s data analytics revealed a devastating insight: the company was answering only about 50% of incoming phone calls.
This wasn’t a marketing problem—it was an operational one.
Years of new construction work had conditioned the company to deprioritize customer service representatives, phone systems, and lead handling processes. Without HVAC-specific analytics, this issue would have gone unnoticed indefinitely.
ACM worked closely with the company to:
- Improve their phone system
- Increase CSR staffing
- Improve CSR skills
- Implement call tracking and accountability
- Improve internal workflows and response times
As a result, the company moved from answering roughly half of incoming calls to nearly 100%.
Without strong data analytics and HVAC marketing experience, this company would have continued wasting 50% of their co-op marketing spend—not because the marketing failed, but because no one was there to answer the phone.
This company had no retrofit marketing history. Without data, they would have assumed marketing “wasn’t working,” when in reality, leads were simply disappearing into unanswered calls.
Example 3: When Sales Performance Goes Unmeasured
The third company was a 20-year-old HVAC business with extensive residential retrofit experience. They had a three-person comfort specialist sales team and entered a conversion program where ACM managed a $425,000 annual marketing budget.
Data analytics quickly uncovered two alarming trends.
First, one comfort specialist was dramatically underperforming compared to the other two. Second, as lead volume increased, all three salespeople’s close rates declined significantly.
It was estimated that 34% of leads were being wasted—a combination of poor performance by one specialist and the absence of a structured sales process that allowed even strong performers to slip as demand increased.
The owner assumed all three comfort specialists were closing at competitive rates. There was no sales process, no inspection of performance, and no systematic follow-up for unclosed leads.
ACM helped the company:
- Implement a formal sales process
- Ensure every lead was contacted
- Build a structured follow-up system
- Provide sales training remediation for the underperforming specialist
Once performance was inspected, improved, and standardized, close rates stabilized and improved across the board.
The lesson was simple and powerful: owners cannot expect performance they do not inspect. Without data analytics and process, leads leak, close rates drop, and co-op marketing funds are wasted—no matter how good the marketing is.
The Data Tells a Clear Story: 52% Waste
Extrapolating from ACM’s experience across hundreds of HVAC dealers, the conclusion is unavoidable:
Approximately 52% of all HVAC co-op marketing funds are wasted due to:
- Inexperienced marketing companies
- Ineffective advertising strategies
- Failure to answer the phone
- Failure to measure and manage lead closure rates
This is not a dealer problem alone. It is a system problem—one that manufacturers are uniquely positioned to solve.
Why HVAC Manufacturers Must Centralize Co-Op Marketing
HVAC manufacturers should partner with one experienced HVAC marketing firm—like All Contractor Marketing—that understands:
- HVAC consumer behavior
- HVAC digital marketing channels
- HVAC internal processes
- HVAC sales operations
- HVAC-specific data analytics
Standardization does not mean stagnation. It means measurable, repeatable success.
The Missing Link: Data Visualization Across the Supply Chain
The future of HVAC co-op marketing is not more tactics—it is data visualization.
ACM’s data dashboards allow:
- Dealers to understand how to maximize co-op marketing and close more leads
- Territory managers to identify underperforming dealers and help them mirror top performers
- Distributors to measure effectiveness across their footprint and understand true market share
- Manufacturers to identify national patterns, test strategies, and measure real dealer-level impact
This data enables manufacturers to:
- Refine consumer messaging
- Optimize regional strategies
- Identify strategic dealer partners
- Take back market share lost to private equity acquisitions
This is market intelligence that simply does not exist in today’s fragmented co-op ecosystem.
No New Investment Required—Just Less Waste
This strategy does not require additional spend.
It requires:
- Eliminating waste
- Eliminating fraud
- Standardizing execution
- Centralizing data
Partnering with a proven HVAC marketing company like All Contractor Marketing allows manufacturers to do more with the same dollars, while gaining unprecedented insight into their markets.
The AI and White-Label Trap
Artificial intelligence and white-label marketing suppliers have made it easy for anyone to claim they are an HVAC marketing expert.
HVAC dealers are not equipped to evaluate these claims. As a result, over half of co-op marketing dollars are quietly wasted every year, and this waste is only going to go up.
Manufacturers can no longer afford to ignore this reality.
Two Paths to Implementation: Stick or Carrot
There are two effective ways to move every dealer under one experienced HVAC marketing partner:
The Stick:
Dealers must use the designated marketing partner to receive the full 50% co-op. Dealers who opt out receive only 25%.
The Carrot:
Dealers who choose the designated marketing partner receive an additional 15% co-op match.
The carrot approach is often more effective and still costs less than the current 52% waste, while driving greater market share gains.
John Wanamaker Would Be Proud John Wanamaker never knew which half of his advertising budget was wasted.
Today, we do.
HVAC manufacturers now have the opportunity to eliminate that waste, build a data-driven future, and dominate market share in the new era of artificial intelligence.
Partner with All Contractor Marketing and let’s build the data-driven future of co-op marketing together to gain market share, eliminate waste, and grow your dealers. Contact Us Today
Make Your HVAC Website Work Harder for Your Business Your HVAC company’s website shouldn’t just exist online. It should act like a 24/7 salesperson that answers questions, builds trust, and drives more booked jobs and service calls. Too many HVAC websites quietly lose potential customers every day because of simple issues that are easy to fix. Here are five practical improvements you can make to turn your website into a lead-generation engine. 1. Make It Simple for Customers to Contact You One of the biggest reasons visitors leave a website without reaching out is that they can’t find contact information quickly. HVAC service needs are often urgent — whether someone’s AC is down in the middle of summer or their furnace stops working in winter. How to fix: Put your phone number in a prominent spot at the top of every page. Ensure the number is clickable on phones so people can call instantly. Consider adding a sticky call bar that stays visible while users scroll. Result: More immediate calls from customers ready to book service. 2. Highlight Proof of Your Work and Customer Satisfaction People trust what they can see. Instead of just telling visitors you’re great at HVAC, show them real results. How to fix: Display recent customer reviews and testimonials on your homepage. Include before-and-after photos of installations, repairs, and maintenance work. Add short video clips from satisfied customers or your team explaining services. Result: Increased confidence that you’re a reputable HVAC provider — before a visitor ever picks up the phone. 3. Speed Up Page Loading and Improve Performance Website speed directly affects user behavior. If your pages take too long to load, visitors won’t wait around — especially when they’re dealing with a broken HVAC system. How to fix: Compress and optimize images used on your site. Choose reliable web hosting. Remove heavy scripts, unnecessary animations, or large pop-ups that slow down loading. Result: Faster load times that keep visitors engaged and more likely to convert. 4. Add a Simple Quote or Booking Form Not everyone wants to call right away. Some potential customers prefer to submit a request online, especially if they’re just shopping around or comparing HVAC service rates. How to fix: Place a clear “Request a Quote” or “Schedule Service” form on your homepage. Keep the form short and easy to complete. Send automated confirmations so prospects know their request was received. Result: You capture leads you might have otherwise missed — especially from people who prefer digital contact first. 5. Clearly List the Areas You Serve If visitors can’t tell whether you work in their city or community, they’ll look elsewhere — and search engines treat location signals as a ranking factor too. How to fix: Create a dedicated service area page on your website. Include your main cities or towns right on your homepage and footer. Make sure your contact information and Google Business Profile match these same areas. Result: Improved visibility in local search and more targeted calls from customers near you. Final Thoughts Every traffic visit to your website is a potential HVAC lead. With a few strategic updates focused on user experience, trust building, and ease of contact, your site can stop losing customers and start bringing in more calls and bookings. Even small improvements can have a big impact on your lead flow and revenue.
Answer Engine Optimization for HVAC Contractors: How to Get Found in AI Search in 2026 The way people search for HVAC services is changing fast. Today’s homeowners aren’t just typing keywords into Google — they’re asking conversational questions like “How often should I service my AC?” or “Best furnace repair near me” through voice assistants and AI tools. To meet this shift, HVAC businesses need a strategy that goes beyond traditional SEO. That’s where Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) comes in. What Is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)? AEO is the practice of shaping your online content so that AI systems and voice search tools can easily understand, interpret, and present it as a direct answer to user queries. Unlike standard SEO — which focuses on ranking pages in search engine result lists — AEO is about becoming the answer that AI assistants and answer boxes pull when a homeowner asks a question. For HVAC businesses, this means structuring content to clearly answer common questions like: “Why is my air conditioner freezing up?” “What size HVAC system do I need for a 2000 sq ft home?” “How much does furnace installation cost in 2026?” When content directly answers these types of queries, AI search tools like Google’s AI Overviews, Siri, Alexa, or ChatGPT are more likely to surface your business as a recommended solution. Why AEO Matters for HVAC Businesses The digital landscape is shifting toward zero-click answers and conversational search. That means many users get the solutions they need without clicking through to a website. For HVAC contractors, this shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity: Be the first answer consumers see If your content is formatted for AI interpretation, you can show up in featured snippets, voice answers, and direct responses — often before traditional search rankings. Reach customers with high purchase intent Homeowners asking specific HVAC questions are likely closer to booking a service or purchasing a system. Answering their questions clearly improves the chance they choose your business. Build trust and authority Providing accurate, helpful answers positions your HVAC brand as a knowledgeable professional in your market. AEO vs Traditional SEO Traditional SEO Ranks pages based on keywords and links Focused on search results pages Metrics like clicks and traffic matter Good for general discovery Answer Engine Optimization Gets quoted as the direct answer by AI and voice tools Focused on featured snippets and conversational results Visibility in AI answers and voice search ranking Great for specific homeowner questions In short, SEO helps your website appear higher in listings. AEO helps your business be the answer customers see first. How HVAC Companies Can Optimize for AEO Here are practical steps HVAC businesses can take today to improve their Answer Engine Optimization: 1) Talk like real people Answer engines favor conversational language because it matches how users ask questions. Write in the way someone would speak aloud (“How often should I change my HVAC filter?”) rather than just targeting short keywords. 2) Use clear headings and question-based content Structure your pages with question formats (e.g., What causes an AC to leak water?), followed by concise, direct answers. This layout helps AI systems pick out the answer quickly. 3) Add FAQ and HowTo schema Schema markup gives search engines and AI tools explicit clues about your content. Adding FAQ schema to your FAQ pages or HowTo schema to instructional posts makes your content more machine-readable and increases the chances of appearing in featured answers. 4) Focus on voice search queries Voice search queries tend to be longer and more specific. Optimize content to match these longer, natural sentences. For example: “What is the average lifespan of a heat pump?” rather than just “heat pump lifespan.” 5) Track and update performance Unlike SEO where rankings are well defined, AEO success is measured by being shown in AI answers, voice responses, and rich results. Regularly review your performance on these fronts and refine based on what questions your customers ask most. Conclusion Answer Engine Optimization is quickly becoming essential for HVAC companies that want to stay competitive in an AI-driven search world. By aligning your content with how modern users phrase questions and how AI tools interpret answers, you can become the go-to source for homeowners seeking HVAC expertise online. Being the answer — not just another link — builds trust, improves visibility, and ultimately drives more high-intent leads to your business.
How HVAC Companies Can Dominate Google Maps In today’s digital world, homeowners searching for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services almost always start with a location-based search like “HVAC near me” or “AC repair in [city].” If your company isn’t showing up in those critical Google Maps results, you’re losing calls, leads, and revenue to competitors. Google Maps SEO isn’t just about being listed — it’s about ranking near the top of the map results so potential customers see your business first. Here’s how HVAC contractors can make that happen in 2026. Why Google Maps Matters for HVAC Businesses Google Maps isn’t just a navigation tool — it’s a discovery engine for local services. When someone searches for HVAC help in your area, the local “map pack” (the top three businesses that appear with a map) gets the majority of the clicks. Appearing there means more phone calls, direction requests, and inquiries — often from homeowners ready to buy or book a service now. A properly optimized Google presence can dramatically increase leads without ongoing ad spend, making local SEO one of the most cost-effective marketing investments for HVAC companies large and small. Key Strategies for HVAC Google Maps SEO Success 1. Claim and Complete Your Google Business Profile Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the foundation of Maps SEO. Ensure you’ve: • Claimed your listing • Verified ownership • Completed every field accurately — name, address, phone, hours, services offered, and business description This helps Google understand exactly what you do and when you operate, increasing your chance of showing up for relevant searches. 2. Use Service-Specific Keywords In your business description and services section, include phrases that reflect real HVAC search queries like: • “AC repair in [City]” • “Furnace installation near me” • “Emergency HVAC services” These help Google match your profile to homeowner search intent. 3. Keep Your Info Consistent Everywhere Google uses your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) data to verify your business. Inconsistent listings across directories can confuse search engines and hurt rankings. Make sure your contact info is identical everywhere online — including your website, local directories, and social profiles. 4. Collect More Google Reviews Reviews influence both your ranking and whether homeowners choose your business. Encourage customers after service calls to leave honest feedback, and always respond — especially to negative reviews. A higher volume of recent reviews shows activity and trustworthiness to Google and future customers alike. 5. Add Quality Photos and Updates Adding real photos of your team, trucks, completed jobs, and office space makes your listing more engaging and credible. Regular posts or updates about discounts, seasonal tune-ups, or promotions also signal to Google that your business is active and relevant. 6. Use Local Landing Pages on Your Website Link your Google Business Profile to local landing pages on your website that target your service areas. For example, “HVAC Services in Marietta, GA” pages can reinforce location signals and improve visibility for nearby searches. 7. Monitor Performance and Adjust Track key metrics such as: • How often you appear in searches • Clicks to your website • Calls from Google Maps • Review trends This data helps you refine your local SEO strategy over time and double down on what’s working. Final Thoughts Ranking high on Google Maps isn’t optional for HVAC companies in 2026 — it’s essential. With strategic optimization of your Google Business Profile, consistent listings, targeted keywords, and active reputation management, your company can attract more local customers and grow service calls month after month. Local search performance builds over time, so start now — and make sure potential customers find you first.
