Emergency vs. Planned: The Ad Strategy Most Service Businesses Get Wrong
Someone searching "ac not working" at 2 PM on a 115-degree Phoenix Saturday is not the same customer as someone searching "hvac tune up" on a Tuesday morning in March.
They have different urgency levels. Different decision criteria. Different willingness to pay. And they need completely different ads, landing pages, and follow-up processes.
Yet most service businesses run one campaign that treats both the same. It's one of the most expensive mistakes I see, and it's fixable in an afternoon.
The Two Customers You're Targeting
Let me paint the picture:
The Emergency Customer - Pipe burst, AC dead, power out, toilet flooding - Searching right now because the problem exists right now - Will pay premium pricing for immediate response - Makes decisions in minutes, not days - Cares about: speed, availability, proximity - Does not care about: price comparison, reviews (much), company history
The Planned Customer - Water heater getting old, AC tune-up due, thinking about panel upgrade - Searching to research options, compare prices, evaluate timing - Price-sensitive, expects multiple quotes - Makes decisions over days or weeks - Cares about: reputation, price, quality, warranty - Will shop around before committing
Running the same ad for both is like wearing a tuxedo to both a black-tie dinner and a barbecue. One of those situations, you're going to look wrong.
Why This Matters: The Math
Let's look at typical Phoenix HVAC numbers:
Emergency AC repair: - Average ticket: $400-800 - Closing rate on calls: 70-85% - Willingness to pay for speed: High - Competition at 9 PM: Low
Scheduled maintenance: - Average ticket: $89-149 - Closing rate on calls: 30-50% - Price sensitivity: High - Competition: Everyone
If you're bidding the same amount for both types of searches, you're either: 1. Overbidding on maintenance calls (killing your margins) 2. Underbidding on emergency calls (losing them to competitors)
You can't optimize for both with one campaign.
How to Structure Your Campaigns
Here's the campaign architecture that works:
Campaign 1: Emergency Services
Keywords: - [service] emergency - [service] not working - [service] broken - emergency [service] near me - 24 hour [service] - [service] repair now
Negative keywords: - cost - price - how much - diy - reviews - best
Ad messaging: - Lead with speed: "On Site in 60 Minutes" - Emphasize availability: "24/7 Emergency Service" - Create urgency: "Technicians Standing By" - Include phone number in headline
Landing page: - Giant click-to-call button - No form, calls only - "We're dispatching now" messaging - Testimonials about response time - No navigation, no distractions
Bid strategy: - Maximize conversions or target CPA - Higher bids during off-hours (less competition) - No bid caps that prevent winning auctions
Campaign 2: Scheduled Services
Keywords: - [service] tune up - [service] maintenance - [service] inspection - [service] replacement cost - best [service] near me - [service] reviews
Negative keywords: - emergency - 24 hour - urgent - now - broken
Ad messaging: - Lead with value: "Spring AC Tune-Up $89" - Emphasize quality: "4.9 Stars - 500+ Reviews" - Include differentiators: "Family Owned Since 2005" - Mention guarantee or warranty
Landing page: - Form and phone number - Comparison to competitors - Reviews and testimonials prominent - Service details and what's included - Pricing or "get a quote" form
Bid strategy: - Target CPA with cost controls - Lower bids during peak competition - Focus on profitable hours
The Landing Page Split That Doubles Conversions
This is where most service businesses fail even after splitting campaigns. They send all traffic to the same page.
Emergency landing page essentials:
``` [LOGO] [PHONE NUMBER - HUGE]
EMERGENCY [SERVICE] REPAIR
On-Site in 60 Minutes or Less Licensed | Insured | Available Now
[CLICK TO CALL - FULL WIDTH BUTTON]
"Tech was here in 45 minutes. Saved us on the hottest day of the year." - Sarah M., Scottsdale
[CLICK TO CALL AGAIN]
Serving: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert ```
Notice: No navigation. No form. No pricing. No "learn more." One action: call now.
Scheduled service landing page:
``` [LOGO] [PHONE] [NAVIGATION]
Spring AC Tune-Up - $89 Includes 21-point inspection, filter replacement, efficiency check
[GET A QUOTE FORM] [OR CALL XXX-XXX-XXXX]
Why Phoenix homeowners choose us: - 4.9 stars from 500+ reviews - Same-day appointments available - All work guaranteed 2 years
[TESTIMONIALS] [SERVICE DETAILS] [FAQ] [CONTACT FORM] ```
Notice: More information. Multiple ways to convert. Building trust over time.
Bidding Differently for Different Value
Emergency jobs are worth more. Bid like it.
Setting up value-based bidding:
In Google Ads, you can assign different conversion values to different conversion actions.
- Emergency call: $300 value (average profit contribution)
- Scheduled call: $75 value
- Form submission: $50 value
With value-based bidding, Google optimizes for total value, not just conversion count. You'll pay more per emergency click but get better ROI.
The time-of-day play:
Emergency searches don't follow business hours. But most competitors pause ads at night.
I've seen service businesses get emergency clicks 40% cheaper at 10 PM than at 10 AM. Same search, less competition, desperate customer.
If you can handle calls after hours (even with an answering service that dispatches on-call techs) run emergency campaigns 24/7 with higher bids during nights and weekends.
The Follow-Up That Doesn't Exist
Here's what kills scheduled-service campaigns: the follow-up.
Emergency customer calls, you dispatch. Done.
Scheduled customer fills out form, and then... nothing for 3 hours? Next day? They've already called two other companies.
Speed-to-lead benchmarks for scheduled services:
- Under 5 minutes: 21x more likely to convert
- 5-30 minutes: Competitive
- 30+ minutes: You've probably lost them
If you can't respond to scheduled inquiries within 30 minutes during business hours, don't run scheduled campaigns. You're paying to generate leads for your competitors.
Automation that helps:
- . Form submission triggers immediate text: "Thanks for reaching out! A team member will call you within 15 minutes."
- . Simultaneously alerts your team with all form details
- . If no response in 10 minutes, escalates to secondary contact
- . If no call within 15 minutes, automated call queued
This isn't complex technology. Most form builders integrate with SMS services. The barrier isn't technical. It's operational discipline.
Seasonal Considerations
In Phoenix, emergency and scheduled have seasonal patterns:
Summer (May-September): - Emergency AC: Sky-high demand, willing to pay anything - Scheduled AC: Lower priority ("it's still working") - Strategy: Shift budget toward emergency, increase emergency bids
Winter (November-February): - Emergency heating: Moderate demand, price-conscious - Scheduled tune-ups: Prime selling season - Strategy: More balanced, promote maintenance plans
Shoulder seasons (March-April, October): - Emergency: Lower volume - Scheduled: Highest conversion rates, lowest competition - Strategy: Heavy scheduled-service campaigns, maintenance plan pushes
The mistake: Running the same campaigns year-round with the same budget split. A smart HVAC business shifts 70% to emergency in July and 70% to scheduled in March.
Measuring What Matters
You need different success metrics for each campaign type.
Emergency campaign metrics: - Cost per phone call - Answer rate - Dispatch rate - Average ticket from emergency calls - After-hours conversion rate
Scheduled campaign metrics: - Cost per form submission - Cost per phone call - Form-to-appointment rate - Close rate on scheduled appointments - Average ticket from scheduled work
Don't compare emergency cost-per-lead to scheduled cost-per-lead. They're different products with different values.
The Implementation Checklist
Here's how to split your campaigns today:
Step 1: Keyword audit - Export all current keywords - Mark each as "emergency intent" or "scheduled intent" - Create two new campaigns
Step 2: Build emergency campaign - Emergency keywords only - No cost/price/review keywords - Emergency-focused ads - Emergency landing page (calls only) - Higher bids, 24/7 scheduling
Step 3: Build scheduled campaign - Scheduled/research keywords only - No emergency keywords - Value-focused ads - Full landing page with form and phone - Cost-controlled bids, business hours focus
Step 4: Pause old combined campaign
Step 5: Monitor for 2 weeks - Track cost per lead separately - Track conversion value separately - Adjust bids based on performance
Most service businesses see 20-30% improvement in overall cost per lead within the first month of proper campaign separation. Some see more.
Running combined campaigns and want to split them properly? [Let's map out the structure](/contact) for your specific services and market.