Plumber SEO: Tips + Best Practices to Get Customers
The world is shifting into the online landscape now more than ever. When people have questions, they look to the internet for answers. So, as a plumbing company, it is crucial to get your foot in the door and begin pulling in your ideal customers. By investing in quality search engine optimization techniques, you can start appearing on Google’s first page, drawing in potential clients to your plumbing business.
Why is SEO the Best Strategy for Plumbers?
When people need a plumber, one of the first things they do is head to Google. According to keyword research, the phrase “plumber service” is used in search about 74,000 times a month. SEO is best for plumbers because most people refer to the web to find a number or address to contact for service.
If your company site is listed on the first or second page of Google, when a customer enters their query in the search bar, they are likely to click on your site and explore your services.
Social media, email lists, and PPC ad campaigns do not provide the same quality SEO results. This is because, in order to succeed with these ventures, the timing has to be right. Someone who sees your PPC ad one day may not immediately require a plumber.
SEO offers your company and services the chance to provide an answer to your customers’ questions or problems as they are needed, rather than an ad or social media post popping up in their feed when they aren’t looking for a plumber.
Long Term Benefits
While SEO is an ongoing project for your plumbing website, many long term benefits can come from an optimized site. One advantage is that you will attract your ideal clients rather than fishing around for anyone who may show an interest. SEO helps direct the right kind of attention to your site to improve ROI.
Not only that, but implementing an SEO campaign strategy for your site helps reduce the amount of money you waste in PPC ads, saving you money in the long run.
Helps Educate Clients
When people think of plumbing, they likely think of leaky sinks or clogged toilets. Many people are not informed about all of the additional services plumbers provide. This issue is due to targeted internet marketing by competition or companies trying to sell bathtubs or toilets. If people are convinced something is irreparable, they are likely to buy a new one rather than investing in a plumbing service. See the below example of some common questions people try to get answers for from Google.
By having a search engine optimized site, you can help educate your clients on what services your plumbing company provides and rates in which you can repair their faulty plumbing without the customer having to buy an entirely new fixture.
Pulls More Clients to the Website
Of course, the most significant reason SEO is terrific for your company is that it pulls more clients to your plumbing website. Any time someone plugs a keyword related to plumbing into their search bar, they will be able to view your company at the top of the page.
While social media is an excellent tool for extending your reach and gaining impressions for your site, it isn’t necessarily the best at holding average people’s interests. The goal for a service providing business, like plumbing, is not necessarily to gain a vast and consistent following but to give the right answer at the right time for the right client. That’s where SEO comes in.
How Can Plumbers Attract Clients to Their Website?
There are many ways plumbers can attract clients to their websites using SEO. While it can be difficult to decipher all of the proper SEO techniques on your own, there are a few key things to be aware of.
Though, nothing can top a professional eye. HigherVisibility can help improve your plumbing site’s SEO, relieving you of any stress or confusion when it comes to coding and the web at large. If you want an expert’s opinion, you can schedule a consultation with our specialists.
Have Memorable URLs
One of the best practices for SEO is to match your company name to your URL. This eliminates confusion when a customer decides to look up your business later on. Having your company name as a URL makes it easier for clients to remember you.
Additionally, keeping your pages (like services and contact) shorter makes it easier for customers to find your information using only Google search rankings. It’s not enjoyable to search for ten minutes for the contact information of a plumbing site. Having more straightforward and easier to remember navigation will help your clients reach out to you without qualms.
Use Keyword Research
Keyword research is the basis of high-quality SEO. As a plumbing site, knowing which keywords new customers are typing in the search bar will help you to create content that matches exactly what they are looking for.
HigherVisibility utilizes the best keyword techniques to help land your site on Google’s first page when a client types in a specific phrase. It can be challenging for plumbers inexperienced in the digital landscape to know precisely how to use keywords to optimize their site. It’s best to get professional assistance for this topic as keywords will help your plumbing business succeed.
Provide High-Quality Content
Quality content rules the online landscape these days. Before, the competition was low, and people and businesses could post whatever they wanted to their blogs and company sites without a second thought. Competition is much higher today, thus creating a need for quality within your site.
When a customer in need of a quality plumber comes to your site, they want answers. They want to find informative posts about the services you provide and why it is important that they fix their leak or broken pipe as soon as possible.
Implementing quality copy into your site pages will show your customers that you are a reputable source and build trust and reassurance that you are the right company for the job.
Why Local SEO is Important for Plumbers
As a service-based business that relies on providing to the local area, local SEO is one of the major considerations for plumbers. Google takes into account location when searching for relevant sources to share with its users.
With plumbing, a service often searched in Google when assistance is already in need, people expect to receive local search results to resolve their plumbing issue immediately.
While plumbers may acquire competition nationwide, a customer looking to fix a leaky pipe will surpass a plumber miles away for one that is closer. Local SEO is vital because you want to ensure that your company shows up in the “near me” section of Google when a customer searches for a plumbing service. Otherwise, you may only reach new customers who are out of your reach who won’t commit to any services.
With this in mind, it’s also important to note that competition in any area can be high. When you market locally and utilize local SEO, it’s important to know that your competition attempts to attract the same clients that you are. It’s crucial that you appear more reputable and reliable than them so that clients choose your company over theirs.
How to Improve Local SEO in Google
The good news is, there are plenty of ways to improve local SEO in Google. We’ll list a few here so that your business can get connected with your local target market and begin appearing in “near me” searches. However, we always encourage you to seek a professional eye when it comes to ranking number one in your area.
Add a Google My Business Page
One of the first things you should do when improving your local SEO is to add a Google My Business page. Creating a business profile is free to do, and it instantly appears in the “near me” search results section when a prospective client searches for plumbers in their area.
Additionally, having a Google My Business page allows your business to show up in Google Maps. This is hugely beneficial when situations are immediate or when clients intend to navigate your brick and mortar location.
According to Bright Local, businesses that use Google My Business and input photos of their store for Google Image search receive 1,065% more website clicks than businesses who are not using Google My Business for image search.
Here are how the local map pack ranking factors have changed over time:
Include Accurate Information
When you make a Google My Business page, you want to be sure that the information presented on the page is the same as what is listed on your site, social media, store windows, etc. Your hours and location should be consistent throughout all of your online marketing to relieve any confusion.
Business Hours:
Business hours should be one of the main facts you list throughout your lead generation digital marketing strategies and web content marketing. Make sure that your customers are aware of when they can reach out to you and when you can provide service.
Location:
Location is a must for local SEO. If you have multiple site locations, list them all and include a phone number or email so that potential clients can reach out to you. Include your locations in Google My Business to help customers find you on Google maps or in the “near me” portion of a web pages search.
Get Reviews
When it comes to standing out amongst the local competition, nothing is greater than reviews. Ask your clients to give a review after they receive the service. Reviews are an excellent way to showcase your business’s authenticity and repeatability.
When choosing between two competing local businesses, clients are more than likely to go to the reviews on Google or other sites (Yelp, Facebook, Angie’s List, etc.) to compare the two business’ quality based on prior customer experience.
An important thing to do that will help your business appear more honest and trustworthy is to reply to reviews. It can be hard to respond to every review you get once your business expands, but replying to individual reviews (positive or negative) shows that you care about your customers and encourages more reviews down the road.
Handle the reviews politely and honestly and encourage additional prospects to reach out if they have any questions or concerns.
Add Photos
Photos are essential for any site when it comes to SEO. They help your brand and business come to life and appear relatable to your customers. Including pictures of the local service area, of your site location, and your team or office space makes your business look authentic and memorable.
Photos of your business can sometimes be a deciding factor for your client, depending on what services you provide. They’re also a great way to boost plumbing page SEO through alt text that tells Google exactly what the picture is, helps add necessary keywords to your site, and tells Google what it can expect from your source—further boosting your relevance in SEO.
Search Engine Journal, a site about basic web SEO, stated that over 20% of all U.S. web searches happen through Google Images.
Additionally, including photos allows people to share your services with others in a visual way. It also allows your service and company to appear in a Google image search, which is another way that clients may come to find your business if they are looking for a particular plumbing solution.
Should I Hire an SEO Company for My Website?
There are many factors to consider when choosing whether to hire an SEO company like HigherVisibility for your website. If you already have an existing site and a team to maintain it, you could always raise the budget on their training to increase knowledge about SEO techniques.
This can be time-consuming, however, and there’s no guarantee that the work will pay off. Additionally, your company may not have a site or digital team to implement SEO practices.
HigherVisibility is a team of digital experts who know the best SEO practices already. Purchasing an SEO service from specialists in the industry is one of the most secure ways to ensure success.
When Will Results Be Noticeable?
How long does SEO take? It can take anywhere from four to twelve months to see a difference when it comes to SEO. The reason for this is that it can take time to climb through the Google ranks. Not to mention, it can take time for potential customers to find you via search rankings.
It’s important to consider that appearing in search engine results pages (SERPs) depends on relevance, distance, and prominence.
Relevance: Does your site page reflect the keyword being searched?
Relevance is one of the most important aspects of SEO. When a person searches a keyword phrase into Google’s search bar, the search engine does its best to find relevant sources for that search term. Google is looking to match the client’s needs and answer the questions that the client may have.
This is why keyword research is so important. To appear relevant in search, your company website must include keywords and keyword phrases that a prospective client may be searching for.
Distance: Is your business location ideal for those searching for a plumber?
When it comes to local SEO, distance is everything. You want to be clear about the exact area your company covers. It’s of little to no use for plumbers if your prospect finds your service only to discover that you are three-hundred miles away.
You want your location to be clear. When people nearby search for a plumber, you want your company to appear in the “near me” search column and on Google Maps. Including service pages on your site and adding the service location in H1s, H2s, and meta descriptions are other ways to implement local SEO.
Prominence: How well does the local area know your business?
It’s important to stand out locally. When people in your town or city think of plumbing, you want them to think of your business. The methods for enhancing prominence in your location typically require more physical and visual awareness, such as billboards or a storefront sign.
However, it is possible to enhance prominence using the web by having a Google My Business page, appearing on Google Maps, and appearing in the “near me” portion of search.
These factors will affect the overall success of your page SEO changes. While it can be challenging to understand all of the underlying techniques and methods to enhance your expertise in each of these areas, professionals like Higher Visibility are ready to navigate you through these concerns to help your business appear in your client’s search results.
Why HigherVisibility?
HigherVisibility has been helping businesses to grow in the online landscape since 2009. We specialize in SEO for companies ranging from small, local businesses to Fortune 1000s. Our goal is to make a customized strategy that will propel your business through the ranks and increase your online presence.
We know that gaining a consistent clientele in plumbing can be challenging. Everything is dependent on location, prominence, and need of the client. With our SEO strategies, we can ensure that your clients find you when they need you and that your business stands out as a reputable source among the rest.
What Is Included in the SEO Services?
Our SEO services offer a few different strategies when it comes to putting your business on top. Every company is unique, and therefore our strategy must express that. We customize every step of the way so that your site reflects precisely what you’re going for.
Some of our strategies include:
On-Page Optimization
Keywords: We use the best in keyword research to formulate the right long-tail and short-tail keyword phrases that will drive clients to your site.
Content: Quality content is a must. Every page on your site should be informative and answer a crucial question a prospective client may have. We include engaging content, and meaningful call-to-action (CTA) prompts to encourage online browsers to commit to your company’s service.
Linking
Internal links: We are sure to link to other relevant sources within your site to help keep readers on your company website and engaged in your information. Internal linking is terrific for SEO and encourages readers to remain on your site longer, improving bounce rate and SEO.
Backlinks: We encourage backlinks to your site from other reputable companies to make you stand out among the competition as an expert in your field. We implement the best techniques to earn such backlinks to bring more awareness to your business.
Industry citations: Citations showcase you as a well-researched and measurable specialist. It proves that your company is invested in its field of topics and understands that measuring success and reflection on data is essential for industry improvement.
Reports
Through our client dashboard, we include several reports to help you view and understand your business’s SEO. Keyword research, link-building, and web traffic are a few of the reports we offer to help you better understand your clients and reach.
Continuing Plumber SEO
SEO is not a once and done ordeal. It requires continual upkeep. At HigherVisibility, we partner with you to continuously improve your site and help build a community within your industry where your clients view you as an expert in the field.
Creating more content, posts, and connections will help keep your business alive online and at the forefront of your prospect’s attention. Not only that but by continuously revising your content and updating your site, you will continue to grow and succeed on the web.
Search engines are ever-changing, and keeping up on the rules can be tedious for small businesses that require their attention to be placed on their job. HigherVisibility can help ease the stress of trying to fit in SEO techniques while maintaining your business efficiency. We work with you to ensure that your site pulls in clients who require your services.
Set up a consultation today to begin embarking on effective plumber SEO. It’s never too late to start setting your website up for success.