Get More Plumbing Leads With Highly Targeted
Plumber SEO
This Plumber SEO Guide Has Been Comprehensively Updated for 2023
Due to consistent algorithm updates, the relatively recent Helpful Content Update in late 2022, we’ve updated the written content that already existed on the page. We’ve written new content. And we’ve filmed new video content. Everything is up-to-date, fresh, and helpful for your plumbing business to dominate Google for 2023.
How We Help Plumbers Grow Their Business & See A
5.7x ROI on Their Monthly SEO Investment
Increase Google Rankings
Get your plumbing business website ranking on Google for high-value keywords that potential clients are searching for.
More High-Quality Web Traffic
Get more interested clients coming to your website each month.
Increased Leads & Phone Calls
Get more motivated clients calling your plumbing business to schedule a maintenance appointment.
You Get Your Time Back
Stop writing blog content or trying to figure out digital marketing on your own.
Here's What You Want To See With Your Plumber Website & SEO
When Someone Types into Google "Plumber Near Me", You Show Up Here...
When Someone Types into Google "Plumber Near Me", You Show Up Here...
Think about the way people search for plumbers. They’re probably ankles deep in water that leaked in the bathroom. Or maybe they bought a new dishwasher and have no idea how to install it. So they pull out their smartphone.
They go to Google and type in something like “Plumber Near Me” – the FIRST thing to show up is the Maps area of Google called the Google Local Pack. The plumbers that show up here “win” and get the most phone calls.
When Someone Types into Google "Plumber [City]", You Show Up Here...
When potential clients are looking for plumbers, they often use the language of “best plumber near me” or “best plumber in [city]”.
The plumbers that rank in the Maps area for these keywords get the most phone calls and website visitors.
When Someone Types Queries into Google like "How Long Does It Take to Install a Dishwasher", You Show Up Here..
When Someone Types Queries into Google like "How Long Does It Take to Install a Dishwasher", You Show Up Here..
People in need of plumbing services ask tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of questions into Google each day. Questions like…
- “What is rough in plumbing?”
- “How many elbows can a plumbing vent have?”
- “How to install bathroom vanity plumbing”
If you can rank for these keywords, it shows Google that your website is an “authority” and is trustworthy.
People Are Searching For Plumbers Differently Than They Used To
Just take a look and see the increase in people searching for “plumber near me” over the last five years.
This screenshot above comes from a tool called Google Trends (a tool created by Google itself). You can see the steady increase in the number of people searching for “plumber near me.”
See The Common Theme? You Want To Increase Your Plumbing Business's Digital Presence Online To Be Found By Motivated Clients.
What it all boils down to is, you want more people looking for plumbing services in your city to know that you exist. Whenever they do a Google search online around plumbers, you want to show up over your competitors.
How Do You Get Tangible Results With Plumber SEO Services?
Step 1: Comprehensive SEO Audit
Most SEO companies miss this step. And, this is the most important step of all.
You can’t get where you need to be if you don’t know where you are now.
We recommend doing a comprehensive SEO audit to determine your:
- Current SEO performance
- Current SEO errors
- What your local competitors are doing
- Technical SEO performance
- And more
Step 2: Local SEO Visibility Audit
The goal for plumber SEO is to increase your “local visibility,” as we refer to it.
We use robust and powerful third-party tools to run an “SEO visibility test” on your plumbing business. This allows us to see how visible your business is on Google.
The report looks like this:
Step 3: Create a Roadmap Based on Data
We now have a lot of data from the SEO audit and the local SEO visibility audit.
SEO for plumbers should be strategized based on this data. Most other SEO companies fail to do this. Instead, they go off of a “hunch” that something will work out.
We recommend creating a comprehensive roadmap based on the data. If the data shows that your website is loading slowly (which is negatively impacting performance), you should probably focus on fixing that first!
Step 4: Implement Highest Priority Changes First
Here’s where it gets interesting:
Not all SEO activities are created equal.
Adding internal links on a blog post from 2016 won’t be as impactful as optimizing the content on your homepage.
The data tells us that you should be targeting the “low hanging fruit” opportunities first.
You don’t have a Google Business Profile set up for your plumbing business? That’s a great place to start! You don’t have a Services page? You should probably build that first before worrying about the images on your About Us page.
Step 5: Local SEO Best Practices & Content Creation at Scale
Local SEO for plumbers comes down to the following factors:
- Consistent information that Google trusts
- Authority
- Accurate information
If the phone number on your website doesn’t match that of your Facebook page, that sends up a red flag to Google.
If Google wants to rank your business, they need to be able to trust that a user will actually get through to you if they try to call.
So, having consistent NAPs on high-authority directories across the internet is essential.
Now, in regards to “authority,” that’s where content steps in. If you create content that answers your target audience’s questions that they’re asking right now, Google will see your business as more authoritative than a plumber that doesn’t have much content on their site.
Step 6: Meticulously Track Data
The ultimate goal of SEO is to have a tangible impact on your plumbing business. To increase website visitors and phone calls. And to have those activities lead to increased revenue.
To ensure your SEO strategies are performing successfully, you have to track data. Build a comprehensive dashboard that gives insights into your:
- keyword rankings
- phone calls
- website visitors
- and other important KPIs
Plumber SEO Services Shouldn't Be 
Cutter - Everything Is 100% Customized To Your Business
Plumber SEO isn’t the same as other types of SEO. Unfortunately, most other SEO companies don’t treat it as its own, proper industry and use the same “tips and tricks” that they use in other industries. That’s not the best strategy.
We treat your business as unique. We take an individualized approach to each individual industry (such as plumbing), to your specific city (Dallas may be different than a smaller town in Ohio), and your specific website (WordPress, Squarespace, Webflow, etc).
5 Tactical Local SEO Strategies for Plumbers
Strategy 1: Google Business Profile Optimizations
This is an example of a plumber’s Google Business Profile:
This is the front-end of a Google Business Profile that someone searching on Google can see.
Actually, before we go any further, let’s back up:
Why do Google Business Profiles matter for plumbers? Google Business Profiles are relevant and important ranking factors to rank in the Google Local Pack. Here’s an example of what a Google Local Pack looks like:
Optimizing your Google Business Profile helps you get found there ☝️
And, when you show up in the Google Local Pack for plumbing, you WIN. You get more phone calls and website visitors than your industry counterparts.
So, how do you properly optimize your Google Business Profile so you get found in the Google Local Pack?
Write this down: Comprehensiveness.
You must provide as comprehensive information as possible in your Google Business Profile.
There are many sections that you can provide comprehensive information, such as:
- Your main description
- Your categories
- Your services
- Your photos
- Your products
Here’s an example that helps to illustrate the difference between being comprehensive and not being comprehensive:
For your main description, you may write a sentence like… “We are a team of professional plumbers in Portland that can get the job done right.”
That sounds promising, but it’s only one sentence… Google lets you use up to 750 characters for the main description. Use them up! Do you offer installations? Do you serve certain zip codes? Do you have an exceptional record of keeping the time between call and service minimal?
Answering EVERY possible question is how you can be more comprehensive.
Strategy 2: On-Page SEO for Your Homepage and Location Pages
On-page SEO for plumbers is simply referring to the content on your website.
It includes things like:
- Your title tags
- Your meta description
- Your header tags (H1, H2, H3)
- Your images
- Internal and external links
- And basically anything else that you can put on a website page
Why does on-page SEO for plumbers matter? Easy…Google cares about it.
For single-location plumbers, the most important page on your website (from a local SEO perspective) is the homepage. If your plumbing business has multiple locations, the most important pages on your website are your location pages.
When performing on-page SEO for these pages, you want to implement SEO-friendliness by using keywords while also providing as comprehensive information as possible to the user (and Google).
For example, instead of a title tag like “Branson Plumbing – 503.111.2222” you can provide more context to Google by writing something like “Trusted Plumbers in Beaverton – Branson Plumbing.”
Strategy 3: Website Architecture Best Practices
This SEO strategy for plumbers is underrated. Your sitemap and your website architecture are intimately connected.
Google crawls your sitemap to understand your website architecture, which then allows Google to understand what your website is really about.
Here’s what a sitemap could look like to Google:
Looks a bit foreign, right? Don’t dwell on it too much. Just know that when Google looks at a sitemap like this, it’s figuring out what your website is about (which is really important for local SEO).
The main thing is that your website structure should have hierarchy. Let’s use two of the main services that plumbers offer – 1) drain cleaning and 2) water heater repair.
Where should these pages live on your site? First, you should probably have a “services” page that has the URL structure similar to .com/services/
Now, any services that you offer (such as drain cleaning and water heater repair) should live UNDER this main services page. See below:
- .com/services/drain-cleaning
- .com/services/water-heater-repair
This seems obvious, but many websites don’t do this right. There’s no vertical architecture. Instead, every page lives directly under the homepage, like this:
- .com/services/
- .com/drain-cleaning/
- .com/water-heater-repair/
- .com/ac-repair/
With this structure, Google doesn’t understand that “Water Heater Repair” is a service that you offer. It’s just another page on your site!
Strategy 4: Content Creation at Scale
Ready for some fun? People search for thousands of plumbing-related questions into Google every day.
Some are very local:
- best ac repair in Portland
- best water heater installation near Portland
Some are generic:
- Do tankless water heaters need maintenance?
- What’s the average cost of a furnace repair?
- Do I need to clean drains regularly?
- Who do I call to fix my ac?
If you answer these types of questions through comprehensive blog articles on your website, it will do 2 things:
1. You may rank in Google for these keywords that people are searching and therefore drive traffic.
2. Google will take notice and see your website as an authority over your competitors. Google will think, “Wow, they’re answering all of these plumbing-related questions that people want answered. Their website is therefore more valuable than local competitors who haven’t taken the time to answer any questions.”
Strategy 5: User Experience is a Bigger Deal Than You Think - Stop the Keyword Stuffing!
The old SEO strategies don’t work anymore. Keyword stuffing… PBN link building… you get it.
Google’s smarter than that now. And Google’s beginning to understand that user experience on a website is important.
What does this mean for you as a plumber?
- Make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for. They shouldn’t have to spend 5 minutes figuring out if you offer water heater installation.
- Make it easy for users to contact you. Your phone number should be clickable on a mobile device. You should consider online scheduling for clients to make an appointment for maintenance. Anything to make the user’s experience SUPER easy.
- When writing content, you should offer value to the reader. Say goodbye to the days of outsourcing writers who produce vague, keyword-stuffed articles. Your content should thoroughly answer the user’s questions and add value to them.
On Average, Our Plumber SEO Services Cost
31% Less Than Other SEO Companies
Compared to Other SEO Companies That Average Between $1.5k and $3k Per Month.
FAQs About Plumber SEO Services
Here are the most common questions we’ve heard.
What is Plumber SEO?
Plumber SEO is a form of digital marketing that helps plumbers increase their visibility in search engines, Google in particular.
The specific SEO strategies that are used for plumbers vary greatly (which is why all plumber SEO is NOT created equal).
Strategies include:
- on-page SEO
- off-page SEO
- keyword research
- Google Maps optimizations
- content creation
- local SEO
- landing page creation
- PR
- and more
Why is Plumber SEO Important?
Plumber SEO is important because it allows you to get in front of your target audience (the people looking RIGHT NOW to find a plumber for repairs, maintenance, installations, and so on).
Think about how social media marketing for plumbers works: People are scrolling through Instagram or Facebook and stumble upon an advertisement for a plumber in their city. They might be actively looking for a plumber, but it’s pretty unlikely.
Now think about SEO, which puts you in front of clients that are actively looking for what you have to offer.
SEO for plumbers allows you to show up in Google for people looking for things like “best plumber near me” or “plumber in downtown Portland.” Ranking for those keywords has a MUCH higher conversion than people scrolling on Instagram.
How Long Does SEO for Plumbers Take To Work?
Plumber SEO can take 1 week – 6 months for you to start seeing results. It depends on a variety of factors:
- How big of a city you’re in
- How long your website has been around for
- How your current SEO is performing
- How high your website’s “domain authority” is
- And more
Some of our clients have seen 2x – 3x the phone calls within a month after starting their SEO campaign. Other clients don’t see noticeable increases in phone calls for 2-3 months.
Think about it this way, though:
If everyone could make a couple of tweaks on their website and rank overnight for the HIGHEST value keywords out there, like “best plumber in Jacksonville” then you’d have to have an employee on the computer 24/7 to beat out the tweaks your competitors make to their sites. The internet would go haywire.
These things take time. Google built their algorithms that way on purpose.
What Plumber SEO KPIs Should We Track?
Plumber SEO needs to be meticulously tracked.
You want to know, with absolute certainty, that your investment in SEO is working for your plumbing business.
So, you need to track certain metrics to ensure that the campaign is working:
- Keyword rankings: Are your ranking on Page 1 of Google for your most important keywords? How are your keyword rankings changing from week to week? Month to month?
- Organic website traffic: Is your organic website traffic from Google going up or down? Which keywords are driving the most traffic to your site?
- Phone calls: Are your phone calls from people searching on Google increasing? How are phone calls changing month over month?
- Online lead submissions: Are you seeing more online leads? How are they changing over time?
What Type of Content Should Plumber Websites Have?
Plumber SEO should include content that your target audience is searching for on Google:
How do we know what keywords/content that your target audience is searching for? We use advanced software and tools that give us insider information and data. We, for example, know that 1300 people per month (on average) search for “how to use a plumbing snake”.
So, with that being said, we do extensive keyword research to find the topics/questions that potential plumbing clients have.
Questions like:
- “How to plumb a toilet?”
- “How much is a plumber per hour”
- “What is rough in plumbing?”
If you create content that answers these types of questions, then you can potentially rank in Google when people search for these.
Also, Google will favor your site over your competitors because Google will have more trust in your site.
What are the Most Valuable Plumber Keywords for SEO?
How To Work With Us
It’s important to note – we don’t work with all plumbers.
We only work with plumbers that:
- Are ambitious about growing their business
- Have the bandwidth to take the growth that will come from working with us
- Treat their employees and their customers well
Step 2
Check Your Email
In less than 24 hours, one of our talented SEO specialists will send you a 3-5 minute customized video analysis. It will explain opportunities for you to outperform competitors.
Step 3
Sit Back And Watch Your SEO Skyrocket
Just look at our case studies of the success that other Portland businesses have seen. You can have the same results.
If you’re looking for Portland SEO services, we can help. Give us a call today to learn more about our pricing and availability.
Let's Take Your Plumbing Business From the "best kept secret" to the "most sought after brand"
