Local SEO Tips for Plumbers: Boost Your Online Presence

This is the most common question asked of our plumbing marketing agency.

Basically, plumbing companies need to align your website and online presence with what search engines look for when ranking local businesses.

Local SEO for plumbers involves researching Google’s ranking factors and executing strategies to improve your plumbing company’s website and online presence.

Many plumbing companies partner with marketing agencies specializing in local SEO, as they offer expertise and accelerated results.

Whether you choose to DIY or hire experts, here’s 7 key local seo tips to help your plumbing business stand out to search engines and improve your visibility on Google:

• Understand Your Current Situation: If you do not know where you are, then you cannot achieve your goal. Start by defining your current reality.
• Optimize Your Google Business Profile: A strong profile showcases your plumbing company and can increase your presence in Google Maps, generating direct leads.
• Local Keyword Research: Research the phrases customers in your local market use to find your plumbing services. These are the building blocks of your content marketing.
• Enhance Website Content: Optimizing current page titles, meta descriptions, and content to align with keyword research. Plan ongoing efforts to publish fresh, high-quality local content.
• Build Authority with Link Building: Secure quality backlinks from relevant industry websites, local directories, and partner businesses.
• Build Domain Authority for Your Service Area: Create city pages and city+services pages to tailor content to specific locations.
• Track Your Local SEO Performance: Use tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to gain insights into how you’re ranking and what’s driving traffic.

In this article, Valve+Meter Performance Marketing helps you understand how SEO benefits plumbers in the real world. Using actual local Google search examples, our team demonstrates how SEO for plumbers works in practice.

Google succeeds when its search results are relevant to the user.

Certain searches have clear local intent – think restaurants, movies, weather, and especially home services like plumbing. Google tailors its results based on the user’s location to provide the most useful options.

If you want to be the most useful option, then you have to show Google: who, what, where.

Plumbing companies that utilize local SEO for plumbers are essentially sending signals to Google: “We are the plumbers that are most relevant in our service area!”

This targeted approach not only increases your visibility but also boosts your chances of being the go-to choice for local plumbing needs.

The Impact of Local SEO on Plumbing Services

Pay-per-click advertising and Google Local Services Ads for plumbing can get you atop search results quickly.

The impact of local SEO for plumbers takes more time. Professional SEO services can accelerate organic search results, but you should view local SEO as a long-term strategy. Another key tip:

Every plumbing business wants to rank #1 of Google.

Plumbing businesses that succeed stay committed to researching, planning, and executing ongoing efforts. Local SEO strategies are marathons and in most competitive markets-they are ultramarathons.

So why not just buy PPC ads and run LSA campaigns?

The impact of local SEO on plumbing services is like turning a flywheel. You need to push the flywheel forward and keep exerting force to gain momentum. Eventually, with steady and consistent force, the flywheel wants to stay in motion.

When Local SEO services succeed, your business name becomes prominent in all local searches.

This targeted visibility not only drives more traffic to your website but also increases the likelihood of converting online searches into real-world service calls.

Understanding the Local Search Ecosystem

Let’s look at real examples of how local search works for plumbing.

Remember, Google uses hundreds of signals to determine which businesses to show for local searches.

In the most basic sense local search signals include: proximity, relevance, and authority.

Proximity is important because when a plumbing emergency happens, most homeowners will grab their phone and search for a ‘plumbers near me.’

Google displays paid ads first, typically followed by Google Maps or the Local Pack. In the example below, the local pack displays three plumbing businesses:

Earning one of these positions is significant. In one study, the click through rate for these 3 Google Business Profile positions was 15.1-17.6%, compared to just 1.2 – 2.1% for paid ads.

Within that same search, the native results offer different options to the user:

While proximity greatly influences Google Maps, relevance and prominence drive the local SEO strategies of the top native results.

The top organic result can win up to 39.8% of all clicks within this search. Clearly, local SEO for plumbers is worthwhile to building sustainable and profitable marketing efforts.

In the upcoming sections, we will explore how plumbing companies are targeting both of these search engine results page (SERP) features.

Before executing any local seo for plumbers, your marketing agency or internal team should define your starting point.

Assessing your plumbing business’s local SEO is like checking the pressure in your pipes – it’s crucial to ensure everything is flowing smoothly. Start by analyzing your online presence to see how your business appears in local search results.

Are you showing up in the top spots for relevant searches?

Is your Google Business Profile fully optimized and accurate?

Dive into your website’s analytics to track where your traffic is coming from and what keywords are driving it.

Why Work With A Digital Marketing Agency to Perform A Local SEO Audit?

A local SEO audit examines all elements of your website and online presence.

Working with a digital marketing agency like Valve+Meter identifies all technical issues, suggests targeted improvements, and helps you implement strategies that will boost your local search rankings and drive more traffic to your site.

Even the most experienced plumbing business marketing teams may lack the experience and tools to perform a comprehensive local SEO audit.

In the next sections, you will see real examples of how a local SEO audit could improve even high-performing plumbing companies.

For plumbers, a well-optimized Google Business Profile typically includes a logo and accurate contact information including name, address, phone.

So how is Home Heroes Plumbing Heating & Air earning results ahead of other larger competitors?

Their profile features:

• Original Images: Dozens of images displaying staff, facilities, and before-and-after images.

• Services: More than 100 services are listed from broad keywords like ‘plumber’ to long tail keywords like ‘Plumber in Fishers IN.’ The services pages even include descriptions of services for ‘Emergency Plumbing in Fishers IN.’

• Google Reviews: 5-star reviews are social proof your business does great work. With more than 400 reviews and an overall 5.0 rating, this profile has a large volume of glowing reviews compared to other local plumbers.

• Updates: This profile is active with updates posted twice weekly. Updates based on keyword research help users and Google understand the services you offer.

Google Business Profile optimization is essential for visibility in the Map Pack, giving your plumbing business prime real estate in search results. In addition to the core features above, local SEO specialists handle the more technical aspects.

Throughout all local SEO:

• Focus on Benefits: Highlight why customers choose your plumbing services.
• Emphasize Action: Use a clear call-to-action encouraging people to call or visit your website.
• Be Specific: Provide accurate, detailed information about your services, hours, and location. Include high-quality photos of your work and team. Encourage and respond to customer reviews.

Every search begins with a question or phrase.

Search crawlers index your content to understand the relevance of your web pages. Local keywords are the building blocks of your plumbing digital marketing.

Keyword research helps you discover the exact terms your potential customers use when looking for plumbing services. Relevant keywords for your local SEO strategy:

• Prioritize Local Terms: Target location-based keywords like “plumber in [city name]” to attract customers in your area.
• Use Long-Tail Keywords Focus on specific phrases like “emergency leak repair [city name]” that are easier to rank for than broader terms like “plumber”.

There are free and paid keyword research tools to help you find the right terms and see how often people search for them. Professional local SEO specialists use these tools to plan your overall local SEO strategy.

Alone keywords will not transform your search visibility.

Keyword research is implemented naturally in three positions:

• Page Titles and Headings
• Website Content
• Meta Descriptions and URLs

Each of the top 3 organic results in the example below feature a matching long-tail keyword for the query in the title, heading, meta description, URL, and content of the landing page.

On-page SEO focuses on optimizing the visible content of your website. Careful planning of your website’s structure, page layouts, and overall content strategy is crucial for success.

For Example: Using the Keyword “Emergency Services”

Let’s say “emergency services” is one of your primary keywords. Here’s how it could be incorporated strategically:

• Main Navigation: Include it in your website’s primary menu.
• Dedicated Page: Create a page focused on “emergency services,” but avoid targeting a specific location here to avoid competing with your local pages.
• Valuable Content: Showcase your expertise, highlight services, and address common customer concerns on this page.

Next, technical SEO and sitemap planning help to improve local SEO rankings. As we will examine in tip #7, localized content should be siloed for each city in your service area.

• City-Specific Pages: Building separate pages for each city you serve, targets long-tail keywords like “emergency plumber in [city name]”. As demonstrated in the above example, this helps target local searches.

Designing your plumbing website architecture carefully can help your entire plumbing business rank higher and aids new customers searching for your services.

A third-party link to your plumbing website acts as a vote of confidence.

Just like positive online reviews help new customers trust your business, acquiring backlinks from reputable sources build trustworthiness with search engines.

For plumbers, securing backlinks from local businesses, industry-related sites, and reputable directories can significantly improve local search rankings and online visibility.

From the organic search results, the correlation between backlinks, keywords, and keyword use in URL can be examined.

The top position has the most backlinks, keywords, and uses localized URL structure.

The second position uses localized URL structure, which may be one factor in outranking the third plumbing business who has a higher number of backlinks and keywords.

While all rankings factors cannot be visualized into one infographic, effective link building techniques in combination with all other strategies plays a key role in local SEO for plumbers.

Returning to the graphic above, each of the top 6 organic search results are dedicated city pages.

Building domain authority attracts more customers to your website. Long-tail keywords and strategic website structure are key to achieving this.

In this example, plumbing businesses have achieved domain authority through the use of service area pages and city pages. City pages allow you to target specific geographic areas on your plumbing with tailored content.

These pages should include information about your services, customer testimonials, and relevant local keywords. By creating a dedicated page for each city or area you serve, you can improve your visibility in local search results and attract more customers from those locations.

The top ranking native result, CartersMyPlumber.com, utilizes city pages across Indiana.

By comparison, the top ranking Google Business Profile in this search ranks 20 in organic results and as demonstrated in the infographic below does not rank in the top 100 for searches in 3 surrounding cities.

Top ranking plumbing websites are using city specific service pages to win local search results.

Tracking your local SEO performance is key to understanding what’s working and where you can improve – it’s the only way to know if your efforts are paying off! Here’s how to measure your progress:

• Tools of the Trade: Google Analytics and Google Search Console provide insights into website traffic, search rankings, and how customers interact with your site.
• Track Key Metrics: Monitor your rankings in local search results, website click-through rates, and other important data points to evaluate your strategies.
• The Benefits of a Pro: Partnering with a local SEO agency like Valve+Meter gives you access to advanced tools, expert analysis, and the experience to make the most of your data.

How A Professional Agency Can Help

Valve+Meter Performance Marketing gives plumbers access to cutting-edge technology, experts in local SEO within the plumbing industry, and a customized approach to digital marketing for plumbers.

There are no tricks or gimmicks to grow your business name. Search engine optimization attracts potential customers with high returns on marketing spend, but only when designed strategically.

Every plumbing business is unique and competition rages across the internet. Our ThinkFirst™ approach examines your local business, audits your website and local competitors, and creates a comprehensive strategy to drive success.