SEO for Plumbers: The Definitive Guide [2024]

What is SEO for Plumbers?

SEO for plumbers is a strategy that helps plumbing businesses gain visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs) for relevant queries related to their services. This strategy includes optimizing website content, improving local listings, and building backlinks to generate more organic traffic from the SERP.

When done correctly, SEO for plumbers can help increase leads, improve brand visibility, and build trust among online customers.

Different Types of SEO Strategies For Plumbing Companies

There are 5 SEO strategies plumbing companies can implement to give their websites a on search result pages. They include: . 

• Local SEO—also known as on-site SEO—ensures people in your operational area see your plumbing business when searching for plumbing services, using location-specific queries.

• On-page SEO refers to the process of optimizing parts of your web pages to rank high and funnel in traffic from search engines. This includes publishing up-to-date content, linking to relevant content on your webpage, using optimized meta descriptions and title tags, and so on.

• Content SEO strategy is a comprehensive plan for creating content that’s optimized for search engines and relevant to users, to rank high on search engines and fulfill business objectives.

It starts with identifying the right keywords, tying them to the needs of target readers, and using them to create high-quality content.

• Technical SEO is the process of optimizing the technical aspects of your website, so it’s easily found, crawled, and indexed by search engines.

It includes using an SEO-friendly site structure, optimizing your website's load speed, and ensuring it's mobile friendly.

• Off-page SEO refers to tactics implemented outside a website, to boost its ranking and generate more organic traffic. This includes guest blogging, content distribution on other media platforms, and link building.

Why Do Plumbers Need SEO?

SEO is important for plumbers since it is a cost-effective medium for generating leads unlike other marketing strategies like cold calling and advertising. 

Additionally, SEO can help you book more calls and generate revenue by making you visible to the 87% of consumers using search engines like Google to find plumbing services. This means you're more likely to be seen by potential customers.

Local plumbers can also benefit from SEO as searches like "plumber near me" or "plumber {city}” are top of the frequency list.

Having a solid SEO strategy in place can generate more traffic to your plumbing website or Google Profile and increase sales. Later in the article, we will discuss the importance of SEO and optimizing your Google Profile.

SEO, together with pay-per-click (PPC), and other digital marketing strategies, can help improve your online presence and generate more plumbing leads.

To maximize their digital marketing efforts, best-in-class plumbing businesses also leverage ServiceTitan's Marketing Software.

Tracking Your Plumbing SEO Wins With ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan makes it easier to track marketing leads with a system that shows how many leads and customers each of your marketing channels generates. 

With the Marketing Analytics feature, users can track their marketing efforts, view online and offline marketing campaigns side-by-side, and gain full visibility into their entire marketing funnel. 

The feature allows users to select specific date ranges for their campaign analysis as well as business unit filters that allow for in-depth analysis. 

With ServiceTitan’s Marketing Software, plumbers can discover their marketing ROI, marketing performance, and lead quality metrics to see where their marketing dollars go and how each initiative performs.

By using Marketing Pro's automation features, such as automated direct mail, Rainforest Plumbing & Air managed to speed up many of their marketing processes and exceed their customers' expectations.

Dallin Tippetts, Business Operations Director at the company, reveals: 

“For our customers, it’s clean, it’s polished and it shows we know what we’re doing,” Tippets said. 

“Our technicians are happier because they have software that works, is easy to navigate, and looks clean and professional. Our people in the office, who spend more time here than they do with their families, want to have an enjoyable experience when they sit down at their workstation.”

In ServiceTitan, you can easily create highly personalized, automated email campaigns with just a few clicks.

Can I Do SEO for My Plumbing Business Myself?

Yes, you can do SEO for your plumbing business yourself. 

The most basic SEO best practices, like optimizing your Google Business Profile, are easy to implement. Plumbers can even work on optimizing their title tags (more information about this will follow).

However, for more complicated SEO tasks (such as optimizing for page speed or SEO audits) you should have an experienced SEO specialist handle the process. SEO is a complex and ongoing task that requires knowledge of search engine algorithms and best practices.

SEO involves multiple moving parts, such as optimizing website content for keywords, creating backlinks to improve rankings, managing local listings, and tracking analytics to measure progress. 

An experienced SEO specialist or agency will know how to do all these tasks efficiently and accurately so that you drive business results out of your home services SEO strategy.

Local SEO

Local SEO is an SEO strategy that helps your plumbing business rank higher on Google local search results.

If your business has a physical location or serves a specific geographic area, then it can benefit from local SEO. Local SEO works because Google's local search algorithm has a proximity factor that takes into account the distance between the searcher and the business.

To make sure your local business shows up in local searches, as well as local maps, business owners should ensure their Google Business Profile pages list accurate company information—name, address, and phone number.

This also allows potential customers to make a phone call directly from their website search.

Costs vary for Google Local Services ads (formerly called Google Adwords) but you only pay when a customer contacts your plumbing business through the ad. 

Tommy Mello, The Home Service Expert and owner of A1 Garage Door Services—a $30 million-plus home services business—suggests focusing on Google for online advertising.

He advises spending at least half of your online marketing dollars on SEO, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) digital ads, Google Business Profile, Google Local Services, and getting more positive customer reviews.

In the plumbing industry, one of the most popular paid digital marketing channels is Google Ads. Many plumbers put most of their advertising budget into Google Ads because it helps them gain more customers.

An even better way to reach more customers and manage your marketing dollars is with Local Services Ads, which allows you to pay by lead instead of click. This means Google only charges you when people contact you via the ad. 

However, without having integrated plumbing software like ServiceTitan, it can be overwhelming to manage and schedule the jobs that come in through Local Services Ads. 

Plumbing businesses that use ServiceTitan speed this process up and enhance their SEO efforts by leveraging the Local Services Ads integration with their plumbing software.

More exactly, customers that search for local plumbing services on Google can book jobs easier and faster through the Local Services Ads integration. These bookings immediately populate into ServiceTitan's dashboard for increased accuracy of customer information and faster booking management.

ServiceTitanScheduling Pro also allows plumbers to deliver outstanding online booking experiences by providing a multichannel approach at any time of day. That means no more lost appointments or jobs left behind.

Michelle Micheletti, Marketing Director of Apex Midwest, an HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services group in Missouri, talks about the importance of streamlining online booking processes:

“Most people, myself included, don't really think about their home to-dos until late in the evening,” reveals Micheletti.

"And although automation can be scary, it's not really losing the personal touch because it's an extension of your business that allows homeowners to schedule based on what they need. 

When they schedule and know it's taken care of, it provides instant gratification and instant peace of mind – ‘I have an expert coming out to take care of this problem,’” says Micheletti.

Scheduling Pro + ServiceTitan = No job left behind. 

With Scheduling Pro, customers can book online, and online calls and chat can be answered by live agents 24/7. Questions get answered and jobs get automatically uploaded to the ServiceTitan dashboard for dispatching.

Convenience is the foundation for great customer service in the home services industry. And that is what this online booking integration means for ServiceTitan customers.

What is the local pack?

The local pack is a set of three local businesses that Google displays at the top of its search results for local services. This set includes the business's name, address, phone number, star rating, and website URL.

To appear in the local pack, you need to optimize your business's Google My Business profile, as mentioned earlier.

Google also examines other factors to decide which businesses should appear in the local pack. These include:

• Distance: the distance between the searcher and your business.

• Relevance: determined by how well your business matches the search query; it includes factors like the types of services offered, customer reviews, and website content.

• Prominence: based on how well-known a business is offline and measured by the number of positive reviews it has received or by citation sources such as directories and websites that list your plumbing business.

We've seen that local SEO is a must for plumbing businesses that want to improve their local search visibility. But local SEO can seem overwhelming, and some plumbing business owners may not know where to start. 

Here are four steps to help get your plumbing business on the map:

Step #1: Create and optimize your Google Business Profile

The first step in local SEO is to create and optimize your Google Business Profile. 

Your business’s profile is the most important factor when it comes to appearing in local search results, and it’s essential that your profile is completed accurately and is up-to-date.

When creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile, keep in mind the following:

• Claim and verify your plumbing business. This means that you need to complete a template with basic information such as business name, address, etc., and then go through a couple of steps to verify your business. If you enter your business name, city, state, and the words "Google Plus" on Google, you'll be automatically sent to the template you have to fill.

• Keep your business information accurate, consistent, and updated. Your business name, address, phone number, and hours of operation should be the same across all online listings. Otherwise, Google may not recognize your business as the same one in multiple listings, which will hurt your SEO. Also, you may miss out on potential customers if your business information details are inaccurate and you can't be reached.

Step #2: Gather reviews for your Google Business Profile

Reviews are an important local SEO factor as they can help boost rankings in the local pack and increase visibility. Reviews also act as social proof, which can build trust with potential customers.

Google My Business allows customers to leave reviews that will appear on the business’s profile page. It’s important to respond to any reviews, both positive and negative. This will show potential customers that you are attentive and care about customer service.

To take review management to the next level, ServiceTitan's Reputation Management solution supports plumbing businesses at every stage of their review management process.

“One of the biggest value propositions of Reputation Management is the ability to ask for reviews from your customers at the right time, right when things are fresh in their mind, and add a little more automation to it,” says ServiceTitan Strategic Project Manager Heather Donaldson.

With Reputation Management, Ann Collias, Marketing Director at Griffin Brothers, has seen the value of focusing on the customer experience when managing the review process. 

“They’re taking time out of their day to do something for us, which is great,” Collias says. “The ServiceTitan automatic campaigns have really helped us make that process as easy as possible for our clients, as well as easy for us to manage and track.”

Through its review notifications feature, ServiceTitan allows plumbing business owners to choose what type of notification they'd like to receive, who receives it, and how (through text or email) making it easier to manage reviews from the office or while out in the field.

Listings management is also made easy with ServiceTitan as the software ensures your business information is accurately listed on more than 60 business listing sites.

“That’s of course important for search engine placement (local SEO),” Donaldson says. “And also just making sure your customers have a better sense of trust if they’re looking for you. They can see your name, phone number, and address are correct in all the spaces they may see you. They’re going to trust that data a little more.”

Step #3: List your business in relevant directories (citations)

Citations refer to listings of your business on websites or in directories, such as Yelp, Yellowpages, Expedia, and more. These citations should include accurate information about your business, such as its location, phone number, website URL, opening hours, etc.

Local business directories are important for SEO, as they help Google to verify that your business is legitimate and also increase its visibility online. It’s important to consistently monitor these citations and ensure your information is up-to-date across all sites.

Manually submitting your business information to hundreds of directories can be a tiring and tedious task. However, using an automated citation-building service is an efficient way to ensure that your business is listed in the right places.

Step #4: Optimize your website pages for local search

Your website plays a key role in local visibility, as it contains further information about your business and services. Each page should be optimized for local search using relevant keywords, descriptions, and other SEO best practices.

Later in the article, we’ll discuss keywords and how plumbing businesses can find the right keywords to optimize their website pages.

The following local SEO tips will help you optimize your website pages for local search:

• Optimize your homepage. Think of your homepage as the central location for your website where customers who know nothing about your business can gain a comprehensive picture of it. Your website's homepage should include all the key business information such as services, location, or contact information, to make it straightforward for visitors to find what they need. If not, you risk losing them before they get the chance to discover your services.

From an SEO point of view, your homepage should be well-organized and have a page title, headers, and a meta description that clearly states what it's about. This helps Google understand the key elements of your business and show them in the search engine results pages (SERPs) when customers search for related services.

• Create a page for all your services. Website optimization's ultimate goal is to make your business more visible to potential customers.

A good SEO strategy to help you with this is to create individual pages for each of your services. This will not only help potential customers quickly find the information they need but also allow you to optimize each page with the right keywords and content.

Having designated pages for each specific service will also help Google better understand your website and rank it higher for related search queries.

• Use metadata accurately. Metadata includes your meta descriptions and page title tags, which are the first two things anyone who sees your plumbing business on Google will see. Good page titles and meta descriptions provide concise information about your business and what it offers, thus shortening the odds that people will choose your services.

To ensure that Google knows what your business is about, make sure to include your location and the services you offer in the page title. Well-optimized meta descriptions also help your website rank higher and increase your visibility.

These steps can help plumbing businesses revamp their local SEO strategy to rank higher on local searches, reach more customers, and ultimately, increase their plumbing sales.

Keyword Research

‘Keywords’ is one of the buzzwords associated with search engine optimization and there’s a reason for that. Keywords are one of the most essential elements of SEO strategies.

Keywords refer to words and phrases that describe what your business does, which people will use to search for it on the internet. It’s important to research keywords that are relevant to your industry and, ideally, prompt a high volume of searches.

You can choose relevant keywords by understanding what potential customers search for, and use the right keywords throughout your plumbing web design.

Search engines such as Google or Bing use keywords to determine the relevance of web pages to a search. Using the right plumbing keywords for your company enhances your search rankings. Relevant keywords should be used in headers, copy, and image alt text.

For example, if you own a plumbing company in Atlanta, relevant keywords for plumbing services could include “Atlanta plumbing,” “Plumbing in Atlanta,” “Atlanta plumbers," or "Atlanta water leak."

Keyword research helps determine the best words or phrases to benefit your website visitors and your plumbing company's web pages. SEO experts suggest creating separate web pages if you want your website to rank on the first page of search responses for multiple keywords.

Two main keyword research strategies are:

• Using Google Autocomplete and Related Searches

• Using a specialized SEO tool

Google Autocomplete and Related Searches are easy and quick ways of finding the right keywords. When you start typing a query in Google's search bar, it will display the most searched queries. This can help you determine which terms and phrases are commonly used for your plumbing services.

You can also use specialized SEO tools to identify relevant keywords for your website. These tools will provide data on keyword competition, monthly search volume, and other relevant metrics.

Some companies choose to conduct an SEO audit for hard data on how well plumbing keywords rank on their websites. If developing a marketing strategy seems beyond your scope, many marketing agencies offer SEO services.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. It involves optimizing content, including headlines, titles, and keywords for maximum visibility. Here are three steps for optimizing your plumbing website’s on-page SEO:

Step #1: Write SEO-friendly and compelling title tags and meta descriptions

Title tags are HTML elements that describe the topic of a page. They are displayed on search engine result pages as clickable headlines and should be descriptive and concise.

In addition, title tags are also a ranking factor on search engines. To write SEO-friendly title tags, consider the following tips:

• Keep them short. To avoid having your title tags cut off by Google, keep them between 50 and 60 characters.

• Include keywords that are relevant to your business in the title tag to help users and Google know what your page is about.

• Avoid duplicate title tags. To find duplicate title tags, you can use a Site Audit tool that will check which pages have duplicates. Writing unique title tags allows Google to understand the specific purpose of each page.

When it comes to meta descriptions, although they are not a direct ranking factor, they can be a deciding factor for users, thus encouraging more search traffic.

Meta descriptions are HTML elements that describe the content of a page and should be written to entice users to click on your search result. Here's what you can do to write SEO-friendly meta descriptions:

• Optimize for mobile devices. Keep your meta description below 120 characters for optimal display on mobile devices.

• Include relevant keywords for your plumbing services. This will help Google understand the content of your page and match the user's search query.

• Make use of action verbs. Active voice helps communicate your message more clearly.

• Add a CTA. CTA phrases like "Get Started Now" or "Discover More" help motivate users to click on your search result. 

Step #2: Use SEO-friendly URLs

SEO-friendly URLs are important for your plumbing website as they help Google understand the content of a page. It is recommended to use short and descriptive URLs that include keywords related to your business. Here are some tips for optimizing URLs for SEO:

• Use your target keyword in the URL. This ensures your URL matches the topic of your content.

• Keep it simple. Google doesn't like URLs that look cryptic or are too long.

• Use words that are relevant to the content. This will help users determine what your page is about.

• Make it easy to understand. It's in your interest that Google understands what your pages are about in order to match them with relevant search queries. That is why you should make your URLs useful and easy to understand.

Step #3: Place keywords in the right places

It's not enough to have the right target keywords for your plumbing website. You also need to place them in the right places to be able to get maximum value from them.

Strategically placing keywords in your content helps Google gain context about the topic of your pages and allows users to quickly figure out what your page is about. Here are three places you should consider placing keywords:

• Headers and subheaders

• First paragraph

Make sure to place your plumbing keywords wisely to support your on-page SEO strategy.

With these steps in mind, you can create an SEO-friendly website that will help your plumbing business get more online visibility and get more plumbing leads.

Content SEO Strategy

Another strategy that can support plumbers in their quest for increasing their online visibility is the content SEO strategy.

SEO content strategy refers to the process of creating content that is optimized for search engines. Content SEO involves researching and targeting relevant keywords as well as techniques for improving user experiences such as creating informative, useful content with a clear structure and format.

Content creation should focus on creating content that is both shareable and linkable. Blogs, infographics, videos, and other interactive content are great ways to engage users and promote your plumbing website.

A good place to start in your SEO content strategy is to create a plumbing blog that focuses on topics related to your industry. This could include plumbing tips, tricks, advice, and more.

Let's look at two essential steps that can help you drive success for your blog content.

Step #1: Find topics for your plumbing website’s blog posts

The way to go about finding relevant topics for your plumbing blog is to discover what your target audience is searching for on the internet. As mentioned before, you can find relevant keywords with the help of SEO tools or by using Google Autocomplete and Related Searches.

Try to find "how to" or "what is" keywords that your audience is searching for so that you can write informational pieces of blog content that actually matter to your visitors. 

Helpful plumbing topics can include:

• How to unclog a drain

• What is the best kind of plumbing pipe for home use

• How to clean a water heater

Step #2: Write SEO-friendly content pieces

After you've found the topics your target audience is interested in, it's time to start writing your blog posts.

Creating blog posts that help you rank is not as easy as it sounds, however. To make the most out of your content, you need to make sure it is optimized for search engines.

Here are a few tips for creating optimized blog posts:

• Write with your audience in mind. After all, that's who you are writing for. So make sure to match search intent and deliver content that your target audience is searching for.

• Keep your content easy to understand and to the point. Headings, subheadings, images, or graphs can help you break down content into easy-to-digest pieces of information.

• Write catchy titles. Which one do you think people will click more: "How to Increase Water Pressure in the Shower" or "4 Tips for Quickly & Easily Increasing Your Shower Water Pressure"? 

• Include keywords naturally throughout your content. Research and include relevant primary and secondary keywords within your blog posts.

• Link to other blog posts or websites to provide additional context for readers and support SEO efforts.

Creating an SEO-optimized content strategy by following these steps will help you increase organic traffic and improve your rankings in search results. 

Technical SEO

Optimizing your pages to rank high on search engines is a vital SEO practice. While we've agreed on that, it's also not enough to appear in search results. That's because Google needs to find and index those optimized pages, which is where technical SEO comes in.

Technical SEO is the practice of optimizing a website's architecture and code to make it more search engine-friendly. It involves ensuring that your plumbing website loads quickly, uses the right structure, and is free of errors.

To get started with technical SEO, consider doing an SEO audit on your plumbing website. An SEO audit will provide insights into potential issues and suggest changes you can make to improve your plumbing website.

Here are some general things to consider when approaching technical SEO.

Step #1: Have optimal site architecture

If your website has a complex and confusing structure, search engines will have difficulty navigating and indexing your pages.

To ensure that search engines can crawl and index your plumbing site efficiently, create a clear hierarchy of pages with categories and subcategories. Make sure to include an XML sitemap and robots.txt file, which will help search engines understand the structure of your website.

Step #2: Use HTTPS

HTTPS is a secure version of HTTP, the protocol used to transfer data between your web server and browser. HTTPS ensures that all data sent between your server and visitors is encrypted. This means that any sensitive information such as passwords or credit card details remains secure.

Using an SSL certificate also helps your rankings. Google has stated that websites using HTTPS encryption may be given a slight ranking boost.

Step #3: Improve website speed

Page load speed is one of the most important SEO practices. If your website takes too long to load, users won't wait around and will move on to a different website. Google also uses page load speed as a ranking factor, so if your site takes too long to load, you may find yourself lower in search results.

Make it a regular SEO practice to check and improve your page load speed by:

• Compressing your images

• Upgrading your hosting

• Activating browser caching

• Implementing a content delivery network

Step #4: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly

These days, everyone carries a smartphone. If you're not optimizing your webpages for mobile, you're missing out, since around 90% of online searches happen on mobile devices.

When a potential customer searches for a local plumber, ensure your website ranks high and the design allows for mobile use. Structure your plumbing business's website so mobile users can easily find what they need. 

If your web page requires a mobile user to zoom in to read text or click a button, it needs more work to become user-friendly. Use Google's mobile-friendly test to check your plumbing company's mobile performance.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO focuses on increasing the authority of your website through external links. This can be done by acquiring quality backlinks from other websites. Quality backlinks are links to your plumbing website that come from highly relevant and authoritative websites in your industry.

In addition to link building, off-page SEO also involves managing online reputation and brand awareness by building relationships with influencers, customers, and other important stakeholders.

Backlinks, a component of off-site plumbing SEO, essentially provide more credibility for your company.

• Guest blogging: This practice means you write posts for other websites. Besides exposure and creating business relationships, guest blogging can also get you backlinks.

• Testimonials: Plumbers can give testimonials to build their brand and win links from high-authority pages.  

• Unlinked brand mentions: Another way to acquire more backlinks is by finding unlinked mentions of your business. There are many tools that can help you identify relevant unlinked brand mentions, which you can ask to be linked.

By working on your off-page SEO strategy, you take a step further in improving your overall plumbing SEO strategy.

Things to Avoid When Doing Plumbing SEO

All the tips mentioned above can help you maximize your plumbing SEO strategy and increase your online visibility. However, there's more to know if you’re to achieve optimal results.

Doing SEO for plumbers the right way also involves avoiding certain techniques.

❌ Buying or excessively exchanging backlinks

Although it may look easy to buy backlinks to boost your rankings, it's not advisable. Google has algorithms that detect such tactics and penalize websites that use them.

❌ Keyword stuffing

One of the common SEO mistakes is keyword stuffing. This involves overusing keywords in your content to rank higher in search engines, but this practice can actually hurt your rankings. Google penalizes websites that use too many keywords and may even de-index them altogether.

❌ Duplicate content

Whenever you're creating content for your plumbing website, make sure it is original and free from plagiarism. Otherwise, you risk negative impacts on your overall SEO strategy. That's because, generally speaking, Google is interested in indexing and showing pages that share distinct content.

More exactly, here are the negative effects that duplicate content may have on your SEO strategy:

• Less organic traffic

• Fewer indexed pages

• Penalties

High-performing SEO strategies never include these techniques as they can hurt SERP rankings, online visibility, and ultimately, the business.

Tools To Help You Optimize Your Plumbing Website and Track SEO

Knowledge is key when doing SEO and having the right tools at hand can save you time and help you make informed decisions.

Here are three free tools that plumbing businesses can use to track SEO performance and optimize their website.

Tool #1: Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free tool that helps plumbing companies monitor, strengthen, and troubleshoot their website's performance in organic search results. It gives insights into how a website is performing, what keywords people are using to find it, and which pages need more attention.

Tool #2: Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a platform that provides data on web traffic, including customer acquisition, bounce rate, and more. With this tool, you'll get insights into key metrics and trends to help your SEO efforts, your understanding of the customer journey, and your marketing ROI.

Tool #3: Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner is a free tool by Google Ads that helps you research and plan the keywords you want to target. You can get keyword ideas related to your plumbing business, search volume data, and other metrics to help you optimize your website for search engines.

Having these tools in your stack will save you time, money, and effort while optimizing your plumbing website for SEO.

Now Over to You

At first glance, plumbing and SEO don't seem to have much in common.

However, as we've seen in this post, SEO is essential for plumbers who want to make the most of their online presence. With the right SEO strategies and tools in place, plumbing companies can increase their visibility and reach new customers.

ServiceTitan is an all-in-one cloud-based plumbing software solution built to help home service companies streamline operations, improve customer service, and grow their business. Trusted by more than 100,000 contractors, our comprehensive plumbing software helps plumbing businesses track customer interactions and manage their marketing efforts.