Category: Plumbing

Plumbing

Top 10 Things to Consider When Hiring a Plumbing Company Logo Designer.

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

Every plumbing company needs a great logo, particularly in the modern digital world, where logos plays a significant role in your internet marketing strategy. However, getting a quality logo starts with hiring the right graphic design agency, and this step is crucial if you want to create an authentic logo that will convey the right message to your clients. You may have great ideas for your logo, but its execution should also be handed over to a professional logo design agency.

A plumbing company logo design goes beyond an image, which is the first thing prospects notice about your plumbing designer. Hiring a professional logo design agency like Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing is one of the best decisions you will ever make for your business, so plumbers should not take this decision lightly.

That said, getting a stellar plumbing company logo design depends on whether you want to hire a graphic design agency, a freelance designer, or you want to create a logo on your own.

Plumbing Logo Design Agency: If you want a logo that will differentiate your business from your competitors, it is advisable to hire a reputable design agency like Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing. Although it will be a costly option, the results will be remarkable in the long run.

Freelance Designers: This is the least expensive option, but the sad truth is that you will depend on the freelancer for design, concept development, and managing the entire design process.

Creating a logo on your own: Alternatively, you can use free or paid online logo software to design a plumbing company logo.

Before you hire a logo design agency to create a perfect logo for your plumbing business, consider these critical factors:

Check Out Their Portfolio

When you start researching whether a logo design agency fits your project or not, you should first look at their portfolio. If they have not included their portfolio on their website, request them to send it to you. Any plumbing logo designer that has been in business for a considerable period will have a portfolio to portray and will be glad to let you look at it.

Checking a plumbing logo designer’s profile before partnering with them is like looking at your employee’s resume. It reveals more about your candidate, and there is no glossing over the details found in a portfolio. Assuming they have done the work, you can look at a few samples they have done in the past to decide whether or not to hire.

Look for creativity and quality to confirm whether their portfolio matches the style you are searching for. Usually, logo designers work within a particular style, and you need to ensure that that style is what your plumbing business needs. Looking at their portfolio is one of the best ways of answering such questions.

Clarify Your Expectations and Deliverables When Hiring a Plumbing Company Logo Designer

In the long run, the plumbing contractor will play an essential role as the logo designer. After all, you are the one who understands your business better than anyone else, and you know the kind of logo your business needs.

The deliverables and expectations you set for your logo designer are incredibly essential. Don’t give your logo designer an entirely blank canvas and expect to get a unique logo to set your business ahead of the competition.

Instead, you should give as many instructions and details as possible to help your designer create a classic logo for your plumbing business. If possible, leave your expectations and deliverables open-ended, but at the same time, give the designer a quality blueprint they can follow.

Personality Counts When Hiring a Plumbing Company Logo Designer

There is more to a professional logo designer than on-paper skills and experience. A great logo designer must be easy to work with, agreeable, and passionate. Preferably, they should have top-notch interpersonal skills and make the process of getting a logo smooth from start to end.

Try to get a feel of your logo designer’s personality from the previous chats you had with them. If that is not satisfactory, you may try to schedule a video conference or phone call. Whichever way you approach it, ensure that you partner with a design agency that is easy and pleasant to work with. After all, such personal qualities can significantly affect how your logo design project turns out.

Explain Your Plumbing Brand and your Target Clients

It is incredibly crucial to explain your brand and target clients to your design agency in the same breath as offering instructions on what you want your logo design to be.

Talented graphic designers from Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing have the requisite expertise, particularly concerning plumbing logos and their use. They understand what colors will work with specific goals, the designs used to inspire the target audience, and design standards for the plumbing industry. The more a logo design agency knows about your plumbing company, your customers, and your goals, the more they will use it when designing your logo.

Experience Matters When Hiring a Plumbing Company Logo Designer

Experience is a crucial asset to look for in any plumbing website logo designer, and you probably don’t want your business logo to be the first-ever designer’s paying project.

When hiring a plumbing company logo designer, look for a diverse experience. While most logo designers have similar skill sets, those who have worked with plumbing marketing agencies like Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing are usually efficient. They have developed skills in the plumbing industry, and they understand budgetary constraints. If you find a logo designer with both histories, you will have the best each can provide.

Don’t be afraid to ask for references when considering working with a plumbing design agency. Contact the agency’s previous customers. Ask questions about how creative the agency was and how they reacted to criticism. Find out whether the logo designer stays within the budget and completes the project on time.

Efficiency

If you have a time-sensitive logo design project, hiring a designer who will work efficiently and diligently is necessary. An efficient designer can shift priorities when required to beat deadlines, even when dealing with revision requests or working with several clients. However, you need to be very clear about your expectations.

A plumbing logo design agency that promises to deliver all logos within a particular timeframe has a large team of creative designers. Be wary of logo designers who make unrealistic promises concerning the speed at which they can finish your order. A great logo encapsulates your plumbing company message, and generally, it will continue to be the image associated with your business for many years to come.

Ability to Scale

When launching your new plumbing business, you can easily overlook the fact that your logo is the only image associated with your business. How will your logo appear on your business cards, website, or other marketing materials?

Good logo design requires just more than the artistic ability of the designers. Our talented designers can match art with several other disciplines like web design and typography. As your plumbing business expands, you are likely going to need just more than a logo. Hire a logo designer like Blackstorrm Plumbing Marketing because they can scale to meet your future design needs.

Get a Feel of their Creativity

As a plumber, it may be hard sometimes to recognize creativity. Nevertheless, creativity is a trait that is vital to successful plumbing website logo designers.

Think about what differentiates your logo from others in the market. It needs to be meaningful and simple enough to convey the right brand message and unique enough to be easily recognized. Designing a logo that possesses such qualities takes more than talent or experience, and it requires immense creativity.

So how can you know that you have partnered with a creative plumbing design agency? As we discussed earlier, you can quickly tell their creativity by merely looking at their portfolio.

After giving out instructions, you might have to ask the design agency if they have any ideas about how they will design your logo and listen carefully to their response. If they can develop a creative, unique vision and adequately sell it to you, the chances are that they will come up with a creative design that will set your business apart from the competition.

Ability to Communicate

If you are not a logo designer yourself, it may be an uphill task to describe the features you are looking for in a logo. Suppose, for instance, you have a plumbing business that only serves aging property owners, and you want a new logo that targets the young property owners in your neighborhood. How would you explain such a logo redesign without understanding the necessary graphic design terms?

A great logo designer can describe his or her design options in particular terms that you can understand, even if you don’t aspire to become a graphic designer yourself. Terms like “impact” and “bleeding edge” might sound great, but they are vague. On the flip side, a statement like the one quoted below shows the ability to communicate with non-designers.

“We selected this typeface for your new logo design because the old typeface was similar to the one used by companies Y and Z. Since those plumbers peaked in the ’80s and ’90s, young property owners might associate your brand with their parents and may not opt to book jobs with you themselves”

Clear Contract Terms

As a plumber, you need to understand the terms of the contract clearly before signing them. A contract for an artistic project like website design and logo design might include unfamiliar words, like the kill fee.

Suppose you love what you see in your designer’s portfolio, your first conversations are fruitful, and the fee is within your specified budget. However, the final product does not meet your expectations after several revisions. You don’t want the logo, but the designer might have put in several hours of work. The kill fee is a contract term that makes sure that the designer receives some fee, even if the customer will not approve of the project. Some agencies might promise you satisfaction and charge you nothing if you terminate the contract.

Understanding the logo designer’s fee structure and knowing it will work within your budget is essential. A designer who works on a flat rate, for instance, has limited time to devote to individual projects before they become unprofitable. If you are paying a flat rate for a logo design, you may not be allowed to request unlimited revisions.

Get Unforgettable Plumbing Company Logo Design from BlackStorm Plumbing Marketing Today

A dynamic working relationship with your logo design agency can yield excellent results and offer a platform to grow your plumbing business. Over the last decade, our team has created thousands of logos for different plumbers around the world. For a competitive flat fee, you will have a team of designers, each creating a unique representation of your plumbing company logo.

Choose your favorite Plumbing Company Logo, and own it forever!

With the incredible design talent at our disposal, we are confident that we can deliver a unique plumbing company logo within the shortest time possible. Most of our logo design packages include unlimited revisions, just if we don’t get it right for the first time. The other good news is that our contract does not include a kill fee. We guarantee that you will be satisfied with our work. Our experienced graphic designers will prove to be an indispensable resource that will help take your plumbing business to the next level. If you are still searching for a perfect plumbing logo design agency, please schedule a free strategy session with our growth experts to get started today.

We can’t wait to partner with you!

Plumbing SEO

“Plumbing SEO is Dead” & Other Lies

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

As a digital marketer, you know the importance of SEO (search engine optimization). SEO is essential for online marketing campaigns, and every business owner with a business website needs it. Unless you keep up with the times, you might end up being left behind in this ever-changing environment.

SEO is very important for a digital marketer. It’s used for digital marketing to increase leads and traffic, generate organic SERPs (search engine result pages), and improve trust among clients.

Since SEO involves keywords, rankings, tags, media, coding, algorithm, and links, it’s difficult for non-digital marketers to understand. Alongside the fact that the search engine optimization practice is always evolving that sometimes even expert digital marketers fall behind, it’s is no wonder that common misconceptions and lies began to form over different methods of optimizing your website.

It’s important not to get stuck on old practices and misconceptions about this search engine optimization as it can potentially harm your website, which you’ve put so much effort on. There are immense benefits gained from using SEO or search engine optimization in your business if appropriately practiced.

Is search engine optimization or SEO dead? Is there any truth to this, or are they a lie? This article will discuss the biggest misconceptions and untruths about SEO.

IS SEO DEAD?

The death of search engine optimization is greatly exaggerated and a misconception that confuses most digital marketers. According to statistics, 65.25 billion dollars was spent by companies in 2016 on SEO tactics. The number increased to 78 billion in 2018, and by 2020 it’s estimated that companies will spend 79.27 billion dollars on search engine optimization or SEO.

Even though a website does not have top ranking on search engine optimization, 32.5 percent of all generated organic traffic is obtained from a keyword search. You have a pretty big impact on the bottom line since keywords and high volume is relevant to some users.

If SEO dies, it’s taking a lot of money down with it because if your website is working just fine, 40% of revenue gotten from generated traffic should put this amount of money into your bank account. Considering these few facts, we can say that search engine optimization is very much alive and is working just fine. While SEO is not dead, some processes have evolved into something new, and when outdated tactics are still used, it can actively drop your rankings in SERPs, thus making some business owners confused and believe the lie that SEO is dead.

Some lies and misconceptions regarding the death of SEO

All that matters is to build up links: Building links are very important, and SEO remains Google’s number one top-ranking factor. Although just a few years ago, building as many links as you can to your site boosts your SERPs ranking. Things don’t work that way anymore. What matters right now is the quality and relevance of your links, not just the quantity. Though inbound links are still important, large quantiles of spammy links posted over a random digital website can harm your rankings because Google and other SERPs have shifted their focus from quantity and now emphasize more on quality.

Hyped up about dominating the number one spot: Be cautious of any SEO firm or agencies that guarantee you the top ranking on Google. No one can hype your rankings on any search engine except Google. So many websites fall for such tricks because they tend to focus more on snagging the number 1 ranking on Google but what they fail to understand is that ranking number one may not have strong correlation traffic it used to have. Your website could rank number one but still be buried deep since most search results are filled with ads, question boxes, etc. So web crawlers usually search in deep to get what they want. Rather than emphasizing getting the number one rank, your point of focus should be on increasing your click-through rates.

Overemphasizing keywords: As search engine optimization or SEO is constantly changing, various search engines have evolved and have adopted more effective means to show what your page is talking about. In the past, keywords played a very vital role in SEO as links. Anyone could get a better ranking on SERPs, creating low content articles, and fully stuffing your page with keywords. Now, instead of using a particular keyword to fill your page, which can wrongly phrase sentences and paragraphs inhibiting user experience, it’s more important to optimize your content for great user experience and readability fully. Google’s main focus is to understand the purpose behind keywords and not just the actual keywords themselves. Your posts should be according to quality and user experience, and if the content is good, keywords will blend in well. Rather than sacrificing a good article just for keywords density, focus more on the topic in general and contents so your post can satisfy the user demand. If your client decides to build content, advise them on how to do it the right way because content that are not fully optimized with spammer keywords post a great threat to web marketing.

More pages and posts increase ranking: One thing you need to know is that Google generally doesn’t rank websites, and it only ranks individual web pages based on how the page relates to a search or keyword. Rather than creating more web pages and posts, creating content that has the information your user needs by bringing out key points on a topic on one page would be best. If your content is long and valuable, it can rank for many different keywords search and queries. Though this does not mean your whole website and its content should be on one page, creating sub-topics would create links back to the main page, improving the overall search engine optimization of the page.

These misconceptions and lies make people believe that SEO is dead, but it is pretty much alive. The key is moderation. There are still some standing principles you can adopt, and when you follow these principles and identify the lies regarding SEO, you’ll improve your leads, traffic and generate more conversions.

Graphic Design Plumbing

How to Create a Strong Brand Identity for Your Plumbing Business

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

Plumbing contractors work with businesses or homeowners all the time, and such property owners won’t just invite anyone to install, repair, or replace a pipe on their premises. The strongest plumbing brands have an identity and a story. Defining a brand is an exercise that is mostly overlooked by new plumbing contractors, and a strong brand identity helps to create customer loyalty. Whether you are just starting your plumbing business or owning a large plumbing company, this post will help you define your brand and differentiate your plumbing business from the competition.

What is a Plumbing Brand?

Your plumbing brand is a message that drives client expectations and perceptions via its distinctive personality. It is a combination of tangible elements that create an auditory and visual brand identity. This includes your color palette, letterhead, marketing materials, company message, signage, logo, etc.

What is a Brand Identity?

Brand identity is the visible elements of a plumbing brand such as design, color, and logo, distinguishing and identifying your brand in the clients’ minds. Simply put, it is the outward expression of a plumbing brand. It is what you create before you can create a plumbing brand, which is normally overlooked when establishing a brand. Many plumbing companies never launched a brand identity because many plumbers don’t take the time to create one. The good news is that it is never too late to launch your plumbing brand identity campaigns. Thus, “putting on a face to your plumbing company” is a continuous process.

Ultimately, a plumbing brand identity is a way to communicate with your clients, differentiate your business from the competition, and create a brand experience that encourages prospects to engage with your business. Creating a strong plumbing brand identity is necessary to be a successful and competitive plumbing company.

What is a Brand strategy?

Your plumbing brand strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines precisely what you want to achieve and how you intend to attain it. It comprises your plumbing company vision, mission, values (Brand’s heart), and Brand messaging (which includes your brand personality, voice, value proposition, and tagline).

What is the difference between a brand and a brand identity?

A brand is intangible; it is what property owners feel when they think about your plumbing business. Thus your brand is an experience. Brand identity (otherwise known as brand design) is tangible; it is like your plumbing business’s face, so it is your plumbing business’s visual side.

Why is Brand Identity Crucial for Your Plumbing Business?

Personality

A brand identity is the visual representation of the personality and values of your plumbing brand. It sets the tone of your plumbing brand and evokes feelings in your audience. Your plumbing brand identity promotes your business goals and conveys your plumbing company message.

Consistency

Brand identity helps plumbers create a consistent message across all their marketing materials. Each piece comprises the same essential design elements and style, thus creating a cohesive branding package.

Differentiation

Brand identity positions your business appropriately and sets your plumbing business apart from the competition. Developing a creative, professional identity design can help your plumbing company stand out to potential clients.

Awareness

Creating brand identity makes your business popular among the target audience, thus improving your brand awareness. The more places your plumbing brand is featured, the more contacts it will make with your customers.

Loyalty

A solid brand identity can help build client trust and loyalty to a brand because it allows customers to connect the service and plumbing company.

What are the Keys to a Solid Brand Identity?

A strong brand identity needs to work for everyone from your internal team to the people who will interact with it (clients). As you start the design process, make sure that your plumbing brand identity is:

Memorable: It creates a visual appeal.
Distinct: It should set your plumbing business apart from the competition.
Flexible and Scalable: It can evolve and grow with your plumbing brand.
Cohesive: Every marketing material should complement your plumbing brand identity.
Easy to Apply: It is clear and intuitive for graphic designers to use.

How Do You Create a Powerful Brand Identity as a Plumbing Contractor?

Creating a brand identity is an important first step in marketing your plumbing business. A strong brand identity is unique, clear, consistent, memorable, and resonates with your potential or existing clients. Many things go into building a brand identity for your plumbing business, but generally, it boils down to the words plus the look. Here are the ten steps to building a solid brand identity for your plumbing business:

1. Nail that Clear Positioning and Purpose

This is the most crucial step in creating a brand identity that will promote growth, particularly when it comes to social media. Every detail about your plumbing brand’s values, purpose, audience, and purpose should be crystal-clear. This process can be challenging and long, but it is the only effective way of successfully branding your plumbing business.

Every branding decision should be made with your prospects in mind. For instance, a logo geared towards young property owners will differ from a senior citizen’s logo.

2. Define Your Target Audience

Before you start creating a brand identity for your plumbing business, you must first figure out the kind of clients you want to serve. This refers to the demographics of people who are likely to book jobs with your plumbing company. After identifying your potential clients, then you should create a brand identity around your target audience. Because after all, it is for them.

3. Design a Great Plumbing Company Logo

The logo is the primary visual element of your plumbing brand identity. It is used on your plumbing website, social media, and staff uniforms everywhere. That’s why you must design a logo that meets the following criteria:

Communicates who you are and what you value as a brand.
It is visually appealing: simple, uncluttered, and clean goes a long way.
Memorable: a logo that makes a lasting impression on your audience
Versatile: It should be in line with the plumbing industry standards
Timeless: It should withstand the test of time and remain relevant in the current plumbing market.

If you need a unique plumbing company logo, our talented graphic designers can help your business differentiate itself from the competition.

4. Select the Right Typography

Typography might appear like a simple component of your brand identity, but finding the right font for your plumbing brand and conveying your message can be an uphill task.

Every font comes with its personality; even an ordinary person can tell it. When choosing the right font for your business, here are some things that you need to consider:

Ensure that your font is readable: This will help offer the best experience to your web visitors
Choose two or three fonts to maintain a cohesive look across multiple platforms.
Avoid the gimmicky fonts: Gimmicky fonts are inappropriate when creating a brand identity.

Remember, when it comes to creating a brand identity for your plumbing business, consistent and well-chosen typography is a major part of cohesive communication across multiple channels- that’s a huge part of nailing your plumbing brand recognition.

5. Develop a High-quality and Responsive Plumbing Website

Your plumbing website is a representative aspect of your brand identity. Property owners will look at your plumbing website before they decide to work with you, and your plumbing website is the only place where your brand identity should be portrayed explicitly.

Your plumbing website is essential because it offers critical information about your business; it is the root of your brand identity. It gives you a chance to showcase your portfolio, services, and unique selling points to your potential clients.

The tone of your plumbing website should be authentic. If you want to hire external content creators, make sure you have trained them on your market positioning and value proposition basics. This is because clients will always tell when the published content is not true to your brand identity. Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing has hired experienced website designers to help you market your plumbing business online if you need a responsive and high-quality plumbing website.

6. Select Your Color Palette

Visual elements are crucial in conveying emotion and meaning. And of course, color plays a huge role in this. Green is a fresh, natural color representing the environment or growth while red portrays passion, excitement, and urgency. The colors you select for branding should portray the intent and purpose of your plumbing brand.

7. Identify Your Competition

Creating a brand identity is all about setting your plumbing business apart from the competition by making your brand relevant, memorable, and unique. However, building a successful plumbing company is difficult without a clear understanding of your competitors. Therefore, it is crucial to understand who your rivals are and how your business compares, both in presentation and perception.

8. Create a Brand Style Guide

Creating a brand style guide is a crucial part of creating and implementing your plumbing brand identity. It explains your plumbing brand values, voice, and tone. Once you have achieved your design assets, you want to make sure that they are used effectively, which is why you must create your plumbing brand style guide.

Consistency is important when creating a brand identity. You don’t want your brand to appear differently on social media than on your plumbing website. That would confuse clients and make your plumbing business appear less professional and trustworthy. It is best to stick to your brand style guide because it covers various elements of your brand identity.

9. Create Your Slogan

Your slogan acts like an extension of your plumbing logo design. Normally, a slogan tackles a particular client’s pain point or describes a philosophy. Slogans should work together with your logo, and that is why they are created after your brand identity has been developed.

10. Promote Your Brand through Reputation

Trust is everything. You wouldn’t do business with property owners unless you trusted them. Based on this ideological foundation, you hire plumbing technicians and trust that they will be honest and take your business to the next level. It is crucial to know that most property owners don’t have a grasp of the plumbing industry. They look up to you to offer the expertise, professional reliability, and guidance when they trust you to take care of their business or home. As a plumber your online reputation matters to potential clients.

Your brand identity differentiates your plumbing business from the competition and tells your clients who you are and what they can expect when partnering with you. You need to work with a reputable plumbing brand identity agency like Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing to set your business apart from a sea of competitors.

Take a Bold Step: Find the Right Brand Identity Agency for Your Plumbing Business

Much of this brand identity exercise culminates in creating a unique value proposition. Creating a unique brand identity is an important asset for growing client loyalty in an era filled with constant mobile interruptions. If your customers fail to connect with your plumbing brand identity (values, voice, and visuals), they won’t be loyal when booking jobs.

Building a brand identity that is both versatile enough and goal-driven is not an easy task. Most plumbers look for a plumbing design agency to create an effective brand identity and define their visual strategy. If your brand identity survey results are below your expectation, you should partner with Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing to address your brand identity crisis.

If you are ready to create a superior brand identity for your plumbing business, kindly schedule a free strategy session with our growth experts and outshine your competitors today.

Plumbing SEO

How To Make Plumbing SEO and PPC Work Together?

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

In today’s world, the internet is the biggest marketplace under the sky. Literally, everything can be found and purchased online. Some companies do their business strictly on the internet, but no company in the world doesn’t present their business on the internet. Both sellers and users of products and services search for what they need online – users to find what they need and sellers to find buyers for what they offer. Websites are created as the best marketing tool there is. But advertising products on your website is not enough. Some tools can help both groups find what they are looking for much faster and more efficiently. The most successful tools are SEO and PPC.

How do search engines work?

Search engines are the most helpful tools for internet users. If you are looking for something on the internet, you will use search engines to find that. You will type words that explain the product or service or information you are looking for the best. A search engine will use your words to find content on the web related to your search. Words you use are called keywords, and search engines use those to detect all sites that have content relevant to your search. Since there are many websites to browse, search engines look for those sites that match the best keywords. The sites that have such content are shown on top of search results, and they attract most customers.

What is SEO, and how does it work?

SEO is a tool that helps a website gain better rankings on major search engines. A website can be looked upon as commercial. A good commercial does not just say: this is the product, it is used for that, buy it. Good commercial tries to attract potential buyers by using the best tools to explain how the product is different from similar products, why you need that particular product, what you will gain by getting it, and how it works. At the end of the commercial, the buyer has a feeling that he or she knows everything relevant to the product and is aware of why it is worth spending money on. SEO acts as a director of a great commercial. Search engine optimization helps the website become interesting for a group of customers it appeals to. This means that the site can be optimized to be shown in top search results for that product or service. This is done by changing content to look more reliable, more available, and more trustworthy.

There must be a good strategy of how the content of a site will look – with plenty of information, relevant links, good web design, frequent adding of new content, making the search of the site easy and clear, making traffic and loading of content faster, and so much more. A good SEO will help a site become more visible and top-ranked on free or organic search results.

What is PPC, and how does it work?

PPC means Pay Per Click. Pay-per-click has the same role as SEO: to attract customers to your site, except PPC is not free. PPC means that there are paid advertisements on search engines that will lead customers to sites advertised by them. They are displayed on a search engine and also use keywords as guidance for search engines. But the advertiser only pays for these advertisements when a customer clicks on them (and is directed to a site in question). Pay-per-click ads usually cost very little and have an enormous impact on website traffic. They are displayed when keywords are entered. PPC can provide good attendance to the website and help a product or a service be more visible. Still, the price you pay for PPC can vary from very cheap to more expensive, depending on which keywords you use. Competition on the internet is enormous, and some keywords are more frequently used. Those keywords cost more if you want your website to appear in the top search results.

How do SEO and PPC work together?

Even though it sounds that SEO and PPC do the same work but in different ways, and one is free while the other is paid for, they don’t cancel each other. They can do wonders when paired with a job to boost website visits. You may be asking yourself, “why pay for something you can get for free?” the answer is – you don’t. Even if SEO and PPC do the same thing, they are separate marketing tools, and each has a unique purpose. But when put together, they can help each other do the best job for your needs. Both SEO and PPC use keywords. If you use different SEO and PPC keywords, people who are seeing your SEO search results don’t see your PPC, as keywords do not point in the same direction. SEO is free, but SEO does need time to start doing its magic. You must earn your spot in the top search results. If you use PPC as well, it will begin to attract visitors to your site right away. PPC can help you work out SEO strategy the best way. PPC can show which keywords are most searched for, so you can optimize the content of your website to match that. Using SEO and PPC simultaneously helps better visibility of the search engine’s results. The top three spots on search engine results are usually PPC. If SEO brings your site to top visibility for organic searches, that means the site dominates both free and paid search results. Remember, organic search results and paid ads are not the same. Most search engines display paid ads in different fields than organic ones, which is why search engine optimization and pay-per-click work so well together.

Today’s business is not the same as it was only ten years ago. New technologies and shifting the focus of marketing to the internet demand new ways of attracting customers.

SEO and PPC are modern business tools; using them together can give the best possible results.

Plumbing SEO

Why SEO Is Better Than PPC For Plumbers

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

The debate continues: Which is better, SEO or PPC?

More users trust SEO search listings over PPC listings.

Studies have shown that more users trust organic search listings over paid advertisements. Research has shown that around 70% of internet users click on organic search results (SEO) as opposed to only 30% clicking on paid search results (PPC). Most internet users distrust paid advertisements. Most of these consumers are well aware that PPC is an advertising tool. This results in a lot of users bypassing paid advertisements and clicking organic, natural results instead. And to make matters worse, some users that have clicked paid ads don’t end up finding the product or service they are looking for. Thus, businesses that use SEO are better able to provide consumers with more interesting and valuable content.

SEO is very cost-effective and gives greater value for money.

Both SEO and PPC naturally have costs for initial set-up and hiring PPC specialists or an SEO company to come up with a digital campaign exclusively for your business. But if you use an SEO campaign, there is no need to pay for every individual click or visitor, but you will only pay for the services that your SEO team or vendor renders. With PPC, constant investment is required. If you stop paying, your ads will stop, and your lead generation will be discontinued.

SEO can build and keep an advantage over your competitors.

It isn’t easy to build an advantage and keep it with PPC. If you are already making profits based on clicks you pay a certain amount for, then it will not last if a competitor bids a higher price for the same product. If your competitor has some venture funding and decides to use it on PPC, it can drive the average cost of a click higher, and your profits will be driven downward. An investment in SEO is much more challenging. You strive to make your search engine results higher for relevant keywords. You come up with great content that is of great value to consumers. You generate inbound links. And your links show up on high-quality websites in your industry. Soon, your rankings will start rising, and with this, traffic and leads generated through search will increase. It takes time to accomplish this. You may have a higher initial cost, but the clicks are free. This investment, however, gives you a more sustainable advantage over PPC. Your competitor will find it more difficult to take this advantage away.

SEO gives better ROI than PPC advertising.

Based on a four-year study of profit generation for both SEO and PPC, it has been shown that SEO that creates organic traffic generates $2.74 in profit for every dollar spent in that year. In 3 years, SEO’s average profit is $4.58 for every dollar spent in one year. Comparing this with the profits garnered from PPC advertising, it was shown that for every dollar spent on that year, the average profit is -$0.95. While over three years from the dollar spent in one year, the average profit is -$0.85. This means that for every dollar spent on both SEO and PPC, SEO will yield an additional profit of $2.75 but PPC losses -$0.95. Thus, SEO gives better ROI than PPC advertising.

SEO has more effective promotion results.

Applying SEO to your website may take around three to six months before your website will appear on search engine results. This is because indexing and ranking a website takes time for Google to do. But over a long time, SEO leads to consistent traffic, whereas PPC only gives an initial boost to traffic. PPC can be beneficial if you have a brand new site that has not yet appeared in organic results. However, with a PPC campaign, traffic immediately stops when the budget is withdrawn. Thus SEO continues to shine. It is a more effective way of promoting your website in the long run.

Ranking #1 in search results will not happen overnight with SEO. But SEO has proven long-term benefits. The reasons given above why SEO is better than PPC should prod you to invest more of your time and resources focusing on SEO rather than on PPC.

Graphic Design Plumbing

Why Do Plumbing Company Logos Fail? An Exposition Of The Common Logo Design Mistakes For Plumbers

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

With the internet’s influence and reach, more potential clients are watching your plumbing brand than ever.

A memorable and unique plumbing company logo design differentiates your business, and you must pass your message explicitly.

The easiest way to recognize a plumbing company and set it apart from others is its unique logo.

Even though a great logo design is an essential step in taking your plumbing business to the next level, it is an uphill task to get it right the first time.

Even the most successful graphic design agencies can get it wrong.

Whether you are creating a new plumbing company logo or redesigning an existing one, this post will explore some common logo design mistakes you should avoid. If you want to create a professional and successful logo for your plumbing business, be wary of the following errors and pitfalls.

Poor Font Choice

When designing a professional plumbing company logo, selecting an appropriate font can make or break your design.

Choosing a poor font will only make your plumbing brand appear unprofessional or silly. All plumbing contractors have their personalities, and so do fonts. You select the right personality font for your plumbing business. For instance, a severe and bold font vs. hand-drawn font will convey different attributes and give different vibes.

So invest your time researching various fonts that can match your plumbing company’s personality and style. Don’t fret about trying or modifying different fonts until you find one that matches your needs.

Poor Plumbing Company Logo Designs Relies on Trends

Trends come and go. A professionally-designed plumbing company logo should be timeless and can be attained by ignoring the latest design gimmicks and tricks. The major cliché in logo design is the corporate swoosh, which means playing safe. As a logo design agency, our work is to create a unique brand identity for our clients; thus, we completely ignore the latest plumbing logo designs.

Not Doing Proper Research

This is the first fault in any plumbing website logo design task. Logo design is essentially a communication challenge. How do you communicate the essence of your plumbing brand through imagery? To do this efficiently, you must deeply understand the message you are trying to convey or hide from your audience.

Rookie logo designers will rush into the project’s brainstorming stage without clearly understanding your brand identity. This will end up in a weak logo that does not represent your plumbing brand accurately.

To ensure that you have the requisite knowledge about the brand, perform a brand audit survey that will clearly state your brand’s objectives and goals. Once you have this detail, you can compile a summary that will guide your design team.

A Bad Plumbing Company Logo Design is Too Abstract.

Another logo design error plumbers should avoid going the extra mile in simplicity.

You are still trying to communicate a complex message to your prospects with just one logo. Don’t assume that your prospects will imagine what you are trying to convey using your logo.

If prospects look at your logo design and are left confused or struggling with what it means, you have done a shoddy job. Look for a simple logo design without losing any of its objectives.

Don’t worry about adding details. You don’t need a lot to get your brand message across, and you only need a few simple details in color, font, and spacing of the image to convey your plumbing company’s mission statement.

Copycat Plumbing Company Logo Design

There is nothing that will ruin your logo design faster than copying from another successful plumbing contractor.

Whether intentional or not, having a logo design that looks similar to another plumber’s logo can sabotage your online marketing campaigns. It is illegal, and you will sooner or later get in trouble with the authorities.

Beyond the problem of outright plagiarism, if your logo looks similar to that of your rivals, you are opening space to be compared with other reputable brands.

Of course, looking for similarities, you cannot go through all the plumbing company logos globally. Make sure that you research your closest rival for any red flags.

A Poor Logo Design Has Too Many Fonts.

Applying many fonts is synonymous with showing a visitor a whole photo album at once. Every typeface is different, and your prospects need time to understand it. Seeing too many fonts at once can be confusing.

Applying a maximum of two fonts of varying weights is standard practice, and this will significantly improve your brand recognition and the legibility of your logo design.

A Bad Plumbing Company Logo Design is Overly Complex

While you might be tempted to throw as many details as possible in your design, too much complexity can turn off your prospects and undermine the purpose of your plumbing brand.

Simplicity is crucial for your logo design because:

It makes your plumbing company logo design more versatile, and thus it can be reproduced in different mediums or sizes without losing its meaning or style.
It makes your logo to be easily remembered and understood.
Simplicity makes your logo design have the desired impact.
Try to concentrate on what your plumbing company represents.

Adding too many details to your plumbing company logo design could ruin your logo design’s brand recognition and legibility. You want to ensure that your logo design is clean, memorable, and straightforward.

Poor Logo Designs Have Clashing Colors

Establishing the right color balance in your logo is just as essential as selecting an appropriate font. If the color combination does not reflect your company’s message, your logo will appear unsophisticated and clunky.

The best way to solve this problem is to avoid colors altogether. This does not imply that your logo should be colorless-but it is always recommended that you start your design in white and black.

Once you have developed a robust design and concept, then you can add your preferred color. By then, you will have developed your logo’s shape and the idea you want to convey. You can try various colors at this stage until you identify the one that will fit your design.

Unclear Intention

Beneath the image, color, and font are an underlying sense of your plumbing company goal/intention. The visual style gives prospects an understanding of your plumbing company’s purpose, emotional link to your service/product, and values. Take a minute to figure out the brand identity you want to create for your plumbing brand.

Poor Logo Designs Use Raster Images

When designing plumbing company logos, using vector graphics software such as Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator is common practice. A vector graphic consists of mathematically precise points, ensuring that there is visual consistency across multiple sizes. Of course, another option is the raster graphic software like Adobe Photoshop.

Raster images can cause problems when you want to reproduce your logos. While Photoshop can produce large logos, you are not sure how large you will print your logo at some point. Maintaining visual consistency by ensuring that your logo appears the same in different sizes is crucial.

The main benefits of vector graphics for plumbing company logo design are:

The logo can easily be scaled to various sizes without compromising its quality
It makes editing of the logo later on much more comfortable.
It can be adapted to different media very easily.

Your Logo Contains Stock Art

This mistake is usually committed by plumbing contractors who create logos on their own or amateur designers who don’t understand copyright laws. Downloading vector images is not a problem, but it could get you on the wrong side of the law if you include them in your logo.

Your logo should be original and unique, and the licensing agreement should be exclusive to the customer; using stock images breaks these rules. The chances are that if you are using vector images, someone else is using the same elsewhere in the world. You can easily spot stock images in logos since they are common shapes such as silhouettes and globes.

Hiring an Amateur Designer to Create Your Plumbing Company Logo

Avoid designers that promote their services ridiculously cheap logo design packages. As the cliché goes, you get what you pay for. New plumbers often invest a lot of money and time in equipment and property but don’t typically match it by investing in a high-quality logo.

Here are the primary reasons why your logo appears amateurish:

The plumbing contractor wanted to save money by creating a logo quickly on its own.
A relative or friend who claims to know everything promises to design a plumbing company logo as a favor
The plumber outsourced a logo design task to multiple design competition websites that mostly hire amateur designers.
The job was given to an online logo design firm that claims to provide cheap logos.

All the reasons discussed above lead to disastrous results. If your logo appears amateurish, so will your plumbing company be. Your company should know where to outsource an agency to design a new logo.

Advantages of Hiring Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing to create a new Logo for Your Business

We Will Give Your Plumbing Business a Professional Outlook

Designing your logo with shoddy graphics is a simple way of signing up for business mediocrity. A poor logo design will cost you online prospects since no one loves to hang around mediocre plumbing website logos. Our talented and experienced graphic designers will create a memorable and unique logo that will set your business above the competition.

You Will Enjoy Greater Business Popularity and Recognition

If you want your prospects to recognize your plumbing brand and interact with it quickly, our logo designers will boost that popularity and recognition. With an experienced logo designer on duty, you can rest assured that all the components that harmonize into one recognizable and popular plumbing brand are incorporated. Some of the elements to be included are color, font, style, and consistency.

We Will Help You Make More Plumbing Sales

If you want to get more property owners booking jobs, you have to consider your website and logo design graphics. The reason is that professionally designed logos and websites attract more potential clients to your business.

Make Most Out of your Time

As a plumbing contractor, you don’t need to concentrate on plumbing website or logo design when we have experienced full-time graphic designers. All you must do is share your idea and let them develop a logo that suits your business needs. This will free up your time and allow you to concentrate on running your core business.

Ready to Get a Unique Plumbing Company Logo Design?

Do you have a substitute professional logo design agency that caters to your offline and online needs with all the advantages? If you don’t, you are setting your business not to enjoy the said benefits and give your competitors a chance to outshine you. The bottom line is that you need to identify the right plumbing design agency if you want to thrive in the market.

If you need a professional custom logo design for your business,

Please schedule a free strategy session with our growth experts to get logo design ideas that will set your business apart from the competition today.

Graphic Design Plumbing

9 Inexpensive and Super-Effective Tricks for Branding Your Plumbing Business

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

As a plumber, you might think that branding should be left to the big names in the plumbing industry. But the sad reality is, it doesn’t matter how small or big your plumbing company is. If you are in business, you need to think about branding your plumbing business critically.

Branding is just as crucial for small plumbing businesses as it is for major plumbing brands. Indeed many corporate brands try to appear like small businesses to appeal to their target clients that opt to support independent businesses.

In the words of the Founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” Branding your plumbing business allows clients and prospects to recognize your business while getting a feel of your values. More importantly, it differentiates you from your rivals. It is key to sustaining your plumbing business and growing a loyal client base.

What Are the Major Steps of Building a Successful Plumbing Brand?

Over 90% of small plumbing business owners strongly believe that having a superior brand that sets them apart from rivals is crucial. More than 50% of plumbing contractors say that branding is very helpful in attracting new business. What secrets do large plumbing contractors hold? And how can small plumbing business owners use them as inspiration?

Here are the four steps of building a successful plumbing brand that every plumber should know:

1. Research Your Competitors and Your Target Market

Before you begin making any decision about branding your plumbing business, it is very critical that you understand the prevailing market conditions such as your potential customers and competitors.

Here are some tips that will help you determine your rivals and potential clients:

Google your plumbing service or product category and analyze the indirect and direct rivals that show up.
Look at the relevant social media pages or profiles that your potential clients normally follow and reprieve too.

It is crucial to handle this research phase before anything else because it will inform what your brand should concentrate on and set your business apart from the competition.

2. Define Your Plumbing Brand Mission

State the values that you want to incorporate with your target audience base. Your mission and vision statements show the purpose of your business’s existence. It will help you brand your business across various channels. You need to present an original image of what your plumbing business strives for.

Everything from your tagline to plumbing logo design, your communication should portray your mission. Your plumbing brands mission should strive to answer the following questions:

Why you started the plumbing business?
What are your core objectives/goals?
Who is your target potential client?

3. Create a Value Proposition for Your Plumbing Brand

Always concentrate on what makes your plumbing brand valuable and unique. Find out something that will set your business apart from other plumbing contractors in the market.

Incorporate your value proposition in every plumbing marketing collateral that you are putting across various platforms. It is one of the essential steps in creating a successful plumbing brand.

4. Market Your Plumbing Brand

Develop a solid plumbing marketing strategy to market your plumbing business. Apply your branding in every plumbing business material, from marketing collaterals, and the website to staff uniforms. Put your branding in as many places as possible.

Identify new channels like affiliates, web, and email to promote your plumbing brand. Also, promote your plumbing brand in unexpected locations such as staff t-shirts, office goodies, and social media pages.

Building a successful plumbing brand is a continuous process, and following the steps outlined above will help your business stand out from the competition.

Here are the top 9 Strategies to Brand Your Plumbing Business & Crush the Competition

1. Find Your Place in the Competitive Plumbing Market

Before launching any plumbing brand building activity, you must understand the property owners you will serve. This includes understanding what your competitors are offering in the same area. More than being a plumber who solves a specific problem that businesses or homeowners have, you need to know the demographics interested in your plumbing services.

Your plumbing website content should be focused on the buying behavior and motivations of your potential clients. In trying to unlock all these important client details, you will realize the competitive advantage you have over your rivals.

The exercise to identify your potential clients will benefit all aspects of your plumbing brand-building process. Get a clear picture of who your potential customers are C-suite executives, middle-class earners, affluent residents, or working parents. Build what is known as a “brand persona,” an identity that your clients can resonate with and understand.

2. Develop Your Unique Plumbing Brand Voice and Identity

Once you have crafted your plumbing brand persona, the next step in branding your plumbing business is developing a voice and an identity unique to you.

At this stage, you should be able to respond to the questions listed below:

What do you stand for as a plumber?
What do you want your prospects to recognize you for?

You can kickstart the process by developing your unique selling points and positioning your brand as a plumbing industry leader. Define clearly who you are, the plumbing services you offer, the clients you serve, and how you will serve them. Another excellent exercise is developing a list of keywords you would like to be associated with your plumbing brand. Adjectives that describe the kind of plumbing contractor you are will resonate with your potential clients.

Your voice and personality should reflect your digital plumbing marketing campaigns, taglines, logo design, and communications. Consider your plumbing brand as a metaphor and personalize it to identify the traits you are synonymous with.

3. Have a Consistent and Strong Online Presence

So you have figured out your brand personas and the message you want to convey. But where and how do you do that? The buyer profiles you create will assist you in identifying where prospects spend their time online. The most effective way to interact with potential clients is on their terms.

According to a study by BigCommerce.com, 21% of online buyers are likely to buy a product that has been featured in a brand’s Facebook post. A strong presence on social media profiles matters.

Remember to portray a consistent brand image on all your social media handles, blogs, trade shows, marketing materials, plumbing websites, etc. Consistency matters since it results in familiarity.

4. Provide Exceptional Client Experiences

What do clients say about you? More often than not, when clients talk about your plumbing brand, they usually base it on experiences they have obtained engaging with you.

If you want them to speak about your brand in a positive light, you must do what you can to offer them exceptional service. This is not limited to the duration of the plumbing service. It goes above and beyond that. Providing consistent and post-sale client support and service are equally important.

5. Improve Plumbing Brand Visibility and Awareness

All this time and effort you are devoting to building a brand for your plumbing business will only yield desired fruits if you enhance your brand’s visibility online. And a great way to do this is through influencer marketing.

Influencers offer credible and unique voices to the plumbing brand message you are trying to convey. In their social profiles, they are the voice of reason that many clients tend to listen to. Whether through reviews, testimonials, or giveaways, they have their unique way of convincing your prospects to engage with your plumbing brand.

6. Get Visual with Branding Your Plumbing Business

Once you have defined your prospects, unique selling points, and what’s working in the plumbing industry, now you need to start designing your brand. Here are a few tips to improve the feel and look of your plumbing brand.

A logo: Your plumbing company logo is like a business. It is the very first thing that your clients will see when they encounter your brand. If you are starting a plumbing business, a logo is the first thing you should design, as it will act as the starting point of all other visuals (like your business cards and other visuals).

Business Cards: If you are in the plumbing business, you need to have a business card, and the design should match your plumbing logo and other marketing materials.

A Plumbing Website: Your plumbing website is like your digital real estate investment. When prospects visit your website, the feel and look should be consistent with the other branded materials.

A Plumbing Brand Style Guide: Before you start designing, you must consider the details of your graphic design strategy, such as your fonts, color palette, and design dos and don’ts. A plumbing brand style guide is an excellent way to organize your design so that you, your designer, and other team members working on your brand are on the same page.

Regardless of where a client sees your brand –whether by visiting a plumbing website or seeing your logo, the feel, look, and design should be consistent across various platforms.

7. Integrate Your Plumbing Brand in Everything You Do

This is a pro-tip when it comes to branding your plumbing business. The process of building a brand is a continuous process. The idea of portraying a constant brand image online should translate to the real world as well.

Your plumbing brand voice and image should be reflected and visible in whatever the clients interact with. If a client drives to your office, your plumbing brand identity should be on display. Your interactions, as well as the environment, should reflect your brand’s image. Your logo design, plumbing website, and slogan should reflect what your plumbing business stands for.

8. Establish Yourself as an Authority by Using the Right Content

As a small plumbing business owner, you might not have a huge marketing budget. But fortunately, you don’t have to spend millions of marketing dollars to get in front of the right customers. There is a simple and more affordable way of getting your plumbing brand name out there – content marketing.

Plumbing content marketing works on various levels. First, it allows you to show off your plumbing industry expertise. By positioning yourself as an expert in your field, your prospects will trust you. When the time comes to select a plumber to work with, they choose your business.

Content marketing is also great since it helps you to strengthen your plumbing business branding. By developing a strong voice for your brand, you can strengthen your relationship with clients and assist in driving your business.

The point here is, there are tons of details about your plumbing company that clients need and want to know. And if you can offer value and answer their queries through your content, you will build trust with those clients and translate it into doing business together.

9. Look for Partnership Opportunities to Brand Your Plumbing Business

Customers like to partner with plumbing brands they can trust. But if you are a new plumber, establishing that trust can be a daunting and time-consuming task. Is there a great way to speed up the process of building trust with clients? Search for partnership opportunities with other plumbing brands that your client has already worked with.

For instance, if you are introduced to a plumbing brand by another business that you have already worked with, then they are likely to transfer that trust to you, and as a result, benefit your business as well.

Work with our Team to Brand Your Plumbing Business.

A proper plumbing brand-building strategy can elevate your plumbing company to the next level. Fortunately, you don’t need to break your bank account to brand your plumbing business effectively. All you need to do is partner with a visionary and creative plumbing marketing agency like Blackstorm Plumbing Marketing. If you need help branding your plumbing company and differentiate your business from the competition, kindly schedule a free strategy session with our experts to brand your plumbing business today!

Google Advertising Plumbing

The Definitive Google Business Profile (GBP) Guide for Plumbers (Stand Out and Schedule More Appointments)

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

Discover Our Proven Bag Of Tricks For Using Google Business Listing For Plumbers To Attract Qualified Local Leads And Improve Your Online Visibility

Google is estimated to have a whopping more than 95 % of the search engine market. This implies that with more and more people looking for plumbing companies like yours online, Google can become an important marketing tool for your plumbing business.

If you’re a plumber, you already know that internet marketing is essential to reaching new clients. And one of the best ways to get local clients is through your Google Business listing.

However, if your plumbing company doesn’t have a business profile on Google when homeowners type your business name into the search bar, nowadays they would say that you don’t exist. If your plumbing website can’t be found online, you can kiss goodbye to the prospects of booking service appointments with them. Whether you are offering residential or commercial plumbing services, you could be missing a huge chunk of your target market to the competition.

If you want to rank higher on Google and appear more in local searches or Maps, keep reading to know everything you need to generate consistent qualified leads and rank higher in local searches or Maps with a free Google Business Profile for plumbers.

What is a Plumbing Google Business Profile?

Google Business Listing or Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is a digital tool built by Google to help local plumbing companies like yours manage their online presence on Google Maps and Google Search.

When a homeowner searches with a local intent (consider plumber + city or town name, plumber near me), Google will give them a map with red pins on it. Below the map, you will see the list of plumbing contractors with contact details and stars.

The map is part of Google Business Profile, a free tool by Google that helps local plumbing businesses get found by prospects or clients online. Your plumbing GBP listing appears in search results when people are looking for plumbers in their area, and it provides them with important information about your business, such as your phone number, address, hours, reviews, and more.

Why Does Your Plumbing Company Need a Google Business Profile?

Your plumbing business must be found when prospects or clients search online. Using traditional media to market your company has benefits, but that should be your secondary strategy, not your primary one.

Online visibility is the king in today’s plumbing industry. A professional plumbing website is a great place to begin, but it can be easily lost in the sea of other countless options. When homeowners look for terms like “plumbing contractors in (city) name or “plumbers near me” online is your business showing up at the top of the search results? If not, your competitors may have a vibrant plumbing local SEO strategy, implying that your website is buried on the second or third page of Google (where no potential clients look).

Getting your plumbing business registered on Google Business Profile is a simple way to get found when homeowners are looking for your services online. Here are some of the few advantages of setting up your Google Business Profile:

Manage Your Business Information

When prospects or clients are looking for your plumbing company in Google Maps or Searches, you can rest assured that they will be able to access your address, website, hours, phone number, and more. A Google Business Profile makes managing details about your plumbing business easy! For example, you can change hours, list popular services, add photos, and more. Such Information will pop up on Google Searches and Google Maps, so make sure that they are accurate!

People Search Locally Everyday

According to a recent study, more than 85% of prospects or clients conduct a search on a smartphone or tablet before making a purchasing decision, and 46% of all Google searches are local searches. This implies that homeowners normally use search engines like Google or Bing to find information that is relevant to their plumbing services needs in their area. By claiming your profile on Google, you will have a higher chance of showing up in the local search engine results. So if a homeowner searches for a “plumber near me” and your company is claimed on Google, you will have a higher chance of getting a new client.

GBP gives you a Competitive Edge in the Market

Whether you are a commercial or residential plumber, your competitors have likely already registered their Google location profile. As stated above, claiming your GBP can improve local search results visibility. This implies that you will likely pop up at the top of search results with other plumbers in your area simply by claiming your profile. This will help your company get more visibility over other competitors who have not claimed.

Collect and Respond to Reviews

Google Business profile makes it easy for users to leave Google reviews. Establish trust with new and repeat clients by responding to such reviews properly. As with any home service contracting business, online plumbing reviews help to boost your plumbing sales and generate more qualified leads.

GBP Makes Your Plumbing Company Highly Visible Online

Google’s Local pack occupies a huge portion of the first page of the search engine results and is typically the initial thing a prospect will see when they type in their search query. A Search Engine Result Page (SERP) shows places related to your search.

It helps browsers to see the information they require at a glance.

The Google Local Pack also includes a host of other relevant information that any prospect may want to access including but not limited to where it is situated on the map, your business phone number, opening and closing hours, and star rating of your business. It is important and convenient for customers and plumbing business owners as well.

According to Moz, GBP is the greatest determining factor of Google Local pack rankings. So, if you want to connect your target market in this case, the homeowners or property managers who are within your service area-claiming, verifying, and optimizing your online details through your plumbing Google Business Profile can help.

Get Insights That Offer You Helpful Information

Google Business plumber listing will help you understand how people search for your services and the areas they are coming from. For instance, you will be able to get information about the number of views or clicks obtained, search queries, engagement, or audience.

How to Create a Google Business Profile for Plumber in 5 Simple Steps

Claiming and managing your Google Business Listing is free and easy. Here are some simple steps you can follow to get your plumber business listed on Google:

Step 1: Visit the official Google Business listing page

https://www.google.com/business/. Click the “Manage now” button. If you have not signed in to your Google account, it will ask you to do so. Make sure you sign in with a Google account that you want to be associated with your Google Business profile.

Step 2: Setting the Name of Your Plumbing Business

Once you get signed in, if you hadn’t set up a profile in the past, it will ask you to enter the name of your plumbing company.

Go ahead and type your name in.

If your plumbing company name doesn’t appear, click on the result under your business name that says:

Create a business name and enter your company details.

Step 3: When prompted, enter the correct information about your plumbing company

Step 4: Click “Submit.”

How Do You Verify Your Plumbing Business with Google?

The most crucial reason you need to verify your plumbing business on Google is dead simple: You won’t be able to manage your company information in Maps, Search, and other Google properties unless you verify it. Google has to check the actual physical location of your business and confirm whether you are authorized to own a listing.

Here are some of the ways that you can verify your plumbing company listing on Google:

Option 1: Verify Your Plumbing Business Through a Postcard

Getting your company verified by mail involves Google sending you a postcard within two weeks with a verification code attached to it. Before requesting such verification, ensure that your GBP listing address meets all the Google guidelines. Otherwise, your postcard could be delayed or arrive in the wrong location.

To begin the process, simply sign in to your GBP account and click the Verify now option on your profile. When you obtain the postcard request pop-up, ensure that the address is correct before clicking on the “Send Postcard” button.

Once you get the verification code attached to your postcard, follow the steps below:

Sign in to GBP and select the specific location you wish to verify.
Click “verify location” or “Verify Now” and type in the 5-digit code on your postcard.
Click “Submit.”

Option 2: Verify Your Plumbing Business By Email

You can select the email option as your verification method if available. You should then get a message in your inbox with a verification code. Type in that code in the GBP dashboard, or you can click verify button in your email message.

Option 3: Verification by Phone

If this option is available, Google will send a text containing a verification code to the plumbing company phone number. You will later type in this code and click submit to verify your plumbing company.

Option 4: Instant Verification

A great option that most plumbers fail to leverage is instant verification. As Google clearly states that if your plumbing website is verified in the Google search console, you qualify for instant verification. However, ensure that you sign in with the same Google account that you utilized in your Google Search Console account.

11 Google Business Listing Optimization Tips for Plumbers Seeking to Get Found Online By Prospects Searching for their Services

Is your plumbing company’s Google Business Profile optimized for success? GBP listing is an effective way to promote your plumbing services online, but only if it’s properly done.

Local marketing is an important element of an effective digital marketing strategy. A conventional SEO approach will not be sufficient for a plumber with multiple locations or searching for more local customers. In fact, advertising to your local target market calls for a unique set of marketing strategies.

When done properly, local internet marketing helps plumbers enhance their branding, engage with their local community, boost customer loyalty and achieve impressive conversion rates.

Without further ado, here are our optimization strategies for plumbing contractors seeking to get found online:

1. Get the NAP citations on Your GBP Listing Accurate & Correct

NAP are abbreviations for Name, Address, and Phone Number for your plumbing company, and getting them correct is important to optimizing your listing on Google.

That sounds straightforward, but keep in mind that the company changes over time and has had different addresses in the past.

As a plumber, you need to ensure that all your citations are accurate and consistent with the ones you incorporate as part of your GBP.

2. Choose the Right Primary Category and Subcategories of Your Plumbing Business in the GBP

This is a crucial part of local plumbing SEO; you should get it right. Google allows plumbers to add categories in their GBP listings, which tells Google what kind of plumber you are and the type of services you provide to clients.

For example, if you offer plumbing services, you may select “plumber” as your primary category so prospects looking for “leak repair services” can find your company in local searches.

The subcategory is also crucial if your plumbing business does more than one thing. For instance, your plumbing business may be offering repair services, in which case “leak repair” would be your subcategory or secondary category.

Choosing the right category and subsequent secondary categories can be a determining factor in helping your plumbing company outrank the competition.

3. Write a Compelling Plumbing Business Description

To describe your plumbing company, Google gives you 750 characters, so make each word count. Don’t add any promotional talk in your plumbing business description (Google may penalize you for that) but tell prospects about your plumbing services and what sets you apart in all you do. We highly recommend adding something about your company’s history and mission.

4. Focused Plumbing Marketing: Choose Your Service Area

The good news is that GBP allows your plumbing company to choose a service area by entering the cities or Zip codes you serve. To achieve this, sign into GBP, navigate to the “Address” section and select “Yes” next to “I deliver services and goods to my clients at their locations.”

However, keep in mind that Google will identify a center point of the areas you enter and draw a radius from there, so if you enter too many cities may appear like what you want.

5. Add High-Quality Photos to Your GBP Listing

Quality photos are an important part of any business listing, it will help prospects see what you are all about and offer them a sense of your plumbing company. The quality of the photo can make all the difference in persuading clients to visit your business.

According to Google, plumbing business profiles with photos obtain 40% more requests for showing driving directions to their location from browsers on Google and more than 30% clicks through their sites than plumbers who don’t have photos. Photos will help improve engagement with prospects and boost your online presence on Google search.

6. Leverage the New Google Posting Feature

Google launched a new feature of GBP called posts. Just like social media, plumbers can now share updates, photos, or promotions directly to your GBP listing. This will increase your client base and engage repeat clients, and your posts will show up on your business profile on Google. You can leverage such posts to direct prospects to take particular actions, like signing up for your newsletter or requesting a plumbers estimate.

7. Include the Right Plumbing Keywords

The right keywords are very crucial in improving relevance and will assist your business rank higher in Google Maps or Searches. Make sure you incorporate the most common frequent terms used to look for your plumbing business into your description naturally, this will assist your plumbing business to Google.

The keywords you utilize should be relevant to topics on your listing, stuffing keywords can make Google penalize your plumbing website or hurt your organic search rankings. But using the right phrases and keywords will help you rank higher in organic search results and include search terms on all your listing attributes.

8. Request and Respond to Online Reviews

On average, prospects or clients read at least ten reviews before they trust any plumbing business-and they trust online reviews more than word-of-mouth recommendations from family and friends!

So, it’s not sufficient to wait for clients to write reviews. As a plumber, you need to be proactive with a stringent process to ask for them. Online reviews are a crucial element in obtaining higher visibility in local organic searches.

Take your plumbing marketing to the next level by leveraging online reviews. Google takes such reviews very seriously in its local SEO ranking process. We recommend that you create a link that clients can use to leave a review for your plumbing business.

It’s against the rules to offer incentives for clients to review your plumbing business. But, giving your happy clients an easy way to write a quick positive review can skyrocket your rankings greatly. And once you get reviews, ensure that you engage with clients by responding to their reviews.

9. Pay Attention to the Q & A section

The question and answer is Google’s community feature that pops up directly under your name, phone number, and address. It helps any Google user to ask questions about your plumbing company or answer them. And since you are an authority in the field, you should be answering each question that’s asked.

Questions can receive numerous responses, but the answer with a high number of “likes” will appear as the primary answer. Then prospects can click the link to read more answers if they wish.

The ability to ask questions and have them promptly answered may be the determining factor in whether a homeowner chooses your plumbing company over a competitor. You must keep an eye on the Q&A section since anyone can give answers to the questions asked.

While there is no proven way to switch off the Q&A feature of your business listing, there are a few things you can do to stay ahead of the curve including:

Set up alerts: This will help you get notified each time someone asks a question, thus making you the first one to provide an answer.

Create Your Own Questions and Answers: You can post some of the commonly asked questions in the plumbing industry and provide answers. You can then upvote the answers in your profile.

10. Setup Messaging System to Help Clients Request a Quote Online

The Google Business Profile messaging feature helps searchers directly send a direct text message to your phone directly from your business listing. This is a unique way to demonstrate your commitment and responsiveness to customer service. You can activate this messaging feature from your Google Business profile dashboard. Read more about the guidelines for using your business listing messaging feature.

11. Delete Duplicate Listings on Google

Lastly, but most crucial, identify and remove any duplicate listings for your plumbing business. Generally, Google allows only one listing per business. Duplicate listings can cause confusion for both customers and search engines. If you have two listings and reviews split between the two, you will note that neither profile will have an impressive record. Such inconsistencies can hurt your local search engine rankings. And you can figure out how fast prospects will click off to the next plumbing business.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQS)

Does my plumbing company need a Google Business Profile?

Yes. Any plumbing business trying to maximize and boost visibility online should claim or create an optimized Google Business Profile.

How do I get my plumbing business on Google Maps?

You can get your plumbing company on Google Maps by creating a Google Business Profile listing and following prompts to offer your company contact details, including your address. After creating the profile, you will be asked to verify it, and then later, your business can be featured on Google Maps.

Is a plumbing Google Business Profile free?

Yes, it is free to create a Google Business Profile listing for your plumbing company. You can use the profile to showcase your business photos, reviews, contact details, questions and answers, posts, and reviews. You can also obtain analytic reports to know how your customers interact with your profile.

Google Business Profile Optimization Services for Plumbers from Blackstorm Design + Marketing

Drive more qualified leads to plumbing business with our local SEO experts.

How do you expand your footprint and plumbing service area?

Formerly Google My Business, a fully managed plumbing Google Business Profile listing is crucial to compete in new areas in the modern digital world. It has become the most impactful digital marketing service we offer at Blackstorm Design + Marketing.

Things change each day with Google, so if you fail to manage your GBP listing full-time, your company’s online presence is likely to dwindle or become stale. Google strives to give authentic, knowledgeable, and trustworthy results in their top results. A well-managed Google Business Profile helps your plumbing company take prime spots in a Google search or Maps as your company becomes their best-searched option.

How do this happen? Our fully-managed Google Business Profile Service gives your plumbing business:

An optimized business listing for the best categories and images
An improved online reputation by closely monitoring your reviews, profile, and competitor spam
Positive answers and responses to reviews and questions to your plumbing company online.
Better brand representation by enhancing client engagement.
A revamp or setup of a Bing place listings.

With our help, you will take advantage of your local online marketplace. With customized strategies offered by Blackstorm Design + Marketing, Google will recognize your plumbing business as a trustworthy, authentic source for its users. Our fully-managed plumbing GBP along with local SEO services from Blackstorm Design + Marketing will take your business to the next level.

Ready to Double or Triple Your Plumbing Leads with an Optimized GBP listing?

Without an expert at the helm of your Google Business Profile, your company will lose business in the online arena. Let the team at Blackstorm Design + Marketing double or triple your qualified leads with fully managed Google services.

Schedule a free discovery call with our Google experts to grow your plumbing business today.

Plumbing SEO

Top 10 Reasons Why Your Plumbing Website Could Be Driving Prospects Away (And What You Can Do About It)

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 20, 2022

Know why Your Plumbing Business Isn’t Getting Desired Number of Leads Despite Having a Great Website

Your plumbing website has been live for years now, but it doesn’t seem to generate the number of leads you desire. Your email and social media advertising campaigns are bringing in lots of traffic, but nobody is taking the next step of calling your business. So, what’s the issue?

As marketing strategists for trades and home service contractors, we have met many plumbing contractors struggling to grow their businesses. Some were larger plumbing companies with great websites, and some had simple websites. But no matter the size, they all had a similar problem. Their plumbing websites were driving prospects or clients away.

Plumbing websites are meant to generate leads, not just sit around and look pretty. Your site should be generating leads.

Do you feel your plumbing website isn’t generating as many leads or clients as it should?

Are you frustrated that you have to spend countless hours every week waiting for your phone to ring?

You may think that your plumbing website doesn’t obtain sufficient traffic to bring in the leads your company requires, but there is a high likelihood that you can skyrocket the number of leads your site generates, from the same traffic, by fixing these 10 problems.

When it comes to plumbing websites, it’s easy to say “good enough” about functionality and design. After all, “if it’s broken, why fix it?”. But becoming complacent with your plumbing company website is a risky mindset. If you are not continuously enhancing your webpages and appropriately updating trends change, you could be driving potential clients away in droves. Here are the ten blunders that make the prospects on your plumbing website cringe.

1. Outdated Plumbing Website Design

First impressions are important. If the initial impression your website offers is that it has not been updated for some months or years now, you are in for a rude shock. An outdated plumber website will cause new prospects your company is closing soon. Always work with a professional plumbing website designer to assist you in building your site with digital marketing best practices in mind.

2. Complicated or Confusing Navigation

Don’t provide your site visitors with too many options in the main navigation menu. Figure out what needs to be promoted and what can be done on the inside page. Lots of options appear not only sloppy but also confuses new site visitors. If your potential clients cannot easily find what they require, they are going to click off to other plumbing websites.

One of the numerous reasons your plumbing website or landing page requires a simple design is because a confusing or complicated layout can distract your prospects’ eyes from crucial information. Recent eye-tracking studies have shown a tendency to scan a site instead of going through each letter.

3. No Compelling Call to Actions (CTAs)

In sales and marketing, we always use the term “ABC” before closing. The equivalent to that in plumbing websites is to always include a call-to-action. Generally, your plumbing website offers a lot of information on the company’s service or product and later says, “for more details, contact us.”

That’s great, but your site visitors require direction. Your plumbing website needs to be more specific in telling them how to reach you, which needs to be easy.

A call-to-action in your plumbing website needs to be into two major forms. The initial is your call to action within the text of your website, and it should state for instance “To learn more about our custom plumbing repair offering, fill out our contact form or call us at 619-555-1312 for immediate assistance today”.

If you fail to give website visitors a clear direction on what you want them to do after landing on your site-in simple terms –a compelling call to action-they won’t stay on your website for long but will click off to another plumber’s website.

Be clear about what you want prospects or clients to do when they come to your plumbing website. Tell them “request a quote now” or “subscribe now if you want to gain more email newsletter subscribers.

4. Misaligned, Poor Quality, or Insufficient Content

Consumers go online to assist respond to their questions and make a decision to book a job with a local plumber. If your plumbing website doesn’t have a blog, client testimonials or service demos, etc., you can kick those client’s goodbye. Being helpful and transparent are important to establish trust with your leads and eventually their business. If your plumbing website only promotes your business and doesn’t contain content to educate your buyers, then they will go to another website that is committed to solving their problems or concerns.

You only have a few seconds to convert a potential lead into a client and even less time to create a great first impression. If the content doesn’t resonate with the visitor, either in content or tone, they won’t feel it was focused on them.

The impression created by vague content or poor grammar and spelling is even worse. Don’t allow poorly written content to drive away your high-value leads. When describing your plumbing service or product, show it as a solution to the challenges potential clients are facing.

Proofread and edit your content before publishing or hire a plumbing SEO content agency to do it for you. When your content resonates with prospects or clients, they will feel more engaged with your business and as a consequence, are likely to want to read more.

5. Your Plumbing Website is Not Responsive/Mobile-Friendly

Nowadays, people are spending more hours on their mobile devices than ever before to search for local service businesses like yours. If your plumbing website is not responsive on devices other than a desktop computer, then you are driving potential clients away.

Some prospective leads want to book jobs with your company, but they cannot since they are attempting to access a desktop site from a mobile device like a Smartphone. More and more clients and plumbers are utilizing their mobile devices to read the news, shop, and contact other service providers, and that implies your lead generation efforts should follow suit.

Instead of waiting for prospects to go away and access your plumbing website from their desktop computer, a mobile-friendly strategy will assist you to reach them and convert them, wherever they might be.

6. Your Plumbing Website Doesn’t Provide Anything to Potential Clients

How can you obtain leads if you don’t have anything valuable to provide your prospects?

Your plumber website should contain helpful (not salesy) resources, content, and provides that prospects are itching to put their hands on. Think of white papers, e-books, slide decks, consultations, guides, and more.

You want to have a variety of content that will appeal to prospects depending on where they are in their buying journey. For instance, a “getting started” guide works for a prospect who is still exploring all of their options, while a free consultation or demo is ideal for someone who is ready to book a job with your company.

7. Slow Loading Speeds

Modern browsers are becoming accustomed to fast-loading plumbing websites. This implies that you are testing your prospect’s patience when your website loads in more than three seconds. In most instances, they will click off to another plumber’s website instead of waiting for your website to load.

A recent study found that slow-loading websites can frustrate your prospects or clients. Having such a website can lower your search engine rankings, as Google considers page loading speed in their search engine algorithm.

Simply put, your plumbing website must load faster and cater to their great swift internet connections.

8. Unprofessional or Poor Photography

Your plumbing website, in many cases, is the initial impression a client obtains of your company. Yet many plumbers skimp on photography. Stock photos don’t work nowadays. If you are utilizing stock photos, you will be able to tell and make your site feel cheesy,

Using quality images (probably of your team performing some work) is an effective way to build a more emotional experience for your visitor, but ensure they are unique and of high quality and showcase your real business or plumbing services.

9. Too Much Clutter

When it comes to designing your plumbing website, little is always preferred than more.

Although it can be tempting to hit your prospects or clients with everything at once and add interactive widgets, this can cause them to be overwhelmed by too much information. Consider your prospect or client each step of the way and build your website with an intention of offering the best user experience for them.

By taking the time to correct the flaws above, your website will begin to achieve higher levels of traffic and higher engagement levels across the board.

10. Crazy Scrolling and Pop-up Ads

If your plumbing website has tons of unnecessary pop-ups, scrolling that your prospects can’t scan or read your content, that is a great turn-off for modern browsers. Call to action is awesome, but spammy and annoying links will drive traffic to your rivals.

Improve Your Plumbing Website Design to Generate Leads Consistently Every Month on Autopilot

Getting new clients for your plumbing business requires many strategies, and almost all of them hinge on online interactions.

The most crucial digital marketing asset you have is your plumbing website. Your plumber website design should incorporate several best practices, such as the ones we have highlighted below. When you implement them, you can generate more conversions/leads.

Your Plumbing website should be responsive/mobile-friendly

Many people looking for plumbing services do so on their smartphones. In most instances, they require urgent help, so they utilize the most convenient tool. If clients find your plumbing business online and land on your website on their smartphone, they anticipate your site to load within three seconds and adapt to their device. Thus, it is important that your plumbing company site appear and display perfectly on mobile.

Your plumbing website should include social media links

New clients want evidence that your business is trustworthy and reputable. The effective way to showcase this is through social proof. That could include testimonials, customer service awards, reviews, and ratings. Ensure these things are prominently visible on your plumbing website so that potential clients can conduct due diligence and ensure that your plumbing company is legit.

Your Website should describe what you do and the clients you serve

While plumber services, in general, are the same, you want to be candid and clear about what you provide and who your ideal clients are. If you offer any specialized plumbing services, ensure that such pages are separate on your website, and this can improve your organic search greatly. Beyond services, you should not indicate if you work in the commercial or residential market or both.

Your Plumbing Website Should be easy to navigate

Don’t make it difficult for prospects to find what they require. Make sure your menu is easier to find and resonates with the hierarchy. If prospects land on your plumbing website and find it easy, they may connect with you faster.

Your Plumbing Website Should Have a Professional Design

Your website typically represents your company, so don’t go it alone. Work with a Professional plumbing website design agency that has experience in your industry. By so doing, you will get a website that works and looks well.

Invest in Your Plumbing Website, and It Will Give Back in form of Qualified Leads

Making these upgrades to your site user experience and navigation will require an investment of time, but every hour spent improving your website will save many hours wasted manually chasing leads.

There you have it, ten factors that could be driving prospects away from your plumbing website. If you don’t have the time to implement these changes to create a consistent sales funnel that will generate high-value leads every month, our web designers can help with that.

Schedule a free discovery call with BlackStorm Design + Marketing to learn more about plumbing website design services today.

Google Advertising Plumbing

The Ultimate Guide to Google Business Profile for Plumbers

Post author By BlackStorm Home Service Marketing
Post date June 9, 2022

Learn how to claim and use a free Google Business Profile to get found by prospects and outrank your competitors online

Are you struggling to outrank other local plumbers online? If so, learn from thousands of plumbing contractors across the United States to know the surefire hacks to rank #1 on search engine results pages. Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business) is the primary hub for local SEO for plumbers. As a plumber, you understand that you rely on local clients to make your plumbing company a success.

Google Business listing is all about making your plumbing company more visible online. That’s why we have created a definitive guide for plumbing contractors who want to make the most out of their business profile on Google. Keep reading to see how you can use Google Business Profile to get ahead of local competitors and obtain more qualified leads.

What is Google Business Profile for Plumbers?

Formerly known as Google My Business, Google Business Profile is a free tool built by Google that helps you promote your plumbing services as well as your site on Google Maps and search results for free. By claiming a GBP listing, plumbers can showcase reviews, post updates, and rank higher in the Local Map 3-pack for keywords related to their business. This platform helps you list your plumbing company on Google Maps and regulate what details prospects will see in Google search results.

To make sure your plumbing company has a good chance of ranking higher on local search results both on traditional organic and Maps, you must optimize your Google Business Profile listing. That incorporates everything from NAP information, Google posts, and the Q&A section.

Google Business listings pop up when a homeowner conducts a local search (“plumber [city name] or “plumber near me”) or performs a search on Google Maps. Your plumbing company’s GBP listing can show up when a prospect looks for your brand, appearing on the right side of search results on laptops/desktops, and at the top of search engine result pages.

Why is Google Business Profile Crucial for Plumbers?

Why should you care about Google Business listing as a plumber? Because a large portion of the population is using Google, it implies a huge audience can access and view your profile. The more visible your plumbing company is the higher your chances of drawing prospects’ attention to your business.

Google Business listing is no longer optional-it is an important part of any plumbing company’s web presence and is typically the first place clients look for updated information about your business. If your clients want to find new opening hours or want to contact your business and inquire about something, you can bet they are not going to flip through the Yellow Pages. Here are some of the benefits of having an optimized Google Business Profile in your plumbing company:

GBP Helps Your Plumbing Services Get Discovered for FREE in Google Maps and Search Results

While content marketing strategies (like optimizing your website copy pages and SEO blogging) can improve your search visibility, a Google Business Profile is the most effective hack.

Whether you want to boost sales, improve brand awareness or increase booked jobs, a GBP is an effective way to get your plumbing company in front of wallet-out local clients. You can get your plumbing company listing in front of high-value online browsers by claiming and optimizing your business profile with the proper address, business category, and keywords. This listing can improve your presence in the local search engine results and make it likely for prospects to discover your plumbing company.

Unlike paid Google or social media ads, a Google Business profile is ultimately FREE and offers your company priority in the search results to increase inquiries, interest, and even sales.

Enhance Your Local SEO by Integrating Google Maps

If you offer a plumbing service in a particular local area, you want to ensure your plumbing company information pops up front and center for potential clients.

That’s why a Google Business listing can be one of the efficient ways to reach warm plumbing leads when they are ready to convert.

By claiming, verifying, and optimizing your Google Business Profile, you can make sure that your plumbing company shows up when interested clients are looking for the services you provide in your locality. Whether a client conducts a direct search on Google or even via Google Maps, your plumbing services will show up at the top of search results.

Control Your Plumbing Company Online Presence with a GBP

On mainstream marketing platforms like social media, plumbing companies like yours should play by the rules of big brands. The algorithms decide who discovers your plumbing company online and what impression they have about your brand.

But with a Free GBP, you can curate the kind of experience prospects will have with your plumbing company. From updating your operational hours to showcasing your contact details, you can give each prospect the superior experience possible with your plumbing company.

Best of all, by knowing how to optimize your Google Business listing, you can increase the chances of your plumbing business information showing up at the top of the search engine rankings. This offers you the greatest potential to impact purchasing decisions of searchers who come across your brand.

GBP Offers an Easy Way for Your Clients to Find Your Physical office

Your GBP listing has seamless integration with Google Maps as we stated earlier. Along with assisting your plumbing company to improve its visibility on Google, such integration also helps clients to navigate to your physical office as well.

With Google Maps integration, prospects or clients can discover directions to your physical office with a single tap. Besides, they can access your business operating hours and crucial contact details (such as your plumbing website, email address, and phone number) to make it seamless for people to contact your business.

The easier it is for your new clients to reach your plumbing service company, the more likely they will have a positive experience with your company. It is all about providing a seamless online experience that converts browsers into paying customers.

Get started Google Business Profile for Plumbers in 5 Simple Steps

Getting started with a Google Business profile is relatively easy, and the setup process takes a very short time. An important initial step in the local SEO strategy for plumbers is claiming, verifying, and optimizing your Google Business profile. You will be surprised to know that Google Business Profile is a FREE platform.

Google Business Profile doesn’t come with a paid version, and as soon as you register and confirm your plumbing company, you can access all the features and tools that the platform has to offer. While setting up is relatively simple, here are some hacks to make sure that the process goes seamless for the first time. Here are some strategies that will help you get started with plumbing Google Business listing:

Add a Location

The initial step towards claiming your Google business profile is to add a location. Including a public address depends on your preference, but it helps create transparency if you put your company address in the public domain.

Service Area

A service area typically depicts how far your business is willing to go in order to serve a client. You can set this area as a perimeter around your physical office, or you can select the service area to be relatively small.

Add Correct NAP citations

we cannot overemphasize this enough. Your GBP will request your plumbing website URL and phone number. Ensure that you enter these details properly or else you will lose an opportunity of booking new jobs.

After ensuring the above three crucial information is entered correctly, follow the steps outlined below to claim or register your plumbing business on Google:

Step 1: Head over to https: //business. Google.com/ add.info/
Step 2: Search for your plumbing company by address and name
Step 3: If your business doesn’t appear. Click “No”, these are not my businesses
Step 4: When prompted, enter the correct information about your plumbing company
Step 5: Click “Submit”

Among the areas your plumbing company can show up include Google Maps, Local 3-pack, conventional organic results, and knowledge graph. Registering or claiming your plumbing business on Google Business listing is typically the initial step of a process of ranking at the top spot for plumbing keywords in your service area. But a properly optimized plumbing company GBP increases your chances of ranking #1 on Google.

How to verify Your Plumbing Google Business Profile

Your free plumbing Google Business Profile can do more than you think. When optimized properly, it can showcase your best traits and make it hassle-free for clients to discover, learn more about and even call your business. But for it to do this, you should verify your listing with Google to show that you are the plumbing company owner.

Google offers various options to help you verify your plumbing business Google Business Profile as outlined below:

Verify your GBP via Email

The most common way to verify your Google Business profile is through a regular email. However, before you request verification by email, ensure your business address complies with the address entry guidelines. To request your GBP verification by email, follow the steps below:

Sign in to your Google Business Profile and choose the company you want to verify
Among the options offered, choose to verify by email
Tap to verify. When you get an email in your inbox, follow the steps outlined to complete the process.
Remember to check whether you can access the email you want to use for the verification process.
Verify Your GBP using a Postcard

This is the most common method. Google will send your plumbing business a physical postcard (normally via a snail mail). You will then use the code in the postcard to verify your Google Business Profile.

Verify Your GBP by Phone

If you choose this option, Google will send a verification code to your plumbing company phone number. You will then enter the code to verify your plumbing company on Google. This will be instant and will help you enjoy the benefits of your Google Business Profile faster.

Google Business Profile Optimization Tips for Plumbers to Rank Higher in Local Search

Any plumbing business today requires targeted and higher visibility on Google. Most plumbers know that this needs optimizing their Google Ads and website, but what they fail to understand is that there is a third entity that should be optimized; their Google Business Profile. When properly used, your Google Business Profile can assist your business to generate new plumbing customers and leads. Consider it this way, right now homeowners are searching Google for plumbing services, and they will either find your business or your competitors.

To improve your chances of being found by prospects or clients, this post will discuss proven tips that will boost your visibility on Google. Without further ado, let us dive in.

Use Your Legal Plumbing Company Name

Your company name is one of the most crucial aspects of Your Google Business Profile. It is highly recommended that you strictly follow Google’s guidelines when it comes to the company name that you want to use in your Google Business Profile.

There are multiple ways you can attempt and trick the system for higher visibility and rankings. Don’t do them. One thing plumbers try and do is place their geographical location in the name on the GBP. For instance, Bryan owns a plumbing business and the legal name of the company is Bryan’s Plumbing. Bryan services Murfreesboro, TN area. The name he should use in his Google Business Profile is Bryan’s Plumbing, not Bryan’s Plumbing Murfreesboro.

If the name of the region or city you serve is part of your legal company name, then go ahead and include it. But, if your legal business name doesn’t have the name of the region or city, don’t add it to the name in your Google Business Profile. This is a strategy that might give you short-term results but can also make your profile to be suspended by Google.

Choose the Right Primary and Second Categories

Selecting the right category is a must for optimizing your plumbing Google Business Profile. This is because the categories you select for your GBP can assist Google to connect your plumbing business to customers based on what they are actively looking for. There are two kinds of categories- a primary category and numerous secondary categories, and you choose your secondary categories and primary category from a predefined list.

We highly recommend that you choose the right category. In our case of a plumbing business, the primary category you choose should be “plumber.”

If you provide more services other than plumbing, for instance, electrical and or/HVAC, you can include these as secondary categories- “Electrician” and “HVAC Contractor.” You may add other categories depending on the services you provide accordingly.

Focused Plumber Marketing: Define Your Service Areas

A service area depicts a geographical area or perimeter where you can deliver your plumbing services. You can choose up to 2 service areas where you offer plumbing services. Service areas can be defined by cities, postal codes, or by provinces. It is important that you choose the right service areas because the service areas you select will determine how your business appears on the search results when prospects search a geographical location.

For example, if you provide plumbing services throughout the Middle Tennessee area, you may want to choose Murfreesboro, Franklin, Manchester, Nashville, Smyrna, and more. Choose all the areas you serve (up to 20). If you only serve five areas, then choose those five-no more.

Set Your Operating Hours Generously

Spelling out your business operating hours helps Google inform customers if you are closed or open. If your plumbing company is closed, then Google can alert customers when you shall reopen for business. Besides, setting your normal business hours, you can also indicate your special hours for public holidays like Christmas or Easter.

Give Your Correct Phone Number

One of the crucial elements of your Google Business Profile is your company’s phone number. Your number will prominently have displayed on your Google Business profile and helps customers to contact you directly from your profile without necessarily having to visit your plumbing website. This is particularly applicable if customers are accessing your GBP on a mobile device like a smartphone.

All they need to do is click on the phone number to contact your plumbing company. It is convenient and faster for customers. The reverse is also true, it can be overwhelming as a client if you are trying to contact a plumbing business but you cannot easily and quickly locate their phone number. You can give a secondary and primary phone number in your Google Business Profile.

Use Google’s Appointment Booking Function in Your Plumbing GBP

Google’s appointment booking button can help your plumbing company outrank the competition. If your plumbing company requires clients to schedule appointments and you utilize built-in scheduling software, clients can book appointments with your business right from your Google Business Profile. This can make it hassle-free even to attract new customers they don’t have to click off from Google to book an appointment with your plumbing business.

Using your appointment booking links, clients can easily book your offer anywhere can find your business. Plus, you can also share your appointment booking URL link on Yelp, Facebook pages, and Instagram Profiles. Take advantage of this feature of Google Business Profile when you hire booking providers to get new clients.

Add Attractive but Real Photos and Videos to Your Plumbing GBP

Sharing videos and photos of your plumbing company and those tagged by your clients is an effective and easy to boost engagement and traffic to your site and place of business.

To leverage the benefits of this feature, use good-quality photos, ensure high resolution, and upload new photos regularly-don’t use stock photos. Real photos help Google differentiate your plumbing company and thus represent your brand.

As one of the hacks here, we highly recommend taking quality photos of your office, photos of your staff at work, and the before and after photos of completed projects. Such photos and videos can help to increase trust and build brand awareness in your target audience.

List Your Plumbing Services

The services section of your Google Business profile helps you list all the services you provide. You can add the service name, a description, and a price for every service.

Unlike products that are shown up as part of your GBP, services are normally visible on mobile devices. On such devices, a service tab is shown along with your listing. When a client clicks on the tab, they will have a chance of viewing all the plumbing services you offer.

Including your plumbing services is an efficient way to differentiate your plumbing company from the competition and may help to skyrocket your local search rankings.

Add a Questions and Answers Section in Your Plumbing GBP

Google Business Profile help prospects or clients to answer a question about your plumbing business. It is advisable that you answer such questions preemptively on your own. Go to the knowledge tab of your Google Business Profile, and you will come across an option for “Question & Answers.” Fill it with potential questions that clients may have about your plumbing company and answer them in advance to make sure that they have accurate information about your business.

Add Attributes

Highlights or attributes help you share with the world about specific attributes or services of your plumbing company, and including them can assist you to stand out from your competitors. To know what attributes you can add to your GBP listing, click on the “info” tab in the dashboard of your listing. By clicking the pencil icon, you will know the kind of services or attributes you can add to your plumbing company.

Accurate Description of Your Plumbing Business

Your plumbing business description is one of the crucial places you can utilize to target the “business or money keywords.” But you should not overdo it- keep your customers in mind and highlight the best things about your plumbing company.

In business for more than two decades? Your clients will no doubt love this.

Veteran-owned? Make sure to include it.

Before you go ahead and write your plumbing business description, be sure to read Google’s business description guidelines.

Get Online Reviews for Your Plumbing company

Before a homeowner contacts you for a plumbing repair or service, they will first go through your reviews on Google. Even before that, they will have made up their mind on whether to choose you or your competition based on the quality and quantity of your online reviews.

One of the most crucial things you can do to help your plumbing company rank higher in local searches is to ask for more reviews on Google. Customers’ reviews are great for improving your social proof, and they make it easier for prospects or clients to trust your plumbing business. You can add as many client reviews as possible to your Google Business Profile.

Review Your NAP Information

The initial thing to do is go through the “info tab.” Make sure that you review your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone number) citations on the tab.

First, review your plumbing company name. Is your name listed correctly? Is it consistent with other review platforms such as Yelp? If you note any errors, update the information here properly. Check also that your address is entered correctly in your Google Business Profile.

Lastly, review your business phone number. Ensure everything is correct and that you are using your plumbing company’s primary phone number. If your company has multiple numbers for employees, make sure to utilize the main phone number for your office.

Use the Google Posting Feature to Grab More Eyeballs

Regular posts are like free display ads for your plumbing company. You should post promotional offers since browsers can see posts before they land on your plumbing website.

Posts display a brief description and a thumbnail image that shows up to a full-size image and more information when clicked. They are displayed at the bottom of your Google Business Profile on desktop and in a dedicated tab in the Google Maps app.

Frequently Asked Questions about Google Business Profile for Plumbers

1. Is Google Business Profile for plumbers free of charge?

Yes, Google Business Profile is absolutely FREE. This means any plumbing contractor can claim, verify and optimize any listing Free of charge.

2. How can I get my plumbing business to show up higher on Google search or Maps?

here are some steps you can take to ensure that your plumbing company shows up on Google as illustrated below:

Step 1: Go to Google Business Profile
Step 2: Find your plumbing company
Step 3: Add or select your plumbing business
Step 4: Choose your category
Step 5: Verify your plumbing company
Step 6: Set up a connected Google Plus Page
Step 7: Request Google reviews

3. Does my plumbing company need an optimized Google Business Profile?

Yes, your business should be taking advantage of the power of an optimized Google Business Profile customized for your company. By offering your opening and closing hours, services, reviews, address, and latest business address, you will be able to successfully manage your online presence across Google properties from its local maps to its search engine.

Let Blackstorm Design + Marketing Team Manage and Market Your Plumbing Company on Google Business profile

A well-optimized Google Business Profile is an important component of a a winning local plumbing SEO strategy. Knowing how to claim, verify and optimize your Google listing as a plumber can help boost Google rankings and assist you to reach potential clients on a local level.

We trust that this definitive Google Business Profile optimization guide for plumbers will assist you.

But if you are still unsure of how to claim, verify and optimize Google Business listing as a plumber, we got you covered.

At Blackstorm Design + Marketing, we specialize in helping plumbing businesses of all sizes optimize their local SEO and outrank their competitors. We achieve this by helping you claim your Google Business Profile. We are a team of internet marketing experts dedicated to helping you skyrocket the growth of your plumbing services company.

Schedule a free strategy session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing to learn more about our services and how we can help you grow your plumbing company online.

Manage Your Business Information

People Search Locally Everyday

GBP gives you a Competitive Edge in the Market

Collect and Respond to Reviews

GBP Makes Your Plumbing Company Highly Visible Online

Get Insights That Offer You Helpful Information

GBP Helps Your Plumbing Services Get Discovered for FREE in Google Maps and Search Results

Enhance Your Local SEO by Integrating Google Maps

Control Your Plumbing Company Online Presence with a GBP

GBP Offers an Easy Way for Your Clients to Find Your Physical office

Add a Location

Service Area

Add Correct NAP citations

Don't Go Yet!

Request A Custom Quote For Your Design & SEO.