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Google Advertising Plumbing

How to Make the Most out of Google Ads for Plumbers on a Limited Budget

Let us face it. Most homeowners don’t think plumbing is a big deal unless their water systems have a serious problem. So to speak, they don’t require a plumber unless their water system breaks down, which doesn’t happen daily.

As a plumbing contractor, it can be overwhelming to market your plumbing services on your own. Obtaining new business or leads might be daunting unless you seek the help of a professional marketing agency.

There are tons of plumbing marketing options out there from Facebook ads to Yelp reviews and more. Google Ads for plumbers is a great option for many companies because of its targeting options, flexibility, and reach. Currently, plumbing Google Ads has increasingly become crucial to booking more jobs and increasing sales.

When a homeowner has a plumbing problem within your target market, your company has a chance to show up as the #1 result in their search engine results pages for “plumber near me!”. Google operates on a pay-per-click model that offers the ability to select the keywords that you want to rank for within Google – these are search terms that prospects are utilizing to find you. You can bid on these keywords and display ads for them.

For instance, “Emergency plumber near me,” “local plumber” and “plumber in Y city” are all keywords your prospects are using to look for your plumbing business. With Google Ads, your clients can find your plumbing business with just a simple search on Google, whenever they are.

Google ads for plumbers can be overwhelming to first create and manage. Luckily, this post will guide everything you require to know, from developing a stellar Google Ads strategy to optimizing your campaigns to increase your chances of booking new jobs and skyrocketing your sales online.

Without further ado, let us dive into our post!

5 Reasons Why Google Ads for Plumbers Is Important

The plumbing marketing world has changed dramatically recently; Google Ads is one of the platforms that are in charge of this major transformation. Indeed, Google Ads for plumbers is one of the best and most effective tactics of internet marketing.

Here are some reasons why you should consider using Google Ads for plumbers in your business:

1. Google Ads Increase Customers and Leads

Female homeowner shaking hands with plumber

When your prospects or clients notice that your plumbing ad consistently ranks at the top of the search engine results page, they will start to associate your brand with dependability and excellence.

This means that you will be the first business people think of when they need a reliable plumber to offer quality plumbing services. You can monitor this using Google Analytics and Google Business Profile.

2. You Obtain High Results on Investment

ROI gif

Unlike other plumber marketing strategies, Google Ads helps you to only pay for ads prospects or clients click on. After optimizing your Google Ads campaign, you can get a higher return on investment, which may not be possible with other advertising strategies.

However, this takes effort and time, you have to find the approach that suits your plumbing business. To get an overview of what campaigns will generate the best results, you have to monitor and test your campaigns regularly. Google Ads for plumbers is perfect for this since it’s transparent and the details you require are available.

When you pinpoint areas of your campaign that offer a good return on investment, you concentrate your budget and efforts on such areas. If there are some parts of your campaign that are costing you money, discard them. Invest that money into successful campaigns, and such campaigns will test you in the future.

3. Google Ads Help Build Your Reputation Online

Online reputation

Your plumbing company’s online reputation is important in the modern digital world. Prospects or clients look at more than just a professional portfolio or quality work.

Google search ads can assist in establishing your online reputation as a reliable plumbing service company.

Essentially, Google Ads is more effective than promoting your plumbing services on social media (for instance, Facebook ads for plumbers) because Google has more credibility for getting legit local plumbing services in an area.

4. Google Ads for Plumbers Give Transparent, Fast Results

It is easy to monitor the progress of your Google Ads

Google ads have a reputation for delivering quick, transparent results and reports of your digital marketing campaigns. It is easy to monitor the progress of your Google Ads since the dashboard offers you all of the details related to every campaign, like the ads clicked, the search terms (keywords) that prospects or clients entered, and the cost of clicks.

These features make Google Ads for plumbers an extremely intuitive and transparent system.

5. Unique Targeting Capabilities

Target market

As a plumber, you know the essence of quality plumbing leads. At the end of the day, your Google Ad campaign should attain the goals of your plumbing brand. With Google enhancing its algorithms on a daily basis, you can be guaranteed of reaching your target market.

You can opt to bid for particular long-tail keywords or even short ones. While the former allows you to target prospects with high search intent, the latter may help you obtain higher traction with fewer plumbing leads.

Types of Google Ads for Plumbers

No two Google Ads campaigns are created equal, though they are distinct types of ads that you can leverage:

  • Search Network Campaign: Through a Search Network Campaign, your ad will show up on not just Google Maps and Search but also hundreds of other Google partners, including Google Shopping and YouTube. On any of these websites, when prospects or clients look for a keyword for your Google Ad campaign, they will come across your ad.

Google Search Network Campaign

  • Google Display Network Campaign: This kind of ad helps you to showcase your visual ad in front of prospects using Google Display Network products, including YouTube and Gmail.

Google Display Network

  • Video Campaign: Here, your plumbing service company will be displayed on YouTube and other Google Display Network properties.

YouTube gif

Pro tip: No matter what type of Google Ad campaign you select; it will incorporate more than one ad group. Every ad group may represent a different service you may want to market to the same target audience, and each ad group might have a unique plumbing keyword set.

Winning Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Google Ads for Plumbers Campaign Account

If you are a plumber just getting started with Google Ads, all the options and functionality can seem a little challenging.

There are a lot of features to explore and settings to fix or adjust, which can be both frustrating and time-consuming. You may even come to know that you are spending a lot of time looking for information on Google Ads help forums.

If this sounds like you, you are not alone. We all want as many controls and tools as possible, but not at the expense of losing control over your Google Ads campaign.

So here are our winning tips for obtaining more of your Google ads account for your plumbing business:

Create a Google Ads for Your Plumbing Company

Google Ads website

Setting up a Google Ads account is easy and simple. For this post, we will utilize a fictitious plumbing business as the main example. Click on “Start Now” at the upper right-hand corner or on the left side of the main page. You will be then being requested to sign in with your Gmail account.

Google will then request you what your main advertising objective is, and you can click on any of these three options offered. For instance, I select to “Get more sign-ups or site sales.”

Before you continue to the next page, it is crucial to scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Switch to Expert Mode.”

You will then be directed to another website requesting you to set your goals relevant to your campaign. Google Ads campaign is comprised of ad groups that focus on attaining goals like increasing client conversions for the business. Every campaign has its targeted location, set budget, and targeted audiences. A Google Ads account typically consists of multiple campaigns which target different objectives for the business in its internet marketing.

For the purpose of this page, go ahead and click “create an Ads campaign without an objective’s guidance.” This will help you have more control over your Google Ads campaign tactics, thus limiting Google’s input.

Next, you should choose “Search” as your type of campaign. It will then request you to select which results you want to see from the digital campaign. Proceed and click “phone calls” and “website visits.”

Configure General Settings

campaign settings

After clicking “Continue” from the previous page, the type of campaign will be taken to the general settings for your campaign. Here you will be requested to give the name of your campaign, and so we put “Plumbing.” Next, you want to unselect “Display Network” while you may keep or not keep “Search Network” selected based on your budget.

Take Time to Understand and Set Your Google Ads Campaign Goals

Set up your Google Ads campaign account

When you initially set up your Google Ads campaign account, you will instantly begin operating some ads. You may even think, “this is not too bad,” and decide to leave your account alone to generate desired results.

However, you will begin seeing less and less organic traffic, and your return on advertising spend and conversion rates will drop!

This occurs because we normally skip the most crucial step of setting your Google Ads account: understanding our plumbing business goals. If you don’t set clear objectives, you won’t understand how to tweak your ad settings. And even if you identify your goal, without understanding the right level of traffic to focus on, you may end up spending more money than necessary.

Choose the Right Keywords

Google Ads operates on keywords.

One of the most crucial resources available to any digital plumbing marketing strategy is Google Ads. This is because they put your ad directly in front of your target client as they search precisely for what you provide. However, choosing the right Google Ads is not always easy. Numerous factors have to be considered, and if you don’t know the best practices for Google Ads, it may be a significant waste of money and time.

Google Ads operates on keywords. These keywords trigger your ad to show up on the search engine result pages. This needs you to perform keyword research. You can use multiple research tools to assist know the search terms to use in your campaign. As you look for various keywords, you need to focus more on long-tail plumbing keywords.

Related: The Ultimate Plumbing SEO Guide: Best Practices and Tips to Get Clients Online

These are search terms that contain three or more words. Long-tail plumbing keywords are more specific and targeted to one business. A generic plumbing keyword like “plumber” will be hard to rank for in the search engine result pages.

Instead, try something with your neighborhood, city, or even your postal or zip code. For example, “plumber in Murfreesboro TN” or “Murfreesboro plumbing contractor.” Long-tail plumbing keywords generate quality traffic for your advertising campaign because they are more specific and will drive qualified leads who want to get the most accurate and relevant results. By researching long-tail plumber keywords, you will attract leads that are more qualified and more likely to book a job.

This will assist you to get more conversions for your plumbing business.

So, how can you select Google Ads keywords that will support your company’s growth without breaking your bank account? Here are some pointers:

  • Understand your target audience
  • Develop their personas
  • Figure out what they are searching for
  • Make a list of common keywords that people use
  • Use long-tail keywords to increase your ad visibility online
  • Use keyword research tools like Ahrefs and Google Keyword Planner to identify search terms relevant to your plumbing business.

Check The Quality of Google Ads and Ensure They Appear, Professional

Man fixing leaking tap in kitchen

There is nothing so frustrating than seeing Google Ads for plumbers that don’t appear professional. When you utilize Google Ads, you will need to create effective professional ads. This may seem like a common thing, but it is an important part of your advertising campaign. You should create Google Ads that will get your target audience to click on them.

First, you will want to include your keywords in your ad copy. This will make sure that your Google Ad is relevant to their organic search. After that, you will need to create a compelling headline.

You need to create an eye-catching and interesting headline that will make your target audience click on your plumbing Google Ads. Lastly, show your audience what you need them to do after coming across your ad. Include a compelling call to action in your Google ad to help them to take the desired action and convert them into a paying client.

Add all these elements to create an effective ad for your marketing campaign. You will get more clicks on your ads by creating better ads that grab the attention of your leads.

Use Negative Keywords to Avoid Wasting Your Advertising Dollars

Negative keywords

Google ad for plumbers also provides the option to include negative keywords; words that you don’t want to be associated with.

For example, if you offer emergency plumbing services but not selling dolphin keychains, you would not want to show up for the search results to the latter. To know how prospects or clients are accidentally looking for you, check your Search Terms report. Here, you will be able to pinpoint irrelevant queries that are leading people to your business and include them in your list of negative keywords.

Set Your Google Ads Budget

Google Ads Budget

For Google Ads for plumbers, you can only set your budget on a daily as opposed to a weekly or monthly basis. A good strategy to follow when allocating your budget is to be a little conservative in spending. It is fairly simple to use lots of advertising dollars quickly, so that’s why you need to optimize your ad budget spending. Kindly note, your daily ad budget should reflect the amount you are willing to pay for the campaign.

Make Google Ads Stand out with the Right Extensions

Google Ads Extensions example

Extensions are a great way to generate more revenue from the same ad spend.

In fact, extensions can generate up to double the revenue compared to ads without extensions. A lot of Google Ads for plumbers focus mainly on the paths, headlines, and descriptions of your primary ad.

However, Ad extensions are an important part of the client experience and can offer your ads a great performance boost.

Google Ad extensions can assist you to tell your plumbing brand story better while providing valuable details to your clients.

There are numerous ad extensions to select from, but here are the ones that are mostly used:

  • Sitelinks Extensions: These are extra links your clients may find important that direct them to unique landing pages on your plumbing website.
  • Callout Extensions: Use these to establish trust with prospects or clients by incorporating entries such as “Peace of Mind Guarantee” or “Professional Fast Service.”
  • Structured Snippets: You can include these to offer more details about the features provided. They are based on particular categories, so be sure to select an important category as you create your ad extensions.
  • Call Extensions: This will assist you to pull your company phone number into the listing.
  • Location Extensions: If you have a brick-and-mortar office, you can link your Google Business Profile to your Google Ads campaign account. Activating this extension will pull in your phone number and address to your ads for prospects to understand your location easily.

Organize Keywords into Ad Groups

Keyword organizer

Sending prospects or clients who click on your ad to a plumbing landing page that discusses the same topic as the keyword in your ad groups will result in a higher quality score.

This implies that you will be charged less for every click and your ads will be displayed more often. This is because Google wants to show ads that are relevant to their target audience, and increasing your quality score may sound like a no-brainer.

Yes, as the ad copy for plumbing services becomes more specific, you will be tempted to link the ad to pages that are already existing, instead of developing new ones.

This is where many plumbers go wrong. They fail to customize their Google ad copy to match their landing pages in an effort to minimize work on their team.

If your ads are not related to the landing pages, your prospects are unlikely to convert. Outsourcing your PPC marketing to a professional plumbing Google Ads management company implies you will obtain the insight and attention you require to optimize your campaigns to obtain the most out of your advertising dollars.

Bid on Your Competition

An ad mainly focuses on keywords of rivals is known as a competitor bid.

There is no better way to attract your rival’s clients if your niche is competitive like roofing or plumbing than putting a bid on their brand names in Google Ads. As a tried and proven strategy that generates great results.

An ad mainly focuses on keywords of rivals is known as a competitor bid. With quality links pointing back to your plumbing website, it regularly has an identical or similar appearance to the actual plumbing website.

This strategy has become famous as more and more plumbers use Google ads. Now is the time to use this strategy, leading to your plumbing company’s success.

Setup Conversion Tracking

Conversion action

The best way to enhance your ad campaign is to check the statistics and know which ads, keywords, and placements are working and which are not generating desired results. Then optimize the ones that are not working.

This way, you will stop wasting money and time on things that are not generating results and on content that is not attracting your target audience.

Without conversions tracking, running Google Ads for plumbers is essentially a waste of your advertising dollars. To know whether your Google Ads are effective, tracking conversions is important. Without it, you can only operate on speculations.

Get Specialized Help with Your Google Ads for Plumbers with Blackstorm Design + Marketing

Adjustable wrench

Google Ads requires a specialized approach from experts with relevant experience, like those at Blackstorm Design + Marketing.

When a homeowner needs a “plumber” and looks for one online, they don’t simply search for the first result. Before they make a decision, they click on a few of the initial links that show up on the search results, read some reviews online and assess rival plumbing businesses.

If you are a plumbing business owner, you understand how competitive the industry is. And you have undoubtedly thought of utilizing Google Ads as a strategy.

But have you thought of hiring a knowledgeable team to assist in getting the most out of this plumbing marketing strategy?

If used wisely and carefully, Google Ads for plumbing contractors can be a great tool for growing your business. However, many plumbers lack the knowledge or time to effectively manage their Google Ads campaign. They regularly find it daunting to compete with nearby plumbing companies with huge advertising budgets.

We can assist with that. Blackstorm Design + Marketing is a team of experts with years of experience in Google ads for plumbers.

We understand how to make Google Ads work effortlessly for your business, bringing in more customers without costing you more than your competitors do in advertising.

If you need specialized help to run Google ads for your plumbing business, schedule a free profit session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing today.

Categories
Plumbing Public Relations

How to Improve Online Reputation Management for Plumbers: 5 Things You Are Doing Wrong (and How to fix them)

The world of internet reputation management may seem overwhelming especially to your family-owned, local plumbing business, but it should not be overlooked as being crucial for millennials only.

If you are a plumbing contractor, your online reputation is something that you should consider with the seriousness it deserves. This is because your plumbing business depends on good reviews from clients. Gone are the days when plumbers would solely depend on word-of-mouth recommendations or advertising, and today it is crucial to consider the effects of online reviews.

Without further ado, let us dive into our post.

Why is Online Reputation Management for Plumbers Important?

Internet Reputation Management Impacts Branding

Branding

Your brand is synonymous with its message, and it helps prospects understand what your business is all about. Digital branding is a great trend that is typically beneficial as long as your branding encapsulates the value of your plumbing company. When you invest in online review management, by monitoring reviews about your business and responding to them professionally and politely (whether it’s positive or negative), you will also realize that you will also enhance your overall branding message.

Digital branding and online reputation management are two moving parts of a successful plumbing marketing and advertising strategy. Both require careful attention, and every element affects the other, for good or worse.

Name Recognition

Brand recognition

This is a huge one. The more well-known your plumbing business name, the more you can influence the opinion of potential customers. You can influence homeowners to hire your plumbing business with the right online reputation management and communication strategy. And if you begin working on a positive brand ahead of time, you will be able to maintain your name in the unfortunate event of a mistake or accident.

Increases Your Business Visibility Online

Online visibility

In the modern world, it’s more essential than ever for plumbing contractors to have a vibrant presence online. A well-designed plumbing website and business blog can assist to make sure that your company is obtaining the attention of your target audience.

Besides, social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook can offer excellent advertising or marketing channels. Utilizing these platforms, you can reach a wider audience and improve your brand perception. It is important to create exciting, engaging, and positive content. If you can achieve this, you will be well on your way to building a solid internet presence for your plumbing brand.

Boost Sales

Increase sales

Excellent online reviews are important for plumbers that want to attract more clients through search engines like Google or Bing. In the modern digital world, potential clients are more likely to peg their buying decisions on online reviews than personal recommendations. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that plumbing contractors with positive online reviews experience increased sales.

Online Reputation Management for Plumbers: Things That are Portraying your Business in Negative Light

When it comes to your plumbing online reputation management, there are things that you can do to enhance your presence, and there are things that can hurt it. Here are the five things that you should avoid when trying to manage your online reputation as a plumber:

1. Not Claiming Directory and Social Media Listings

directory listings

There are numerous social media and online business directory listings out there, and you must claim your listing on as many as possible as a plumbing company owner. One of the major reasons for such is that any listing is regarded as “real estate” for your company’s online presence. Additionally, by claiming your business profiles online, you are preventing your competitors from claiming your listing and utilizing it to their advantage.

2. Updating Your Social Media Platforms and Plumbing Website Once a Month

Update your website

One of the reasons that prospects and clients return to your plumbing website is because they desire to view or read fresh content. If you don’t create and publish new content, however, customers cannot return back which implies that you cannot make sales to those clients. By updating your social media platforms and plumbing website, you are keeping clients engaged and increasing the chances of booking more jobs.

It’s also crucial to remember that when you update your social media profile or plumbing website, you should do so with authentic content that is both relevant and interesting to your plumbing niche.

3. Allowing Unqualified People to Manage Your Online Profiles

error warning on web page

Whether we are discussing your business website or social media platforms, never let unqualified individuals in charge of your online presence. By so doing, this can lead to many problems, most of which cannot be solved easily. These include:

  • You can ruin your internet reputation by showcasing your plumbing business in an unprofessional manner
  • You can destroy your online profiles by deleting or editing the wrong thing
  • You can isolate customers and prospects if posts are shared that have a questionable theme.
  • You can deter clients by presenting your business as one that isn’t responsive or doesn’t care about clients’ needs.

Simply put, you should never give someone a chance to manage your online presence unless they have experience with online reputation management, as this could ruin your company.

4. Not Responding to Recommendations and Suggestions from Clients

It's important to listen to client's suggestions

One of the major keys to online review sites and feedback forums is that it offers you the means to gather client feedback and perform client research without incurring a ridiculous marketing budget. By listening to your client’s suggestions as well as their recommendations, you can enhance your company model and boost sales by paying attention to what your clients want rather than what you perceive they want.

5. Wearing Blinders When It Comes to Happy Clients

Wearing Blinders

There are numerous online review sites out there, and they act as a great avenue for funneling clients to your plumbing company. Unfortunately, many plumbers don’t want to leverage these review sites since they are busy focusing and responding to negative comments and reviews.

While it is crucial to respond professionally to negative comments and reviews, it’s equally crucial to respond to positive reviews as well. Clients who leave positive feedback will feel unappreciated if you only respond to negative reviews. What is the essence of leaving a stellar review if no one recognizes such a review?

Take time to thank the commenter for their review, and this can make a huge difference in your plumbing company. Responding to positive reviews also helps future customers understand that they are valuable.

How Can You Manage Your Plumbing Business Reputation Online?

The key to internet reputation management is prompt action. Bad or negative reviews can travel fast online, so you require to be just as swift to neutralize the negative news. These strategies will make it possible to keep your digital reputation intact.

  • Respond to Online Reviews in a Professional and Timely Manner

Online Reviews

A lousy review on an obscure website may seem harmless until a famous blogger gets to hold it and share it with the audience. If your reputation management software catches an unflattering article or review, respond to it the right way.

Address a customer compliant with an offer and an apology to resolve the issue. Reply to unflattering articles and blog posts with clarifications, an apology, and updates if you made an error. The sooner you respond to negative reviews; the less damage your online reputation will suffer.

  • Leverage Positive Reviews

Positive Reviews

When you don’t respond to negative press right away, it can ruin your brand’s reputation online. One story follows another, till such stories are the initial things that come to your mind when a homeowner thinks of your business. In fact, they can even appear when someone searches for your plumbing company-unless there are other reports or stories to counteract them.

If you showcase good reviews, glowing testimonials of recently completed projects, and other content that displays your business in a positive light, you can show that the negative stories are not representative of your company.

Is Your Plumbing Business in Need of Online Reputation Management Services? Blackstorm Design + Marketing can Help

Online Reputation Management Services

It takes time and effort to build a solid reputation for your plumbing business. One negative experience can cost your plumbing business, which is why it’s crucial to monitor your reputation and act promptly when a threat arises.

Don’t wait until something negative happens to your online reputation, be proactive and begin managing now. If your plumbing company is in need of online reputation management services, our professional and experienced team can help.

Schedule a free strategy session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing to see how our public relations experts can help you today.

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