Categories
Marketing Roofing

Get More Qualified Roofing Leads with These Proven Strategies

What is a roofing lead?

Leads, Prospects, Customers

A roofing lead is any property owner who expresses interest in your roofing services or products, either by contacting your business directly or by engaging with your marketing efforts. Roofing leads are an essential part of any roofing business, as they are the potential customers who can help your company grow and thrive.

Roofing leads come in different forms and at different stages of the buying journey. Some leads may be more qualified than others, and it is important to evaluate and prioritize your lead follow-up efforts accordingly carefully.

Leads that are generated through more targeted marketing efforts, such as by filling out a form in response to a specific offer or by subscribing to a newsletter, are generally considered more qualified than leads that are obtained through cold calls or by purchasing a list of contact information.

In general, it is more effective to generate leads through targeted marketing efforts that engage potential customers in a way that is less intrusive and more personalized. This helps to build trust and establish a more positive relationship with potential clients.

Identifying Your Ideal Roofing Lead

Your ideal roofing lead is a potential client who is interested in your services or products and fits within your target market.

As a roofing contractor, it’s important to identify your ideal customers and understand their needs. Your ideal roofing lead is a potential client who is interested in your services or products and fits within your target market. This is a property owner who sees value in booking a job with your company and values quality over quantity. To identify your ideal roofing lead, consider factors such as age, income, marital status, whether they have kids, location, and online platforms they use. By understanding these factors, you can tailor your marketing efforts to better appeal to your target market and generate more qualified leads.

Understanding Your Ideal Roofing Lead’s Needs: Key Considerations for Success

Long shot men working on roof

As a roofing contractor, it is crucial to understand the pain points of your potential customers and offer solutions that address their needs. To better understand the needs of your roofing leads, consider the following:

What Are Your Roofing Leads Looking to Have Fixed?

Your roofing leads may have encountered various problems with their roofs, such as leaks, storm damage, poor ventilation, and more. By positioning your services as the solution to these problems, you can attract more leads and grow your business.

What Qualities Are Your Roofing Leads Looking for in a Service Provider?

Your ideal leads may be searching for a reliable and experienced roofing contractor who is genuinely concerned about their needs, offers high-quality craftsmanship, and is licensed and insured. By demonstrating these qualities, you can build trust and establish long-term relationships with your leads.

Why Your Roofing Business Should Stand out to Your Ideal Leads?

To convince your ideal roofing leads to choose your business, it is important to focus on their needs and show them how your services will provide value to them. Some ways to stand out to your ideal leads include using high-quality materials, being available to answer their questions, having a highly-trained and qualified crew, and consistently meeting or exceeding their expectations. By demonstrating these qualities, you can differentiate your business from the competition and build trust with your leads.

Effective Strategies for Reaching Your Ideal Roofing Leads

To reach your ideal roofing leads, you need to have a well-thought-out marketing plan that combines both traditional and digital tactics. Modern customers often do extensive research online before deciding to contact a roofing company, so it’s important to have a strong online presence to attract and engage them.

Maximizing Your Online Presence for Roofing Lead Generation

Roofing landing page

Start by building a professional, optimized roofing website that is mobile-friendly, fast-loading, and includes relevant content, search engine optimization, and trust indicators such as online reviews or testimonials.
Use visually appealing images and a clear call to action (CTA) to persuade potential clients to give your roofing company a chance.
Drive traffic to your website through various methods, including search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing.

Increase Traffic to Your Roofing Website

Website traffic

There are various ways to drive traffic to your roofing website for free, including optimizing your website for local SEO, creating valuable and shareable content, and using social media to promote your services or products. By consistently implementing these tactics, you can attract qualified leads to your website and increase the chances of turning them into paying clients.

Be Found – When a Potential Prospect Is Looking for a Roofer

Roofer installing new roof

It’s important for your roofing business to have a strong online presence in order to be found by potential clients. When prospects search for terms related to your services or products and your website doesn’t appear in the top results, they may not find your business at all. To improve your online visibility and attract qualified leads, consider implementing the following strategies:

Google Local Service Ads (Google Guarantee)

Google Local Service Ads image

To get found online when prospects are searching for roofing services, you can use Google Local Service Ads (also known as Google Guarantee). This pay-per-lead advertising platform allows you to increase website traffic, receive more phone calls, and book more jobs. By appearing on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) when your ideal clients search for related products or services, you can attract qualified leads to your business. The Google guarantee also adds an extra level of trust for your company, as it offers coverage for unsatisfied clients up to $2000 for jobs booked through local service ads.

Google Search Ads

Google search gif

Utilizing Google Ads (also known as Google AdWords) can benefit your roofing business by only paying for an advertisement when an online user clicks on it. This pay-per-click (PPC) method allows your business to display ads in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) through a bidding process, also known as an ad auction. In this auction, roofers bid on keywords that are relevant to their business and the search terms they want their ad to be triggered by. Once you have chosen your keywords, you can create an ad and set it up on the search engine platform, including the position you want your ad to appear in the results. Google Ads can be a valuable tool for your business because it can provide quick results, increase online visibility, have a lower cost per click, outperform competitors in search results, track and measure results, and offer budget flexibility.

Google Business Profile (Formerly called Google My Business)

Google Business Profile website

Having a Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business) is essential for generating more roofing leads for your business. When property owners search for roofing services in their area, Google will display a map of the local area with a list of roofing companies that are relevant to the search. By having a Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business), you will increase the chances of your company appearing on this map, which can drive more traffic to your website and increase the visibility of your business to potential clients. Additionally, having a Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business) allows you to manage your online presence, including responding to customer reviews, which can improve the credibility and reputation of your business. Overall, having a Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business) is an essential part of any roofing marketing strategy to attract more qualified leads to your business.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO gif

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing your roofing website to increase its visibility on search engines like Google. When you optimize your website for SEO, you make it more visible to your ideal prospects when they search for roofing services or products like yours on Google.

There are various ways you can use SEO to help your roofing business be found when prospects are searching for your services. Some of these ways include:

Identify and use relevant keywords in your website content and meta tags. By using relevant keywords, you make it easier for search engines to understand what your website is about and rank it for those keywords.

Use title tags and meta descriptions to summarize the content of your website. These tags help search engines understand the content of your website and show it in the search results.

Use header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to organize your content and make it easier for search engines to understand the structure of your website.

Use alt tags to describe images on your website. This helps search engines understand the content of your images and show them in the search results.

By following these and other SEO best practices, you can improve the visibility of your roofing website on search engines and attract more qualified leads.

Yelp & Other Powerful Directories

Powerful Directories

By having a presence on Yelp and other directories, roofing businesses can increase their visibility and attract more potential clients. These directories serve as a source of recommendations for people seeking roofing services or products, so it is essential for a roofing company to be listed on them to remain competitive in the digital age. In addition to Yelp, other business directories such as the Better Business Bureau, Houzz, Home Advisor, Angie’s List, Bing Place for Business, and Yahoo! Small Business can also help a roofing business get found by prospects searching for roofing services online.

Tradeshows

Large crowd of anonymous business people at a trade fair

Trade shows are a great opportunity for roofing contractors to showcase their services and products to a large audience. These events can be a powerful way to generate leads by offering educational materials or freebies to attendees, as well as networking with other professionals in the industry. By participating in trade shows, you can get your name and brand in front of potential customers, as well as gather valuable insights from competitors and industry experts.

Networking / Word of Mouth

Local meet-ups and building relationships with property management companies

Networking and word of mouth are powerful tools for generating leads in the roofing industry. By actively participating in local meet-ups and building relationships with property management companies and other businesses in your area, you can showcase your services and expertise to potential customers. Additionally, joining your local chamber of commerce can give you access to a network of professionals and business owners who may need your services or be able to refer you to others.

Phone Books

Phone book numbers

Phone books can be a useful way for a roofer to reach an older demographic with a higher income. This is because older individuals may be more likely to use phone books as a resource when searching for local businesses rather than relying on the internet. Additionally, advertising in a phone book may be cost-effective because the phone book industry is declining, leading to lower ad prices. However, it is important for the roofer to consider the overall effectiveness of phone book advertising compared to other forms of advertising, as well as the potential reach of the phone book in their specific area.

Reaching Potential Clients Who Are Not Currently Searching for Roofing Services

While it is easier to market to potential clients who are already interested and actively searching for roofing services, it can be challenging to reach those who are not currently looking. Here are a few strategies for reaching out to potential clients who may not be actively seeking roofing services:

Facebook & Instagram Ads

Facebook and Instagram logo

Advertising on Facebook and Instagram can be an effective way for a roofer to generate more leads because these platforms have a large user base that can be targeted with specific ads. By understanding the behavior and needs of potential clients on these platforms, a roofer can create an appealing offer and advertise it to their ideal leads. Partnering with a social media marketing agency can also help a roofer craft a successful ad campaign on Facebook and Instagram. It’s important to note that while these platforms are not specifically designed for finding roofing services, they can be used to reach potential clients who may be interested in booking a job in the future.

Google Display Ads

Google Display Ads website

Google Display Ads can help you reach potential roofing leads who may not be actively searching for your services or products. With data on 40% of searches, these ads allow you to target prospects based on location, income, and other factors and provide them with information about your roofing services. You can also use auto-targeting strategies through Google Ads to attract leads interested in your roofing services at a later time. By advertising on Google, you can effectively reach prospects who may not be actively seeking out roofing services and educate them about your business.

Telemarketing (Cold Calling)

Telemarketer

Telemarketing, also known as cold calling, is a strategy that involves reaching out to potential customers who may not have expressed interest in your roofing services. By making phone calls to these individuals, you can try to convince them to consider booking a job with your company. Many telemarketing firms offer services to help roofing businesses generate leads through cold calling. These firms can call property owners and schedule appointments on your behalf.

Canvassing/Door Knocking

Man offering a special promotion or discount to encourage woman to use their services.

Canvassing, or door-knocking, is a traditional method of marketing that involves going door-to-door to reach potential customers. This strategy allows you to connect with people personally and can be particularly effective in the aftermath of a storm when there is a higher demand for roofing services.

Make sure to be respectful of people’s time and privacy, and be prepared for rejection. Carry brochures or other materials to leave behind with information about your business. Dress professionally and be well-spoken and polite. Consider offering a special promotion or discount to encourage people to use your services. Canvassing can be time-consuming, but it can also be a valuable way to generate leads and build relationships with potential customers. By being organized and persistent, you can effectively use canvassing to grow your roofing business.

Radio/TV advertising

Radio and television ads

Radio and television ads can be effective in generating more roofing leads, especially when used in combination. Research has shown that using both mediums can reach a larger audience than just one. These types of ads can be particularly useful for reaching potential customers who are not actively looking for roofing services.

Billboards

Empty billboard in the city

Billboards are a physical advertising medium that uses large, eye-catching prints to promote your roofing business and generate leads offline. They are typically located in high-traffic areas, such as city centers or along highways, to maximize visibility to pedestrians and drivers. Billboards have a high number of impressions and views compared to other marketing methods, as they are placed in busy areas. This means that even if someone is not actively searching for roofing services or products, they may still see your billboard and be interested in contacting your business for more information. As a result, billboards can be an effective tool for generating more roofing leads offline.

Vehicle Wraps

Red van wrap design

Studies show that more than 60% of potential customers will make a decision about whether to hire a company based on the professionalism of their signage. This means that your logo, branding, and messaging on your company vehicles can play a significant role in generating more roofing leads offline. By using unique branding on your trucks and strategically parking them in high-traffic areas, you can catch the attention of potential customers and encourage them to consider your business. Vehicle wraps are an effective way to promote your roofing company and stand out in a competitive market.

Parketing

Roofing Marketing + Parking = Parketing

When your branded vehicles are parked in high-traffic areas or driven around the city, they act as mobile advertisements that can attract the attention of potential customers. By branding your vehicles, you can increase brand awareness and generate more roofing leads offline. It is important to ensure that your branding is professional and consistent across all marketing materials, including your vehicles, to promote your business effectively.

Roofing Marketing + Parking = Parketing

Shop/Office Sign

Red shop sign

Attractive storefront or office signage is crucial for generating leads for your roofing business, even for those who may not be actively searching for roofing services. These signs serve as a physical advertisement for your business, attracting the attention of potential customers and promoting your company to passersby. Properly executed signage can increase sales, attract new customers who may not have otherwise been aware of your business, and prevent potential clients from choosing a competitor.

Pay Per Lead

Pay Per Lead gif

Pay-per-lead (PPL) services are a digital marketing method that allows roofing companies to generate leads and only pay for each piece of information received. Websites such as Angi and HomeAdvisor, which reach millions of homeowners, can be used by small and medium-sized roofing businesses to generate more leads online. Other agencies also offer PPL services, where you only pay after receiving a call or appointment based on the information provided. PPL can be an effective way for roofing businesses to generate leads and grow their client base.

Looking to Generate More Leads for Your Roofing Company?

Roofers

If you are a roofing company owner looking to generate more leads and grow your business, consider contacting us for assistance. We have a team of experienced professionals who can help you develop a targeted marketing strategy and implement it effectively to attract more qualified leads to your business. Don’t let your competition get ahead while you miss out on valuable opportunities. Contact BlackStorm today and see the difference it can make for your roofing business.

Categories
Google Advertising

Sitelinks & Extensions

Google Adwords owes its popularity among digital marketers to its myriad features. One such feature is ad extensions. Ad extensions allow users to add pertinent information about their business to a google ad. Adwords offers a variety of extensions, such as review extensions, sitelink extensions, callout extensions, and location extensions. This article aims to elaborate on two of these available extensions: sitelinks and callout extensions.

How Are Sitelinks and Callouts Different from Each Other?

the difference between sitelinks and callouts

Most people presume that sitelinks and callout extensions are actually the same things. The fact that both sitelinks and callout extensions are texts that can be added to google ads appearing at the top of a search page may have something to do with this confusion. However, these two extensions are very different from each other and serve different purposes.

While callout extensions are actually just descriptive text, sitelinks are clickable and include a link to a specific page (as is also apparent from the name). Also, since sitelinks include a link, they appear in color blue, whereas callout extensions appear as just plain grey text.

Why Are Sitelinks Not an Ideal Option for B2B Businesses?

Sitelinks

With sitelinks comes a hidden clause — the link added to a sitelink must not be the link to the advertiser’s target URL. For instance, if you are a shoe retailer, the link provided in the sitelink must not be the link to your landing page for shoes. You could add sitelinks to a different page. For instance, a link to the page that outlines the different accessories you sell. Advertisers can also create sitelinks for various promotions or deals. This is one of the most important reasons why sitelinks are not a potent feature for B2B businesses. Most B2B businesses operate with only one landing page and in such a case, creating sitelinks becomes problematic.

It’s important to decide how and when you want to use sitelinks. Creating sitelinks to pages that won’t serve any purpose is useless since, in the digital marketing world, one must pay for every click. In such a scenario, sending a potential client to a page that will not help you convert them won’t serve any purpose.

Are Callout Extensions a Better Option for B2B Businesses?

Callout Extensions

For B2B advertisers, callouts are a better option. Callouts can be effectively used to add powerful slogans or taglines, provide information about different products or a business, or add any other information that might help businesses convert potential customers. Callout extensions also allow marketers to avail extra space, thereby allowing them to add more goal-oriented text.

However, callouts should be used smartly. For instance, asking a potential client to register with your website using a callout extension is useless as callouts do not use any links and thus, the client will be at a loss for where to go to register. This not only leads to a bad user experience but also a wasted opportunity. An important thing to remember is that callouts are limited to only 25 characters. Thus, one must use them effectively to convey as much information as possible in only a few words.

What Are Your Thoughts?

Your Thoughts

We would love to hear how you use callouts and sitelinks to increase traffic on your website and which of the two is your favorite.

Categories
Plumbing SEO

“Plumbing SEO is Dead” & Other Lies

 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.

SEO is very important for a digital marketer

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?

SEO is not 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

Link building

  • 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. 

number 1 ranking on Google

  • 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.

keyword stuffing

  • 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.

web pages

  • 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.

SEO can improve leads, traffic and generate more conversions

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.

Categories
Google Advertising Plumbing

Google Ads for Plumbers: The Ultimate Guide to Winning Local Clients and More Leads Online

Increase Traffic to Your Plumbing Website and Gain New Clients Looking for Your Services Online.

Plumbing contractors are after one thing, a consistent stream of qualified leads. There are multiple ways to drive leads for plumbers but one outshines them all, that is Google Ads.

Hands with laptop

Homeowners normally take plumbing seriously unless there’s an issue. Thus, it can be difficult to get new leads if you are advertising a plumbing company. But that doesn’t imply that you have to relax and wait for prospects to call your business.

To set your company for success, you must do quality plumbing marketing. This step-by-step guide on Google Ads for plumbers will help your business attain greater success and growth online. Without further ado, let us dive in.

What are Plumbing Google Ads?

Google ads

Google Ads, previously known as Google AdWords is a Pay-Per-Click advertising platform where you pay Google to have your Ads displayed on the search engine results. Specifically, for plumbing companies, a Google advertisement promotes plumbing services within a particular service area.

There are lots of advantages that your plumbing business can obtain from using Google Ads. Ultimately, it is an effective way to promote your plumbing business so you can reach your target market and drive leads to your site. This post will discuss how to launch a successful Google Ads for plumbers campaign.

What is the Difference Between SEO and Google Ads?

Plumbing SEO and Google Ads can complement one another, but it is crucial to note that there is a difference between the two. Using SEO assists make your website more appealing to clients and create engaging content that addresses your specific client’s specific pain points. Thus, plumbing SEO involves everything in your website from ensuring a user-friendly design to optimizing website layout and all written content and videos. SEO ensures that your plumbing website ranks higher in the organic search results.

SEO

On the flip side, Google Ads helps your business targets specific keyword phrases that your prospects use when searching on Google and then craft an ad to promote your plumbing website. It is an efficient and fast way to reach your target market. Here is an example of a Google ad when a prospect searches for a ‘plumbing company’ on Google.

Google Adwords

How Does the Plumbing Google Ads Process Work?

Let us discuss how the Google Ads auction process for plumbers works. There is a lot of misunderstood and incorrect information out there, and a lot of plumbers think that Google AdWords auctioning process solely depends mainly on the cost per click.

They wrongly think that if they just bid a bit higher, my ad will appear on the coveted #1 spot and then will obtain more leads and clicks.

But since Google wants to show more relevant results to its users, thus they cannot allow the highest bidder to get the top position. That’s why they use the “quality score” to determine which ads will show up higher in the search results.

Google gets more money if plumbers get clicks, and to be more effective, they need only to show the most relevant ads to their users.

Quality Score

Average Quality Score

What is a plumbing Google ad quality score, and why should plumbers care about it? Quality score is typically Google’s rating of the relevance and quality of your PPC ads and keywords. Google uses it to calculate the cost per click (CPC) and multiply it by the maximum bid to determine the rank of your ad in the auction process. That said, your quality score is based on various factors including:

  • Relevance of your ad copy
  • Relevance of every keyword to the ad group it is in
  • Ad historical performance
  • Your ad’s Click-through rate

Why Are Google Ads for Plumbers Important?

As we have already discussed, most people have to claw and scratch to get to the coveted first position on Google. The top organic search results obtain all the clicks, and so, the highest likelihood to convert clients. So this presents a lot of crucial benefits to plumbing contractors including:

Precise Ad Targeting

Ad targeting

Compared to other conventional ways of advertising, Google Ads for plumbers is better targeted as you only display your ad only when prospects are actively searching for your plumbing services. This cuts down on unnecessary advertising spending and increases the chance of people contacting you.

With Google AdWords, you can ensure that the ads you pay for reach prospects who are likely to want/ need your services as a plumber. You can target prospects by age, geographic location, particular keywords and even ensure that your ads appear at a specific time of day.

Immediate Exposure

When you are initially starting out, your business will require immediate exposure you can obtain. Plumbing SEO could take months or years to generate desired results, but with Google Ads, you can instantly reach the coveted spot on the first page of Google and get noticed by prospects in your local market.

People can see your Google Ads multiple times and never click them (implying that you don’t have to pay a dime), yet your plumbing business is now top of their mind the next time they are ready to schedule a service appointment.

Cost-Effective

Google ads cost-effective

Google Ads for plumbers operates on a pay-per-click model, and this implies that you only have to pay Google when a prospect clicks on the ad-not every time your ad shows up.

Data Mining and Marketing Insights

Marketing insights

When you utilize Google Ads, you can visualize statistics of how your ads are performing. This can offer you important invaluable market insight like who is clicking on your Google ads and taking action.

Besides the real-time campaign performance and analytics, we obtain a treasure trove of user data. We utilize it in various ways to further grow your client base.

Creating Google Ads for Plumbers: 10 Secrets to Getting More Qualified Plumbing Leads Online

Creating Google Ads

1. Creating a Google AdWords Account

Setting up plumbing Google Ads is easy and simple. We will utilize a fictitious plumbing business as a major example for this post. Click on “Start Now” on the left side of the main page. You will also be requested to sign in with your business Gmail account.

Google will ask you what your main advertising goal is, and you can click on any of the three options offered. For instance, I select “get more plumbing website sign-ups or sales.”

The Google Ads setup process is fairly simple, and the prompts will direct you through the whole process. You have to sign up here to get your first plumbing ad campaign started.

2. Focus more on Emergency Plumbing Keywords

Keywords

The initial step to success on Google Ads is to understand where your ideal clients come from. Then you have to target the prospect with your keywords and ads. Let’s figure about an average homeowner. It’s 1:15 AM on a very cold night, and they realize that one of their basement has flooded and their pipes have burst. They turn to Google-what do they do now? Emergency plumbing help! They don’t have enough time to submit a lead form on your plumbing website and wait for two days to get a response back, they want a plumber who can assist them right now!

If you want to zero in on this client, include the keywords “emergency plumbing”, “plumbing after hours”, “emergency plumber near me” and so on to an ad group in your AdWords campaign. In addition, emphasize that you provide 24/7 service in your emergency plumbing ads so that they will hire you for emergency situations. Once they notice the services you offer, they will instantly click on your ad and become qualified leads. Homeowners prefer emergency plumbing services rather than generic plumbing contractors.

3. Use Call Only Ads

Call-only ads are plumbing ads that can only be utilized to make a call. They offer an excellent way to obtain leads for your plumbing company. The great benefit about these ads is that they are straight to the point and allow your sales representatives to book jobs over the phone. A lot of homeowners want to speak to someone over the phone and let them call instantly from the ad, giving your plumbing company a good opportunity to close on a lead before they call the next plumber.

Since a call ad-only campaign is mobile-friendly, and your headline is your phone number when your ad shows up. This way, you make it simpler for the clients. Generally, in the process of generating leads, they notice your ad, visit your plumbing website and then decide whether to contact your business or not. But with call-only ads, you eliminate one step of the process. Here, they conduct a search for your plumbing company on Google, bump on your ad, call you instantly from the ad, and instantly become a qualified lead.

Homeowners don’t happen to be in the mood to compare different plumbing companies and shop around when they are in an emergency situation.

Call-only ads are ideal for plumbing repairs, as homeowners want to instantly speak to a reputable plumber at the moment so that you can resolve the issue. Thus, they work perfectly with local organic keyword searches as the searcher’s intent is probably urgent and wants to talk with a plumber on the phone rather than spending time researching.

A few plumbing keywords to consider for your call-only ads are:

  • Local + Keyword (Local plumbing company)
  • Keyword + near me (Plumbing contractor near me)
  • City +keyword (Murfreesboro plumbing companies)
  • Keyword + city (Plumbing repair Murfreesboro TN)

4. Structure Your Plumbing Ad Campaign for Success

Ad Campaign

The structure of your plumbing Google Ads will play a huge part in the amount of money you spend per lead. The structure of your ad will impact your quality score, which affects your cost per click, which impacts your cost per lead, and ultimately the cost of acquiring those leads. For plumbing companies, oftentimes there is more than one plumbing service that is provided, so your campaign structure should reflect so. For instance, you might provide the following:

  • Drain cleaning
  • Toilet repair
  • Sewer repair
  • Leak repair
  • Garbage disposal services

All of the services above should be classified in their ad groups since they will have different ad copies to that plumbing service and be directed to landing pages. After your ad campaign structure looks awesome, now your ad copy should stand out from the clutter.

Your Google Ads account is comprised of Ad groups, keywords, Ads, and Campaigns. There are various parts of your plumbing business and advertising strategy that correlate with every one of these structures. Let us define the following Google Ads terms:

  • Campaign: The individual plumbing service units which you build groups of ads for. For instance, you should have distinct campaigns for people looking for “plumbing repair” versus people seeking “plumbing installs”. They are two kinds of plumbing services and thus require different ads.
  • Ad group: A group of plumbing ads that concentrate on a particular portion of your target market (also referred to as a client persona). For instance, you may have one ad group for prospects who require “clogged toilet” and a different one for people looking for “Emergency plumbing”.
  • Ad: The actual content that conveys what that person is really concerned about (fears, expectations, fears, and pain points)
  • Keyword: The specific term that’s typed into a search engine by the prospect searching.

5. Consider Your Ad Copy

In the plumbing industry, you are competing against all the local plumbers running PPC ads, directory sites such as Thumbtack, Home Advisor, and Google Local Service Ads. Plumbing is a very competitive landscape, and your ad copy requires to soar above all that clutter.

Google gives you two descriptions and three headlines for the ad copy, but these may not always show up. Your headline should feature the plumbing keywords you are focusing on, the second heading should be a compelling call to action (schedule a free estimate, call for a free quote). In your description text, you should discuss why your plumbing business is different. For instance: “20+ Years experience”, “fully insured” “Locally owned and operated,” etc.

6. Use Your Negative Keyword List

Negative Keyword List

Negative keywords are search terms that tell Google you don’t prefer ads to appear.

The importance of having a list of negative keywords cannot be overstated. It is crucial to include a negative keyword list at the beginning of your Ad campaign. This should be a continuous process as there will be multiple searches that you cannot plan for.

Considering that plumbing keywords are very competitive in paid search, negative search terms are particularly crucial. Without them, you will end up spending your ad budget on irrelevant traffic, fast. Here are some negative keywords, to begin with, your list will depend on your business, the types of plumbing services you provide, and geography:

  •  Books
  • Careers
  • Pictures
  • Videos
  • DIY
  • School

Creating a list of negative keywords and continually checking on your keywords will help minimize your cost per lead and improve the quality of searches your ads appear for.

7. Capture Lost Leads with Plumbing Retargeting

Retargeting

When someone requires a new toilet installed, they will conduct some research, ask for recommendations and shop around for the best price before making a final decision. Often times the potential client is ready to contact your business, they click on your website or ad, but their kids come back from school, life issues get on their way. With display retargeting, you can get that lead back in the sales funnel.

Plumbing retargeting is a cost-effective way to obtain more leads since they are warm, they have already visited your website.

For instance, you can retarget prospects that have made it to your contact page or spent one minute on it but failed to fill out the form. With that audience, you can retarget them (follow them to other websites they visit) with an ad showcasing your $300 off new toilet installation offer.

If your Facebook pixel is properly set up on your plumbing website, you can retarget users that made it on your plumbing website from your Google Ad and capture them in your Facebook newsfeed.

8. Bidding Strategy

Google Ads Bidding Strategy

Bid strategy is actually telling Google how and if to utilize their algorithms to optimize your keywords for best performance instantly.

Bidding on your plumbing brand keywords is a challenging one to wrap our heads around. If someone is looking for your brand, they want to partner with you, right? Then why should you spend the advertising dollars to get that client?

It would be ideal if every search for your plumbing brand means they are going to become your clients, but this is not often the case. Most plumbers have the industry in their brand’s names.

This implies that when a prospect types in your brand names in Google, it is more common than in other industries that PPC ads will appear as well. This is because they are targeting plumbing keywords. Bidding on your plumbing brand’s keywords will assist you to appear and stay on top of the page where those competing plumbers show up.

The good news is that your brand’s keywords will generally be cost-effective due to ad relevance and quality score. By bidding on your plumbing brand, you will be spending less money on click and stick it to your competitors, catching those low funnel leads.

9. Use all the Ad Extensions

Google AdWords With Two Structured Snippet Extensions

Talking of ad copy, Google has offered plumbers multiple ad extensions that can assist you to take over the search engine results page. This is particularly crucial on mobile devices since they are most likely to see one or two ads before the user has to scroll.

Utilizing ad extensions will improve your Click-Through Rate (CTR), which will result in a high-quality score, thus reducing the cost per click. Google provides lots of site link extensions, but here are the ones plumbing contractors should implement on their Google Ads campaigns instantly:

  • Sitelink Extensions: Use sitelink extension by sharing quality links on your plumbing website. This could be utilized to showcase your testimonial page, service page, contact us page, FAQ, blog posts, anything that is crucial for the searcher is great to add.

Adwords extension

  • Callout Extensions: The callout extension gives you short 25 character descriptions that are included after your descriptions line. These can be utilized to entice the prospect to take the desired action or offer additional details that make your plumbing company stand out. For instance, free estimates, quick installation, Lifetime Guaranteed, amongst others.
  • Structured Snippets: Google allows plumbers various headline options to select from when including structured snippets. The best types of headlines for plumbers are highlights, services, types, and types. This could be utilized to showcase the services you provide (toilet repair, drain cleaning, and leaks repair). Types could be used to display the types of toilets you install. Neighborhoods are ideal for a plumbing company that only serves specific cities or towns or if you wish to concentrate on the most profitable ones.

The Structured Snippets

  • Call Extension: As stated earlier, the call extension helps someone who comes across your ad instantly call from their mobile devices without visiting your plumbing website. This is important for plumbing companies as you want potential clients to call during office hours.
  • Location Extension: When a prospect is searching for a plumbing contractor, typically they aren’t going to come to your doorstep, but the location extension allows searchers to see where your plumbing company is situated and operating hours, and helps your ad to appear on Google maps.
  • Price Extension: It is difficult to show prices for jobs because they will typically differ across various houses, but there is a creative way to utilize Google’s price extension for plumbers. This is achieved by using it to showcase free estimates with a price tag of $0.00. The price extension aims not to get prospects to click on it but to occupy more of SERP and prove that you are a no-risk plumbing contractor.

10. Adjust Your Location Bidding

Location bid adjustments

All plumbing companies understand the more profitable zip codes and neighborhoods in their service area. With location bidding, you can adjust your bids higher in those profitable neighborhoods giving your plumbing business a good chance of getting in front of those prospects or clients.

Your cost per lead or click may be higher in those areas, but they are more profitable. Alternatively, you can reduce your bids in less profitable zip codes and neighborhoods, and this will make sure that you are maximizing your advertising budget (dollars).

11. Create a Landing Page That is set to Convert

Plumbing ads are directed to landing page

If your best plumbing ads are directed to your homepage…. stop! A landing page is normally one of the most overlooked aspects of a great Google Ad campaign. You must figure out the keywords the client typed in thus triggering your ad and what their intent was, then offer exactly that on your landing page.

A good landing page should have the following important elements:

Landing page

  • Primary keyword(s) in the headline
  • Differentiating features and trust Factors-This could be testimonials, what makes you unique from competitors, star ratings, etc.
  • Easy to find contact information
  • Obvious and clear steps
  • Simple, clean

12. Improve your Local SEO to Market Your Plumbing Services

Local SEO

You should consider your local search engine optimization. It is one of the best ways of obtaining plumbing leads. It helps you establish an online presence and helps to connect with people when they need your plumbing services.

13. Call & Conversions Tracking

Google Ads conversion tracking

Setting up conversions for your Google ad campaigns is as crucial as creating the ads yourself. If you fail to set these ads properly, there is no way to ever realize which plumbing keywords are working and which ones aren’t. It negates the entire purpose of plumbing marketing in the first place.

Here are the three types of conversions our expert setups:

1. Contact Form Submissions: put a conversion code on thank you page after prospects or clients submit.

Email submission form for website

2. Track calls from your landing page: people click on your ad and then make a call using the phone numbers on the landing page. You can utilize Google’s call tracking numbers or create them on your own.

3. Ad extension calls: These are phone numbers that show up in your ads if prospects call directly instead of clicking on your ad to head over to your landing page.

Google ads call reporting

Common Problems for Plumbers Using Google Ads

Google Adwords

A common problem for both commercial and residential plumbers is typically your competitors. Through our experience over the years, we often find that most plumbing contractors are guilty of click fraud. This uncouth behavior is when a plumber intentionally clicks on your Google Ads to increase costs. By increasing your costs, it is likely that you may stop the ads, or your daily advertising budget might have run out. This implies your competitors then take a top spot on Google and obtain the leads that could have been on your business.

Other problems that plumbers face with Google Ads include:

  • Sending prospects or clients directly to their homepage
  • Writing irrelevant ad copy that can easily be ignored

Frequently Asked Questions on Plumbing Google Ads

Question marks

How can you write a relevant plumbing ad on Google?

Although there is no textbook approach to crafting Google Ads copy for plumbers, here are some best practices we developed internally that guarantee impressive results:

  • Use plumbing keywords strategically. Keyword placement and choice are a bit different with Google Ads than it would be with a web copy or blog post
  • Keep your ad copy specific and concise
  • Always incorporate a compelling call to action

Is Plumbing Google Ads a waste of marketing dollars?

Yes, Google ads will waste your advertising dollars if you don’t craft and implement them properly. That’s why we highly recommend that you partner with a reputable plumbing Google Ad agency to achieve desired results.

What makes a good Google ad for plumbers?

Your ad copy should be attractive, specific, empowering, and relevant to reach property owners or homeowners effectively. Some of the aspects of a good Google Ad include:

  • Highlight what makes you unique
  • Includes promotions, exclusives, and prices
  • Empower clients to take the desired action
  • Include at least one of the keywords
  • Match your ad to the landing page
  • Appeal to customers who are using mobile devices

Why Partner with Plumber Google Ads Experts at Blackstorm Design + Marketing?

Plumber Google Ads Experts at Blackstorm Design + Marketing

Google Ads offers tremendous benefits to plumbing contractors. They create a funnel for local clients who understand what they require and are ready to schedule service appointments while allowing plumbers to pay for qualified leads instead of the clicks. In combination, these two great qualities make Google ads both laser-focused and cost-effective.

But for most plumbers, Google Ads, like other internet marketing channels, will represent just one crucial aspect of an overall plumbing marketing strategy.

Trying to manage all the elements of plumbing Google Ads campaigns on your own can be daunting.

If you are a plumber or running a plumbing business and do not get the maximum benefits out of Google Ads, then we got you covered. At Blackstorm Design + Marketing, we have been working with home service contractors, including roofers and plumbers throughout the US for many years, leveraging Google Ads to generate inbound calls and service enquires. Our proven Google Ads system for plumbers has delivered lots of plumbing contractors just like you affordable leads.

  • We create a winning Google Ads strategy for your plumbing business
  • Increase phone enquires and calls
  • Full support, setup, and Google Ads optimization
  • Scale your plumbing company
  • Scalable and proven ad campaign structure to make sure you get low-cost, high-quality leads.

Looking to grow your plumbing company with Google Ads? Schedule a free discovery call to see how Blackstorm Design + Marketing can assist you to drive more qualified leads while improving efficiency across your plumbing business.

 

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