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Google Advertising Roofing

Roofing Google Maps Listing E-Book

Put your roofing business on the map

12 Steps to Rank Your Roofing Business Higher on Google Maps

Put your roofing business on the map, get discovered by clients, outrank your competitors, and secure more clients- all for free. Follow these top 10 ways to improve your visibility on Google Maps.

Let’s imagine…

You are looking for a roofing contractor in your area, and you need them for a leaking roof.

Where do YOU begin your search?

If you answered Google Maps, you are not alone.

These days, many people are turning to Google Maps to discover local service businesses like roofing, heating & air, or plumbing and make more informed purchasing decisions.

So how can your local roofing company rank higher in the place prospects are increasingly searching to book your roofing services?

Your Google Maps listing is an important roofing marketing tool for your company. 

It can assist you in getting discovered by new clients, generate more business and stand out above the competitors for FREE. But these advantages are only achievable if your listing has great visibility, and just because your roofing company is listed in a specific service area does not imply that Google will instantly rank it higher for organic searches in that area.

Google Maps

In fact, proximity is only one of the numerous factors that Google Maps uses when ranking your business listing. In this article, we are going to discuss 10 strategies/tactics to get your roofing business Google Maps listing to rank higher in organic results and reap all the advantages.

We are going to teach you on:

  • How to claim, verify and optimize your Google Maps listing if you have not already done so,
  • How to offer supplemental information that increases your rank and boosts your rank.
  • Additional action steps you can do on your roofing website to further boost the rank of your Google Maps listing.

Without further ado, let us dive in!

Why is Ranking Higher on Google Maps Crucial for Your Roofing Business?

These days, Google is the go-to for local searches, and with more than 50% of all searchers having a local intent, your roofing company needs to appear in Google Maps searches.

To outrank other roofers in such a competitive environment, you can have your listing through the Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business).

This will ensure that when prospects look for “roofing companies near me,” they see only the relevant details about the roofers, including availability and address, amongst others.

Optimizing your Google Business Profile will give you a competitive edge over other roofing companies and help you close more sales. Many advantages come along with ranking your roofing business higher on Google Maps.

Ranking Higher On Google Maps Increases Your Visibility Online

Research shows that Google Maps is the most preferred navigation app for more than 60% of internet users. And with users rarely searching past the first few results when searching for a place to go, it is important to ensure that your Google Maps listing is claimed, verified, and optimized to appear for relevant organic searches.

Google Maps listings provide an effective way to get your roofing business in front of ‘wallet out prospects’ or clients. The initial things that appear are Google Ads advertisements and local 3-pack, followed by organic results for the searched roofing service or product.

Visibility

When you create a roofing Google Business Profile, it will improve your company’s visibility online. 

You stand a great chance of obtaining more roofing leads by ranking higher on the maps.

Your roofing business will be perceived as an expert in the field because it is ‘preferred by Google. This will incline prospects searching for new roofs are likely to come across your website or business.

Listing Your Roofing Company on Google Maps Helps You Share Crucial Information with Your Prospects

Your roofing Google Maps listing is crucial for remaining in touch with your customers and updating them on the latest news.

You can share essential information about your roofing company, such as contact details, address, or working hours, to help potential clients learn more when they look online! More so, they will be able to call you if there are any concerns or problems around their home remodeling project.

Ranking Higher on Google Maps Will Help Your Roofing Business Earn Trust from Customers

It is a challenging job being the roofer of choice for customers, and you should win them and establish sufficient trust before they choose to work with your roofing company, which can be hard when there are so many other roofers out there.

From the time a prospect first contacts your business, you should earn that trust and prove to them that their roofing needs are priority enough for you to take care of.

Outranking the Competition

Your roofing Google Maps listing gives you a chance to stand out from other roofers in the industry. It offers a brief description that will help prospects identify what roofing services you provide, which may be vital for them if they have been searching all over the internet.

The last reason why you need to rank higher on Google Maps is that it will improve the quality of your listing and include several ways for clients to engage with your roofing business. With 86% of clients utilizing Google Maps to search for a local service business like plumbing or roofing, this opens a lot of opportunities to increase your engagement.

A Google Maps Listing for roofers has multiple advantages worth noting. Don’t let this chance slip away, so ensure it is correctly set up before another person captures it.

How to Get Your Roofing Business Listing Rank Higher on Google Maps

So how do you get your roofing company to show up higher in Google Maps?

Just like there are off-page and on-page optimizations for local roofing SEO, there are off-listing and on-listing factors for Google Maps. 

But first, you need to have your roofing business listed on Google Maps and claim your listing, which we will be discussing below.

1. Add Your Roofing Business to Google Maps

Of course, you can’t perform a successful roofing Google Maps marketing or rank higher if you don’t have an existing Google Maps listing somewhere. If you have an existing listing already, you can skip this part.

However, if you don’t have a listing, follow the crucial steps below to add your roofing company to Google Maps:

  1. Head over to Google.com/maps or go to the Google Maps app on your phone and look for your roofing business name.
  2. If your business shows up in the drop-down menu with a location alongside it, then your company is already listed. Head over to the next section.Steps to add your roofing company to Google Maps
  3. However, if your roofing company doesn’t appear, you will notice an option in the drop-down menu to add a missing place.Steps to add your roofing company to Google Maps

After you click on that, a prompt will come up asking you to input your location, category, and name.

Location, category, and name

Anyone in the world can add a roofing business to Google Maps. So, even if you haven’t claimed your business, we highly recommend that you check to make sure that your company listing doesn’t already exist. 

Don’t fret because the person who adds your roofing company to Google Maps doesn’t control the listing. Only the person who claims the Google Maps listing by proving ownership of the company has that control, which leads us to our next point.

2. Claim Your Roofing Google Maps Listing

The second step in getting your roofing company to rank higher on Google Maps is to claim your listing. If you want to reach higher positions in your roofing Google Maps listing, you need to prove to Google that you are the real owner of the business.

When you create the listing, all you will be able to offer is the category, location, and name.

But when you claim your listing, you will be able to provide many more details about your company.

The more details a roofing business listing offers, the higher it will rank on Google Maps.

Plus, you cannot proceed with any other steps in this book if you have not claimed your listing.

Having a free Google Business Profile is a prerequisite to claiming your roofing business on Google Maps.

If you have an existing GBP already, just pull out your Google Maps Business listing, choose the option that says “claim this business” or “Own this roofing business?” and later follow the prompts. 

Claim Your Roofing Google Maps Listing

Unclaimed

3. Add Complete  Details to Your Roofing Google Map Listings

By now, you have a Google Business Profile and a Google Maps listing attached to it; you are ready and armed to optimize it for higher ranking in local roofing search results.

As we stated earlier on, the more details your listing offers, the higher it will rank in organic search results.

To include more information in your listing, sign in to your Google Business Profile account. (google.com/business)

Here you will come across a dashboard with multiple tabs down the side.

Google My Business account dashboard

Choose the “info” tab, which includes your category, service area, address, name (where applicable), special hours, website, attributes, description, and phone number.

Here are some strategies for optimizing these Google Business Profile sections to achieve higher rankings on Google Maps:

Use Consistent Name and Address Citations

Google Maps ranks roofing companies it can trust, and one element of your trustworthiness is the consistency of details about your company across the web.

For instance, say you have a business called “North Shore Roofing Company.” Ensure your roofing business name in your Google Business Profile dashboard is precisely that and not a minor variation, like N. Shore Roofing Business or North Shore Roofers ltd. 

Also, make sure that your business name is the same (identical) across all your other online properties, such as your roofing website, Facebook profile, Yelp listing, and more. The same applies to your address information (for instance, using “St” vs. “Street”).

Use a Local Phone Number

Google doesn’t pay much attention to toll-free (800 and 877) numbers since these kinds of numbers are regularly utilized for spam. 

Use a local phone number together with the area code of your location.

This will assist you in ranking your roofing business higher in Google Maps, and it will also verify for searchers that your roofing business is situated in that area.

Include Your Main and Tracked Number

If you utilize a phone call tracking system, utilize a tracked number for your primary roofing business number and your main number as a secondary number.

This will help you to receive most of your calls coming in through a tracked line so you can understand the efficiency of your listing; however, with the main number available in your listing, Google can later match your number with the other listings and your roofing website.

Keep Your Operating Hours Updated

Google Maps roofing company listing tells browsers if your business is closed, open, closing, or opening soon. (And during the Covid-19 pandemic, whether it is closed temporarily- thus making it a crucial roofing SEO tactic).

Keeping your operational hours properly updated tells Google that you are active and, so, trustworthy, and this will assist you in ranking higher.

Operating Hours

This will also prevent clients from driving all the way to your office only to find that it is closed or closing, which can cause them to leave a negative review (which adversely affects your rankings on Google Maps).

Write a Clear Roofing Business Description

The description on your roofing Google Maps listing should offer an overview of your company to assist orient visitors, as well as unique attributes that compel searchers.

You should write your roofing business description in a tone that resonates with your brand to help build a better connection.

Make sure that you include your keywords in the roofing business description, as this will assist your business listing on Google Maps to rank for searches that contain your company name but for searches related to your roofing services and products as well.

Choose the Right Category for Your Roofing Business

When it comes to ranking higher on Google Maps, the category in your roofing business that appears on Google Maps is very crucial.

The primary category is going to be important in ranking your roofing business.

You would want to choose the primary category as the one that accurately describes your roofing business. You can also add secondary business categories as well.

Remember that you cannot add custom categories, but if you start typing your main offering in the box, you will see a drop-down menu of possible categories to select from.

4. Add Photos to Your Google Maps Listing

Adding photos to your Google Maps listing is a great way to show your clients more about your roofing business and show off your roofing services.

Google loves it when you upload quality photos to your map listing. 

First, it shows that you are an active listing to rank higher in organic search results. 

Second, Google’s photo recognition is progressing, and Google is beginning to show images in the local search engine results. 

Thirdly, the roofing SEO rule of thumb is that Google loves what clients love, and clients love photos. 

Plus, if you don’t include photos in your map listing, it will display a generic map image like the one below:

So, to enhance your Google Maps ranking, add compelling and high-quality photos to your company listing that catch what it is like to be in your roofing business.

You can do this by heading over to the “photos” tab in your Google Business Profile dashboard and clicking on the blue circle that has a white plus sign. From here, you will be able to drop and drag several videos and or photos at once. Ideally, you should try to add at least one photo daily.

5. Encourage People to Leave Reviews on Google

Google loves what clients love. You should not be surprised that Google Maps gives higher rankings to roofing business listings with stellar reviews on Google. 

So, how do I obtain more reviews on Google? 

Well, when you create a Google Map listing, this instantly opens your roofing business up to Google reviews.

Google reviews

But that doesn’t imply that you will receive them. 

As a roofer, you will need to be proactive in requesting reviews, and you will also be required to respond to them. 

Responding promptly to Google reviews encourages more of them and reduces the damage of less-than-stellar reviews. Plus, your responses show other potential clients how attentive you are to clients and how well you resolve problems.

Google reviews can be scary, but unless your roofing service is atrocious, negative reviews tend to be far and few between. Plus, as long as you answer properly, you can reverse and mitigate the damage of a negative review.

6. Consolidate Your Duplicate Google Maps Listing

Whatever you do, you don’t want several roofing businesses listed on Google Business Profile for the same phone number, location, and other details.

Google will discredit businesses with multiple locations or phone numbers listed for one real business.

When this occurs, you are impacting your organic rankings negatively for all these related map listings, as it is confusing to both your customers and Google.

Weed out duplicate roofing Google Maps listings and superfluous details to make sure your one real listing will rank.

7. Regularly Publish Quality Posts to Your Google Maps Listing

Like Facebook, you can create and publish quality content that shows up right on your Google Maps company listing. 

Regular posts like this tell Google that you manage your listing proactively, which is a major factor they look at when awarding rankings.

In addition, when clients are on search engines like Google, they have high intent, so via Google posts, you can obtain offers in front of a ready-to-engage target audience.

Create and publish quality content

How to Use Your Roofing Website Rank Higher on Google Maps

Apart from taking action directly from your Roofing Maps listing, there are some optimizations you can perform on your website to rank higher on Google Maps.

8. Make Sure Your Roofing Website is Responsive

The first step is to ensure that your roofing website is responsive, which implies that it operates optimally across any screen size or device.

This is because Google Maps listing has a link to your roofing website, and more than 60% of Google searches take place on mobile devices.

So if your listing directs searchers to a roofing website that needs zooming and pinching, has lots of broken links, or loads at a tortoise pace, your roofing Google Maps listings will be adversely impacted.

9. Optimize Your Web Presence by Using Local Keywords

If you want to rank higher on Google Maps, you should make sure that your online presence, including your external content and roofing website, is optimized for your local target market. Of course, this will assist your roofing website to rank higher in Google’s organic search, but it will also affect how high or low your Google Maps listing ranks.

So make sure that you include location-specific keywords on the major pages of your website, like the about us page, contact us page, blog posts, and even service pages- not just on the title of your pages, but also on the body text, image tags, captions, URLs and headings.

This shows Google that your roofing website is well known or prominent in your local service area, which can make the giant search engine feel more obliged to rank your company higher on Google Maps for that specific area as well.

10. Embed the Google Map on Your Roofing Website

Another way to rank higher on Google Maps is to embed a Google map on your roofing website, which most roofers do on the contact us page.

Adding a Google Map right on your roofing website is a great way to help Google connect your company with the location.

This is another way of telling Google that your company is actually situated where your listing says it is.

Utilize the same address that you have on your Google Maps roofing business listing.

To add a Google Map to your roofing website, look for your business name in Google Maps. Click on “share” in your listing and choose the “Embed a map” tab. Copy and paste the link on your roofing business’s contact us page.

11. Use Local Roofing Business Schema

When it comes to structuring your roofing website content, and particularly business details, Google and Bing prefer standardization- which has led to the invention of schema.

Local Schema helps roofing businesses to wrap code around the content to make it easier for Google to index and crawl your website.

The local roofing business schema covers most of the same company details captured in a Google Business profile, which will be cross-referenced by Google.

The easier it is for Google or Bing to validate your business location, the more likely your roofing business is to rank prominently in Google Maps.

12. Create Local Backlinks

Inbound links or backlinks are regarded as an extension of your NAP strategy, whereby you search for relevant, local third-party websites that link to your roofing website pages.

Backlinks can validate your roofing business from both service and local perspectives. If you maintain listings with links in local business directories, you will want to make sure those listings are in the good categories if category options are provided.

Generally, these links to your roofing website are “follow” links, which implies Google will recognize and follow the source of the link to your website content.

Most online business directories understand the importance of “follow” links and so charge for inclusion, but you should search for opportunities to get links from other non-paid sources such as service organization sites or industry-relevant partners.

Leverage the Advantages of Ranking Higher on Google Maps

We bombarded you with a lot in this article, so let us recap on how to rank higher in Google Maps:

  1. Create and claim your roofing Google Maps business listing
  2. Complete each section of your Google Business Profile dashboard
  3. Keep your NAP (Name, Address, and local Phone number) consistent on the web.
  4. Properly categorize and describe your roofing business.
  5. Add posts and photos to your Google Maps listing
  6. Obtain more Google reviews
  7. Consolidate duplicate listings
  8. Make your roofing website responsive
  9. Target your roofing website for local keywords
  10. Add a Google Map to your roofing website
  11. Use local business schema
  12. Build local backlinks

Roofing business listings on Google Maps are slowly becoming more advanced, helping clients to instantly obtain the information they require and make educated buying decisions. 

Follow the tactics in this book to get your roofing business showing up higher on Google Maps, and you will get the increased engagement, revenue, and visibility that comes along with it.

Categories
Plumbing SEO

How to Improve Your Plumbing Website’s SEO…

website development

Visibility has been the main challenge hindering the success of small businesses up to date. Having a fantastic business and an eye-catching website can be of no importance if the potential customers cannot find you. That’s what necessities the need for Search Engine optimization. Search Engine Optimization is an art and science of improving your ranking on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

Google uses search algorithms to find websites that have quality and informative content, thereby improving its ranking on search engines. Google keeps on tweaking its search algorithms several times annually. This is a clear indication that amazing SEO is not something that is attained instantly; it is a continuous process that requires dedication and commitment.

The following ways to improve your website’s SEO ranking

Publishing Relevant Content

informative content

Quality content is the secret to improve your website rankings on search engines, and nothing else can substitute informative content. You can increase your website traffic by publishing relevant content for your target audience, as this will enhance your site authority as well as relevance. To realize this, you need to perfect your web writing skills.

Keywords

Keywords

Every page on your website should have a unique keyword phrase. Take your time to define the phrases that the visitor can use to search for a specific page on your website.

Multiple Keyword Phrases

rank for multiple keywords

It’s never easy for a webpage to realize search engine ranking for several keyword phrases unless they are similar. A single page can rank multiple keyword phrases as long as they are somehow related, for example, Business jobs’ and business careers.’

If you intend to rank several keyword phrases with your website, you will be required to create separate web pages for the keyword phrases you are targeting.

Content

Content concept

Besides the page URL, title, and headings, content is very crucial when it comes to search engine rankings. Your keyword phrase should appear several times on the page, not forgetting the opening and closing paragraphs.

These keyword phrases should be highlighted to make it easy for the reader to identify them. You can use the available writing styles to highlight them, such as bold, italics, and even heading tags. You should neglect good writing for SEO. What you need to understand is that pages are written specifically for the reader and not SEO.

Keeping your Content Up to date

always update your content

Content is of much importance to the ranking of any plumbing website. Keeping your content up-to-date is one of the ways that is used to determine how relevant the site is, so it is necessary to keep it fresh. You should set time to audit your content and make the required updates.

Consistency

content consistency

To improve the SEO rankings on your website, you have to show consistency when it comes to publishing content on your blog. This builds trustworthiness among the visitors, and they will always visit your site because they believe that is the only place they can find answers to what they are looking for. To lure more visitors into your website, you should be consistently publishing new content, as this will create a good impression among your visitors.

You should overlook the consequences of not updating outdated or underperforming content. Visitors don’t like reading the same thing week in week out, and that’s why publishing new material is very crucial.

Readable Content

make your content readable

The content on your website should be easily readable. Your content should be in short and precise paragraphs, as this is what users want. Visitors are no longer interested in an endless block of content, and this may even turn them away from your website. You should strive to keep your content as short as possible while retaining the meaning.

The sentences should be short, and a paragraph should have no more than five lines. Readers find such content friendly, inviting, and easy to understand. Long paragraphs discourage the readers before they even begin to read them.

Provide Accurate Contact Information

Contact Information

Providing correct contact details is a trust factor search engine uses when ranking a website. You should provide your contact details so that users can reach out to you when in need. Users tend to lose trust in a business that does not have contact details as they think such businesses are no longer legit. Always include your phone number, location, and email address so that visitors can reach out to you easily.

The discussed above are some of the tricks on how to improve your website’s SEO.

Categories
Plumbing SEO

What Would A SEO Specialist Do for Your Plumbing Website?

SEO Specialist

The introduction of the Internet has changed the lives of people. Today, no one prefers to walk to the store to buy things or meet somebody in person to chat. Instead, people love carrying out their chores right from their computer desk or Smartphone. While this has offered the much-desired convenience, it has opened avenues for businesses to tap customers. However, online marketing is extremely daunting, thanks to the ever-increasing competition. In such a situation, you need someone who could promote your venture online. It’s here an SEO specialist comes into the picture.

What do SEO specialists do?

SEO expert

Some newbie marketers and business owners never give thought to the services of an SEO expert. They surf the net to learn SEO (search engine optimization) techniques. After getting familiar with some tactics, they employ those strategies to win customers. Sadly, a majority of these business professionals register a huge failure. Why? The reason – employing effective SEO strategies isn’t a cake that you pick up and gulp it down. Rather, SEO happens to be one of the most demanding jobs. You ought to hire an SEO specialist to take care of the online marketing aspect.

Increases your visibility online

online visibility

A reliable SEO professional increases your online visibility. You won’t make a sale if you’re not visible to your desired customers. It’s that simple. Let’s understand this point with a simple example. Suppose you wave your hand to someone on a dark night. You know what you’re doing. However, the other person doesn’t know. Why? You aren’t visible to him.

That’s what exactly happens when you promote your venture without hiring an SEO expert. A reliable SEO specialist sees to it that your website (your venture) is visible to your intended prospects. Once your site is visible to your desired prospects, they might probably check your outlet and make a purchase. This happens to be your main aim in hosting your website.

Drives prospects

more prospects

You may wonder what the difference between online visibility and driving prospects is. If your site is visible, it’ll be visited by prospects. Right! It’s not that easy. Many sites come up on the first page of search results. However, not all of them get the same number of visits. Only some sites manage to get the desired number of visitors. Why and how?

Let’s take an everyday example to understand this point. Suppose there are five ice cream shops on a road. Some individuals walking by the road wish to buy ice creams. Which store will get the maximum number of customers? Your obvious answer will be the first store. What if the second or the last store gets maximum customers? If this is the case, you may want to know the reason.

Well, the second or the last store (as the case may be) is unique in some respects. It stands out in the crowded ice-cream shop market. An SEO specialist does exactly the same thing. Even if your site comes up on the top page of search results, it may or may not get the required number of customers.

To ensure you get maximum prospects, the SEO expert will use eye-catchy words within the title, description, and Meta Tags. By checking those enticing words, users are likely to pay a visit to your website. Once visitors are on your site, you may motivate them to buy your services or products.

Optimizes your site for users and search engines

website optimization

Although offline and online marketing fundamentals are the same, there’s a big difference between the methods and techniques. No matter how expert you’re with offline marketing, you’ll lose online if you don’t know the basics and depth of online marketing. As a business professional, you ought to rank higher in search results and motivate customers when they visit your outlet. For that, you need to optimize your website for search engines and users.

A reliable SEO specialist does these two important jobs. First, he’ll optimize your website according to your business needs and search algorithms. To do that, he’ll use high-traffic keywords, and Keywords are search terms used by people to find anything online. If you sell pens in New York, the SEO professional will use keywords such as affordable pens in New York, best pens in New York, or quality pens in New York.

Next, he’ll position those keywords within your web content in such a manner that the keywords look natural. The expert will maintain an optimum keyword density to secure a high page ranking. Not just that, the online marketing specialist will place those keywords within your pages’ titles and the posts’ headings.

Additionally, he’ll see to it that your site contains relevant but minimum images. All these things will make your site search engine-friendly. Once your site becomes search engine-friendly, it’ll get higher rankings and may likely come up on the top of search results for your targeted keywords.

Many website owners report a higher bounce rate. What does that mean? It simply means that visitors move away from their site quickly without taking any action. Why do visitors move away? Most sites are cluttered and difficult to navigate. As such, visitors get annoyed and move away. A reputable SEO specialist helps you get rid of this problem. The SEO specialist will make your website user-friendly.

To do that, he’ll make your content organized and enticing using suitable headings, text fonts, and colors. This, in turn, will induce the visitors to read the content. Not just that, the SEO expert will ensure that your site is easy to navigate and important links, call to action words are placed at the right locations. All these things will compel even the most undecided customer to buy your products.

Link building and social media promotion

get backlinks from authoritative sites

The more the number of links pointing to your site, the higher the rankings will be. A reputed SEO specialist understands this vital point, and he works to get backlinks from authoritative sites. Once your site gets quality backlinks, its search rankings will increase.

In addition to this, the expert will promote your site on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. He’ll create an appealing profile and post suitable content with call-to-action words at the right time. That will get you quick and targeted traffic within no time.

Google listings

you’re visible to local customers on Google maps

Google listings let you get instant search rankings. An experienced SEO professional will send your business address to Google and verify it. Within no time, you’re visible to local customers on Google maps.

Bottom line

SEO agency

Getting customers online is extremely difficult. You need the professional expertise of a well-known SEO specialist to combat the competition and win customers. You’re all set to record the desired success online with a professional digital marketing specialist.

Categories
Plumbing SEO

How To Make Plumbing SEO and PPC Work Together?

SEO and PPC

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

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 optimization

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?

Pay-per-click

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?

SEO + PPC

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.

Categories
Google Advertising Plumbing

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

search engine

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.

optimize GMB profile

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.

Google map with red pin

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?

Google My Business

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

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

man searching on laptop

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

get superiority over competitors

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

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

website visibility

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

insights

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

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

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

GMB profile

Step 4: Click “Submit.”

Submit button

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

Choose a way to verify

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:

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

Option 2: Verify Your Plumbing Business By Email

get verified in Google My Business

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

type the code and click submit to verify your plumbing company.

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

GMB 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

Google My Business categories

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

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

Business 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 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

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

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

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

messaging system

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

remove duplicate gmb listing

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)

FAQ

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

Grow your business

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.

Categories
Roofing SEO

Are SEO Agencies Worth It for Roofers?

Roofers

If you have a roofing business, the chances are bright that you understand the importance of SEO. In case you have ignored this important aspect of digital marketing, then it is why you are lagging behind your competitors. If you have thought SEO is something that you can easily manage on your own in the little time that you can steal from your busy life, that too may have shown its effect in the form of a lack of desired success in the online world. 

Business Analysis

So, what is the solution? Well, you need to take help from a Roofing SEO agency. But before you consider hiring one, you certainly would want to know if SEO companies are really worth it, and this is exactly what we shall now help you discover. 

SEO agencies will help improve your website

Roofing website

Search engine optimization is crucial for every roofing website. Earlier, only those who were a part of such industries that involved a tremendous amount of competition required SEO to help their website reach a top spot in SERP. However, things have now changed, and there is great competition everywhere, and SEO is crucial if you want to reach your potential customers and enjoy better sales successfully.

If you do not opt for SEO, your website will never likely enjoy the exposure necessary for a good ranking. Until your website has been well optimized to load fast, target the necessary keywords, and properly compete with the other brands in your industry, it will be difficult to enjoy good online sales without investing heavily in marketing tactics.

SEO agencies

SEO companies are aware of the best methods that can improve your website’s visibility in searches and increase your website’s chances of reaching your potential customers. You will not even have to spend a fortune on marketing. 

SEO companies have the knowledge and the experience

Skills

You may have done research on SEO for quite some time, and you feel you have enough knowledge of search engine optimization, and that is all you need. You may even have tried different SEO tactics on your website and believed that they would definitely work. But, the results hardly ever even come close to your expectations.

Well, if you take your business seriously, you should not let guesswork or experiments decide its future. If you do things the wrong way, then SEO might only damage your website, and rectifying it will be very difficult. For instance, link building can surely help your authority. However, if you opt for the wrong type of links, you may be penalized or may not be allowed to be displayed in the search engine.

Since SEO companies have the required experience and knowledge to make the right decisions, they will help your website enjoy better visibility and rankings. Also, since they have the experience of working with different types of clients from various industries, they will easily understand your unique requirements and work accordingly.

If you hire the right SEO agency, you will be able to handle sudden changes, like penalties or algorithm updates easily. Since SEO firms have already handled such cases many times, they will offer a swift solution and take you out of a tricky situation smoothly and quickly.

SEO firms can help you enjoy the best results

SEO company

No matter how much time you invest in doing research concerning SEO, you still will not be able to match a professional SEO firm’s expertise. An SEO company has years of experience. After they evaluate your website, understand your goals, and keep in view your competitors, they will be able to develop a plan that offers you better visibility in search.

They will keep track of your progress and then keep adjusting their plans to make sure you always achieve the best results in the least time possible.

You will be able to give attention to what needs it the most

Optimize Search Engine Optimization

If you are trying to handle SEO on your own, you have to invest time optimizing your website, building links, and writing fresh content regularly. Since you are not an expert, one problem is that you will not handle things professionally. Secondly, because you invest time here, it will be difficult for you to give enough attention to other areas that require it badly.

If you hire an SEO agency, you will give your full time, attention, and devotion to what you are best at and what needs you most. At the same time, you will be able to enjoy peace of mind knowing that the SEO job also is being handled to perfection, and thus you need to be ready to enjoy more and more success.

A full-service agency will prove more helpful

SEO expert

If you opt for a full-service online marketing agency, then not only SEO but all your online marketing requirements will be perfectly met, always. Whenever you need any assistance concerning website advertising, content, inbound marketing, or more, you know that someone is always there.

If you move from a company’s only-SEO plan to an all-inclusive package, you will also likely enjoy great discounts. As they understand your needs better with time, you will not even need to discuss things, and they will be ready with a solution or a recommendation beforehand.

To Conclude

SEO agency

So, now you surely understand that SEO companies are worth it if your business is important and you want to see it grow more and more with every passing day. Now, there are many SEO agencies that you will come across even if you do a simple online search, but you need to understand that not all are created equal. You have to invest a lot of time doing your research, seek suggestions, go through their website, go through customer testimonials, meet at least a few of them in person, and then decide which will be the ideal one for your needs.

Categories
Roofing SEO

What Are Backlinks for Roofing SEO?

Backlinks

Search engine optimization backlinks, what are they? How do they help us and our websites? Many people question the use of SEO backlinks. This article clarifies and discusses the importance and uses of search engine optimization (SEO) backlinks.

Backlinks

Get more backlinks

Backlinks are links from another website, and these links help direct the users from another website to a different website. The backlinks are known for different names, they are sometimes called hyperlinks, inbound links, and many more names, all meaning the same thing. These hyperlinks are attached to websites and blogs, enabling these websites to be discovered by search engines amongst thousands of sites.

Why Are They Important?

Why are backlinks important?

Backlinks are a major deal concerning visibility. Simply put, if a user wants their website to be discovered by various search engines, they can rely on these links. Depending on the backlink quality, search engines can display them as a search result or make them discoverable by taking into consideration their ranking and originality in the first place. There are thousands of pages online all over the world that the search engines collect and display, all being connected by these links.

Quality of the Backlink

Links for SEO

Backlink quality is also a huge factor in dealing with SEO. The method in which the backlinks are obtained can also determine the website’s SEO ranking. Simply put, the more you have relevant backlinks pointing to your website, the higher the chances of your website SEO ranking increasing. Although this doesn’t mean you should start by going out and obtaining backlinks from every website you come across. The quality of the backlink is what determines your website being discovered. 

Content of the Backlink

SEO link building

Backlinks also help in the prominence and ranking of websites and blogs. The worldwide web is connected to so many different links, all containing different contexts, backlinks, or hyperlinks found in those different websites that help improve those websites’ SEO rankings. Backlinks are a very integral part of a website, and that’s why using the proper choice of keywords will also increase the chances of a page being discovered by search engines.

Examples: 

Backlinks play a very important role in your website discovery and ranking.

Suppose a user gets a new website that he wants to be discovered by the Google search engine, but he doesn’t link it or has a backlink from another website or blog. The chances of his website becoming discoverable are very, very low. But backlinks enable this new website to become discoverable by search engines and readily available to people.

Let’s say site A is a marketing blog, and site B is a shoe vendor. So when site A is being discovered as a marketing site, then the possibility of site B being discovered is high because site B obtained a backlink from site A. As the backlink is under a marketing category, it can easily be discovered based on what the users want. The factors determining site B being discovered are based on ranking, originality, and context.

Backlinks play a very important role in your website discovery and ranking. They help prominent search engines like Google make web pages grow by increasing traffic, purchases, and many more.

Categories
Plumbing SEO

14 Effective Ways to Grow Your Plumbing Business Fast with Little Investment

Plumbing repairing kitchen sink

Learn How to Grow Plumbing Company with Tricks and Tips from Experts

With every statistic published about plumbers by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is safe to conclude that the plumbing industry is hitting an all-time high and booming.

In the modern competitive business world, the plumbing landscape isn’t restricted only to people with many years of experience as more entrepreneurs are venturing into this trade.

how to scale a business

Furthermore, most plumbers don’t want to operate under someone else their whole life. With some years of experience under your belt, you can progress to becoming a new plumbing business owner in town! But once you’ve set up, how do you grow a plumbing company from scratch?

Running your plumbing company affords you the freedom to enjoy all your business’s profits. But such benefits come with a lot of responsibilities, and if you are not self-driven, you risk your plumbing company becoming obsolete or stagnant. Plumbing business growth doesn’t occur by accident, and you have to take deliberate steps to make your company’s growth objectives a reality.

So, if you are thinking about scaling or growing your plumbing business, then you have come to the right place. This post will discuss some of the most effective plumbing marketing strategies that we have used to increase revenue, leads and differentiate our plumbing customers from their competition online.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

Conventional Strategies for Growing Your Plumbing Business Without Wasting Your Marketing Dollars

Strategies

Growing a plumbing company amongst a huge sea of other plumbers can be an uphill assignment. For small players in the plumbing industry, it is important to utilize the right advertising channels to market your plumbing services online.

However, there are other crucial factors to consider if you want to skyrocket the growth of your small plumbing company. This includes but is not limited to identifying your niche, drafting a business plan, and using internet marketing to spread awareness about your plumbing business.

Do you want to know how to grow a plumbing company and stay ahead of the curve? Here are our 4 tips your plumbing business can use to help achieve desired business growth this year and beyond:

1. Carve Out Your Target Market

Target Market

While there are various services that plumbers provide, including drain cleaning and pipe repairs, there is stiff competition. This is why you need to carve out a niche for yourself. Identify the plumbing services that are rarely offered by other plumbers in your service area and then specialize in them as a way of helping you stand out in the market.

For example, you could specialize in installing sanitary equipment or water tanks. Or your plumbing company only serves residential buildings or hospitals. No matter what it is, ensure that you select a service and market that you specialize in.

Digital marketing for plumbing contractors concentrates on two main markets. As a plumber, you target two different markets throughout the year, namely:

  • First target market: A homeowner who has a plumbing emergency like a burst pipe and who needs immediate help from a plumber.
  • Second target clients:  The customer who requires a new installation or regular maintenance.

2. Invest in Technology

In the modern digital world, the only way to keep up with your competitors is to invest in technology that will revolutionize your entire plumbing business. Remaining competitive while still depending on Excel spreadsheets and paper files is becoming almost impossible.

Some technological innovations are changing how plumbing businesses operate, consolidating processes, boosting efficiency, and reducing workers to run a plumbing business. Here are the two software you can use to scale your plumbing business operations.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) gives plumbers the ability to monitor information and communication regarding clients anytime, anywhere, helping you focus on customer communication, prospecting, and lead generation.

ERP system

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERPs) allows plumbers to automate the business side of a plumbing company, which can incorporate orders, finances, and accounting amongst others.

3. Market Your Plumbing Brand

Marketing your brand

Establishing your business reputation as a trustworthy resource is key to dominating your local market. You can begin by allocating money (other resources) to ensure your online presence and brand are consistently up to date, offering prospective leads with information and positive reinforcement they require to make informed purchasing decisions.

Your plumbing business is one of the integral parts of creating recognition and associating that recognition with great actions. An easy way to begin is your website and logo- ensuring these important business collaterals are consistent across your brand, as well as accurate to help potential clients find your business and contact you instead of your competitors.

You can also take this brand awareness into the field- make sure that your documents, trucks, and even staff uniforms reflect your plumbing brand.

4. Enhance Your Communication Approach with Clients

Communication Approach with Clients

When a potential client requests to see some of your past projects, don’t feel offended. They aren’t trying to doubt your legitimacy, instead, they want to do due diligence before they can invest in your plumbing services. Offering samples of previous work via after and before photos and client testimonials can help to improve trust and brand recognition.

10 Hacks Proven to Grow Your Plumbing Business Online

Grow your business online

Plumbing professionals often spend most of their time scheduling appointments, supervising their crew, and running their business leaving them with less time and resources to market their services. The most effective place to start marketing and growing your plumbing company is online. Here are our best strategies you can use to grow your plumbing company today:

1. Start with a Mobile-Responsive Plumbing Website

Mobile-Responsive Website

First things first! If you aren’t utilizing internet marketing and a website to advertise your plumbing services, you are losing a huge chunk of new business opportunities to the competition. Like a beautiful storefront or a friendly customer attendant, a great plumbing website attracts clients and keeps them. A good plumbing website can be the difference between a poor experience or an exceptional initial impression from the start.

Your plumbing website helps you attract more clients and assist grow your business by:

  • Raising awareness of your plumbing services online
  • Helping prospects understand why they should schedule service appointments with your company.
  • And ultimately to generate sales or inquiries.

If you want to compete favorably with the well-established plumbing contractors in your service area, then you must have a robust online presence. Modern consumers use smartphones to surf various things on the web including looking for reliable plumbers to repair or install plumbing systems.

So, in that scenario, if you don’t have a website for plumbing services, then you will lose out on potential customers. You don’t have to be a tech guru if gas or water pipes are all you know, Blackstorm Design + Marketing is here to help.  

Regardless of how great your plumbing business is- a poorly-designed website will hold you back. Considering that 38% of prospects leave a site if the content isn’t aesthetically pleasing. You don’t have to break your bank account, just ensure that your plumbing website follows these best practices of modern website design:

  • Clear and compelling calls to action that help prospects to take desired actions
  • Keep it simple, don’t clutter it with lots of information
  • Prominent online positive reviews to build trust among prospects
  • Spotlights for unique plumbing services
  • Improve your visibility on search engines.
  • Ensure that your site loads fast and is mobile friendly

If you don’t have a website for your plumbing business, schedule a no-obligation session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing for assistance today.

2. Invest in Local Search Engine Optimization Services to Grow Your Plumbing Company Online

Local Search Engine Optimization

Did you know that 9 out 10 clients conduct local searches before making a final purchasing decision? That implies if you aren’t optimizing your plumbing website for local SEO, then you are missing huge business opportunities every month.

If you aren’t putting effort to optimize your site for search engines, you will likely be forgotten in the local search engine results. Worst of all, you can lose a huge chunk of qualified leads to the competition with this kind of plumber marketing.

There are various reasons why local SEO is crucial to the growth of your plumbing business. Here are some reasons why you should include SEO in your plumber marketing strategy:

  • Local SEO helps your business to attract qualified leads: SEO helps you attract homeowners who intend to hire your business for plumbing services and are within your service area
  • Create connection and trust with clients: The more friendly your website is with search engines, the more trust that customers and Google will have in.
  • Local SEO helps your business to stay on top of the client’s mind: Even if a homeowner doesn’t schedule a plumbing service appointment right away, you can remain on top of their mind as well as Google with SEO.
  • SEO helps your plumbing business build local authority: For example, a customer may search on Google “how to unclog a bathroom sink” if you create a post based on such a topic, that client will come across your site and read your tips. Best of all, they may decide to schedule service appointments with your plumbing business.
  • Local SEO improves your plumbing business visibility online: Plumbers who have invested in SEO can get first page rankings on search engines like Google and the advantages that come included.

If you want to hook new plumbing clients and grow your plumbing business with local SEO services, our team can help. We offer SEO for plumber services that can help you engagingly reach more customers and empower you to grow your plumbing company with confidence.  

Schedule a free strategy session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing to learn how our professional plumbing SEO services can help grow your business today.

3. Grow Your Plumbing Business Through Pay-Per-Click Ads

PPC

Instead of staying for months waiting for your SEO strategy to eventually pay off, Pay-per-click advertising is a great way to obtain new leads in the short term. As a plumber, if you aren’t using PPC ads, then you are losing opportunities to grow your business to the competition. 

Savvy plumbing companies and plumbers understand that the best way to get on top of Google search results and book more jobs is through paid advertising campaigns.

If you type a keyword related to your business on Google and you come across plumbing ads for other plumbers than yours, then it means you are choosing to send potential customers to competing plumbers online.

Whether you want to revamp your existing plumbing PPC campaign or you want to begin from scratch, our professionals are ready to help. At Blackstorm Design + Marketing,  we create a comprehensive and data-driven PPC ad plan that will assist you to generate more qualified leads from homeowners who are seriously interested in your plumbing services. We will ensure that you obtain an advertising campaign that you require to help your plumbing company grow.

With Blackstorm Design + Marketing, your plumber’s PPC strategy will be researched thoroughly, consistently monitored, and quickly executed to generate leads for your plumbing company. Our PPC experts will help you each step of the way to make sure that your PPC advertising campaign brings in hot, quality new leads, and we understand what exactly you need to do to get high-quality new clients.

4. Grow Your Plumbing Company by Establishing a Sound Online Reputation

Reputation Management

In our modern digital world, your plumber services are only as great as their reputation online. Many plumbers say that personal recommendations and word-of-mouth referrals are at the center of their marketing strategy. But a lot of such referrals come in the form of online reviews nowadays. In fact, more than 80% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family.

So, what is online reputation management for plumbers and why is it crucial? Online Reputation management is the process of monitoring how people perceive your plumbing company and taking the necessary steps to revamp it. This plan typically involves a procedure for responding and checking to plumber reviews online.

Here are some of the ways managing your online reputation can help to grow your plumbing business:

  • Managing your online reputation establishes your trustworthiness even before your initial contact with potential customers. 90% of clients will first visit your plumbing website and check online reviews before contacting you, first impressions last.
  • Having more positive reviews on your plumbing website increases your conversion rates.
  • More positive reviews boost your brand mentions and enhance your local search engine optimization (SEO) in the process.
  • A positive online reputation improves your chances of hiring the best talents in the plumbing industry.

Blackstorm Design + Marketing offers online reputation management services for plumbers. We have many years of experience helping home service contractors including roofers or plumbers enhance their online reputation and become the go-to plumber in their specific locations. Our focus is to see local plumbers as you grow.

Ready to get started? Schedule a free strategy session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing can help grow your plumbing business through their Online Reputation Management services today.

5. Harness the Power of social media to Grow Your Plumbing Business

social media

Over 90% of service businesses utilize social media. If your plumbing company isn’t one of them, then you need to get started.

Social media is an important part of any plumber’s marketing strategy. Posting the right social media content can help to draw in new clients, boost your reputation and improve brand awareness. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider investing in a social media marketing strategy for your plumbing business:

  • Communication. For clients on the verge of a plumbing emergency, social media makes it simple to connect with prospects putting out emergency service requests for plumbing services.
  • SEO. The right social media posts can enhance your search engine optimization efforts, implying that your plumbing website will appear higher on the Google search results so that new clients find your plumbing services before your competitors.
  • Recommendations. As plumber marketing moves towards the digital realm, so do word-of-mouth recommendations. Social media offers your clients a platform to recommend and refer to your plumbing services.
  • Advertising. From blog posts, videos to photos, social media provides an accessible and inexpensive way to market your services in front of thousands of wallet customers every month.

With numerous social media platforms available to help you to use and grow your plumbing company’s online presence, you have the chance to increase your opportunity to reach new clients and maintain existing ones like never before. There is no limit to clients searching for a go-to plumber or quick pipe fix they can depend on all you need to do is to help them find your plumbing business.

With the right plumbing social media advertising strategy, you can master your business’s presence in the social space and take your company to new heights for increased referrals, positive reviews, and new customers. Looking for assistance using social media for growing your plumbing company in your service area? At Blackstorm Design + Marketing, our experts can help build a plan that meets your unique objectives and offer you desired results. 

Schedule a free strategy session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing to learn more about how you can use social media advertising to skyrocket the growth of your plumbing business.  

6. Get More Qualified Plumbing Leads with Google Local Service Ads

Google Local service ads are an effective tool for plumbing company owners to use to generate more leads, and they work better when they are targeted and refined to your exact audience. With Google Local Services ads, you connect with prospects who search on Google for plumbing services you provide. Best of all, the ads only appear locally, and you only pay when a potential customer contacts you directly via the advertisement.

The vast majority of home service contractors we work with devote part of their advertising dollars to Google Local Service Ads. The reason is straightforward: Google Ads is a great tool for acquiring new clients. Do you want to grow your commercial or residential plumbing business using local service ads? 

Schedule a no-obligation discovery call to see how Blackstorm Design + Marketing can help you generate more plumbing leads while increasing efficiency across your business today.

7. Grow Your Plumbing Company with Email Marketing

Email Marketing

As a plumbing business owner, you know that idle trucks and silent phones imply high overhead costs and upset crews. If you want to get more customers for your plumbing company while retaining existing clients (keep your calendar full of service appointments), consider including email marketing as part of your new plumbing marketing plan.

There are several factors to consider when setting up an email marketing strategy for your plumbing company, such as making sure that your emails are responsive so that they look awesome both on mobile phones and desktop computers and have clear compelling calls to action to generate leads.

Email marketing provides an effective way to promote your plumbing services online. Your target audience has already subscribed to your mailing newsletter, and they have expressed interest in your plumbing business, so give them what they need! Sending a consistent email newsletter is an effective way to make sure that your plumbing company is in the minds of your clients- which is where your company wants to be.

At the end of the day, the most crucial thing for any plumbing company owner is making money. But to grow your plumbing company, you must increase the number of qualified leads your business is getting.

The more leads you obtain, the more money you will make. And this is where an email marketing strategy can have an impact.

Adding email marketing to your online marketing strategy will help your plumbing company grow in various ways:

  • Maintain constant contact with your customers.
  • Increase your plumbing company awareness
  • Offer coupons, rebates, and promotions to increase sales

Your focus should be to understand what your clients’ wants and needs are and use the email newsletter to fill the gap. Our plumbing lead generation experts will show you how.

8. Use Video Marketing to Grow Your Plumbing Company

Video Marketing

Video is the new buzzword in plumbing marketing right now and for good reasons. Statistics show that videos provide a great way to communicate with your target audience, produce a high click-through rate, and incite engagement.

Quality videos instantly set your plumbing company apart from the competition who don’t utilize it.

For example, if a homeowner is having a flooding basement at night, he/she is likely to surf YouTube for answers. While there are blog posts, in a scenario of limited time/panic, videos become the go-to pals.

So, run a YouTube business channel to share DIY tips as well as your plumbing online quote to have a hold in the local market.

9. Submit Your Plumbing Website to Local Online Directories

Local Online Directories

After having your plumbing website up and running, the next step is to submit it to local online directories.

Ideally, you should partner with a reliable plumbing marketing agency like Blackstorm Design + Marketing to list your plumbing services on multiple local online business listings.

Some of the most common listing online directories that you can use for your plumbing business include:

  • Yelp
  • LinkedIn
  • Google
  • Angie’s List

Listing your plumbing business on these business listings online will help you find relevant customers for your business, saving you time in the process.

10. Understand and Analyze Your Client’s Buying Journey

Client’s Buying Journey

The client journey isn’t linear nowadays anymore (a homeowner experiences a problem; the technician fixes it, and the client is happy) but a complex journey. We are not talking about commercial clients who look for high-end proposals, even your average homeowner has particular expectations nowadays.

By putting yourself in your clients’ shoes and analyzing every step, you will be able to identify where there is friction in the whole process and make plans to ensure an exceptional experience for both existing and new clients.

For instance, you can check if:

  • Homeowners can book their service appointments directly from your plumbing website.
  • Clients always receive reminders and confirmations concerning their booking.
  • Your plumbing crews are ready to upsell instantly with a mobile quoting platform.
  • You send your invoices automatically at the end of the project immediately, without delay.
  • Feedback requests go out instantly.

And these are a few things that can truly make for a remarkable client experience. To get repeat business and generate leads, you must engage with your potential clients at every stage of their buying journey. You need a comprehensive digital marketing strategy from a reputable plumber advertising agency to achieve that.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Grow a Plumbing Business

Question marks

How can you grow a plumbing business?

Some of the best strategies you can use to scale and grow your plumbing business online include creating a conversion-focused plumbing website, implementing the best SEO practices, investing in online reputation management services, and using social media marketing to attract new clients as well as keeping existing ones and more. Best of all, you need to partner with a plumber marketing agency like Blackstorm Design + Marketing to achieve desired ROI results.

Do plumbers make good money?

If you are wondering how much profit a plumbing business can make, here are our statistics. According to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a master plumber running a plumbing company alone can make an average of $45 per hour, if they work for at least eight hours daily they can make more than $100k in a year.

How can you start a plumbing business online?

Here are some steps you can take to ensure that your plumbing business has a vibrant online presence including but not restricted to creating a responsive plumbing website, listing it in multiple online directories, optimizing it for search engines, and using paid ads to generate leads online.

Execute these Strategies to Grow Your Plumbing Company Today

If implementing all of the above-discussed tips seems like a lot of work on your part, don’t fret. The good news is that you don’t have to work all by yourself.

Focus on what matters most to you- managing your plumbing company and let Blackstorm Design + Marketing deal with each aspect of your plumber marketing strategy on your behalf.

Contact Us

Schedule a free discovery call with Blackstorm Design + Marketing to learn more about how our experts can help increase leads and skyrocket the growth of your plumbing business today.

Categories
Plumbing Social Media Advertising

How To Grow Your Plumbing Business With Facebook Advertising

Attract The Right Clients, Increase The Visibility Of Your Business Online And Stand Out From The Competition With Facebook Ads For Plumbers.

Finding new clients is much different than it was three decades ago. Conventional marketing strategies such as Yellow pages ads are long gone, and you won’t have much success with printed business cards or flyers today. A recent survey showed that more than 90% of consumers conduct an online search to find a local plumbing business.

Facebook Ad

It is easy to figure out Facebook as a social media platform where people go to check the status of their former schoolmates and maybe post a photo of their favorite pet. While we are all for pet photos, it is crucial to remember that Facebook has over 2.2 billion users nowadays. As a plumbing company owner, there are high chances that most of your clients (if not all) have and use a Facebook account. Therefore a plumbing Facebook advertising strategy is crucial.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the details of Facebook Ads for plumbers.

What are Plumbing Facebook Ads?

facebook interface

Plumbing Facebook ads are advertisements that appear in the right-hand column of the Facebook Newsfeed.

Why should plumbers advertise their services on Facebook?

The power of facebook ads

As a plumbing business owner, you might not consider Facebook as a viable to invest some of your marketing dollars to get your services in front of potential clients, but what if we told you you could get in front of homeowners requiring plumbing services in your area? To help you make an informed choice, let’s start with what a great ad can do for your plumbing business. A great plumbing Facebook ads should assist you:

  • Find the Right Customers

Customers find some brands irresistible

Facebook has a lot of information about its users. You can take advantage of this and target prospects who are most likely to become paying clients.

Facebook lets you specify criteria such as gender, age, job title, industry, marital status, location, and interests. It also gives you the option to filter connections (for example, friends of prospects who already liked your page) and behavior, which includes life events and recent purchases.

  • Facebook Ads for plumbers increases Brand Awareness

Website Branding Company

Facebook advertising will no doubt improve your brand awareness, and it provides an effective way to make prospects or clients aware of what you offer.

The more familiar people are with your plumbing brand, the higher the chances of scheduling service appointments with your company when it’s time to make a final decision.

  • Plumbing Facebook Ads Help to Generate New Leads

Generate New Leads

Creating and increasing some brand awareness is one of the reasons for using Facebook ads for plumbing contractors. But a great Facebook ad will do more than spread your good business name out there- it will help you obtain some qualified leads. Ensure that you link your ad with a lead form or Contact Us page so that prospects or clients can communicate with you promptly and later, you can include them in a client database.

  • Plumber Facebook Advertising is the cheapest form of marketing that generates a high ROI

High ROI

When you compare Facebook plumbing advertising vs. conventional media, one major advantage of Facebook ads is that they are cheaper than others form of plumber marketing.

For instance, you can spend just $5 to reach over 1,000 people, and it doesn’t add up to spend more money on TV commercials, radio ads, billboards, and other conventional media to reach the same target audience.

Another great thing about Facebook ads for plumbers is the ability to track your campaign results. You can see how many referrals are sent to your plumbing website, the engagement it is getting, and other important metrics.

  • Your Competitors Are Already Using plumbing Facebook Ads

Competitors

Other plumbers in your area are using Facebook ads to scale their businesses.

In fact, you are making life easier for them by not utilizing Facebook advertising to reach your target audience.

Let’s face it: if you are not using internet marketing strategies like Facebook ads for plumbers to grow your company, you will not have a plumbing business soon.

If your clients spend a lot of their time on Facebook, then you should use it as a tool to grow your plumbing business online.

  • Plumbing Facebook Ads Increases Referrals to Your Business

Refer a friend

The social aspect of Facebook makes it a more preferable option than any form of plumbing advertisement strategy that exists.

Facebook ads can sometimes go viral. If your ads are reaching the right audience, they will highly recommend it to a friend.

The ability to spread referrals and word-of-mouth will be a huge benefit your plumbing business can capitalize on using Facebook ads.

  • Facebook Ads can Help Your Plumbing Business Get Repeat Business

Happy customers stay with you gif

Plumber Facebook advertising strategy can help drive repeat business from clients who had scheduled service appointments from your company in the past.

Utilizing their audiences feature, you can import client emails into your plumbing Facebook ad campaign. This will help you to promote your plumbing services directly to the audience that is most likely to schedule service appointments with your company.

  • Facebook Ads Complements Your Plumbing SEO Efforts

SEO campaigns

Paying ads to reach your target audience can complement your SEO strategy, particularly when you spend money to boost posts. This works well particularly when considering some posts that will later be used as ads.

For example, ads give you a perfect chance to target specific users who will find a specific post hyper-relevant. There is a higher probability that a huge percentage of these readers will share your content, implying that your post will be visible to more users without having you pay a dime.

What Types of Facebook Ads are Available to Plumbers?

Types of Facebook Ads

As a plumber, the crucial thing you need to know about Facebook ads is that there are different formats and type of Facebook ads, and they are all unique. Here are some of the most commonly used types of Facebook ads:

1. Image Ads

Facebook Image Ads

These simple ads provide an excellent way to get started with Facebook advertising. Plumbers can utilize image ads to portray their services. Branded images showcasing your team with a uniform will generate more clicks and generate a huge engagement.

2. Video Ads

Facebook Video Ads

Video ads normally run in the stories and Newsfeed section or they can pop up like in-stream ads in longer Facebook videos. Plumbers can use videos to showcase their services to prospects or clients, and the most effective video can showcase your team at work accompanied by subtitles and audio.

3. Carousel Ads

Facebook Carousel Ads

Carousel ads can display up to ten images in a single ad, each coming with its link. You can use them to highlight multiple benefits of one service or product. Besides, they are effective in helping promote multiple kinds of plumbing services in a single ad.

4. Instant Experience

Facebook Canvas ad

Plumbers can utilize Facebook Instant Experience ads (popularly known as Canvas) to display instant mobile ads that capture your target audience’s attention. Users can engage with carousels, photos, and videos within one ad.

5. Collection

Plumbers may not require collection ads since they focus on product-based sales, which most plumbing contractors avoid.

6. Offers

Facebook Offer ads

As a small plumbing business owner, you might also want to look at offer ads. These get the attention of homeowners who may not been thinking of hiring a plumber, but we are open to suggestions if the offer is right. Offer ads are excellent tools to boost sales and find new clients. The main disadvantage is you will create a system for clients to cash in the offer.

7. Lead Forms

This is an ad that comes with an instant form attached to it to help you learn important information about future prospects. You can use them to collect contact details to research your target audience and drive engagement with your business.

3 “Must Have” Facebook Ads for Plumbing Contractors

Plumbing social media advertising has come a long way, with platforms like Instagram and Facebook giving you direct access to your target audience in front of where they are hanging out.

Several studies have shown that an average American adult spends approximately 2.5 hours each day on social media!

The number of social media users continues to increase each year. And while younger generations and teens may be migrating from social networks such as Facebook, we understand that more than 70% of millennials still turn to Facebook to connect with family and friends, get news and obtain solutions to their problems.

When we begin to develop an advertising strategy for plumbing contractors on Facebook or Instagram. It is essential that we pay attention to the buyer cycle-or where your client is on their journey to booking a job with your company?

There are three primary stages in most customer buying journeys so you will require three kinds of ads and posts to meet your target audience where they are at and establish trust, nurture them, such that when they are ready to hire a plumber near them you are the contractor they want to partner with.

Step #1: Awareness plumbing Facebook Ad Campaigns

Awareness

First things first. Before any action can happen, your future client needs to know about you. How does that occur on Facebook?

  1. A friend or family member may refer you to them for plumbing services
  2. They may read a review posted by a person on their network
  3. A person in your network engages with your post, so it is displayed to them.
  4. They come across your ad.

For the purpose of this post, we will focus more on ads-but it’s essential to understand the role played by the ads in the entire awareness stage.

For awareness ads, we highly recommend that you keep it on a low budget and broad. This is about getting in front of as many homeowners as possible (who fit your target audience of course). We highly recommend running a “likes” campaign showing Facebook that you are ready to pay when a person likes your page. Once they have liked your page, you can engage them further with trust-building posts and nurture them along their buying journey!

Step #2: Consideration Plumbing Facebook Ad Campaigns

Consideration

In this stage, we are simply re-engaging with homeowners or property managers who already understand who you are and have interacted with your plumbing company. Either they have already visited your plumbing website, followed your Facebook page or you have their email address.

This implies that you aren’t advertising to a cold audience. But it is crucial that before you begin this phase, you have a huge audience to advertise to. It is recommended that you spend some time improving your brand awareness first.

Types of Facebook posts and ads that will work well in this phase are helpful tricks and tips, show photos of projects that you are working on, and sharing testimonials. The sole purpose of this phase is to establish and build trust!

Modern homeowners are smart- they know an ad when they come across it, and they merely trust conventional advertising. Thus, you should invest your time and effort to build enough trust with your target audience. We see great results with home service clients who post diverse and consistent content.

If you are spending too much time thinking about what to post on your plumbing company Facebook Page, then schedule a free discovery call with Blackstom Design + Marketing today. We take the guesswork out of what type of posts by offering you a monthly social media advertising strategy and crafting posts! It is so pocket-friendly.

Step #3: Decision stage Plumbing Facebook Ad

Decision stage

Finally, your potential client is ready to schedule a plumbing service job with your company. And you want to make it as easy as you can for them to schedule a service appointment with your team. You can show these ads to people who visit specific pages on your plumbing website or have followed your Facebook page longer. With decision stage ads and posts, we highly recommend that you be focused more on closing a sale. But don’t make such ads too prominent on your Facebook schedule.

Lastly, consider your target clients and how your plumbing company interacts with them at every step along the way. If you are searching for help in diversifying your social media posts or ads, schedule a non-obligation session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing today.

How to Create a Successful Plumbing Facebook Ads Campaign in five simple steps!

Homeowners see numerous ads when they scroll through their Facebook profiles. Your ad must be appealing enough to attract them and make them pay attention. Here are some of our best practices for creating plumber Facebook ads that generate desired results. Start advertising your plumbing company on Facebook by following the simple steps below:

Solve a Client’s Problem

customer service concept

As HubSpot.com states out, one of the most crucial purposes of creating a great ad is that it should address your target audience’s pain points. You want to maintain that potential benefit to the client, not just praise your plumbing company. And you need to understand the fact that most homeowners don’t turn to Facebook when they have a plumbing emergency. You will snatch those hot leads using Google Ads.

For Facebook, the aim is to find homeowners who want general information about bathroom restorations or plumbing. This will help you to follow up with high-quality newsletters or blogs so that you stay on top of homeowner’s mind whenever they have a plumbing emergency in the future.

Include Quality Visuals in your Ad

online promotion service

Posts and ads with visuals will be remembered more than ones with texts. For plumbing contractors, you can include after and before photos. Any homeowner in a kitchen or bathroom renovation is likely to stop for photos than an easy text saying, “Searching to renovate your home?”

Define Your Target Audience and Budget

Target Audience

This step is extremely important for the success of plumbing Facebook Ad campaigns. The target audience for your ad can be customized based on the following demographics:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Interests
  • Languages
  • Location begins with a country, state, address or zip code.
  • Behaviors – Things like buying intent and behavior, as well as mobile device usage
  • Connections – select to display your ad to all people

Once you have selected your target market, the next step is to choose how much you want to spend on your ad. When setting a plumbing Facebook ad budget, it is crucial to consider the maximum amount of money you want to invest in your ad. You can either set your ad budget for a lifetime or daily:

Campaign Budget Optimization

Lifetime: A lifetime ad budget refers to the maximum amount you want to spend during the time your ad is set.

Daily:   This refers to the average amount that you are willing to spend on Facebook ads every day.

Create Your Advert

This is where the rubber meets the road, and it is where all the fun starts. It’s time to select the headline, images (or video), body text, and where your ad will be displayed above your ad will be shown on Facebook. For the ad text, you obtain 90 characters to share a quick brand message that will pop up above your video or image(s).

There are two ways to create Facebook adverts: creating a new advertisement or using an existing post. Here is a quick look at the two options:

Creating a New Plumbing Facebook Advert

Woman login into facebook website on laptop

If you want to develop your ad from scratch, then the first task is to choose the format you would like to use in your advert. Facebook adverts depend mostly on the results you want to get. Facebook offers 5 different formats for adverts:

  • Carousel: Create an ad with two or more scrollable videos or images
  • Single Image: Develop up to six variations of your advert using one image.
  • Canvas: Tell a more compelling story by combining videos and images
  • Slideshow:  Create a looping video ad with about 10 images
  • Single Video: Create an advert with a single video.

Use an existing ad or post

For specific types of plumbing ads, such as boosting posts, you can develop an ad using an existing post that had already been shared on your Facebook page.

Provide a Compelling, Call to Action

Click Here gif

Homeowners should know what you want them to do next. They would click to know why their toilet may be wasting water? Go to your plumbing website to obtain a discount code for their next service appointment? Homeowners who are confused won’t follow you. Ensure that your ad incorporates at least one action phrase or word, such as “Go to”,” Click” or “Fill out.”

Where to Place your Plumbing Facebook Ad?

You can’t get into minor details about where your plumbing ads are displayed. For example, you won’t be able to demand they only appear in Facebook groups. But that doesn’t imply you have no control whatsoever. There are main options for plumbing Facebook Ad placements.

  • Stories

Since Instagram was acquired by Facebook, users can nowadays display quality photos in their “Stories.” Such story ads can occupy a full screen on mobile and show momentarily between photos.

  • Feed

Facebook newsfeed

When scrolling your primary Facebook feed and bump on a “Sponsored Post,” you are viewing a feed ad. Such ads can help to target the right people, and these ads will pop up on both desktop computers and mobile apps.

  • Messenger

If you have interacted with a homeowner on Messenger, you can also send them a sponsored post. Perhaps they asked you about the plumbing services available, and you want to follow up later with a compelling discount offer.

  • Right Column

Facebook displaying right hand column ads

You can also post your ads in the right-hand column. Such ads don’t interrupt prospects’ feed, so they may not irritate them. They are restricted for desktop use, so you can’t view them on mobile devices.

Plumbing Facebook Advertising Services with Blackstorm Design + Marketing

Facebook Advertising Services

Nowadays, social media plays an important role in how plumbing companies and clients interact. Over 500 million active users spend more than more time on the website. Your plumbing business will be missing a lot of opportunities by not advertising your plumbing services on this platform.

Ready to start advertising your plumbing company on Facebook? If so, we are ready to help! Blackstorm Design + Marketing social media experts can help with all aspects of your plumbing social media advertising- from setting up your account, managing bids, tracking, posting, to banner, and more.

Our Facebook Advertising Process for Plumbers

Social Media Advertising

Our process for advertising on Facebook is almost the same to our approach to internet marketing in general: Measure>Test>Tweak>Repeat

Our simple philosophy is always: You can’t optimize what you fail to track and measure. More data results in great results.

When you come to us, here are some steps we take to create an appealing plumbing Facebook Ad:

Conducting a Competitor Analysis

Competitive Analysis gif

  • Finding local plumbers currently outranking you in audience engagement and size.
  • Analyzing messaging and content that performs well in your plumbing industry.
  • Conducting a market analysis for your plumbing industry and service areas.

Creating an Engaging Organic Social Media Campaigns

Organic Social Media Marketing

  • Creating imagery and copy for high-performing social media ads
  • Split-testing ad copy
  • Improving and reporting paid social ads
  • Creating custom target audiences to best target your plumbing company and brand

Track Your Social Media Campaigns for Plumbers.

Monitor your reach and audience.

  • Monitor your reach and audience
  • Tracking engagement rates
  • Tracking leads and click-through-rate

Frequently Asked Questions on Plumbing Facebook Advertising

Carrying question mark gif

How do you advertise your plumbing services on Facebook?

Facebook advertising provides a crucial way of connecting with your target audience. The first thing you need to promote your plumbing services on Facebook is to have a vibrant presence on the platform. Secondly, you need to adapt to your client’s buying cycle, actively manage your page, and target ads to your ideal customers.

What is the best way to promote your plumbing services company online?

There are several online marketing strategies you can use to advertise your plumbing services including creating a professional plumbing website that converts, optimizing your Google My Business Profile, managing and gather online reviews, obtaining more plumbing leads via work requests, and using Google Local Service Ads.

How do you name a plumbing business?

Here are a few tips to help you choose a name for your plumbing company:

  • Select a name that is easy and short to pronounce
  • Choose a name that reflects the plumbing services you offer.
  • Ensure your name is easy to remember and spell
  • Make it memorable, simple to pronounce, and positive

Plumbers: Get a non-obligation Social Media Advertising Analysis

Social Media Marketing Agency

If you are like most plumbing contractors, you probably don’t have time to mess around on Facebook and don’t have money to hire a full-time professional to do it. If so, why not contact us to get started with plumbing Facebook advertising today?

Schedule a free discovery strategy session with Blackstorm Design + Marketing to learn how you can advertise your plumbing business on social media today.

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Plumbing Public Relations

Effectively Managing Your Company’s Reputation Online Can Establish Consumer Trust, Attract Better Talent And Increase Your Profits

Plumbing Reputation Management: What It Is And Why It Matters To Your Plumbing Business

Today, most businesses and consumers scour the internet to find a trustworthy, reliable plumber reputed for offering superior services. According to research, more than 80% of consumers believe in online reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends.

Online Reputation Management

As you know, when a kitchen pipe or a bathroom bursts, the homeowner needs to find a reliable plumbing contractor stat. And where do you think that they turn to find a plumber in their neighborhood that can come and fix it quickly? The search engines like Google or Bing.

There are over 50K searches online performed every month on Google by users typing in the keyword “plumber” into the search bars and an extra 14k consumers searching “plumber near me” (and more searches looking for “emergency plumber”) keyword. So, as a local plumbing business in the area, you must do everything possible to show up on top of the search engine result pages.

As a plumber, the internet should assist you to generate new leads easily, but if you aren’t vigilant, it can instantly ruin your business. This is why it’s so crucial for plumbers to know why online reputation management matters and how to engage with prospects or clients online.

Without further ado, let us dive in!

What is Online Reputation Management for Plumbers?

Online Reputation Management for Plumbers

Reputation management is the process of monitoring and improving what prospects or clients are saying about your plumbing business online. It is a strategy that involves molding and monitoring your plumbing business’s internet reputation.

Multiple strategies are used to improve your company’s reputation, including content development, search engine optimization, social media management, monitoring, review management and acquisition, and competitor monitoring to maintain a positive brand image.

Why is Plumbing Reputation Management Important?

Reputation Management

Maintaining a positive online reputation is necessary for your plumbing business with the increasing popularity of third-party reviews sites, social media, blogs, and other online platforms.

Your plumbing business needs to identify with what is said about it online and how they can improve clients perceive them negatively.

The importance of reputation management cannot be overemphasized for plumbing contractors. Here are some reasons that would clearly show why a plumbing company owner should take online reputation seriously.

  • Most Businesses and Homeowners Care About Online Reviews

Customer feedback

A huge percentage of business owners and homeowners are concerned about online reviews. In fact, most of them regard online reviews highly when looking for plumbers as they do with recommendations from family and friends. Most homeowners considering starting a home remodeling project go from searching ideas online to look for a plumbing contractor online. So, does a plumbing business have a way to manage online reviews that your potential customers see?

Do you have a process or strategy in place? What if you find bad reviews connected to your plumbing company unjustified? If so, you urgently need a reputation repair for your plumbing company because almost 80% of potential customers who see less-than-stellar reviews about your business will click off to another plumbing website within a blink of an eye.

  • Higher Search Engine Results Rankings

SEO

Online reviews can have a huge impact on your plumbing SEO strategy. This is because search engine algorithms know that clients place a lot of emphasis on online reviews of the plumbing company when making a hiring decision. Hence, a plumber who invests time and effort to handle their online reputation gets rewarded with higher SEO visibility.

  • Online Reputation Management Helps to Build Trust and Credibility

Trust and Credibility

Online reviews are not all about pleasing the Google or Bing algorithm, and it revolves around the way people perceive your plumbing business. With many consumers trusting online reviews (just like they do with personal recommendations from friends and family), getting clients’ trust is essential. Every plumber understands that a company’s reputation is important to its survival. Once the trust of the clients is obtained, the existing client would speak about your plumbing company to others.

A lot of emphasis is put on online reviews for homeowners or business owners to decide whether to trust your plumbing company or not. A good plumbing reputation implies that your company is deemed more credible than other plumbers in the area.

  • Higher Revenues and Sales

Golden coins stack and green growth arrow up

Before making a decision to use your plumbing services, homeowners tend to search on Google for a reliable plumber near them. And before they hire a specific plumber, they go through online reviews to see what other people say about them and their services.

Plumbers with tons of positive reviews always attract more clients. Plumbing companies that are perceived negatively or have a lot of lousy reviews miss out on huge opportunities and profits. That’s why your plumbing business should strive to have a lot of positive reviews.

  • Plumbing Reputation Management Helps You Build a Professional Image

Build a a Professional Image

Having a successful plumbing brand image is a very essential marketing tool for a business because it will be used to convince prospects or clients to use your plumbing services.

Potential and existing clients would attempt to learn a plumbing business differentiation by searching the name on Google. Since prospects don’t have a good idea about your business, they will search for the information available online and help them make a hiring decision. Hence, if a prospect finds a negative reputation, they won’t hire you for plumbing services. So, it would be advisable for your plumbing business to eliminate negative online reputation, if any.

  • Shows Customers That You Care

Online Review Management

Monitoring what people say about your plumbing business online and responding to positive and negative reviews shows them that you care. Naturally, all plumbers would expect to get positive reviews only, which are easier to handle. However, negative reviews can prove beneficial to your plumbing company in the long term. They are a source of invaluable response-consider what people say and repair the issues. Never ignore negative reviews as they may cause a social media crisis. Responding to negative and positive reviews will help you build good relationships with clients.

What are the Key Elements of Online Reputation Management for Plumbers?

We live in a digital world where people constantly communicate through the internet, blogs, forums, wikis, and telecommunications in general.

Online Reputation Management firm

In fact, we perceive online reviews as the fundamental building blocks of your plumbing company. Many businesses and homeowners first consult with trusted online review platforms such as Google or Yelp before making a hiring decision.

Knowing, monitoring, and attempting to control how people perceive your plumbing business on the internet is referred to as Online Reputation Management (ORM).

Here are some important elements to managing the online reputation of your plumbing business:

1. Online Reviews Acquisition and Monitoring

Nowadays, online reviews have become a reliable source of information that displays your plumbing brand, authority, and integrity. Reading online reviews is now an important part that informs their hiring behavior for many homeowners. Although plumbing contractors traditionally advertised through word-of-mouth, online review management is an important (and now unavoidable) aspect of internet marketing for plumbers.

If your business isn’t getting quality reviews from your satisfied clients, you are missing a lot of opportunities. Plumbing company reviews are a great addition to your plumbing website and appeal to potential customers and search engines alike.

The Major plumbing business review sites-platforms-such as Yelp, Facebook, Angie’s List, and Google My Business Listing –are full of consumer activity. Monitoring these online review websites is an important element of maintaining and managing your plumbing business’s online reputation.

But how do you get online reviews for your plumbing company? Here are our proven strategies:

Ask for a review for your company, product or services

  • Simply request (the right way): more than 70% of satisfied clients will give a review if asked. Most people will have a great positive impression of a plumbing business that cares about the quality of plumbing services they offer. So simply requesting feedback can instantly enhance the overall sentiment toward a plumber.

Providing symbolic, small bonuses for leaving an online review

  • Offer Incentives: Providing symbolic, small bonuses for leaving an online review can go a long way. Even as crucial as client incentives are staff incentives. Offering a reward or bonus to every service crew whose client leaves a pleasant review is not only an awesome way to motivate your employees to offer excellent client service but also make sure your employees never forget to remind clients to leave reviews online.

Customer pressing on smartphone screen with five star rating feedback

  • Make it easy for clients to review your business: Unless you have offered an amazing service or worked with a great client, clients don’t always seek out ways to leave positive online reviews. To encourage them to review your business, you must make it easy for them to complete this crucial step.

2. Monitor and Respond to Online Plumbing Reviews

Customer review satisfaction feedback survey

Every plumbing contractor loves tons of positive reviews on their business website or a review platform such as Angie’s List or Yelp. But the presence of a well-written positive review still needs your action. Following up with positive reviews builds customer loyalty and improves client satisfaction rates. Any plumber who has been in the industry for long knows that occasional negative reviews are inevitable. What differentiates those plumbing businesses is how they monitor and respond to them. Your responses to online plumbing reviews should be:

  • Professional: Polite in tone, grammatically correct, and establishing a customer-first attitude.
  • Solution-Oriented: Focus on resolving the problems at hand, that doesn’t imply automatic reimbursement to please the review but can involve some offers or discounts based on the issue.
  • Transparent: if mistakes were committed on your end, take responsibility, it will assist to humanize your plumbing brand and earn other clients’ trust.

As a plumbing company owner, negative online reviews are an integral part of your reputation management process. Instead of perceiving them like a death sentence for your plumbing business, change your thinking and see them as opportunities to resolve the current problem and to establish a positive reputation online.

3. Social Media Monitoring

Social media dashboard

Social media is a great tool that you can use to manage your plumbing company’s online reputation. Social media platforms can help you establish credibility, trust and puts your business in good standing within the plumbing industry.

They provide one of the most effective ways to connect or communicate with your potential clients. If prospects comment on your post, make sure that you respond to them with helpful information. Satisfied clients will typically share your posts to a larger audience and thus boosting your reputation online.

Social media monitoring offers a look at what your target audience has to say about you, your competitors, and the plumbing market, in general, there is a lot of activity on social media nowadays.

Monitoring this activity can help you understand your clients better and gives you details to enhance your plumbing marketing strategy, stay on top of competitors, build relationships and generate plumbing leads.

4. Deleting Negative Reviews

complain concept

Sometimes you need to request your web host provider to remove a nasty review on your plumbing website. Normally, they will comply if the review is malicious.

Shout out and let your concerns be heard. Write a post to explain what happened, post it on your blog, send it to a review site, and let your concerns known publicly.

Make Your Plumbing Reputation Management Easy with Blackstorm Design +Marketing Today

Plumbing contractors who have been in the industry for long will typically have a long list of customers who have possibly reviews on various platforms, such as Yelp, Angie’s List, Google, and Facebook. Blackstorm Design + Marketing can assist you to keep track of where your plumbing reputation is by combining them all in a centralized place.

Keep business at the top with our online reputation management services

Leverage our online plumbing reputation management solutions to grow your customer base. Regarding your online reputation, our experts will work to:

Get Your Plumbing Company Noticed

With all the stiff competition in the plumbing industry out there, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the competition. Our online reputation management specialists will analyze what makes your plumbing company unique to others by showcasing your credentials, success stories, and board certifications. Then, our team will do whatever it takes to obtain those 5-star reviews and ranking #1 on the search engine result pages.

Emphasize Online Reviews

Homeowners want to find a plumber that will fix their problems efficiently and quickly, so they regularly turn to friends, family, and online reviews for recommendations and advice to identify which plumber is suitable for them. So, ensure that most of your positive reviews are boosted to the top of search engine results pages to help your prospects decide which plumber they are likely to work with and trust.

Highlight Your Unique Selling Proposition

Through content creation, PPC ad campaigns, social media advertising, and retargeting, we promote what makes your plumbing business stand out while maintaining consistent messaging across all platforms so that your clients can rest easy knowing that they have made the right choice in outsourcing your plumbing services.

Establish Trust

Along with identifying the appropriate review websites to promote your plumbing services and create consistent brand messaging for your website and search engines, our online reputation management specialists examine your social media platforms to see where we can position you as an expert in the plumbing industry.

Want to find out more about our online reputation management services for plumbers?

Contact us

As part of a comprehensive internet marketing strategy, online review management can help to improve your company’s authority and awareness. It has never been simple to take charge of your company’s online reputation, and with some assistance from Blackstorm Design + Marketing, you can instantly get the positive reputation you have always wanted.

For more information, please schedule a free discovery call with Blackstorm Design + Marketing. Our experts will be happy to offer any information you require about online reputation management services and discuss your unique needs.

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