Why Most Plumbing Lead Buyers are Bad at SEO

For plumbers, lead generation and SEO are often thought about as separate services but in reality, the two concepts are fundamentally connected. You’ve probably thought about how you can buy plumbing leads without having a website, content, GMB listing, or any kind of search engine optimization campaign.

While you will find companies that sell leads, you are unlikely to find what you are really hoping for from these lead sellers. Having worked with hundreds and hundreds of plumbers across the United States, we’ve learned that not all leads are helpful to your business. In fact, our experience proves that only leads that become satisfied customers, and oftentimes; repeat customers are worth generating online.

These exclusive leads help your business grow each month, year, and decade which is how to grow a sustainable plumbing business. On today’s podcast, we discuss what you really need to achieve that level of lead generation, both in the rest of 2020 and beyond.

Understanding Leads for Plumbers

There are two types of leads plumbers pay for: shared leads and exclusive leads. Shared leads are typically dirt cheap because they are unlikely to result in an actual customer. A shared lead is a digital equivalent of throwing a piece of meat into a pack of dogs.

Not only is insulting to you as a plumber but it is highly unlikely to help your business grow and evolve into a successful company. On the other hand, exclusive leads are far superior because the person inquiring about the plumbing job will only talk to you.

That doesn’t guarantee a sale, but it certainly gives you a better chance.

Shared Leads

Shared leads are given to multiple plumbers in the same service area who ultimately compete for the same customer. Leads like these are seldom worthwhile for plumbers who want to grow their business over time.

Not only do they often fail to convert, but the few that do are even less likely to come back as a repeat customer. Because of the inherently low value of shared leads, they are often sold for much cheaper than exclusive leads.

Exclusive Leads

Exclusive leads are superior for plumbers because you aren’t forced to compete against other plumbers for the same customer. Exclusive leads are more likely to convert and also more likely to become repeat customers.

The ROI of exclusive leads is higher than those of their shared counterparts which is why 3rd party services sell lead exclusivity at a higher rate. For plumbers serious about growing their company, these leads are more appealing.

SEO Produces “Super-Leads”

We’ve established that exclusive leads are better than shared leads but if the lead doesn’t originate from organic search engine optimization or some other form of inbound marketing, it lacks optimal long-term value.

The best exclusive leads come from your wong digital marketing campaigns which means throughout your website, branding, content marketing, social media, etc. Any lead that invests in your business, rather than just a simple job is going to be more invested in your company.

This manifests itself through reviews, repeat clients, and long-term and sustainable growth for plumbers. Let’s examine why SEO produces the best leads for plumbing contractors:

Branded Equity

As is the case with any purchase, the client who invests in the brand rather than product itself is more valuable. When a customer invests in a brand, they trust not just the individual product or in this case; service, but the ethic of the company itself.

Establishing your company as a top plumber in a particular service area (s) is going to do wonders for your bottom line. These leads are easier to sell, easier to ask for reviews, and far more likely to use your service again in the future.

Each of these things, when multiplied by the number of leads you receive, help maximize your business growth over the course of time.

The 5X Theory

Each sale you make with branded equity helps orchestrate what is known as the 5x theory. When you sell a customer through your own organic web presence, you double their value immediately.

Because of their projected lifetime value to your company through actions like reviews, repeat purchases, and word-of-mouth recommendations, you are expected to get 5 times the value of a lead that came from a 3rd party seller.

If each new customer you get falls under the 5x umbrella, you will be lapping local competitors in several months of executing this strategy. All of it starts with implementing plumber SEO and then having the patience to see it through.

So Why Are Plumbers Bad at SEO?

Not all plumbers are bad at SEO, but the ones most infatuated with lead generation tend to be terrible at optimizing their web presence. Because they are all consumed with the final result (the sale), they completely ignore the process of achieving it and the sustainability of their business.

Living from job to job is not a good feeling for plumbing contractors, and living that lifestyle over time is unsustainable for any small business owner. Your company will simply go under if you don’t start thinking long-term about how to streamline lead generation and extra the maximum value from each of your new customers.

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