Author Archives: Plumbing Webmasters

6 KPIs for Plumbers (Key Performance Indicators) in 2025

What Are Plumber KPIs?

A KPI for plumbers, or Key Performance Indicator, is a measurable figure showcasing how effectively or ineffectively your business reaches its target goals.

Best Key Performance Indicators for Plumbing Companies

It isn’t enough to offer the best plumbing services possible. It should be enough, and it would be in a perfect world.

However, in the real world, plumbing business success requires professional plumbing services and tracking your performance in real time.

Keeping track of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) is pretty much a part-time job. It’s essential, though, if you want to make sure your business is making a profit.

To help all the plumbers out there start to get a handle on what KPIs they should be tracking in 2025, HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters put together the following list.

1) Seasonal Revenue

Plumbing can be a very seasonal business – primarily if you service a part of the country that sees freezing temperatures.

So, it’s essential to track your sales revenue by season.

This will help you determine when the lulls are coming and when you are busier.

When you have identified your slow and peak season, you can begin to strategize to smooth the peaks and valleys out a bit.

For example, if you notice that you get fewer service calls in the summer, you should start looking into ways you and your employees can upsell customers.

Things like making people aware of how long their appliances likely have before they give out can help balance your slow season.

Remember that most people are looking to save money on their water, heating, and electricity bills.

Selling customers on plumbing upgrades could be another way to increase sales revenue during your slow season.

When calculating your seasonal or annual sales revenue, remember that this figure only refers to the money coming in from customers paying for the services or products you make available to them.

Seasonal revenue doesn’t refer to adjusted income after you’ve paid your employees, paid for your supplies, and operating costs.

2) Business Growth

Another critical KPI for plumbers is business growth.

This can be calculated in many ways, but the most effective is determining your yearly gross margins.

This is where you start to throw things like cost of operation and salaries into the equation.

To find your gross margins, subtract your total cost of operations (supply costs, fuel costs, etc.) from your total sales revenue and divide that figure by sales revenue again.

The final figure is your gross margin for that year.

It’s essential to keep good records of your annual gross margins so that you can compare them year by year.

You can convert the figures into percentages to see how much your business has grown or shrunk by percentage.

Here’s a little bonus tip: when calculating your gross margins, be careful not to include supplies you have paid for but haven’t used yet in your cost of operation figure.

Many plumbers make this mistake, which messes with their books.

3) Fixed Costs

Fixed costs are worth mentioning in detail because they can help make your business more profitable.

You need to get a clear and complete picture of your fixed business costs if you want to break down your bottom line every month (and yes, that is certainly something you should be doing).

Fixed business costs refer to anything you pay for every month.

This can include the rent you pay for your office/shop/headquarters, employee salaries, insurance, or any money you pay for advertising/marketing.

In general, a fixed monthly cost is also one that doesn’t change from month to month.

Knowing how much you have to spend every month will go a long way toward pinning down a monthly profit margin, which is another crucial KPI for plumbers.

4) Variable Costs

The other side of monthly profit margins is variable business costs.

For a plumbing business, variable business costs are likely to include fuel for your service vehicles, repairs to your fleet, or any maintenance needed at your office/headquarters.

In general, variable costs are affected by your production output.

For example, if you are getting an unusually high volume of service calls, you can expect to pay an exceptionally high amount for fuel.

For plumbing contractors, variable business costs can also include the cost of supplies.

When calculating your monthly variable costs, don’t forget any increases or decreases in price for the materials you use.

Once you have your variable and fixed business costs, you can accurately calculate your monthly profit margin.

Remember to keep neat, organized monthly records so you can see a more detailed picture of how much your businesses are netting.

5) Performance Metrics

The time it takes for you and your employees to render services, the rate at which you sell certain plumbing services, and how much you are paid for each service call on average are all service performance metrics.

Tracking your service performance metrics can help you determine how much revenue each lead is providing.

It’s a refined approach to bookkeeping and is an important KPI for plumbers.

You can calculate how much each lead is providing by adding up the total amount paid per lead in a given amount of time (monthly works well) and then dividing that revenue figure by the total amount of plumbing leads.

You may have to tweak your service performance if you don’t have a healthy revenue amount per lead.

This could mean investing in training for your employees so they can learn to upsell more services and products.

It could also mean promoting one or more of your services more aggressively.

Even finding better routes to service sites may be enough to fatten up your revenue per lead figure.

6) Customer Satisfaction

Last but not least, customer satisfaction.

Did you know that it costs way less to keep an existing customer than to drum up a new one?

Customer satisfaction is an important KPI for plumbers: customer satisfaction tends to translate to customer retention.

You can gauge customer satisfaction by creating a questionnaire regarding your services and asking your customer to fill it out.

Keeping an eye on your online reviews is also very important.

You can quickly increase customer satisfaction by responding to your business’s negative and positive online reviews.

Customers are more likely to be loyal if they feel that their experience with your business is essential to you.

Next Steps for Plumbers

Properly measuring KPIs allows plumbing businesses to regularly take the pulse of their company.

Troubling KPI metrics should prompt changes in your business model and operations, along with promotion.

At Plumbing Webmasters, we can help improve your key performance indicators with digital marketing.

Feel free to reach out to our team today.

The Link Building Guide for Plumbing Companies

What is Link Building for Plumbers?

Link building for plumbers is the process of acquiring inbound links from external domains to your plumbing business website.

Local sponsorships, email outreach, and content promotion are common techniques plumbing companies use to secure new link opportunities.

Why is Link Building Important for Plumbers?

Link building is significant because it helps increase your site’s visibility, establishes you as an authority, and significantly improves plumbing SEO.

In fact, external links are among the top two criteria used in Google’s indexing algorithm.

Google uses the amount and the quality of your backlinks to help determine whether to index your page.

A strong backlink profile can differentiate between gaining new customers for your plumbing business and losing out to the competition.

Remember, it’s all about increasing visibility and brand awareness.

But you have to do it right.

First, you need to know how to find backlink opportunities.

Second, you have to be able to discern between high-quality and low-quality links.

Link Building Strategies for Plumbers

There are various ways to go about link building, some more effective (and safe) than others.

Remember that black-hat link-building techniques can result in a manual penalty, removing your entire website from Google’s index.

It’s best to focus on white-hat link-building strategies for your business website to avoid this worst-case scenario.

Below are the most effective ways to get more links for your plumbing website.

Claim Directory / Social Media Listings

The easiest way to get more backlinks is to build free citations from local business directories.

Popular online directories like Google Business Profile allow plumbers to link from their profile to the company website, creating a nofollow backlink

Social media is the second most accessible source for external links.

Ensure your business is listed on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even TikTok, and post content regularly.

Create Linkable Assets

Creating a unique and original content asset can organically drive new links to your website.

Generally speaking, blog posts harm plumbing websites because they typically regurgitate information already readily available on the web.

However, a location-specific, data-driven post like “The Average Cost of Water Bills in Fort Worth, TX,” is something that credible websites would link to.

The essential component of a linkable asset is expertise.

If you can provide insights distinguishable from “bloggers,” your post will naturally acquire more links.

Fix Broken Links

You may already have a few external links that have become altered by the hosting website and broken, resulting in that annoying “404 Error” message.

Another way to get more links is to fix the ones you already have.

You can check all the links in your backlink profile with free tools like deadlink checker.

Then, if you discover that your backlinks have been broken, you can contact the webmaster of the hosting page and let them know that it isn’t working.

No one wants any broken links on their website, so you would actually be doing other people a favor by letting them know about a broken link.

Industry Outreach

If you are a plumber, chances are you already know of authoritative organizations that could provide you with a high-quality backlink.

It’s just a matter of asking.

Think about the companies that supply you with your materials, tools, and replacement parts.

This strategy may be especially effective if you are an exclusive or certified seller of certain parts or appliances.

Reach out to organizations in the plumbing industry and ask them to include a link to your site on their websites.

If you work with local suppliers, you can offer a link exchange in which you feature a link for them on your site in exchange for a backlink to yours on their site.

Guest Blogging

Guest blogging can effectively increase your backlink profile if you are already a content-generating machine or have someone on your staff who handles outreach.

Reach out to other bloggers in the home service industry.

There aren’t many high-profile plumbing-specific blogs online, so it’s best to keep it general and stick to the home service, home improvement, general contracting, renovation, or construction niches.

Offer a guest blog on their site in exchange for your backlink.

This is not only a great way to build up your backlink profile, but it will also increase your authority in the industry and online.

Competitor Backlink Analysis / Comparison

You can also find more backlink opportunities by seeing where your competition gets backlinks.

You can use link analysis tools like Majestic to see where your competition’s backlinks are coming from.

This will give you an idea of the types of backlink opportunities available for your plumbing business.

Pro Tip: Contact these sites and promote your best content assets to add value to their pages or posts.

Backlink Quality for Plumbing Websites

Link building is more about quality than quantity.

For example, the impact of one high-quality link is far greater than 100 low-quality links.

Several factors determine a link’s quality and impact on your ranking, but generally, a high-quality backlink comes from a trusted, credible, and relevant domain.

Viewership and established authority/reputation are significant factors as well.

For example, a backlink embedded in the Los Angeles Times website would be much higher quality than one included on your cousin’s blog (unless your cousin happens to be a celebrity).

However, other factors determine whether a backlink is a high-quality endorsement or not.

These include:

Relevance

The more closely the website linking back to your site is related to your field (plumbing), the higher the relevance.

And higher relevance equals higher backlink quality.

For example, as a plumber, having a backlink on a general contractor’s website would benefit your business more than having a backlink on a reptile enthusiast’s website.

Anchor Text

The clickable text that brings you to another page or website is called “anchor text.”

Google’s algorithm has always considered anchor text a ranking factor.

Anchor text also influences quality, meaning bad anchor text from a good domain will decrease the potential value of the backlink.

Ideally, the anchor text should describe what the viewer will see or experience if they click the link.

An example of good anchor text for a plumber would be “How to fix a leak” if the link leads the viewer to one of your pages about leak repair.

An example of poor anchor text (which more often than not produces a low-quality backlink) would be “click here”—as in “to learn more about fixing a link, click here,” with the words “click here” being the actual anchor text.

Link Positioning

Where your backlink appears on a host’s page is also vital to its quality.

Ideally, your link should appear in the content block, not the footer or the sidebar.

That’s because people spend more time reading the actual content block.

Also, it would be optimal if your link appeared early in the content block instead of near the end.

Not all web pages get read to the very bottom, so having your backlink placed early in the content will increase its click-through rate.

Types of Plumbing Backlinks

Google and other search engines distinguish link types by how they are placed.

For example, a link that anyone can build does not have the same influence as a link that can only be built by a website editor.

Similarly, an internal link creates a different dynamic than one coming from an external, 3rd party website.

Let’s examine the different plumbing link types below:

NoFollow Links

NoFollow links are those from directories, social media platforms, and any profile-based URL entry.

Since users can manually input URLs into these profiles, Google views them as less impactful.

While NoFollow links don’t influence ranking as much as other link types, they serve as a hint for search engines.

Research also suggests that local directory links can improve local SEO rankings on Google Search and Google Maps.

DoFollow Links

DoFollow links require editorial placement from a third party.

For example, a local contractor in a different industry might recommend your plumbing company on their own website.

Google values these types of links higher because they require a voluntary endorsement from the person placing the link.

Of course, many marketing gurus try to take advantage of this by practicing black-hat link-building designed to emulate the insertion of a natural DoFollow link.

The easiest way to earn white-hat DoFollow links is to create great content.

Internal Links

An internal link exists on your own website, linking one page to another.

Effective link building is about intelligent internal linking as well.

When your plumbing website is easily navigated, all pages are accessible, and you can find helpful ways to link to commercial pages on your website, Google will notice.

Comprehensive internal linking also enhances the user experience of your website.

Relevant blog posts should include internal links to your service pages.

For example, if you have a post about water heaters, you could include an internal link to your water heater installation/repair page.

Link Building Strategies to Avoid for Plumbing Companies

Because links are a controversial topic within digital marketing, everyone has a different opinion about which strategies are most appropriate.

One thing is certain: using the wrong link-building techniques can result in a manual penalty from Google.

While you may feel the urgency to listen to the latest YouTube influencer about link building, it is better to avoid the following strategies:

Buying Backlinks

Google’s guidelines strictly prohibit buying links for ranking purposes.

Their document states the following:

Buying or selling links for ranking purposes. This includes:

Exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links

Exchanging goods or services for links

Sending someone a product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link

Spam policies for Google web search

Link Disavow

As stated by multiple Google employees, Google’s link disavow tool is obsolete.

If a competitor sends spam links to your website to reduce your rankings, Google’s algorithms will simply ignore these links rather than levy a penalty on your website.

If you choose to disavow links or pay an agency to do so, you are more likely to lose rankings than gain them.

Private Blog Networks (PBNs)

One black-hat link building strategy widely utilized in the digital marketing industry is private blog networks, or PBNs.

PBNs are a portfolio of several websites and domains controlled by a single webmaster to distribute link equity to their “money site.”

While PBNs have proven to improve rankings in the short term, their long-term implications frequently result in a manual Google penalty and a complete deindexation of your website.

Final Thoughts on Link Building for Plumbers

Link building for plumbers is an important component of your digital marketing strategy.

However, it’s important to focus on white-hat link building strategies that increase your rankings safely and sustainably.

Examples of white hat link building techniques include industry outreach, content marketing, and brand promotion.

If the entire backlink process seems complex and overwhelming to your plumbing company, contact Plumbing Webmasters to learn about our link building services.

Our agency has worked with thousands of plumbers for over a decade on long-term link acquisition strategies.

Link building for plumbers doesn’t have to be stressful when you consult with experienced professionals.

Google Reviews for Plumbers (Ultimate Guide)

Google reviews for plumbers contribute to visibility and conversions within the digital marketing ecosystem.

Plumbing companies with hundreds or thousands of Google reviews are more likely to rank in Google’s Map 3-Pack for local search queries and convert users into leads and customers.

With this in mind, it’s important to implement a process for consistently generating reviews from your recent customers.

In the following guide, I will outline the best practices for plumbing Google Reviews based on my 10+ years as the founder and CEO of Plumbing Webmasters, a digital marketing agency for plumbers.

Google Reviews For Plumbers (Guide Cover)

What are Google Reviews for Plumbers?

Google reviews are public feedback submitted by Google Users via Google Business Profiler (formerly Google My Business.

Reviews appear on a company’s public Google Business Profile beneath an aggregate rating (out of 5) based on the average rating and are considered by Google’s Local SEO algorithm.

Aside from establishing trust and credibility for your plumbing business, Google reviews also contribute to your Business Profile ranking within the Local Map 3-Pack for relevant search queries.

Google Reviews for Plumbing Company (Screenshot)

How To Get Google Reviews for Plumbers

While some customers will take it upon themselves to leave a Google review for your plumbing business, most won’t act unless you personally remind them to leave feedback.

While offering incentives in exchange for reviews violates Google’s guidelines, many of your customers will be happy to leave you a review as long as you simplify the process.

Below, I will detail the tasks you can complete to increase your Google review frequency and enhance your online reputation.

Claim Your Google Business Profile

To get any reviews on Google, you must be signed up with them. Pretty simple logic.

You must claim your business immediately if you are not listed on Google Business Profile.

One study found that 84% of people find businesses on GMB through organic Google searches, compared to just 16% who would come to your site through direct searches (searches by people who already know and are looking for your business).

For another, the “near me” category of local intent searches dominates all Google searches.

The frequency with which the “near me” phrase appears in Google searches has increased by 900% in recent years.

If you haven’t already set up your Google Business Profile, doing so should be your priority number one. Once you have done that or already have your GMB page, move on to the next topic.

Get A Google Review Link

Getting a Google review link is simple; you can follow the instructions here.

Getting the link is easy, but you must take it further by deploying it to get more Google reviews.

Here are some tips:

Add review links to emails: If you have an email list, be sure to add your Google review link to every email you send. This is especially effective when you send follow-up emails to new customers you have recently serviced (and you are sending follow-up emails, aren’t you?).
Add review links to web pages: Your website has prime real estate for your Google reviews link. Add the link or button to your home, contact, or service pages so people looking to leave a review for your business can do so easily just by visiting your website.
Include review links in text messages (SMS): Whether you send a templated SMS message to recently serviced customers or reach out to them with a personalized message, it’s a great idea to include your Google Review link in the text.

Request Reviews

The next step to getting more Google reviews is simply requesting them.

Incorporating automated review requests can increase your reviews up to 1,000%.

However, I’ve found that plumbers who combine digital review requests with in-person requests accumulate to post reviews.

Here are some of the best ways to request reviews:

DataPins: Use DataPins software, which sends automated review requests (via text & email) after each plumbing job.
In-Person: It’s best to ask for Google reviews for plumbers as soon as you finish the job, but in-person is still an effective way to get more reviews.
QR Codes: QR codes also make it easier for people who prefer mobile browsing to leave a review for you. Print a QR code that leads to your Google review page on business cards or other branded materials.
On your Website: You should already have reviews on your official website. So if you do, make sure to add a simple request like “If you would like to review us as well…” and then a link to your Google review page.

Remember to be polite when asking for a review in person, via text, or email.

Let the customer know how much their review means to your business.

Most people are more than willing to help a local business if it has done a good job, so let your happy customers know that their review means a lot.

The Optimal Google Review Rating

Many plumbers assume that a perfect 5-star rating is ideal. But in these cynical times, that’s not actually the case.

Studies show that online consumers grow suspicious of businesses with a perfect 5-star rating.

A perfect 5-star rating may signal to skeptics that the reviews are fraudulent or coerced (e.g., special discounts for positive reviews).

While the ideal Google review rating isn’t an exact science yet, most people believe it’s somewhere between 3.7 and 4.9 stars.

Chances are, your company doesn’t have a perfect 5-star rating.

However, too many negative reviews can harm your reputation just as much.

The key to fostering a generally positive aggregate rating is constantly generating reviews so that the negative ones are overwhelmed by positive ones.

Responding to negative and positive reviews can also help your reputation, showing other users that you care about your customers and hear their concerns.

You should not worry about maintaining a perfect 5-star rating; consumers expect and even prefer companies with ratings between 4.5 and 4.9.

Reputation Management for Plumbers

Google reviews for plumbers are part of your digital marketing campaign’s broader reputation management strategy.

Reputation management expands to other digital platforms, including review websites like Yelp, Facebook, local business directories, and more.

Effective reputation management can also help you get more Google reviews.

Luckily, my agency, Plumbing Webmasters, provides full reputation management services.

Using plumbing SEO, my agency can help you get more Google reviews, increase brand awareness, and establish yourself as a plumbing authority.

Contact me today to learn more about this service.

102 Plumbing Blog Topic Ideas To Spark Content in 2025

Before the emergence of ChatGPT, brainstorming blog topics for your plumbing website was a challenge.

Today, AI and large language models can produce thousands of potential blog topics in mere seconds.

Unfortunately, haphazardly publishing posts based on these AI-generated topics can harm your website’s rankings on Google.

Nolen’s Key Takeaway

When I first started Plumbing Webmasters back in 2011, blog posts would rank easily on Google. Today, in 2025, blogging is largely an obsolete SEO tactic.

Plumbing Webmasters performs content writing services for hundreds of plumbers nationwide.

With a decade-plus worth of keyword research data, we can provide a trustworthy list of blog topics that can generate traffic on Google.

However, we strongly urge you to consider other SEO tactics instead.

Based on our internal agency data, we present 102 plumbing blog topics you can use for your website.

We also include the target keyword volume to indicate the post’s potential reach in hopes of boosting your plumbing content in 2025.

You can use these topics for your plumbing company blog to increase traffic, engagement, and rankings, though we strongly recommend utilizing more modern approaches.

Note on Zero-Volume Blog Topics

Although keyword research tools may assign “zero” search volume to a given blog topic, it does not mean that a blog post targeting the query won’t receive any traffic.

In fact, blog topics targeting zero-volume search queries often attract significant traffic from search engines, especially if they provide a unique perspective on a topic that is not currently available on other websites.

Check Out These Plumbing Blog Topics

Blog Topic	Keyword Volume
how to use a plunger	5,400
clogged toilet fix	2,400
how to shut off water to house	2,400
water heater pressure relief valve leaking	2,400
what to do if your pipes freeze	2,400
how to fix clogged toilet	1,900
how to tell if you have hard water	1,900
no hot water in shower	1,900
how to fix a clogged sink	1,600
electric vs gas tankless water heater	1,300
toilet keeps clogging	1,300
water main shut off valve at street	1,300
why is my water heater leaking	1,300
how long do sump pumps last	1,000
how to clean shower heads	1,000
kitchen sink clogged tried everything	1,000
outside water shut off valve	1000
how to clean a showerhead	880
how to clean a showerhead with vinegar	880
how to clean your shower head	880
how to tell if your septic tank is full	880
emergency water shut off	720
hot water tank pressure relief valve leaking	720
water main shut off	720
why is my garbage disposal leaking	720
why is my tap water cloudy	720
does reverse osmosis remove minerals	590
pressure relief valve leaking	590
does drano damage pipes	590
how does a grease trap work	590
how to test sump pump	480
signs your water heater is going to explode	480
symptoms of a clogged drain vent pipe	480
water heater relief valve leaking	480
what is pex piping	480
best temperature for water heater	390
best toilet paper for plumbing	390
how to flush toilet when water is turned off	390
no cold water in shower	390
slab leak symptoms	390
what causes a faucet to drip	390
what size hot water heater do i need	390
what size sump pump do i need	390
what to do when toilet overflows	390
where is my water shut off	390
how to find a water leak in your house	320
how to stop a toilet from overflowing	320
where is the main water shut off in my house	320
why does my bathroom sink smell	320
what to do if water heater is leaking	320
what is hydro jetting	320
how to find main water valve	260
water pressure drop	260
does vinegar and baking soda clean drains	210
emergency water shut off valve	210
how does water filtration work	210
how long does cast iron pipe last	170
how to find water shut off valve outside	170
how to tell if your toilet is leaking	170
how to test home water pressure	170
symptoms of high water pressure in house	170
do green copper pipes need to be replaced	140
garbage disposal problems and solutions	140
bath tub clog	140
how to find main water shut off	110
how to fix a smelly garbage disposal	110
do plumbers do gas lines	110
common plumbing issues	90
deodorizing garbage disposal	90
how often should a toilet be replaced	90
how to stop overflowing toilet	90
how to tell if drain field is failing	90
turn off water at street	90
do you need a plumber to install a sump pump	90
how long does a water pressure regulator last	70
how to fix a leaking hose bib	70
shower mixing valve problems	70
toilet water wont go down	70
what is good water pressure for a well	70
what type of shower valve do i have	70
why is my toilet flushing slowly	70
how to increase water pressure in a house	50
repiping house on slab	50
losing water pressure in shower	40
house water shut off	30
how to shut off water main at street	30
what type of pipes are used in new homes	30
can rose roots damage water pipes	20
how hard is it to install water heater	20
how to find the water supply line to the house	20
how to use a toilet plunger correctly	20
residential plumbing problems	20
shower water pressure dropped	20
slab leak repair options	20
unexplained puddle of water on floor	10
how to cover outside pipes for freeze	70
why isn’t my water working	70
does hydro jetting remove roots	20
how long does hydro jetting take	20
is hydro jetting better than snaking	20
how often should you hydro jet your sewer line	10
how to diagnose plumbing problems	10

How Long Should My Blog Posts Be?

The highest-ranking blog posts typically range from 1,000 to 2,000 words in length. However, Google has publicly stated that word count is not a ranking factor.

Furthermore, Google values user experience, and most users want to see an answer immediately after clicking on the search result.

With this in mind, make sure to include a “key takeaway” or “summary” section near the top of your post so that you can provide a concise answer to the fundamental question of the post’s topic.

Example of "Key Takeaway" in Plumbing Blog Post

Where Should I Link My Blog Posts?

Link to the most relevant service page based on the topic.

For example, link to your slab leak repair service page if you are writing a post about slab leak symptoms. This way, you move blog readers through a funnel to becoming a plumbing client.

How Frequently Should I Publish Blog Posts?

Publishing frequency is irrelevant. The goal of blog posts is to increase organic traffic from Google and serve as social media and email marketing content.

Therefore, there’s no set number of posts you should publish per week or month. Instead, try to rank for as many relevant keywords as possible.

Final Thoughts on Plumbing Blog Topics

In its traditional sense, blogging is no longer an effective promotional technique for plumbers. Nobody is going to bookmark your plumbing company blog and check out every newly published post.

However, with the right blog topics, posts can still contribute to topical authority. The key is publishing optimized posts that target a specific keyword and topic.

These posts can rank on Google search results and bring in organic traffic.

Facebook Ads for Plumbers (2025 Guide w/Examples)

What are Facebook Ads for Plumbers?

Plumbing Facebook Ads are advertisements appearing in the Facebook News Feed and other placement areas (on mobile and desktop) aimed at achieving a specific campaign objective, such as awareness, engagement, leads, and more.

Plumbing Companies can run ads through Meta Business Suite, which oversees advertisements on both Facebook and Instagram.

How Much Do Plumber Facebook Ads Cost?

A typical Facebook ad for plumbing companies costs $7 per 100 impressions or $1 per click. However, cost varies based on factors like location, prominence, and brand recognition.

Expert Analysis

Plumbers can invest in Facebook Lead Ads to acquire new local customers for an affordable cost per lead.

Facebook Plumbing Ads Examples

Facebook Advertising Example for Plumbing (New)

Types of Facebook Ads

Image

Plumbers can use image ads in the News Feed to showcase services. Branded images displaying your team and staff create the most engagement and clicks.

Video

Plumbing companies can also utilize video ads in Facebook’s News Feed to showcase services. The most encouraging videos include your team at work accompanied by audio and subtitles.

Carousel

Plumbing contractors can use carousel ads for multiple images in the News Feed. You can add up to 10 photos or videos for your ad, each with a separate link. Carousel ads are ideal for promoting multiple service types in a single ad.

Instant Experience

Plumbers can use Facebook Instant Experience ads (formerly Canvas ads) to present instantaneous mobile advertisements that capture your audience’s attention. Users can engage with videos, photos, and carousels within a single ad.

Collection

Plumbing professionals may not need Collection ads since they target product-based sales, which most plumbers avoid. Like Instant Experience ads, Collection ads reach users on their mobile devices.

Facebook Advertising Objectives for Plumbers

Before crafting a Facebook ad, plumbers must set a business goal. Your objective should reflect how you want users to act once seeing your promotion.

For instance, if your goal is to showcase your new plumbing website, you can launch an ad that gets traffic to your URL.

Check out the list of objectives below.

Awareness

Awareness objectives create interest in your plumbing services. Producing more awareness showcases your brand and its value.

One example is a plumber looking to expand their service area to a nearby town. By using the brand awareness goal, you can launch a campaign that inspires locals to choose your plumbing company.

Consideration

Consideration objectives get users thinking about your overall brand. One example might be a local plumber with a new website who uses a traffic objective to streamline new visitors to the website and allow your on-site conversion optimization to do the rest.

Conversions

Conversion objectives are more suited to storefront businesses. Although they typically produce store traffic, plumbers can still creatively utilize them to get on-site sign-ups and other exciting engagements.

For most plumbing companies, objectives evolve. New plumbers may initially focus primarily on awareness. As they build more customers, their goals may progress toward capturing new clients in other service areas. Of course, your company’s budget may also dictate its objectives.

Facebook Ads work best when combined with other digital marketing techniques, such as SEO, and will yield the best ROI in 2025.

Facebook Lead Ads for Plumbing Companies

Some plumbers may hope to convert new customers directly on Facebook. Sometimes, businesses lose out on leads when they visit your website or landing page. As a solution, Facebook Lead Ads create a more straightforward process.

The social platform pre-fills lead forms with the user’s information, like name, phone number, etc., so that more people complete the submission.

Mobile Consideration

Submitting forms on mobile can be a significant deterrence for prospects. Facebook’s pre-filled mobile forms eliminate one of the most significant causes of drop-offs.

Audience Targeting

Not everyone needs your plumbing services. Spending your advertising money on the right audience can streamline lead generation to focus on the most probable clients.

In 2025, Meta’s Advantage+ audience targeting produces the most cost-effective results. This AI-driven algorithm optimizes your ad’s reach to deliver your ads to the most optimal audience.

While some advertisers still prefer to control targeting by restricting ad targeting to users with specific “interests,” they will never be more intelligent than the algorithm.

Luckily, Meta offers a “best of both worlds” option by allowing campaign managers to list specific user interests, such as “homeownership” or “home improvement,” as suggestions to help direct the Advantage+ algorithm.

Survey Application

Qualify your leads further with custom forms that eliminate false leads and spam. Filter out wasted resources and focus on ROI.

CRM Integration

Get plumbing leads to send directly to your 3rd party CRM so you can complete your standard sales process with each prospect.

Facebook Ad Budget for Plumbing Businesses

Your budget is how much you spend on ads and helps you control spending for a specific ad set or campaign. You can either choose an overall campaign budget or assign individual funds to each ad set. Facebook’s built-in CBO tool automatically optimizes your budget if you utilize its presence.

Campaign Budgets

Campaign budgets utilize CBO by default, automatically optimizing your campaign budget in real time. The tool allows advertisers to focus on other areas while the algorithm does the heavy lifting of budget management.

Ad Set Budgets

Alternatively, plumbers may set specific budgets for each ad set, which gives advertisers more control but more work. Manual ad-set budgeting can be helpful for companies with dynamic objectives.

Daily Budgets

Your daily budget is how much you spend on a set or campaign daily. If you’re looking for consistent results, daily budgets often work best. It can also eliminate complications of distributing separate fund amounts each day. Keep in mind that daily budgets have no hard cap.

Lifetime Budgets

A lifetime budget is what you’ll spend over a campaign or ad set’s entire span. Unlike daily funds, lifetime budgets do have a hard cap. If you can’t exceed a specific number, lifetime budgets work best. Your daily spending will likely vary, however, despite the lifetime cap.

Get The Most Out of Your Plumber Facebook Ads

According to Statista, Facebook Advertising grossed 2.02 million in ad spend in 2023. It’s no secret that businesses spend on Facebook. However, many of these dollars ultimately created zero returns.

Plumbers must be clever with their ad spend and focus on their creativity to maximize results.

Consider partnering with HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters for your Facebook Advertising needs in 2025 and beyond.

The $30,000 Plumbing Marketing Budget

A plumber’s marketing budget varies by location, goals, and philosophy. However, when it comes down to resource distribution, many plumbers are engaging in self-defeating behaviors. Spending $30,000 on paid ads is not smart when you understand the whole story of digital marketing. Reports suggest organic results get 75% of the clicks while paid ads get only 25%. So even though you think you’re ranking on top of Google, only 25% of the users are even going to consider clicking. That’s when you must re-think your marketing investments. Listen to today’s podcast to get a better understanding of where resources should be distributed for your company.

Paid Ads Shouldn’t be Your Whole Budget

Google Ads, formerly Google AdWords remains a top choice for plumbers marketing online. Paid ads can work if properly executed, but generally speaking, they are more expensive than their results would merit. We had a client who came to us with a $30,000 marketing budget. Their only investment was paid advertising. They didn’t pay for organic SEO and didn’t rank for any good keywords. They weren’t paying for leads either or working on branded signals through social media and other channels. While this type of setup might seem tempting, the results will disappoint you. Let’s take a look at other marketing channels that can provide better ROI for plumbing pros.

Organic SEO

Since reports indicate organic clicks are 75% of all clicks, plumbers should go towards the majority. Most users are going to click on organic (either map pack or traditional links) over paid ads. Furthermore, consumers who click on organic are typically better prospects. They’ve done more research and have a better understanding of their plumbing needs. For this reason, all plumbers should invest some budget in organic SEO services. There’s limited downside to organic SEO aside from it taking a while to show up. The money you lose on PPC will outweigh any delay in returns from SEO campaigns that focus on organic clicks.

Web Design

A website budget is often overlooked in today’s microwave society. Converting traffic into leads relies on proper calls-to-action and lead magnets. It also depends on the aesthetics and user experience that the website projects. Plumbers should look into website design services that include schema markup and click-to-call functionality. Mobile users will have the option to click on phone numbers and be connected to your cell phone. Obsolete designs discourage lead generation and damage brand image. Not all marketing is based on immediate results. Long-term and scalable solutions are the ultimate separator for successful plumbers.

Branded Signals

The most overlooked aspect of SEO is branded signaling. Since it’s a somewhat vague term, many contractors don’t fully grasp what it means. Word of mouth was always a great marketing tool for contractors but the same concept has now been digitized. Google can detect brand signaling through a variety of sources including online review platforms, social media, and check-in technology from software like BrandREVU. Essentially, Google wants to validate your brad’s credibility. The strategy of “tricking” Google no longer works, and it’s not something plumbing pros should aspire to do anyway. Long-term investments help grow your business into a force.

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How Plumbing Content Evolves in 2020/2021

There’s plenty of misconceptions about content in the SEO industry. For one, the phrase “content is king” has been misused and misrepresented among the industry’s most arrogant and delusional participants. While content is very important for ranking on search engine results, the manner in which it’s outlined, written, and published is ultimately what determines its value. Word count alone no longer matters in plumbing SEO in 2020. What matters is user experience and the satisfaction of user intent.

Working With Google, Not Against it

Google wants to rank the best plumbers in a given area. Your job, our job (if you hire us) is to ensure that Google understands your credibility as a plumbing company. This is accomplished through different forms of content. Pages remain integral to ranking for various keywords, but text content alone is no longer enough to distinguish your website. New forms of content like jobsite check-ins are the most innovative way to rank in 2020 and moving towards 2021. Videos, images, and review widgets also help.

Targeting Various Keywords

Obviously, plumbers want to rank for the keyword term plumber near me. But you won’t rank for that keyword unless you established something known as topical authority. To do so, you need to understand the types of services you offer along with which keywords people search for when looking for them. You might think of services like pipe drain repair and water heater repair, for example. Each of these terms should have its own dedicated page of content so that Google can index each term on a page-level.

Enriching Content With Check-ins

Hiring a content writer to write about drain pipe repair seemed like a good idea 5 and 10 years ago. But today, that kind of content is formulaic and uninformed. The writer is unlikely to have hands-on experience with water heaters and therefore is incapable of providing the unique insights that readers are actually looking for. The answer to this problem is jobsite check-ins. If you use plumbing reputation management software like BrandRevu you can populate each page with check-ins from jobs that relate to the specific service. Not the content is enhanced by actual proof of service.

Enhancing UX & SEO With Internal Links

Menus help users navigate through the website, but for lesser visited pages, internal links are critical. For example, your water heater repair service page might make reference to drain pipes, in which case you’ll want to link to your drain pipe repair page. This helps the users navigate seamlessly throughout your content without having to consult with the menus and submenus each time. Furthermore, internal links strengthen pages on your website. You never want to have orphan pages which are pages that have no internal links pointing to it. Google may not find it because there is no crawl route towards it. Therefore, it won’t rank at all.

Content Projections for 2021

SEO changes every year, so you can expect some different trends to arise in 2021. When it comes specifically to content, expect Google to further prioritize value and intent over word count and length. Many users look for websites to solve a problem quickly, not to spend hours looking for a solution. Instead of writing 1500 word pages about plumbing repair, you can get your point across in less than 500 words. This assumes you provide social proof through jobsite check-ins and review widgets.

Quality over Quantity

Prior to Google’s latest evolution, quality content would often mistakenly be judged by word count. Long content does not translate to quality content. In fact, many long blog posts are painful to read and something that users just skim through until they find their desired answer. Ways to combat that are through TOC plugins that provide links to each header. This way, the user can simply click on the section they are interested in, without having to go through the whole page. For plumbers, 1500 word pages are uncommon anyway. The most important thing is that the website promotes quality and efficiency instead of long and drawn out quantity.

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Most People Buy HVAC – Plumbing SEO Magic

Some plumbers and HVAC contractors, we speak to believe that SEO is a magic trick. These people aren’t fools, they are just misinformed. There’s a point of view from people outside the industry that proper SEO requires some kind of magical formula. The truth is that SEO is very straightforward when done right. Furthermore, Google can’t be tricked in the way that it could be in the early 2000s. Stop trying to trick Google and focus on your users instead. If you track Google’s algorithm updates you know it’s their end goal to provide the best experience to searchers and to satisfy their queries or intent. Check out today’s plumbing SEO podcast to learn more:

Don’t Try to Trick Google

Trying to trick Google is a lonely road that ends with a penalty and potentially bankruptcy for your plumbing or HVAC business. It depends of course how reliant you are on organic traffic for leads, but it’s going to be very difficult to sustain success without any organic traffic. Aside from the possibility of a penalty, Google is away too smart to be tricked in 2020. Their algorithm updates have address every kind of shady tactic from link manipulation to low-quality content production. Steer clear at all costs.

Google Values Credible Brands

One of the primary reasons why Google can no longer be gamed by shady tactics is because they’ve increased the value of brand credibility. This value optimization allows Google to ignore tricks from SEO scammers who don’t work with credible brands. For example, a local plumber with no reviews or reputation can build thousands of inbound links, but never rank well. Why? Because Google knows that nobody cares about their brand. In fact, their brand may not even be legitimate in the first place. Google uses signals from 3rd party sources as well as their own search data to determine whether a brand is credible and engaging for local consumers.

Brands are Built Through Engagement

Building your HVAC or plumbing brand is a holistic process. Whether you have yard signs, newspaper ads, or simply a good reputation in local neighborhoods, you build your brand by performing great services. These offline behaviors are then translated online with the help of reputation management software like BrandRevu. It’s important that Google sees your reviews on your Google My Business listing along with other 3rd party platforms like Yelp, Facebook, and Better Business Bureau. As you build on your reputation, your SEO should improve even more than before. Responding to reviews is also a highly-suggested marketing technique going forward.

Check-ins Help with Branding

There’s some reputation management software for plumbers that supports local check-ins. Our favorites at HVAC – Plumber SEO Webmasters is BrandRevu. This software allows for local contractors to check-in at job sites and have those check-ins displayed on the appropriate page of the website. For example, you service a water heater in Dallas, TX, and take a picture of the tank. This picture, along with the other check-in information, is automatically populated on your water heater repair page. That’s the best SEO you can get. Forget about all this manipulative stuff and focus on actual work you do. Not only does Google prefer it but so do your website visitors.

Do Digital Signaling

We talked about reputation management software and how it can help build branding signals for Google and your prospective customers. There are other kinds of signals that can contribute to your success. Reviews, check-ins, social media activity, and YouTube videos are all effective signals for search engine optimization. Not every plumber or HVAC contractor is comfortable filming YouTube videos but think about how you can make your media unique through images. Websites with pictures of your team, equipment, and trucks almost always convert at a higher rate than stock photos. Responding to inquiries on Facebook and Twitter is another good signal. Listen to more plumbing SEO podcasts to learn about SEO tips.

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Why Inbound Linking is Dangerous for Plumbers & HVAC Contractors

Since the birth of SEO, link building has been one of the most polarizing topics. We know that links are an important ranking factor today, but that the quality of the link is now of much greater importance. When Google first launched, they could not distinguish a natural link from an unnatural one. With this in mind, SEO professionals used spam and schemes to get to a #1 ranking. Many plumbers think these tactics still work in 2020, but they’re very wrong. Google’s quality guidelines on links are quite clear. Furthermore, penalties are still being handed out, and Google has said publicly that paid links don’t help rankings because they are ignored. Check out today’s episode of the Plumbing SEO Podcast to learn more:

Understanding Google’s Guidelines

Google states “Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site’s ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.” They really couldn’t have been more clear about their stance on links. Still, plumbers tend to ignore their advice and argue that links do in fact help sites rank high. While links are certainly one of the factors search engines use to determine credibility, the search engine has gotten much better at properly valuing links. So while links that are gained naturally through brand recognition and quality content are helpful, any type of deliberate link building violates Google’s guidelines and should be avoided by plumbing and HVAC companies.

What are “Natural” Links?

Natural links are those that are earned rather than built. So instead of begging your friend to link to you on their website, you earn the link naturally from your local Chamber of Commerce, who recognizes your plumbing company as a staple of the community. Links are intended to represent real-life connections. In other words, organizations that revere you in person can demonstrate that on their website. Conversely, unnatural links come from institutions that you are not affiliated with and have no good reason to link to you. Creating great content on your blog with independent research is another way to earn natural links since other websites will cite your blog post as a source, even if they don’t know you.

Can Plumbers Use Guest Posts to Build Links?

There’s been some confusion over the years about the validity of guest post links. Google has come out recently and re-stated that all guest post links should have the nofollow attribute, meaning they won’t pass full PageRank. So to be clear, guest post links are not the best method to get quality inbound links. After all, they’re unnatural because the person writing the post has the incentive to link to their own site, rather than to earn such a link in the natural manners we discussed previously. Any type of massive-scale guest post campaign you were running is not only worthless in regard to rankings, but it can also get you penalized by Google. Focus on branding your company offline and creating great content.

How to Rank Without Linking

Since link building is not a viable option for plumbers in 2020, the focus must shift to factors that adhere to Google’s quality guidelines. Engagement is one of the main factors Google looks at today. Whether it’s reviews, social signals, user-generated content, or simply click-through-rate (CTR), Google will take notice. The best way to increase engagement is by investing in review software for plumbers, such as BrandRevu. This software allows for jobsite check-ins so that plumbers can verify their presence in different service areas around their main city. These check-ins are populated onto the appropriate page (city page, service page, etc.) so that users can easily verify that you were in that city and performed that service.

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The Type of Plumber That Knows How to Market

When it comes down to the plumbing population, about 80% don’t take marketing seriously. These plumbers are satisfied with the status quo and don’t wish to grow their plumbing company and make more money. That leaves an additional 20% who aspire for a greater life, and business. These plumbers have made an important first step in the marketing process, which is a very personal one. It is the will to improve their lifestyle through digital marketing. They understand that without a deliberate intention to improve, nothing will ever change. With that being said, not every plumber within that ambitious 20% knows how to market. In fact, it’s only about 1 out of 100 of those ambitious plumbers that are running on all cylinders. Here’s what that type of plumber knows to do:

Organic SEO

Organic SEO is the best return for plumbers in 2020. Contractors with 15 trucks on the ground are dominating organic search results in their market. Not only do they show up on organic results for keywords like plumbing repair dallas tx but they also get plenty of searches of their brand name. Since they’ve been established in their community as a top plumber, people are seeing their yard signs, or hearing about them from neighbors and then searching them on Google. This is where reputation makes a major difference, which we will expand on more later.

Local SEO

For plumbers, in particular, Google’s Local 3-Pack is critical to lead generation. It is important that your business listing shows up for search queries like plumber near me and plumbing repair near me. The local SEO algorithm is separate from the organic one and is based specifically on proximity, relevance, and prominence. An effective SEO strategy is locally focused and involves optimizing GMB listings as well as company websites. Reviews are helpful to local SEO which we will expand on in our reputation management section for plumbing companies.

Reputation Management

We’ve already referenced reputation management twice, so it’s important to expand on the idea. Plumbers who succeed in 2020 have a positive reputation online. This is executed through review generation, specifically on Google and Facebook. Review software for plumbers like BrandRevu is the secret weapon to establishing credibility through reviews. The software sends SMS text reminders with review links to ensure the consumer can simply and effortlessly leave a glowing review of your service. The more reviews your listings accumulate, the greater your prominence score is and the better chance you have of ranking on the Local 3-Pack.

Web Design

Plumbers who succeed have an established website with proper design. We cannot stress enough that the best plumbing websites use schema markup, clean codebase, and user experience optimization. Site speed is a critical factor in 2020 and it is urgent that users can browse through your website efficiently. Call to actions through click-to-call functionality are equally important when it comes to web design. Mobile users should have the option to connect to your phone straight from theirs. Embedded contact forms that are mobile-friendly is also something to consider for new plumbing websites.

Content Marketing

Web design is great but without content, the site won’t make the impact it is intended to. Every plumbing website should have more than a Homepage, About us page and Contact us page. Plumbers with 15 trucks on the ground didn’t get there with a 3-page website. Instead, they had content written for each one of their services like water heater repair, toilet repair, garbage disposal repair, etc. Content is only effective when it is written uniquely and not copied from other sources. Google hates duplicate content and will not rank your pages if they flag it as scraped. It is important to use your content to internally link to other pages and help your visitors through a logical sales funnel.

The Plumbing Webmasters Plan

Looking to take your company to the next level in 2020 and 2021? Do you aspire to go from the 80% of plumbers who don’t care to the 20% who aspire to be great? How about becoming the 1% who dominates online through SEO, local mapping, and web design? You can be part of this exclusive club if you simply follow the Plumbing Webmasters marketing plan. For more podcasts, check out our series The Plumbing SEO Podcast wherever you download your podcasts and RSS feeds.

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