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.
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.
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.
You don’t want to just start a business; you want to kill it. You crave lasting, deep success for your plumbing business. The world has enough mediocre performers out there. Why not create something fantastic?
Here at the Plumbing Webmasters, we’ve crafted a handy guide to launch your plumbing startup into the online marketplace with faster, more sustainable, and overall better results. It all revolves around one singular strategy: specialization.
Listen closely as Nolen and Madison reveal how focusing your marketing efforts on one plumbing category can produce incredible revenue opportunities. Be sure to take notes and read the supporting guide below!
Takeaways for Plumbing Professionals
Specialization produces operational and marketing efficiencies.
It’s faster and easier to rank up in a plumbing specialty.
Specializing doesn’t mean you can’t offer other services later on.
Specializing for Success
“How can I be successful in plumbing?” That’s a question that Small Business Trends tried to tackle. In their guide How to Start a Plumbing Business, Small Biz offers a few tidbits on building a long-term plan for triumph in the industry. Step number 3 (after getting certified and apprenticed) involves discovering your personal specialty.
Perhaps, you’ve discovered that the inner workings of residential water heaters naturally bend to your every whim. Maybe you’ve got a knack for repairing underground sewer lines without digging up the whole yard. Possibly, you’re the fastest pipe clog relief around.
Some plumbers might see specialization as a limiter on their ability to make money, but the opposite is often true. You can take a focused skill and use it as a launchpad for your startup. Now let’s zoom in on the benefits of specialization, then show you how to get started online (which was Small Biz’ step number 8, by the way).
Why Specialize as a Plumber?
Why do we recommend anything in these sort of guides? To make your life easier and/or more profitable. Multiple areas of your business can benefit from a specialized structure, so let’s break a few of them down here.
Operational Perks
The first benefits you’ll realize when it comes to specialization are operational. If you confine your portfolio of services to a particular subcategory of plumbing, that means fewer tools to purchase and fewer individuals to hire. That, in turn, leads to fewer service vehicles and fewer driving demands.
You could potentially earn as much or more revenue with three water heater specialists than you would with a generalized staff of five. Prospective customers will also view your brand and crew differently as a specialized group.
Reputational Perks
Any plumber can fix a leaky sink. Very few have what it takes to manage a slab leak repair project. Ask any homeownerif they would rather have a generalist or a specialist fixing the multi-thousand dollar ruptured pipe beneath their foundation. Ask them the same question for a busted water heater or a fractured sewer line.
When you become the specialist for a given plumbing sub-category, the choice suddenly becomes clear for homeowners. Plus, experts generally enjoy higher pricing ranges for the same projects!
Marketing Perks
Let’s face it, plumbing is a very competitive industry. If your prices, ratings, or uniform don’t meet a prospective customer’s demands, they have a dozen other alternatives available at the push of a button. Unless you operate in a smaller service area, breaking into the market is tough!
While generalist plumbers may be a dime a dozen, local specialists in your field are probably in the single digits. Medium to small sized towns may not even have a specialist in your particular focus. It’s much easier to stand out in the online marketing world when only a couple others are standing next to you.
The How of Plumbing Specialization
Now, we are specifically looking at how to market your specialized plumbing services in your service area. Once you’ve picked a field, it’s time to start laying the foundation for your company to build off of.
First, you’ll claim and/or purchase the digital assets you’ll need to mold your brand.
Next, you’ll start developing the content on your website to communicate who you are and what you do to prospective clients.
Finally. you’ll complete support activities as you go along to grow your reputation even more.
Phase 1: Lining Your Digital Ducks in a Row
Everything starts with your website, at least when it comes to earning plumbing leads online. You’ll need a domain name (web address) that sums up your specialty with your unique brand. Speaking of brands, make sure that your plumbing company’s legal name is easily distinguishable from typical industry terms. That will make it much easier to show up in local search results in the future.
While the visual and graphic elements of your brand (such as your logo) contribute to the identity of your company, your website’s content is just as important.
Phase 2: Building Relevance and Authority
You’ve spent years earning your certifications and learning the trade. Now it’s time to share that knowledge with the world. We’re not just talking about consulting with customers in the field. You’ve got to share it with prospects visiting your website too.
Build a healthy collection of pages dedicated to explaining (in layman’s terms) each of the critical services you provide. Explain how your team’s experience makes all the difference during an installation or repair project. Pepper in those specialized plumbing keywords into your paragraphs, headers, and picture captions. A lot of hard work and research flows into writing a website, but doing it right is worth the results!
Finally, spend a little time each month adding to the old company blog. Believe it or not, these blogs still provides some valuable juice for your local SEO. Of course, if you don’t have time for any of these activities, you can always hire a team to do it for you.
Phase 3: Supporting Your Continued Growth
Even your website needs a little help in kicking off your online marketing. If you really want to build a healthy brand, you’ll need three things:
Citations (local listings),
Reviews, and
Check-ins
Hundreds of businesses offer cheap listings for your company, but your specialized plumbing company should only require a handful. Yelp, the BBB, and Facebook are all great places to start. Listings add credibility to your website, and they provide more paths back towards your services. You may even receive the odd call here and there for immediate plumbing help!
Most plumbers comprehend the value behind reviews, but they don’t know how to harness them effectively. We’ve found that a smattering of reviews across different sources tends to earn more recognition from Google, rather than keeping all your eggs in one basket.
Last and least known among plumbers is the check-in. Utilizing a tool like DataPins, check-ins provide coordinates, tags, and pictures to showcase the fantastic work you perform throughout the community. This offers exceptionally high-quality evidence that your company is active and trusted. Use this tool consistently, and you’ll notice powerful ranking improvements in a matter of months.
In Conclusion
Specialization offers speed, focus, and simplicity to plumbing professionals looking to break into the industry. Not only can you cut down on the number of tools and personnel required for day to day work, you can potentially command a higher price average on each of your services.
On the marketing side, specializing also helps by limiting the number of competitors you face in local search results. Water heater experts, slab leak gurus, and hydrojetting aces tend to stand out against the herd, in the eyes of Google and consumers alike. With a proper website foundation and continued support, you can produce some astounding results in a relatively short period of time.
Need help getting the ball rolling on your digital marketing? A seasoned (one might even say specialized) plumbing SEO company can make all the difference! Give the Plumbing Webmasters a call anytime at (877) 388-9884 to learn more about your options.
It may not seem like it but this pandemic is an opportunity for you as a plumbing contractor to solidify the professional relationships you have with your current customers, make sure they become recurring customers, and even gain new customers. But it all starts with outstanding customer service. Believe it or not, you can exhibit stellar customer service as a plumber in these challenging times.
And these times certainly are challenging for plumbers. Plumbing work usually entails moving around somewhat freely in the homes and businesses of your clients. But things are different now. People are skittish about having an outsider coming into their home and mince about the place. So in a sense, emphasizing customer service during COVID-19 has a lot to do with adapting.
But why is customer service so important during this time? Doesn’t everyone understand that things are different and that they should lower expectations? Despite what many businesses are doing, now is a great time to show your customers that you really care and emphasize customer service.
The Benefits of Outstanding Customer Service During COVID-19
Demonstrating great customer service isn’t just about keeping your business afloat during COVID-19; it’s about making life-long customers. This is a perfect opportunity to show your customers that you are willing to go the extra mile for them when they need it the most.
If you are able to provide plumbing services in a manner that exceeds the expectations of the customer during this pandemic, they will remember you when this is all over with. They will also be that much more likely to refer you to their friends and family who are looking for a reliable plumber.
The benefits of customer service stretch far beyond the here and now but it is a great time to “come to the rescue” of your customers and instill a lasting and positive perception of your services in their minds.
And customer service is a huge part of the plumbing industry. As marketing experts specializing in the plumbing trade, we see that the most successful contractors are the ones that make customer service a priority at all times. If you would like to find out how you can grow your plumbing contractor business both now and on into the future, contact us here at Plumbing Webmasters.
Customer Service Tips for Plumbers
Hopefully, now you have an idea of the potential benefits of maintaining a high level of customer service during the pandemic. But how you maintain exemplary customer service in a time that is so challenging in so many ways? Here are just a few customer service tips you can put into practice right now:
Social Distancing
Keeping the recommended 6 feet away from people at all times can be challenging as a plumber. But if you show your customers that you are committed to it, you will win their favor. If you are working in someone’s home or place of business, let them know the area in which you will be working. If you need to move from area to area, make sure your customers know that you will be moving. You can call out to them before you move to give them a chance to maintain a proper distance. It may take more time and effort, but your customers will really appreciate it.
Stay Patient – As a plumber, you probably talk to multiple customers a day. And during these times COVID-19 dominates many conversations. Even though you may be sick and tired of talking about COVID-19, a little empathy goes a long way with your clients. Remain patient, lend an empathetic ear and try not to be short with your customers. Everyone is looking to vent a little these days and if you can be the plumber that can smile through tedious conversations, you will have won a recurring customer.
Don’t Forget About Yourself
You cannot give great customer service if you are not taking care of yourself. It can be hard not to stress during these uncertain times, but be sure you take some time for yourself. Whether it’s just lingering in your truck and taking a few deep breaths before talking to a customer or taking a half day to exercise and let off some steam, it’s important to get your mind right so you can better serve the customer.
Community Outreach
If at all possible, do some charitable work. Maybe a local church needs some plumbing work done. Even if it’s pro-bono, it is a great way to show people that you care and a great opportunity to network your services. You may even take some time to consider some of your elderly customers. Reach out to them and ask if they need anything on the weekend like a grocery drop off. Taking a couple of hours or even a half-day to help out around the community will make people take notice of your company.
Emphasize Safety
Last but certainly not least; make sure your customers know that you emphasize safety. This entails not only letting your customers know that you are taking safety measures before rendering a service, but following through while you are actually rendering the service. Update your website to reflect the safety precautions you and your team are taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Equip yourself and your team with masks and gloves when they are on the job too.
Plumbing is an Opportunity
Finally, try to view plumbing as an opportunity to make life-long customers. Think about it: plumbing is an essential service. Pandemic or no pandemic, people need help when they have a frozen pipe or a flooding kitchen. They will call you but it is up to you to make sure they keep calling you. And the way to do that is to provide excellent, consistent customer service.
Get in Touch
For more ways to grow your business in these uncertain times, get in touch with us here at Plumbing Webmasters.
Website design may feel like an artsy fartsy, technical world, but the best websites are always grounded in practicality. That’s doubly true for plumbing company websites, which serve the needs of visiting homeowners and commercial clients before the needs of the plumber. If you feel like your website still leaves something to be desired, there’s plenty of opportunities to start fresh.
Today, we’ll explore how to tackle web design the right way. No one knows how to craft a practical, revenue-driving website better than Jason Ingram, the Creative Director at Plumbing Webmasters! We recently sat down with him to answer some questions. Grab a pen and paper as you listen in, and make sure to check out our guide below too!
Key Takeaways for Plumbers
Keep your design goals simple. Focus on providing key details in an easy read.
Make sure calls to action (CTAs) are clearly visible, especially phone numbers.
Make an optimized page for every category and each individual service.
Use original images of your crew, staff, and/or family. Google knows stock photos.
Don’t sweat originality or visual fluff. Stick with practical and familiar design!
Table of Contents
The Two Pillars of Web Design
People tend to overthink web design. It’s true, thousands of styles, colors, and widgets produce a fantastic array of diversity and branding. The core precepts of web design, on the other hand, keep things refreshingly simple. As Creative Director Jason Landry puts it, “Web design really boils down to two parts: information and presentation.“
When it comes to creating a productive (profitable and popular) site, the best developers determine what sort of information the typical client needs and works hard to present it effectively.
This is where industry experience proves invaluable! In the case of the plumbing world, a designer who knows his sump pumps from his grinders can make all the difference. At the same time, you need a professional who can put themselves in the shoes of frantic homeowner or business owner and craft a website that meets their needs.
Providing the Right Information
Homeowners do not need a step by step manual of how install a well pump. Neither do they desire constant reminders of your plumbing team’s skills. In reality, your clients only require a handful of details from your website:
The exact services your company provides.
Your operating hours (including emergency services).
How to contact your business.
What to expect when they schedule a service call.
Whether or not their situation warrants calling your business.
If you’re popping up on search results, you won’t need to spend much time explaining qualifications for fixing their home’s pipes. While those prospects will certainly feel glad to know you’re qualified, you can easily communicate that with a simple license number and/or badges. Instead, think about the questions that clients are always asking. Spend time digging into those topics and providing helpful answers.
Each of Your Services Should Have a Dedicated Page. Otherwise, Google Won’t Rank You For It!
Nailing the Presentation
Now, simply wadding up all those details into a ball of information and throwing it at your homepage will not produce the results you desire. Countless plumbers fall to the bullet service list trap, so we’ll just say this once:
Putting services into bullets, dumping them on the homepage, and calling it quits won’t work.
There are a handful of tools you’ll need to properly share the information your clients need most. First, get that office phone number and address big and bold at the top of your homepage! If a prospect decides to call your company, they should be able to instantly locate and click on your number.
Second, make sure every single one of your services has its own service page. A healthy serving of keywords will allow your business to earn a wider variety of listings, increasing your brand’s ability to generate leads. Group these pages under a handful of category pages, and house it all under your navigational menu.
Closing Thoughts on Design
Don’t sweat the visual details! Many plumbers think that pretty makes perfect, but visuals rarely drive revenue. The only exception is your photos. Take as many quality images of your team, staff, family, and projects as possible! Google knows the difference between a photo of your master plumber and the familiar face of a stock photo model from another country. It rewards optimized, original photos with better SEO status.
If you decide to hire a professional to design your site, remember that plumbing industry experience makes all the difference! Our team at Plumbing Webmasters would love to be your custom web design team. Our original content, smooth graphic design, and original coding make for fantastic results in local search results.
To learn more about our web design services, call us at (877) 388-9884!
What does it look like when a content writer plans out their newest website? Today, we’ll take a close look at their process as we interview Blair Fawcett, one of the skilled content writers at Plumbing Webmasters.
You can view the whole interview on YouTube, or explore our Content Marketing section for additional details about our services.
Table of Contents
Introductions With Blair Fawcett
Madison: Hey guys! Welcome back to the Plumbing Webmasters Podcast. I’m Madison. Today, we’re going to shake things up a little bit. We’re going to be talking about content creation, but from the perspective of one of our content writers. We have Blair Fawcett with us today. She is one of our spunky content writers here at the Webmasters. I’m going to be interviewing her, asking her some questions about her process.
Blair: Yes, indeed. Very spunky!
Madison: Let’s go ahead and jump right in. Blair, can you tell us a little bit about what led up to working with the Webmasters?
Blair: Absolutely. I have a degree in Creative Writing from the University of North Texas. After I graduated, I became a teacher for a few years in the public school system. After that, I decided I really wanted to focus on journaling, writing, becoming a journalist. That’s where I found the Webmasters.
Madison: Cool! You caught the bug and you’ve been writing since you’ve been in grade school? That’s awesome. A lot of our content writers start with one different degree – anthropology I think was Shabnam’s (one of our other writers) – and they end up in a few years writing as a career. But I think it’s cool to see somebody who’s been writing her entire adult life.
The Content Writer Planning Process
Keyword Research and Placement
Madison: Why don’t we go ahead and get started on your writing process? Before we start big though, let’s go on a smaller scale. Let’s take a single service page, say “Water Heater Installation” or something like that. How would you start planning that page and what’s your process for working that page?
Blair: I’m so glad you asked! I focus on two different parts of the question. One: How do I optimize the page for SEO? The other: How do I make it where it’s really easy for the customer to read?
The first thing that I do to make sure that I’m optimizing for SEO is that I make sure the word count is correct, that the headers are aligned with the subject matter. I make sure that there’s a call to action, there’s a linked phone number so the customer always has easy access to the company. They know what the company does, so they can say “Okay. Clearly this company does…” What did you say?
Madison: Water heater installation.
Blair: So if I’m the customer and I say “You know what? I need a new water heater.” This is the company that popped up and they popped up because I had my page SEO optimized. That’s great.
Madison: Okay, so you’ve clearly done your keyword research and made sure that’s ingrained into the page itself.
Blair: Keyword research is so crucial for this aspect.
Writing Content for People
Madison: Now you said you had a second goal, which was making for an easier reading experience. How are you going about that?
Blair: So I do this thing called “Kiss it. Don’t kill it.” K.I.S.S it means “Keep it short and sweet.” K.I.L.L. it means “Keep it long and lengthy”.
Madison: That’s cute. Kiss it; don’t kill it. Nice.
Blair: What I do there, I make sure it’s direct. It’s to the point, and I also make sure that the customer has access to what’s going on in that page, as opposed to it’s just long/length/tedious sentences that are missing the point.
Courting Customers and Converting Leads
Madison: That’s so important! A natural reading experience makes for great reading for the [consumer], but it also feeds back into the conversion process of actually turning a prospect into a sale, which is what our clients want. So what sort of stuff are you doing to create that natural experience and to maximize that conversion process?
Blair: I think perspective is so important. I imagine two things. I imagine that I am the customer who’s looking for service (like I mentioned earlier), and I also imagine that I’m the company. What is the message that I want to convey from the company? I do one thing that is really important: I do a logical, an ethical, and emotional appeal.
Let’s say that I have a burst pipe in my home. I’m the customer, and I want a service. I’m going to look for something that’s logical, that makes sense to me. “Yes, I need a plumbing repair right now.” Ethical: “Okay, this company is insured, they have the right certifications. Those are important from an ethical standpoint.” Then finally, we have the pathos, which is emotional. I’ve actually had a burst pipe in my home, and it was terrible! I really feel for the customer there.
Madison: That’s so cool! So you’ve been able to take a lot of your own experience (both as a teach and as a homeowner) and feed that back into your writing. That’s great. You mentioned different sorts of appeals you can make: the ethical, the emotional, and the logical. That’s really feeding back into that natural reading experience. So many plumbing websites are missing that. They focus on the sale, sale, sale. “This is why our services are great…” but they don’t relate it back to the customer.
Blending SEO With Natural Reading Experience
Madison: That’s something that many websites struggle with. How do you make sure that you have that balance with those SEO elements (and clearly displaying services) with that natural reading experience? Is that a struggle to balance those?
Blair: No! I actually have a really good team that works with me all the time. I have graphic designers that make sure the website layout is really clean, pristine, and nice. That all the buttons click where they’re supposed to go. Also, something that I personally do is make sure that all of the pictures that are associated with the services they match what exactly is going on in that page.
Here’s something that I love! Sometimes the companies will give us a whole bunch of pictures that we can work with.
Madison: Oh yes! Pictures are so nice when [clients] actually give them to us. We sometimes have to work with stock photos. We definitely don’t want to if we can avoid it. It’s okay, but if we can get those original photos…that’s fantastic.
Blair: It is. It’s authentic!
Non-Text Elements Crucial to Content Writers
Madison: Now, taking a tangent off that, you’ve mentioned that this is just one of many non-text elements. What other sort of non-text elements really feed into your process that are really important for the page?
Blair: Something that we do is incorporate Righteous Reviews…for the customers to have easy access to the reviews and then also have access to the services themselves. We have a really clean look. We really work with our [clients] to make sure that their plumbing website looks exactly the way they want their plumbing website to look like. We personalize it. We make it really stand out as a beacon of what that company’s message is and what they’re about.
Madison: Now is that from a graphical standpoint, or formatting? What sort of styling are you thinking of?
Blair: From my end as a content writer…I do a lot of research into the company. I see what they’re about. I see how long they’ve been around. Every single company is different. Whenever I work with a company, I make sure to incorporate those individual characteristics (those little details) are worked into the page as much as I can, while also continuing to have it SEO optimized and have all the easy reading.
TLDR, a Challenge for Content Writers
Madison: Speaking of reading, there’s a challenge that many content writers and businesses in general face today. There’s a saying that you’ll see on the internet:TLDR which stands for “Too Long; Didn’t Read.”
Blair: Ah! What a travesty!
Madison: So many people are crunched for time. Maybe they’re browsing for services while they’re at work or they’re at their pilates class, and they need to find information quickly. How do you deal with this challenge in a way that ensures that people actually get to the content that you want them to?
Blair: Madison! You’ve actually hit the heart of the issue. The best way to address that is to make sure that it is a pleasant reading experience. I never want my customers to feel like “Wow. I’ve gotten sold to.” I want them to feel like “Oh. This is informative. It’s telling me about this company. It’s telling me about the service.” That’s what a good website will do. That is what a good message will do.
Madison: Mmhmm. I think a lot of great websites, when you’re reading them it feels almost like a conversation that you’re having with a person, not somebody telling you “Okay, this is how X, Y, and Z goes.” It’s such a relatable experience, that it feels like you’re talking with a person.
Key Takeaways for Great Reading
Madison: What do you think are the most important elements in your content writing that are providing a great user experience for somebody that’s visiting the site (maybe for the first time)? They need services and they’re trying to get information.
Blair: I put in some imagery. I put in some metaphors; I put in some details…
Madison: There’s that creative writing for you!
Blair: Ya! Exactly…describe a burst pipe. “Ah! A burst pipe is in your home and that’s terrible.” That way everybody feels emotionally invested in the process.
Madison: So you’re scene setting?
Blair: Exactly. Scene setting; getting some imagery in there. Everyone likes a good metaphor.
Madison: So many plumbing websites when you read through them, they’re just so dry. I’m like “Ya, I know what plumbing is, but this doesn’t really relate to me.” But the way you’re describing it like a person can see the situation going on in the page. That’s really cool!
A Broader Point of View
Madison: Let’s blow up this perspective and look at it from a whole, cross-site view. How are you going to make sure, as a whole, that your content across the entire website is successful (cohesive, informative, not overlapping)? What are you going to do to try and ensure that?
Blair: Whenever you’re managing a really big website, you’ve got a lot of pages. You’ve got 60 pages that you’ve gotta make sure have a really similar message. That it all works together. To that end, on the front end [it’s about] all the research you do on the front end from the very get go. You’re going to reap the benefits of that as you go through the website and create the content.
Madison: That’s a good point. So you know ahead of time what all the services are so you’re not accidentally overlapping on content. And what else are you doing?
Clear Messaging in Website Content
Blair: Something else that I’m doing is that I’m making sure to review and convey the company’s message in a succinct way. Again, I’m making sure that… “You know what? This company really advertises trenchless plumbing repairs. Let’s make sure that message is clear, and let’s hyperlink back to it.” Because if there’s a related service, let’s hop back there. Let’s make it really easy for the customer to have access to these different pages in this big website. It’s a great undertaking to create a website, and with that comes a lot of responsibility.
Madison: Oh ya! I know from experience that process can take weeks to go through, maybe even a month depending on the size of the site. A lot of formatting, a lot of navigational structure is going in. The graphic design team is helping with that, and of course we have people like Amberlynn [our top editor] who are going in and editing it and making sure the message is consistent. There’s so much going in.
Key Takeaways for Plumbers
Madison: Now Blair. Let’s say that up to this point nobody was listening whatsoever. What would you say to plumbers if you had one thing you wanted them to take away from our discussion? What advice would you give to them?
Blair: I would say “Hi! How are you?” Dear plumbing friends, a well-designed website can work wonders for your company’s image. A really good website can tell the customers who you are in a clear way. Your website is your first point of contact with a lot of your new customers, and some of your old customers. By getting a good website, you’re putting a good foot forward on the internet and in real life.
Madison: And you’re balancing that SEO with natural reading experience so that people can not only find you, but choose you as well. Thanks for coming in, Blair. We’ll see what we’re gonna talk about next time. In the meantime, thank you so much for listening in plumbers. We’ll see you next time.
We all love to hear underdog success stories, especially when the underdog is a startup plumbing company! In today’s True Client Story, we explore the shocking rise of a water heater specialist who began with no brand or online history to speak up, and ended up a top ranking dynamo with outrageous success!
The best part: This plumber did it all in less than six months.
Jason and Nolen share how this clever professional managed to top local search results in such a short time. If you’ve been struggling to break into page one search results – you’ll have to be willing to work a bit – be sure to listen in! Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways From This Podcast:
Local search results are more fluid than they used to be, thanks to Google updates.
Geotagging can quickly elevate your brand above surrounding competitors.
Google My Business (GMB) is essential for local ranking.
Righteous Reviews only works if you use it.
A Chattanooga Plumber Story
One day, a fresh-faced plumber – We’ll call him “Rob” – came to us from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Bob shared his dreams of opening up a plumbing business that specialized in water heater services. Chattanooga was no small town, so he would be facing quite a few established competitors in his local search arena. In fact, when we took a look at Bob’s local community, we discovered a veteran company with hundreds of glowing reviews. This Chattanooga plumber had his work cut out for him!
Less than six months later however, Bob’s water heater service company ranked in the local map pack for almost all of his top service keywords.
That’s right! A brand new plumbing business was beating out long-time champions to dominate the local market. With the power of exceptional search marketing and geotagging, this plumber quickly found himself swimming in business for a premium plumbing service.
Let’s dig into how Bob did it…
Localized Keywords Earn Better Rankings for Your Area. (Name & Number Obscured)
Step #1: He Optimized His Website
Given the substantial revenue potential of water heater services, our Chattanooga plumber faced substantial competition entering the market. Bob’s decision to specialize however, actually made it easier to thoroughly optimize his website. Instead of a handful of pages getting optimized for a handful of generic terms, Bob’s website exclusively optimized for a wide variety of water heater keywords terms from his local area.
When we wrote the site, our team also made sure to tailor the service pages specifically to Bob’s target city. A lot of plumbing contractors make the mistake of targeting a massive area (such as the entire state) before they’ve managed to gain a foothold in their immediate community. We made sure that all of Bob’s service pages specifically contained the Chattanooga, TN keyword tail, which makes it so much easier for local consumers to find his business.
Once we mixed in these localized keywords into the conversational writing and engaging photos, Bob’s site was ready to start kicking butt. But there was still more work to do beyond the site.
Local Map Pack Listings Offer Tremendous Traffic Volume! (Name & Number Obscured)
Step #2: He Optimized His GMB
Google My Business plays an integral role in local search. Once claimed, filled out, and verified, this free listing service identifies your industry for consumers in your community. Google Maps listings heavily depend on GMB accounts to provide the best possible results for local homeowners. In other words: if you haven’t claimed your GMB account yet, you’re missing out on free traffic!
We gladly handled Bob’s GMB account optimization, making sure his company was specifically designated as a water heater business. This greatly increased his chances of popping up before general service plumbers whenever a nearby homeowner or business Google searched for water heater repairs. Bob automatically bypassed numerous competitors in his service area.
Step #3: Bob Used Geotagging
Geotagging is the process of attaching GPS data to online content. In Bob’s case, he utilized the Righteous Reviews software integrated into all of our custom-built websites.
Every time the water heater specialist finished a repair visit or an original installation, he checked-in to the jobsite and asked for a review. He also used the software’s automatic review function to automatically request reviews from clients following each service visit.
In just a couple months, Bob collected scores of new online reviews for his company.
“Bob” Regularly Checks-in to His Job Sites to Boost Local Search Results. (Name Obscured)
Better still, all of these check-ins and reviews came with GPS data attached. Pins started popping up all over the digital Chattanooga map where Bob provided water heater services. The Righteous Reviews software connected the check-ins and reviews to the associated service pages on Bob’s website. In other words, Bob was creating undeniable proof of his work for local search.
And Google took notice…
Our Story Ends
In less than two months after launching his brand new website, Bob earned a top slot in his local map pack for his most crucial industry keyword. Fast forward to today, and Bob’s website will pop up on local maps for almost all of his top keywords.
While the Plumbing Webmasters played a key role in his initial success, this Chattanooga plumber also takes an active role in his continued growth. He actively utilizes his Righteous Reviews tool with each service call, and he continually provides exceptional customer care wherever he goes.
Way to go, Bob!
If you’d like to learn more about Bob’s story of aggressive growth, or if you’d like to see how your business can break out through local search, our team is happy to help. Call us today at (877) 388-9884 and ask about search marketing through Plumbing Webmasters. See what sort of amazing growth your business can achieve!
Have you ever been on a kids roller coaster? As a child, the thrill of moving easily keeps us entertained. As an adult however, that thrill changes to irritation as we long to progress to loops, sudden drops, and rapid turns. A kids roller coaster simply goes nowhere, fast.
When it comes to plumbing companies, lead sellers are the new kids roller coaster. There’s a real thrill of feeling your business gradually move with each incoming lead. As your company brand matures however, it becomes clear that you’re paying a frustrating sum of money to essentially spin in circles. Very little brand growth occurs, and you’re left none the richer from your investment.
Today, we’re going to talk about that frustrating ride. More importantly, we’re going to reveal how to get your business off the tracks and into some real long-term growth. Be sure to listen in as Jason and Nolen share real-life stories from plumbing companies.
Key Lead Generation Lessons & Plumbing SEO
Continually paying for leads slows down your brand development and customer base growth.
Even when you pay a seller for a lead, you may still have to compete with other local businesses.
Paid leads are simply way more expensive, both in the short and long term.
Buying Your Way Into Oblivion
Another day, another frustrated caller talking about expensive lead sellers. But what is it about buying leads that plumbers find so frustrating? At the Webmasters, we’ve heard all kinds of stories about people’s experiences with these services. Most boil down into a handful of common complains…
Top Problems With Buying Leads
They get really, really expensive!
When you pay for a lead, you still compete with other listed companies in your area.
Some “leads” are just people looking for quotes, not interested would-be clients.
It discourages SEO for plumbers, and other forms of lead generation.
Buying leads encourages return visits to your lead seller, not your company website.
The Eye-Opening Secret of Lead Sellers
Everyone wishes they could cut out the middleman and earn their leads at cost. After all, that would mean saving thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of dollars every year! It’s clearly possible; not everyone pays for lead sales. How do they do it? The real question you should be asking is: Where does your seller find their leads?
95 times out of 100, lead selling companies source their leads directly from Google Search! Not only do lead sellers pay next to nothing for each lead (even when you factor in long-term marketing), they add a massive upcharge to leads you could have earned for free.
This Local Plumber Managed to Outrank a National Lead Seller and Earn Their Own Leads.
How does that make you feel?
In the picture above, you can see one of the frequently-used tools of lead sellers for acquiring new customers. National level brands like to use localized “top plumber” lists to try to capture consumers. However, they actually have to work very hard to secure these listings, because Google prefers to list local businesses over national organizations. That’s why an independent contractor can earn a second place organic (free) in the same results page as two huge lead generation companies!
Not only is it very possible compete with these household name lead sellers, Google will practically help you do it. If you’re tired of spending lots of money paying for leads, why not invest in making your own leads like this plumber?
How to Generate Leads
You’ll need two major tools to start generating your own leads: a Google My Business account and a company website. Some businesses try to get away with only one of the two; it just doesn’t work well. Now you might be thinking “Bah! I’ve heard about this SEO for plumbers stuff. It takes too long.” While plumbing SEO does take a couple months to start producing results, at least.
So what?
Local Search Optimization Offers Faster Results After Google’s Local Search Algorithm Update.
Marketing always takes time to fully mature. If you have to spend a little money to earn a long-term source of cheap, high-quality leads, isn’t that worth your money? Anyway, there’s great news.
If you optimize your website and GMB well, you could start earning local listing traffic evensooner. In a recent podcast called “Brown Friday” (linked below), our team at Plumbing Webmasters got a tankless water heater specialist ranking for his top keyword in his community within a month. A brand new business (and website) knocked out long-term champions for top spot in a local map pack, which represents a huge portion of traffic.
Optimized Website Design
Your website will need to be fully optimized with dedicated service pages for the keywords you wish to rank for. This supports the local search results driven by your Google My Business account (which is absolutely free, by the way). Tools like Moz Keyword Explorer, Answer the Public, and SEMrush make it easy to discover hot keywords in your industry.
If you’d like to learn more about using local search and organic listings to secure high quality leads, our team at Plumbing Webmasters would be happy to talk about it with you. Consult with one of our seasoned experts for free at (877) 388-9884!
Family holidays are a fantastic time for residential plumbing professionals. With all the festive meals and grease goop going down the drown, it’s no wonder that homeowner calls shoot through the roof! In fact, it’s estimated that “Brown Friday” (the day after Thanksgiving), produces a 50 percent increase in plumbing leads for garbage disposals and sink clogs.
Not every plumbing professional however, is in a place to take advantage of that surge in leads.
If your website and GMB account haven’t been properly optimized, you could be missing out on thousands of dollars in service calls throughout the holidays! Thankfully, that’s what we’ll be covering today in our latest podcast. Listen in as Jason and Nolen explain how to capture more leads through the season.
Key Plumbing SEO Lessons
Make sure your GMB profile covers each of your major services.
Keyword-optimized services pages will almost always outperform simple service lists.
Talk with your marketing service company about optimizing for seasonal surges.
Make sure your PPC ads each link to a related service page.
https://youtu.be/UpilY41-_vM
Seasonal SEO Opportunities
As with many home service industries, plumbing experiences seasonal spikes in demand. That’s especially true during family holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Because this season represents such a considerable windfall for plumbers, it’s also a period of strong online competition. The winners earn premium placement in local map packs, plus the traffic that comes with it.
So how can your business work towards earning these exceptional local listings?
It all starts with plumber SEO, your website, and your GMB account. We’ll dig into some of the most impactful tools to enhance your online marketing performance, both now and in the coming 2020. Ultimately, we’re looking to create a sustainable strategy that offers big dividends for years to come.
The Tools You’ll Need
A Strong Keyword List
What’s the first task you think about when developing a high-performance page? A strong, diverse assortment of keywords not only makes it easier for Google to rank your content, it also creates a better user experience for your site visitors. Each service page should have a high volume primary keyword mixed in with a variety of similar phrases and synonyms.
Where you can you find these premium keywords?
SEMrush
Answer the Public
Moz Keyword Explorer
Ubersuggest
People also ask (Google SERP feature)
Blue phrases at the bottom of search results
A Completed & Verified GMB Listing
Considering how crucial the listing is to your local search, it’s remarkably easy to claim, complete, and verify your Google My Business account! If you haven’t done so already, take an hour. Fill out everything and request your postcard verification. Upload those pics and videos. Neglecting your GMB account only hurts your business, so don’t put it off!
Moving forward, make sure to check your GMB on a monthly basis for potential updates. The address you pick for your GMB should match the one you use for all your other citations, including abbreviations. Google continues to update the listing program with additional service categories, so be on the lookout for ones fitting your plumbing solutions.
Google Ads
A Google Ads Account
PPC advertising is a great channel for supplementing your organic leads. They also enable your business to quickly adapt your marketing tactics for seasonal opportunities. While Google Ads is the most recognized and comfortable advertising option for many plumbers, Facebook and Instagram both offer some cost-effective solutions.
When you create a new campaign for Brown Friday, Christmas, or another holiday, make sure you have dedicated service pages to divert that ad traffic to. If you’re going to take advantage of the upshift in drain clogs, have a “Drain Clog Removal” page ready to go! Plain landing pages are better than simply directing users to your homepage, but service pages generally offer the best SEO power for your website.
Reviews
A Collection of Client Reviews
No one supports your business better than happy customers! Client reviews are one of the most important resources for your local SEO, but they don’t grow from trees. You need to have a system in place to request feedback after service. Whether that comes in the form of employee training sessions on how to ask for reviews or an automated program, consistency is key.
Five Steps to Boost Local SEO
Keep in mind this plan hinges on a solid company web design. If your company doesn’t have that yet, here are 15 amazing plumbing websites to get inspiration from. They incorporate the tips we’re about to reveal.
How to Improve Local SEO Performance
Step #1: Create three to four primary service category pages.
Step #2: Write keyword-optimized pages for more focused services, and arrange them by those categories.
Step #3: Take original pictures with your staff members, then post them in all your pages (as well as your GMB account).
Step #4: Embed your client reviews into your website. Search for reputation management software, such as DataPins
Step #5: Run service campaigns of Google and Facebook Ads ahead of peak seasons.
Need an SEO Consultation?
Want to get professional input on your plumbing company’s local SEO strategy? Our seasoned experts at Plumbing Webmasters would love to talk with you! Call us anytime for a free consultation at (877) 388-9884. You’ll see why so many of our plumbers earn premium ranking in local, organic, and paid search!
