Like other companies, having a good SEO campaign for your plumbing business will help you reach more potential customers. But what does this kind of campaign entail? And how do you get started with your own plumbing SEO?
Read on to learn our top tips on how to use SEO to boost your plumbing business.
What Is SEO for Small Businesses?
SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, and it is the process of improving search engine rankings. SEO can be a complex topic, but the most important thing to remember is that you want your website to be easily found by people who are looking for your services.
The best way to accomplish this is by ensuring your website content is optimized for search engines. This means using keywords or phrases in your content that people will use when searching for information about what you offer. When people search for "plumbing" on Google or Bing, they will see results with various businesses that provide plumbing services.
That means that if one of those businesses has a webpage that uses terms like "plumbing" or "plumber," they're more likely to appear at the top of those results since Google knows what they're looking for.
For plumbing companies, an SEO marketing campaign has many advantages, including:
- Increased site traffic and exposure to new potential customers.
- More leads for your business.
- Higher rankings on search engines, meaning that more people will see your company first when they use a search engine.
- Improved brand image.
The Pillars of Plumber SEO Strategy
The pillars of any SEO digital marketing strategy are quality content, on-site optimization, and off-site optimization.
- Quality Content: No matter what you do with SEO, if your website has poor content or offers little value to visitors, it won't get very far. Good content is critical because search engines like Google look at the quality of your site when ranking it.
- On-Site Optimization: This means optimizing the content on your website for search engines. It includes things like keyword research, using relevant keywords in titles and page descriptions, internal linking, and more.
- Off-Site Optimization: This refers to all the ways you can get links back to your site. Google looks at these links as votes of confidence in your site's value and authority. Thus, this is an important part of building rankings.
There are many ways to do SEO right, and each one has its own merits.
1. Focus On Local SEO
Local SEO is about optimizing your site for local search engines. This means you have to be listed in the local directories, like Google My Business and Yelp, as well as on other relevant sites that people use to find businesses like Angi (formerly Angie's List) or Thumbtack. If you're not already listed in these places, then it's time to get started.
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)
This is a free service Google provides for businesses (and individuals) so they can manage their online presence across Google Search, Google Maps, and more. If you have a brick-and-mortar location, then you should claim a Google business profile for your plumber marketing strategy.
Having a business listing with Google lets you control what information is displayed and how it looks, including adding photos, descriptions, and hours of operation. You can also add a link to your website or social media profiles (like Facebook). A plumber SEO expert like Scorpion can help you fill in the details as you set up your local plumber SEO services.
2. SEO Keyword Research
Whenever people use a search engine, they will search for a word or phrase that describes what they’re looking for. This is called the “search engine keyword.” The first step to optimizing your website for search engines is to figure out which keywords people are using when they search for services like yours.
As a plumbing company, you want to target keywords related to plumbing and other services that apply to the plumbing industry. For example, if you run a drain cleaning business, then use keywords such as “drain cleaning service” or “drain cleaning in New York” throughout your website content.
You can find these keywords by using tools like Google’s AdWords Keyword Planner or SEMrush’s free keyword tool. These tools show how many people are searching for certain keywords on Google and Bing each month.
It can also help to use Google trends to see which keywords are growing in popularity over time. Once you know the most popular keywords, create ads around them that will lead people to your website and then capture their contact information. Consider working with a plumber SEO company that can help you do keyword research if you're short on time.
3. Do An SEO Audit
You should always do an SEO audit before you start a new campaign to know where you stand and what needs improvement. An SEO audit lets you see how your website ranks in search engines, how many keywords you rank for, and what the competition is doing. This way you can identify opportunities where you can outrank other websites by improving your own content or using more effective SEO tactics.
But doing an SEO audit right takes some planning. You'll have to think about:
- What you want to do with your site's content, and how it aligns with your business goals.
- How well your site is indexing on Google Search Console.
- Who your audience is, and how that changes over time.
- How you can create a site structure that makes sense for users and search engines alike.
- What keywords or keyword phrases you need to target, and why they're important.
Audits are a necessary way for plumbing businesses to improve their plumber SEO and increase their organic traffic. But they can be time-consuming and tedious to do on your own. If you're looking for a way to save time, resources, and money, consider hiring a plumbing SEO expert like Scorpion to help you.
4. Content Marketing
Content marketing is a great way to establish your plumbing business as an authority in your industry and get more leads from search engines. It has many online advantages, including improving your search result rankings and overall SEO efforts.
If you can write a blog post about the most common problems homeowners have with their plumbing systems, people will be able to find it when they search for those issues online. Plus, a good plumber SEO service can help you incorporate content marketing into your marketing strategy.
It’s important to consider the types of content you want to create before diving into writing anything down. If you want to increase your visibility online, you need to think about what kind of information people are looking for before they ever start looking for a plumber in the first place.
Content marketing for plumbers can take many forms, such as:
- Blog posts
- Infographics
- Listicle articles
- Product reviews
Remember, before a potential customer comes to your plumbing website, they'll be looking for an answer to a problem. If you can provide the information they need, then you’ll increase your visibility and attract more leads to your business.
5. SEO Website Design
Your website design is an important part of a successful SEO campaign. You want your site to be easy for search engines to crawl and index, so it ranks high for relevant keywords. This means you'll need:
- A fast server that can handle large amounts of traffic without crashing or slowing down.
- A site map that makes it easy for search engines to find all the pages on your website.
- A clear navigation structure that helps users find what they're looking for quickly and easily.
- A responsive web design that works well across different browsers and platforms.
- Good quality content across the board.
Technical SEO
Your website design should also include aspects of technical SEO, which is the technical side of search engine optimization. This includes things like:
- Using a sitemap to help search engines find all your website pages.
- Ensuring that any pages you link to from other websites are also technically sound; they should be cleaned up so they don't cause search engines or users problems.
- Ensuring your site uses clean HTML code that's easy for search engines to read and understand.
With a strong website, your plumbing company can attract more potential customers and increase its brand awareness, which is crucial for growing your plumbing business.
6. Use Mobile Responsive Website Design
This is a must-have for plumbers who want to be found online. It's becoming more important than ever to have a mobile-responsive website design since more people are using their phones to search the internet.
Whether you use a hosting platform or hire someone to design your site, create your website with mobile in mind, ensuring that it loads quickly for both desktop and mobile users. Your potential customers may be on the go, so if your site takes too long to load or is difficult to navigate with a touch screen, they might get frustrated and move on. Remember that reputable digital marketing services can help you build a website that is mobile-friendly.
7. Social Media Campaigns
Social media campaigns are a great way to get more exposure for your business. But, they can also be a great way to improve your SEO strategy by helping you build links back to your website. You can even use social media ads or sponsored posts to target potential customers based on their interests to get them interested in what you offer.
You can create social media posts for your plumbing business that are informational, educational, or inspirational. You can also share relevant industry news and articles to get people interested in what you have to say. The more followers you have on social media, the more exposure your plumbing business gets.
Social media also offers a way to build relationships with your current and potential customers. You can use social media to share coupons, promotions, or other incentives that will get more people interested in what you have to offer. This can improve your SEO by driving more organic traffic to your website.
8. Measure Website Traffic
Website traffic is one of the most significant metrics when measuring success on the web. You need to know how much traffic your site receives to define what areas of your business are working well and where they could use improvement.
You can use Google Analytics to meticulously track every aspect of your website traffic, including who visits and how they get there. You can also use this tool to measure conversion rates, which is a key indicator of how well your website is performing.
If you put ads into the wild, Google Analytics can help you measure how many people click on your ads, how much time they spend on your site, and how many people book a service with you. You can also use Google Analytics to see which keywords are driving traffic to your website as well as what content is most popular with your audience.
9. Thought Leadership and Influence
You can also improve your SEO by emphasizing the value of your business. You can do this by helping people and providing them with valuable information that can be used to improve their lives. This doesn't have to mean writing about complex topics or creating fancy infographics. Often, it's as simple as sharing your expertise in a way that's easy for others to understand.
Arrange to speak at local plumber conferences or host a webinar. This can help you build your brand and increase the value of your website, which will improve its SEO and increase your rankings.
10. Run a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaign
One of the best ways to get your business noticed is to run a pay-per-click campaign. These campaigns are easy to set up and they can be targeted to specific keywords and geographic locations. This means that you'll only be paying for people who are searching for your services in your area.
You can use Google Ads to set up your campaign. This will allow you to choose the keywords that you want to target as well as the locations where people are searching for plumbers in their area. You can target potential customers based on their location, age, and other factors. Google Ads can help you get that done in a matter of hours.
Getting Plumbing SEO Right
There are many reasons why plumbing contractors or other trade companies should invest in an SEO campaign as they build their businesses. Getting this right can help you grow your business overall, so it's well worth the time and energy that goes into it. If you're serious about improving SEO for your plumbing company, start with these tips and use them to create an effective SEO strategy tailored to your own needs.
Plumbing businesses that are looking for help with their SEO strategy can turn to a company like Scorpion to get things started. Scorpion is a digital marketing agency that specializes in search engine optimization for plumbers. Plus, they can help you with everything from creating content to optimizing your website for Google.
