Running a successful business isn’t as simple as having a profitable product/service and selling it. Advertising is critical to running a service-based business, such as plumbing, if you want to create a loyal customer base.
Due to the broadness of this industry, a plumbing business is easier to advertise than most other products or services. Simply put, everyone needs a plumber at some point. The question is: how do you convince them you have the right plumbers for them?
This is why it’s crucial to be creative with your next campaign. Look no further if you’re stuck in a marketing rut, wondering how to generate plumbing leads and turn visitors into customers. These 13 plumber advertising ideas will make your plumbing business visible to the right people in your next campaign.
1. Functional Website
The first step to increasing the online visibility of your plumbing business is to create a cohesive, functional website. This website must detail every necessary resource for your local business, building customer trust.
Your website is a crucial aspect of plumbing marketing because it provides resourceful links via ads and reviews that lead to the right pages on your website. The primary aim of your plumbing business website is to turn a visitor into a customer.
You can do so by building a responsive, mobile-friendly, and resourceful website that tells your customer everything they need to know about your business. That includes the list of services offered, locations covered, your plumbing business history, contact information, and other essential elements.
Here are 17 plumber website designs for inspiration to help you take the first essential step to digital marketing.
Allow Scorpion To Maximize Your Website Presence
At Scorpion, we design and build your website so you can tell the right story, generate more leads, and increase your revenue. We work to improve bounce rates, site speed, and user experience so you are free to get back to your business. You can stay informed on your site’s ranking, lead flow, and return on investment with reports in your dashboard.
Plus, you can take advantage of features like live chat and online scheduling to improve customer experience and create a credible first impression. Pair your website with our other marketing services, and you will be perfectly positioned to rise to the top of search engines with SEO, informative content, a better social media presence, and ads that drive even more traffic to your business.
2. Content Playgrounds
Digital marketing for your plumbing business through a website is only successful if your site is interactive, intuitive, and resourceful. Customers shouldn't have trouble navigating your site or leave with questions unanswered.
The best way to ensure that is by offering binge-able content that allows the customer to trust you and your expertise. Creating a content marketing strategy that offers a playground of content to consume will help build your authority and trustworthiness. You can offer videos, guides, infographics, and blogs which help customers feel well-informed before hiring your services.
3. Search Engine Optimization
Another crucial digital marketing approach to advertising your plumbing business is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is the practice of optimizing your content and website to rank higher in search engine results.
That includes adding relevant keywords to your content, page titles, meta tags, and image alt tags while ensuring the content remains meaningful and informative. In addition, you can utilize SEO services to figure out how to make your content rank higher.
Rank Higher, Faster with Scorpion’s Ranking AI
Ranking AI is Scorpion’s SEO solution that ensures more of the right people discover your business when they need you most. Powered by RevenueMAX, Ranking AI improves your visibility and turns visitors into customers.
Ranking AI helps you:
Get found online: Higher search rankings mean your business shows up before your competitors.
Know what’s working (and what’s not): AI-powered tracking shows which SEO efforts are getting you results and where you can improve.
Attract more leads without the extra cost: SEO brings in more customers at a lower cost than traditional advertising.
Stay ahead of search engine changes: Ranking AI continuously adapts to Google’s updates.
4. Local SEO
An essential way to practice SEO in your plumbing marketing campaign is by focusing on local SEO. When Google ads completely dominate the first page, it can be difficult to rank your plumbing business higher in search engine results.
In that case, the best alternative is to opt for local SEO. This is much easier than appealing to a broader audience because plumbing businesses typically only cater to specific towns or cities.
First, claiming your listing on Google My Business is an essential local SEO practice. It allows you to easily display local services ads requiring contact information, hours of operation, photos, and reviews of your business. You may also link to blogs, videos, or infographics in this listing.
The more detailed your Google My Business listing is, the more trustworthy you appear to customers. Keeping track of Google Reviews under this listing is essential as it displays your ability to provide customer support.
5. Google Guarantee
If you’re using Google Ads to promote your plumbing business, it’s best to take advantage of its Google Guarantee feature. This feature is available to businesses once they pass the Google Local Services screening and qualification process.
This will allow you to display your Google Ads at the top of search engine results with a “Google Guaranteed” badge. This can increase customer trust significantly and allows you to generate more plumbing leads.
6. Keyword Planner
One of the essential SEO practices is keyword planning or incorporation. However, if you’re not sure which keywords are relevant to your plumbing business and content, Google Keywords Planner can help you discover which are best.
Using this keyword-generating tool is easier than you think. Follow these steps to plan keyword incorporation with the Google Keywords Planner:
Log in to your Google account.
Click on Tools from the main menu and select Keywords Planner.
Under “Find new keywords and get search volume data,” select “Search for new keywords using a phrase, website, or category.”
Enter the keyword you want to target. In this case, it should be “plumber” or “plumbing.”
Google will display a list of popular keywords you should target with your content.
In this case, you’ll see general keywords like “plumbers near,” “local plumbers,” “plumbing services,” “emergency plumber,” and “plumbing companies.” You’ll also see keywords like “toilet repair,” “drain cleaning,” “clogged drain,” and “clogged toilet,” which are more specific to the services you offer.
If you spot a keyword about a service you offer, include it in your content so you can show up in search results. You can reach a potential customer by posting a blog or video on a topic they're searching for such as fixing a clogged drain.
7. Social Media
More than half of the global population uses social media, so it’s safe to say that social media marketing is one of the first steps of digital marketing. Social media platforms are a great way to reach a bigger audience and help you build customer trust.
For example, sharing short DIY videos on TikTok for minor plumbing issues is a great way to earn customer trust. So, when they face a major plumbing issue, they’ll count on your expertise to have their back.
Here are some social media general best practices to follow:
Utilize the right platform for your small business. Not all social media platforms are the same.
LinkedIn is primarily used for business professionals to connect and network. Facebook is for families to keep in touch with one another. Instagram and TikTok are highly-visual platforms that rely heavily on visuals to see results. The right platform for your plumber social media plan is one your target audience uses and you can authentically show up on.
Optimize your profile
Your profile, like your Google Business Profile, has all your basic plumber business information, including your website, contact information, and hours of operation. You can optimize it with your logo, an engaging cover image, a keyword-rich description and list of local services. Maintaining a regular posting cadence and requesting customer reviews is a type of reputation management that demonstrates your relevance and responsiveness to potential customers looking at your profile.
Create engaging content
The true benefit of plumber social media marketing, though, is creating unique and interesting content that’s targeted to your audience’s needs. While you should be consistent with how often you post, you should vary the types of content you share. A healthy mix of promotional and informative content can make you an industry expert. Use video marketing with customer reviews, infographics and step-by-step instructions to keep your content from growing stale.
Use it as a communication tool
Potential customers may prefer to ask about your plumbing services through social media platforms like Facebook Messenger. It’s important to be able to meet them where they are. Tools like Scorpion’s Communication Suite integrate texts, calls, emails, and Messenger into a single inbox so you’ll never miss a lead.
8. Facebook Ads
Facebook is the most important social media platform to promote your plumbing business. For example, Facebook videos get twice as many clicks as images or statuses. However, Facebook ads are an investment.
These paid ads reach a bigger audience and offer high profitability, with 98% of social media marketers benefiting from increased ROI from Facebook ads. You may also use ads to recruit professional plumbers for your business.
9. Exclusive Discounts
One of the main ways you can benefit from social media marketing is by offering exclusive offers and discounts to customers that follow your social media pages. You may offer these coupons and discounts in exchange for their emails, which you can later use for email marketing purposes.
10. Cross Promotion
Social media is the perfect platform to practice cross-promotion, which allows you to tap into audiences you couldn’t access before. You can do so by collaborating with other businesses that complement your services.
11. Content Guides
Content-based promotion is the most popular way to advertise your plumbing business. This method gives you creative freedom and allows you to guide your customers through your services.
Your blog can discuss how your plumbing services eliminate certain pain points and set your business apart from other plumbing companies. In addition, you can publish how-to guides on contacting your plumbing services to diagnose a plumbing issue.
12. Whitepapers
A detailed whitepaper is one of the most crucial elements to include in your next plumbing ad. In this whitepaper, you must do more than just pitch your services. This document needs to explain to the reader how your services can ease their worries.
If you’re not sure where to begin, here are a few plumbing whitepaper topics to get inspired:
Hydronic systems vs. variable refrigerant flow (VRF)
How we eliminate lead from water
How to determine if water is hard
Guidance for the disinfection of building water systems using the International Plumbing Code
13. Email Marketing
Lastly, email marketing is a step you cannot miss in your next plumbing ad campaign. After utilizing social media to gather customers’ emails, make sure your emails are worth reading. Most customers send an email to spam without even reading it. So, be sure that your subject lines are compelling and eye-catching.
A great way to capture the reader’s attention with just the subject line is by including a discount in the first few words. For example: “Get 30% off your next drain cleaning!” or “Book a new service & earn reward points.”
More importantly, you must ensure the email platform doesn’t automatically send your email to spam. You can avoid this by excluding one-word subject lines, spelling errors, and multiple exclamation points from your emails.
Personalizing the email is another way to get the customer’s attention. For example, including their name in the subject line or talking about their prior experience with your company will help build customer trust and encourage the reader to read your email to the end.
Here are some other email marketing ideas:
Seasonal maintenance reminders: Send reminders before winter and summer to prevent frozen pipes or plumbing issues caused by extreme weather. Offer a special discount for seasonal maintenance services.
Exclusive discounts and promotions: Reward loyal customers or first-time clients with exclusive discounts on common plumbing services. Run holiday promotions (e.g., “New Year, New Pipes—10% Off All Services This Month”).
Emergency plumbing services: Educate customers about what to do in a plumbing emergency and how to contact you immediately. Include a one-click emergency call button for easy access to your services.
Customer referral program: Encourage customers to refer friends or family by offering discounts or service credits. Use an easy-to-share referral link in your email.
Plumbing tips and DIY advice: Provide valuable content like how to avoid clogged drains, detect leaks early, or improve water efficiency. Position yourself as a trusted expert by sharing maintenance tips.
Post-service follow-up and review requests: After completing a job, send a follow-up email to ensure customer satisfaction. Ask for a Google or Yelp review and offer a small incentive if necessary.
Plumbing service membership plans: Introduce a subscription plan offering routine maintenance and priority service for a monthly or yearly fee. Highlight the cost savings and exclusive benefits of signing up.
Reminder for regular plumbing maintenance: Send automated reminders for recurring services like water heater flushes or sump pump inspections. Offer a small discount for early bookings to increase conversions.
New service announcements: Announce new plumbing services and their benefits to encourage upgrades or installations.
Local community engagement and events: Promote your community involvement by sponsoring local events or providing free plumbing advice. Build trust by showcasing your team’s engagement with customers.
No matter what kind of email you’re sending, there are five steps you should take to create your winning plumbing email strategy:
1. Pick the marketing automation tool that best fits your plumbing business.
Before you can send an email, you need to have a platform that can handle high-quality, large-scale email campaigns. And you have plenty of options to choose from. The most popular are MailChimp, Constant Contact, HubSpot, and Aweber.
2. Write a Great Subject Line
A great subject line determines whether your contact opens your email or not. The best subject lines are about seven words (or 41 characters), include personalized information like your contact’s first name, and start with an action verb that speaks to your target audience.
3. Make Your Emails Interesting
Now that you’ve gotten your contact to open your email, you want them to read it. The only way to do that is make the content interesting to them. Focus on eye-catching design and content your target audience actually cares about.
4. Include a Call-to-Action (CTA)
You’ve seen plenty of CTAs before. “Act Now,” “Call Today,” “Watch Now,” and “Book Your Appointment” are all good examples. They can direct your users to a specific webpage, watch an educational video, or prompt them to book an appointment. But not all CTAs are created equal. The best CTAs create urgency, set the right expectations, and stand out with unique design.
5. Study and Improve Your Emails
You should track the effectiveness of your email campaigns to spot messaging that resonates with your target audience, weaknesses in your approach, and other areas of concern. How? Monitor the open rate (percentage of people who open your email), click rate (percentage of people who clicked links in your email), and bounce rate (shows the quality of your email list) of your emails. These metrics are like red flares that tell you when and where users aren’t engaging with your email campaign.
Know Your Marketing is Working with ServiceTitan and Scorpion
Scorpion is the only preferred digital marketing partner of ServiceTitan and when you use ServiceTitan’s Marketing Pro, you can take advantage of Scorpion’s Direct Marketing Services.
With Direct Marketing Services, our team will handle your email marketing, direct mail, reputation management, and SMS, so you can devote more time to growing your business.
How Scorpion + ServiceTitan Help You Grow:
Personalized support – VIP onboarding, expert recommendations, and dedicated account management
Maximize every dollar – Comprehensive campaigns that generate leads and increase revenue.
Clear, actionable insights – Track performance and make informed marketing decisions.
More booked jobs – Drive revenue with timely promotions and reminders.
Transparent ROI – Seamlessly track your marketing spend through ServiceTitan integration.
Direct Marketing Services Case Study: Bayside Comfort
In their first month of service, they saw +15K in attributed revenue and 1,525% ROI.
Plus:
15% increase in total revenue
12% increase in booked jobs
15% increase in leads
Spend less time managing marketing and more time growing your business with Scorpion + ServiceTitan.
Grow Your Plumbing Business With These Lead-Generating Campaigns
Other than these 13 plumber marketing ideas, you may also utilize Pay-Per-Click or PPC ads. It can be challenging to gather a loyal customer base for a service-based business such as plumbing, but it’s not impossible.
By implementing these plumbing marketing strategies in your next campaign, you can become the go-to option for a wide audience whenever they experience a plumbing mishap.
