SEO for Plumbers: The Complete Guide

Everyone searches for plumbers connected Google. Nobody uses the Yellow Pages anymore.

This means that if you privation to pull much customers to your plumbing business, the archetypal leafage of Google is wherever you request to be. 

This usher teaches you however to get determination from commencement to finish. 

Let’s footwear things disconnected by answering a fewer basal (but important) questions. 

Why is SEO important for plumbers?

SEO is important for plumbers due to the fact that hundreds of thousands of radical hunt Google for section plumbers every month. 

Many radical hunt for circumstantial types of plumbers too, similar exigency plumbers and state plumbers:

If you don’t amusement up successful Google erstwhile radical successful your country hunt for what you do, you’re missing retired connected business.

Here are a mates of stats further highlighting the value of SEO for plumbers: 

• Every month, determination are implicit 700,000 searches for “plumbers adjacent me” globally.
• Every month, determination are hundreds of thousands of searches for different plumbing services similar “emergency plumber adjacent me” and “gas plumber near me.” 

Can I bash SEO for my plumbing concern myself?

Yes. The basics of SEO are simple. You whitethorn request immoderate assistance with much analyzable things similar nexus gathering and fixing method issues. But you tin amended your visibility online adjacent if you don’t person a method bony successful your body.

Google shows 2 types of results for section queries (e.g., “plumber near me”): 

1. Map battalion results
2. Regular integrated results

You tin fertile successful some of them. But to fertile successful the representation pack, you request to assertion and optimize a escaped Google Business Profile. 

Let’s research however to do that.

1. Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile is simply a escaped section listing from Google. It allows a concern to fertile successful the map pack.

Here’s however to assertion and optimize your profile:

A. Add oregon assertion your business

This is done done Google Maps. Google explains however to bash this connected immoderate instrumentality here. 

B. Set your concern category

This is straightforward capable for astir plumbers as, unsurprisingly, the champion class is usually “Plumber.”  However, you should beryllium arsenic circumstantial arsenic imaginable erstwhile choosing a category, truthful determination are a fewer others to see if you specialize successful a peculiar area. Examples include:

• Gas installation service
• Drainage service
• Heating contractor

C. Set your work area

This lets customers cognize whether you service their area. You tin database up to 20. Just guarantee that the boundaries of your wide work country don’t widen farther than astir 2 hours of driving clip from wherever your concern is based, arsenic per Google’s guidelines.

D. Add different basal information

This helps customers recognize if you’re the close solution for them. Essential details see your opening hours, telephone number, and website. Add photos of plumbing jobs completed if imaginable too. The much implicit your profile, the better.

E. Add services

This helps imaginable customers recognize whether you tin assistance with their issues. Filling these successful accurately whitethorn besides assistance forestall telephone calls from folks asking for things you don’t offer. That’s utile if you specialize successful a circumstantial country similar bath installation.

2. Get listed successful directories

Most concern directories database your concern name, address, and telephone number. In the SEO world, these are called NAP citations. According to BrightLocal’s survey, 7% of SEOs deliberation they’re the astir important ranking origin for representation battalion rankings.

Follow these 2 elemental steps to get NAP citations for your business.

A. Get listed with large information aggregators

Data aggregators provender accusation astir your plumbing concern to galore directories. Get listed with them, and you could extremity up with hundreds of citations.

Here are the large information aggregators successful the U.S.:

• Data Axle
• Localeze
• Foursquare

You’ll besides privation to taxable your concern to different large players. In the U.S., these include:

• Apple Maps
• Yelp
• Yellow Pages
• Bing Places
• Facebook
• TomTom
• Dunn & Bradstreet

B. Get listed successful manufacture and city-specific directories

Plumbing and city-specific directories are your adjacent target. You tin usage the Link Intersect study successful Ahrefs’ Site Explorer to find them. This shows you websites linking to aggregate competitors, but not you. For section businesses, galore of these volition beryllium directories. 

Here’s the process:

1. Paste your website into Site Explorer
2. Go to the Link Intersect tool
3. Enter the homepage URLs of 5–10 competitors
4. Hit “Show nexus opportunities” 
5. Eyeball the results for applicable directories

As you tin see, galore of the linking sites are directories for plumbers oregon section businesses.

3. Get much reviews

Reviews are important for ranking successful the representation pack. In fact, according to BrightLocal’s survey, 17% of SEOs deliberation they’re the astir important ranking factor. 

Here’s however to get much reviews for your plumbing business:

• Use Google’s Business Profile Manager to create a reappraisal link and nonstop it to blessed customers
• Turn your reappraisal nexus into a QR codification and people it connected your concern card
• Give erstwhile customers a telephone and inquire them to permission a review
• Put the reappraisal nexus connected your website

People don’t ever click representation battalion results. They besides click the regular integrated results. This means you can’t conscionable trust connected your Google Business Profile to pull business. You besides request to optimize your website to fertile for applicable keywords.

If you physique a estimation and a fewer bully backlinks (more connected that later), your homepage volition hopefully fertile for evident presumption similar “plumber adjacent me.” But not everyone who needs a plumber searches this way.

Some radical volition hunt for much circumstantial services similar “emergency plumber” oregon “drain unblocking.” 

For this reason, you should make further pages connected your website to pull much customers from applicable searches. To bash that, you request to cognize what imaginable customers are searching for. 

Here’s however to bash that successful 3 elemental steps.

1. Find work and manufacture keywords

Put your reasoning headdress connected and database the services you offer. 

Here’s what that whitethorn look like:

• Drain unblocking
• Boiler repair
• Boiler installation
• Boiler servicing
• Radiator installation
• Burst tube repair
• Drain cleaning
• Toilet installation
• Tap repair

Next, paste the database into Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer, prime your state from the dropdown, cheque the Matching presumption report, past adhd the operation “near me” to the “Include” filter. 

This volition amusement you different section services radical hunt for that see the presumption connected your list. 

For example, if we paste the database supra into Keywords Explorer, we spot terms like:

• sewer drain cleaning near me
• storm drain cleaning near me
• gas boiler repair near me
• commercial boiler repair near me
• radiator installation near me

Eyeball the results and adhd immoderate missed services you connection to your list. 

2. Check comparative popularity

You’ll astir apt privation to make pages for all the services you offer. But it makes consciousness to prioritize the ones radical are searching for the most. 

To bash this, repetition the erstwhile measurement with your completed database of services. As reports successful Keywords Explorer are sorted by monthly hunt by default, it should archer you astir which services get the astir searches.

Of course, this is nationalist hunt popularity (not local). But what happens successful 1 metropolis is apt to beryllium akin successful the next, truthful it doesn’t truly matter. 

3. Assign keywords to pages

Most work keywords merit their ain pages. But it whitethorn beryllium champion to radical akin ones unneurotic if Google ranks near-identical results.

For example, the results for “drain cleaning adjacent me,” “drain unblocking adjacent me,” and “drain clearance adjacent me” are virtually indistinguishable. This is due to the fact that each of these searches mean astir the same thing.

In cases similar these, there’s nary request to make aggregate pages for each service. Just make one.

Learn more: How to Do Local Keyword Research

Knowing what keywords to people is useful. But unless you really make pages to people them, there’s not overmuch constituent successful doing keyword research. There are besides a fewer different pages you should create. Let’s spell done them all.

1. Create work pages

Each of the main services you connection should person its own page. 

There are galore ways to make these, truthful it’s intolerable to accidental what volition enactment champion for you. But if you’re looking for a bully starting point, here’s a unsmooth template:

Here are the 4 areas to focus on:

1. Clarity – Help visitors recognize whether this work is close for them by tying it to the problems they whitethorn beryllium facing
2. Catchment – Help visitors recognize whether you service them with a representation and locations
3. Confidence – Help visitors recognize wherefore they should take your business; reviews, accreditations, and unsocial selling points are the sanction of the game here
4. Contact – Tell visitors however to get in touch 

None of this is rocket science. Even better, the lone spot you request to alteration betwixt pages is clarification of the work offered. You tin reuse catchment, confidence, and interaction accusation crossed them all. 

2. Create an “about” page

Most plumbers person an “about” leafage adjacent if they’re not invested successful SEO. And though these pages seldom popular up successful hunt results, they’re a utile spot to show E-A-T.

E-A-T stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. It’s not a Google ranking factor, but ranking factors bash representation to these qualities. 

Here are a fewer ideas for demonstrating E-A-T connected your “about” page:

• Explain however the concern started
• Explain however agelong you’ve been successful concern and/or been a plumber
• Talk astir your certifications and accreditations
• Explain however you’re insured and licensed
• Feature reviews and testimonials from blessed customers

Learn more: What Is E-A-T? Why It’s Important for SEO

3. Create a determination page

This isn’t indispensable if you’re a one-person set operating successful 1 area. But if you person aggregate bases and work areas dotted astir the country, you request to database these connected a determination page.

Here’s an illustration from TDIndustries:

You tin besides make idiosyncratic pages for each determination similar Mr. Rooter:

There tin beryllium SEO benefits to having a leafage for each location. But mostly speaking, having 1 leafage listing them each volition suffice for astir plumbers. 

Having pages for services radical hunt for is simply a ample portion of the conflict won. But determination are a fewer other on-page optimizations you tin marque to get the astir foodstuff retired of them. 

A. Write compelling rubric tags and meta descriptions 

Title tags and meta descriptions are important due to the fact that they often look successful hunt results.

You can’t get excessively originative erstwhile penning these for work and determination pages (which are the important ones). Still, they bash request to beryllium arsenic close and compelling arsenic possible. 

Title tags

Simplicity is the sanction of the crippled here. Your work and concern sanction successful rubric lawsuit divided by a tube volition usually suffice.

Drain Unblocking | [Business Name]

For determination pages, usage your main work and adhd “in [location]”:

Plumber successful Atlanta | [Business Name]

Meta descriptions

No request to reinvent the instrumentality present either. Just springiness a fewer much details astir the work and your business.

Here’s a bully example:

Things not draining properly? Josh’s Plumbing Company tin unblock and repair immoderate and each drainage problems. We’re present to assistance 24/7.

Keep these wrong astir 120 characters, oregon they whitethorn truncate. (A escaped instrumentality similar SERPSim tin assistance support you in range.)

B. Use short, descriptive URL slugs

A URL slug is the past portion of the URL that describes the contented connected the page. 

Descriptive URL slugs are important due to the fact that they assistance searchers recognize the contented and discourse of the leafage earlier clicking. They’ll get chopped disconnected successful the hunt results if they’re excessively long, truthful it besides pays to support them abbreviated and sweet. 

Here’s a elemental format for work leafage URL slugs: 

service-name

Example:

drain-cleaning

It’s that simple. Just the work sanction with dashes betwixt words. No request to shoehorn locations oregon further keywords in there.

For determination pages, constitute the determination sanction instead.

Having pages optimized for hunt engines is each good and good. But unless Google tin find and scale those pages, it’s each a discarded of clip due to the fact that lone known and indexed pages tin look successful hunt results. This is wherever method SEO comes in.

Technical SEO whitethorn dependable scary, but the basics are beauteous straightforward. 

This conception explores mounting your tract up for method occurrence and monitoring its method wellness over time. 

A. Plan your tract structure

Site operation is however your website is organized. It’s important due to the fact that it helps: 

1. Visitors navigate your website.
2. Google to find each your pages.

Here’s a bully starting constituent for your tract structure:

Each of the connectors is an interior link.

B. Use HTTPS

HTTPS is simply a unafraid mode for visitors to entree webpages. It’s important for SEO due to the fact that it’s been a lightweight ranking origin since 2014. 

To cheque if you’re utilizing HTTPS, sojourn your website and look astatine the hunt bar. If there’s a fastener icon earlier the website address, you’re using HTTPS.

If you’re not utilizing HTTPS yet, inquire whoever is successful complaint of your website to marque the switch. 

C. Monitor your SEO health

Your website’s SEO wellness tin interaction the site’s rankings oregon adjacent halt it from appearing connected Google. 

For example, here’s a tiny portion of HTML that SEOs telephone a “noindex tag”:

<meta name="robots" content="noindex" />

It whitethorn look harmless enough, but this codification blocks Google from indexing oregon returning a webpage successful its hunt results. Even if your leafage ranked #1, it wouldn’t amusement up astatine each with this code.

This is an utmost example, but it highlights the value of monitoring your SEO health.

You tin usage each kinds of tools to bash this, but Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) is simply a bully starting point. It scans your website for 100+ communal SEO issues and advises however to hole them. Best of all, it’s wholly free. 

If you’re caller to AWT, a bully archetypal larboard of telephone is to cheque your Health Score. 

This metric gives you a high-level overview of your site’s method SEO health. If it doesn’t look great, you tin delve into idiosyncratic reports to amended recognize what’s incorrect and however to fix it. 

Learn more: The Beginner’s Guide to Technical SEO

Backlinks are 1 of Google’s strongest ranking factors. In general, the much high-quality backlinks you have, the amended your rankings and hunt traffic.

Unfortunately, nexus gathering is 1 of the much challenging facets of SEO. Getting high-quality backlinks takes time, creativity, and effort.

Here are a fewer tried and tested tactics for those consenting to bash the work.

Guest blogging

Guest blogging is wherever you constitute a station for different website. This brings each kinds of benefits, including vulnerability and relationships. But the main SEO payment is the nexus backmost to your website. 

Here’s an example:

This station was written by a plumbing steadfast successful Australia for Porch.com, a tract astir location improvement. You tin spot the nexus to the firm’s tract aft the header image.

Here’s however to find impermanent station opportunities successful Ahrefs’ Content Explorer, a searchable database of billions of webpages:

1. Enter a wide connection oregon operation related to your niche
2. Change the hunt mode to “In title”
3. Filter for pages connected sites with a minimum DR of 30 to region low-quality sites
4. Filter for websites with 5,000+ estimated monthly hunt traffic
5. Filter for pages published wrong the past 90 days to region those that are nary longer publishing
6. Filter for “One leafage per domain,” arsenic there’s nary constituent pitching to the aforesaid tract many times

This hunt volition instrumentality precocious published pages astir the taxable connected sites with hunt traffic.

For example, if you tally the hunt for “bathroom remodel,” you get 62 results, including this blog station astir bath remodeling ideas connected a tract with an estimated 38K monthly hunt visitors. 

Since you cognize this website has precocious published astir bath remodeling ideas, it whitethorn beryllium funny successful a impermanent station astir a akin taxable similar bath remodeling mistakes. You conscionable request to find its email address and transportation the post.

HARO

HARO (Help A Reporter Out) is simply a escaped work connecting sources and journalists. Sign up arsenic a source, and you’ll person regular emails with writer requests.

Here’s 1 from Martha Stewart Living astir plumbing leaks: 

Respond to and reply the journalist’s questions if you spot a applicable request. They’ll usually recognition you with a nexus if they see your reply successful their piece. 

This is precisely what happened connected this occasion:

If we cheque this plumbing company’s backlink illustration successful Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, we spot conscionable however good this maneuver is moving for it. It has 16 links, acknowledgment to quotes from co-founder Max Rose. It astir apt got all, if not astir of these, from writer requests. 

Replicate competitors’ links

You won’t beryllium capable to replicate each of your competitors’ links. But chances are, you tin replicate immoderate of them. For that reason, it’s worthy taking 1 oregon 2 of the top-ranking competitors for “plumber successful location” and checking their backlinks. Here’s how:

1. Paste a competitor’s domain into Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
2. Choose “Exact URL” hunt mode
3. Filter for “DoFollow” links lone (these usually determination the needle most)

Here’s 1 that whitethorn beryllium replicable for this competitor:

It comes from a website listing NHS discounts and deals for assorted services. The tract gets an estimated 13.5K monthly hunt visits, according to Ahrefs, and it looks similar you tin adhd a discount conscionable by registering.

Reclaim lost links

Most websites delete oregon determination pages from clip to time. You tin retrieve the mislaid worth of immoderate backlinks pointing to them by redirecting them to their caller locations.

Here’s the process:

1. Paste your domain into Site Explorer
2. Go to the Best by Links report
3. Filter for “404 not found” pages

For example, Mr. Rooter has 12 breached pages, including 1 astir its exigency plumbing services with backlinks from six referring domains.

If we click the “Emergency Plumbing” nexus connected the website, we’re taken to a antithetic URL. 

This is astir apt due to the fact that it moved the leafage astatine immoderate point. To reclaim the aged page’s backlinks, it conscionable needs to redirect the aged URL to the new one. 

Ranking work and determination pages isn’t each you tin bash to get postulation (and customers) from integrated search. You tin besides make and fertile adjuvant contented astir things imaginable customers whitethorn beryllium searching for.

For example, this station from Mr. Rooter explaining wherefore your location whitethorn odor similar sewage gets an estimated 13.6K monthly hunt visits:

Even if lone 0.1% of those visits construe to customers, that’s 13–14 customers per period from 1 blog post.

You’ll besides announcement that this station has backlinks from 54 referring domains.

This is different payment of creating utile informational content. It tends to pull much backlinks—especially if it ranks successful integrated search.

Let’s instrumentality a little look astatine however to do this.

A. Find a proven topic

Proven topics reply the questions radical are searching for and aren’t excessively challenging to fertile for. You tin find topics that acceptable the measure by doing keyword research. We did this earlier to find services radical were searching for. But this time, we’re doing it to find questions. 

Here’s the process:

1. Enter a fewer applicable words and phrases into Keywords Explorer (e.g., bathroom, toilet, h2o pressure)
2. Go to the Matching terms report
3. Toggle the “Questions” filter
4. Filter for low-KD keywords, accidental under 20

Here’s conscionable 1 of the thousands of topics this hunt finds: 

To spot if this is genuinely a low-difficulty topic, you request to click the SERP fastener to cheque the top-ranking results. What you’re looking for are results that:

1. Have fewer oregon nary backlinks – Because you don’t privation topics wherever you’re apt to request tons of backlinks to rank. 
2. Were published by different likewise sized plumbing companies – Because you privation to cognize that businesses of your caliber can rank.
3. Get hunt postulation – Because you privation to corroborate you tin get postulation by ranking. 

In this case, a leafage from a tiny plumbing institution successful Washington with conscionable six backlinks gets an estimated 1,024 monthly hunt visits. So this seems to beryllium a low-competition taxable that could beryllium good worthy pursuing. 

You tin besides find proven topics by plugging a likewise sized rival into Site Explorer and checking the Top pages report. This shows the pages connected its tract that get the astir integrated hunt traffic.

B. Publish an optimized blog post

Ranking for immoderate taxable requires content. In this case, a blog post.

Here are the basics of creating an optimized blog post:

• Match hunt intent – If radical privation a list, constitute a list. If a how-to usher is much appropriate, constitute that. Take cues from the top-ranking results to infer what radical want. 
• Make it casual to work – Use images, lists, subheadings, and different formatting to marque it casual to skim and digest. 
• Write a compelling rubric – More radical volition click a station titled “10 Fast & Easy Ways to Increase Water Pressure successful Your Shower” than “10 Ways to Increase Water Pressure successful Your Shower.”
• Use a short, descriptive URL – /increase-shower-water-pressure/ is amended than /10-fast-and-easy-ways-to-increase-water-pressure-in-your-shower/ due to the fact that the second volition get chopped disconnected successful the hunt results.

C. Get links to it

Blog posts that fertile often pull links naturally, but they seldom fertile without links. It’s a catch-22.

You tin get links to blog posts utilizing the tactics discussed successful section #7. However, arsenic blog posts are informational and useful, determination are a fewer much nexus gathering tactics you can use. 

For example, you tin look astatine the SERP overview for the keyword you’re targeting successful Keywords Explorer to find akin contented with backlinks. 

If immoderate of these posts person inaccurate oregon outdated information, you tin archer the radical linking to them and suggest swapping retired the nexus for your close and up-to-date piece. 

Learn more: How to Combine SEO & Content Marketing for Amazing Results

You tin way the show of your Google Business Profile successful search. Just hunt for your concern portion logged successful and click “See illustration performance.” 

To way the show of your website, there’s Google Search Console (GSC). This escaped instrumentality from Google shows your integrated postulation implicit time, keyword rankings, and so on. 

Unfortunately, GSC has limitations, specified arsenic lone showing your apical 1,000 keyword rankings.

This is wherever Ahrefs Webmaster Tools comes successful handy. Not lone tin you way the “SEO health” of your website successful Site Audit (as discussed successful the method SEO chapter), but you tin besides spot each keyword rankings successful the Organic keywords study successful Site Explorer.

If you privation to way section keyword rankings for your website, usage Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker.

For example, accidental your concern operates retired of Miami, Florida. In that case, you whitethorn privation to way keyword rankings successful Miami, Florida, oregon adjacent a circumstantial ZIP code. You tin bash this for up to 10,000 keywords. 

Keep learning

Everything supra was beauteous exhaustive. It should beryllium capable to get your plumbing concern disconnected the crushed successful the hunt engines. But if you’re looking to larn adjacent much astir SEO, cheque retired these resources:

• SEO: The Complete Guide for Beginners
• Local SEO: The Complete Guide
• How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile successful 30 Minutes