How Plumbers Land at the Top of Google Search

According to Google’s Keyword Planner , over the past 24 months, people searched “plumbers near me” 100,000 to 1,000,000 times. Per month.

That’s a lot of potential customers.

Now, when I type that phrase into Google, I get “about 14,200,000 results.”

That’s a lot of competition.

Let me state the obvious here: No customer who’s standing in three inches of water in their basement is going to skip to page 16 of the search results and choose some random plumbing shop. They’re going to start at the top of the list, just like you would in that situation.

If your company isn't on the first page of Google for that search, there's a 95% chance they're going to use your competitor. If you want to get that lead to come to you, keep reading.

So, how can your shop land at the top of Google Search? You’ll need a good digital marketing plan for plumbers. And what does “good” mean? Let’s dissect a typical results page to find out.

Here's a search for "Denver Plumbing". To keep it simple, we'll break this down in a couple of sections:

At the very top of many search results is the newest addition to Google's product lineup: Google Local Services. When your potential customers type “plumbers” and the name of your town into Google, they’ll see this at the very top of the page:

In early 2018, Google began testing its new Google Guaranteed program, and it appears it’s going to stick around. To consumers, the badge is a huge deal. It means a service provider has been pre-screened as trustworthy. Google puts their money where their mouth is, too: If a customer books a service call through Local Services and isn’t satisfied, Google will issue a refund (with some stipulations, of course).

Earning the Google Guaranteed badge, and therefore claiming a spot at the top of the results page, involves three steps:

1. Purchasing local services ads.
   
2. Completing a background check.
   
3. Verifying your license and insurance.
   

Beneath the Google Guaranteed listings, you’ll find another set of pay-to-play results.

Plumbing shops that land in this section have invested in pay-per-click (PPC) ads through Google AdWords. As part of your plumber digital marketing plan, AdWords allows you to target people who are searching for your exact services in your exact location. With a solid search engine optimization (SEO) plan in place, AdWords is a worthwhile investment— particularly in the short term while you’re building sustainable marketing strategies.

Also, about 10% of the clicks to a page 1 search result will go to one of the companies in the AdWords section.

Next, you’ll see a block of results called the Local Map Pack.

These shops have been intentional about using Google My Business, which is a free, and dramatically underutilized, marketing opportunity. Of course, landing in the top three Local Pack results requires some work, too. To improve your rank, Google advises:

• Enter complete data
  
• Verify your location(s)
  
• Post accurate hours
  
• Manage and respond to reviews
  
• Include photos
  

It is possible to optimize your GBP listing to outrank your competitor- which is where we come in. Google pushes more “prominent” businesses to the top of the Local Pack, and makes that determination based on your overall search ranking and by what it can find out about you online through directories, links, reviews, and more.

Notice each Local Pack result includes contact information, hours, and, perhaps most importantly, the business’ star rating. Why is that so important? Because online reviews are just as meaningful to people as personal recommendations. And someone standing in three inches of water will appreciate a recommendation, don’t you think?

About 30% of the clicks on a page 1 Google search go to one of the companies in the map pack, so it's a powerful spot for your business to be performing well.

Finally, with about 60 % of the clicks - beneath the Google Local Services listings, the AdWords listings, and the Local Map Pack results - you’ll find the organic results.

There are “pure” results—not paid ads—and the order in which they appear depends on a gazillion factors:

• Using the right words in the right places on your website (keyword optimization)
  
• Using H1 headers, meta data, schema markup, and other types of code
• Developing and sharing meaningful content
  
• Have an engaging social media presence
  
• Getting other websites to link to yours
  
• Monitoring and properly addressing your online reputation
  
• And many, many more
  

The truth is, a solid digital marketing plan for plumbers is complex and requires an investment of both time and dollars. It’s also true that it’s way too easy to waste time and money. We’re really good at getting shops to the top of the list, and we’d be love to partner with you to help your business get the results you're looking for. Drop us a note today and see if we're already working with a shop in your market (sorry guys- we can only work with one plumber per service area).

Levergy is the industry leader in marketing for Plumber & HVAC companies . If you're ready to stop wasting money on marketing that isn't working and start making more money, give us a call today!