Advertising a plumbing business can be challenging for business owners! In a highly competitive industry saturated with both small, locally owned businesses and national plumbing service chains, it can be difficult to stand out and get found by the right consumers. At ReachLocal, we’ve been helping plumbers get new customers and retain existing ones for over 16 years. We know that the right mix of digital strategies across local listings, search engines, and social media can bring leads and customers flooding in. So, keep reading to learn six highly effective marketing ideas for your plumbing business.
1. Claim & Optimise Your Google My Business Listing
The first and best step to take to show up on Google is to claim and verify your Google My Business listing, which will show up in the Google 3-pack and in Google Maps results. It’s important that it has the most accurate information about your business so you’re not missing out on customers who try to click through to your website or call you directly. Our Partners at Digital Maas have put together this great article to walk through the steps to claim and verify your listing and make sure all your business information like your phone number, address, and hours of operation are accurate.
For home services businesses like plumbers, Google My Business gives you the option to list your business as a service-area business allowing you to add the postcodes or radius of your service area to increase your chances of appearing in search results. Once you’ve added your service area, you can further optimise your Google My Business profile by adding relevant photos, including information about your business, and updating your business category.
2. Get & Respond to Customer Reviews
By getting positive reviews you can also increase your chances of showing up on Google for relevant local searches. For example, when a potential client searches ‘best plumber Gold Coast’, they’ll automatically be shown Google My Business results with a 4.0 star rating or above.
Encourage happy customers to leave reviews on Google and other listings sites you use, and make sure to monitor and respond to them in a timely manner. Receiving negative reviews is not always bad news, as it gives you the opportunity to address the issue raised and improve in the future. We’ve put together some great tips to help you manage negative reviews in a previous blog.
3. Invest in a Local SEO Strategy
You won’t show up in local organic search results without local Search Engine Optimisation. A good local SEO strategy will increase your chances of ranking on Bing and Google for relevant local searches by optimising your website’s content, backend components, and offsite factors using the most relevant keywords and phrases for plumbers. Local SEO is the foundation of a successful plumbing marketing strategy and can help you drive leads from search engines without having to pay for clicks.
4. Run Search Ads with Multiple Publishers
Running search engine advertising can be highly advantageous while you are building your customer base. You can pay to show at the top of the results page when locals are searching for your products and services. Work with a marketing agency who publish ads to Google Ads as well lesser-known search engines. Despite Google’s dominance in the search space, Microsoft’s Search Network has seen growth to 17.2% of the desktop search market and gives your plumbing business visibility and access to searchers on Ecosia, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and more sites, powered by Bing. The cost of advertising with these publishers is often significantly cheaper, lowering your overall cost to acquire new customers.
5. Create and Share Content on Social Media
Creating and sharing educational content is a great way to use your plumbing business’s social media pages and engage with your audience. You can create and share videos and blogs about how to fix common plumbing problems, advise tools every homeowner should have on hand, and explain what to do in the case of a plumbing emergency. Through this, you’ll establish trust with your audience, grow your brand awareness, and keep existing customers engaged until a time they need your services again.
6. Advertise Your Business on Facebook
Facebook advertising is a cost-effective and easy way to increase awareness for your plumbing business and reach potential customers who may need your services now or in the future. You can choose the Facebook Advertising objective that best aligns with your marketing goals – whether that’s website visits, leads via form fills, or growing your followers.
By using these six ideas to market your plumbing business, you can find new customers, build trust in the marketplace, and keep existing customers engaged until they need your services again. If you need assistance attracting more local consumers in need of plumbing services, ReachLocal are here to help! Reach out today to learn more.
