A plumber sets up plumbing systems, clears blockages, fixes sinks, and more. When plumbers have to search ‘how to market my plumbing business?’, they know it’s time to seek help. A plumber’s expertise ends before Google Ads and Digital Marketing appear in any sentence.
Plumbers have the unique advantage of getting referrals and word-of-mouth marketing, but any plumber who wants to build a successful business with a consistent stream of customers and a strong online presence that will make it easier for people to find them will need to make digital marketing part of their marketing strategy.
Marketing for Plumbers: Where to Start?
With the events of the past year and the ongoing pandemic, business owners now value the many benefits of online marketing.
Word of mouth marketing is still useful, but nothing beats the power on digital marketing for your plumbing business. While referrals are useful, they can only go so far. There are no limitations on distance, reach, and audience in digital marketing. You can create content and put it before people who will need your service.
Plumbing Internet Marketing
Marketing a plumbing business on the internet is now easier than ever before. Search engines, and other digital platforms make it easy to reach audiences that you would never have access to before. Traditional marketing is often expensive and has vast limitations but now plumbers can market their businesses to anyone even without marketing training.
With so many plumber marketing options on the internet, how do you know which ones to focus on and which ones will be beneficial to you? How do you get this marketing plan for your plumbing business started? We have outlined the most important steps you need to take below:
List Your Business in Online Directories
One of the first things you should do to make your plumbing business visible online is to list it in online directories. Directories such as Yelp, Bing, and Yahoo Places are still relevant and useful for your online presence. When users search for a plumber or a plumbing business, they are likely to see your listing if it is in an online directory.
You don’t have to put your business in every online directory available, but it is wise to choose the most relevant ones that will give you the most visibility and ones that have a high volume of monthly users.
These directories also allow users to leave reviews for your business. Reviews are social proof and they can be the deciding factor in whether a prospective client moves forward and hires your business. If your business listing has detailed and positive reviews, you are more likely to get new customers. No one wants to be a guinea pig, and without seeing reviews on your listing, that’s how the prospective customer will feel.
If you are unsure of which online business listing is suitable for your business, feel free to send us a message and our team will get more visibility for your plumbing business.
Claim Your Google My Business Listing
One of the first marketing tactics for your plumbing business is to claim your Google My Business profile. Google is the largest search engine with over 3.5 billion searches every day. Google My Business is a free service from Google that allows you to claim your business, list your services, opening hours, service areas, contact details, images, and much more, all for free. It also allows customers to leave reviews for your services.
One of the main benefits of having a Google My Business profile is its listing position in search results. Google My Business listings are shown at the top of the search engine results page, but below paid ads. Results for a specific business will also appear in a box at the right side of the screen on a desktop and at the top of the screen on a mobile device. This will include the business name, opening hours, reviews, website, images, and contact information.
It is given a premium position in search results which will make your business more visible to people who need your service.
Create A Website – Do Plumbers Need Websites?
Plumbers often think that they do not need a plumbing website, but they do. It is your little spot on the internet where existing and potential customers can learn more about your business and develop a connection with you based on that knowledge. It is also the best place to list all your information because it belongs to you. Another website or directory can delete your listing and you might not have as much control as you desire.
If you have a plumbing company, you need to have your own website. This will give you more control over all your digital assets. As a home service provider, do not rely solely on other platforms to market your plumbing business. Being visible on multiple platforms online is good, but having control of that visibility is even better.
What Should A Plumbing Company Put On Their Website
– Your Location – Ensure this is accurate and that people will know where to find you.
– Your Business Name – This is a given, but you would be surprised by how many businesses list everything except their name. Ensure your name is clearly visible on every page. It shouldn’t be hard for customers to know who you are.
– Logo and other branding – Your logo is what people use to identify your business. Get a professional logo designed and have it displayed clearly for everyone to see. Your branding should be consistent throughout.
– Your Contact Information – This is your address, your phone number, email address, usually a contact form, and links to any other way customers can get in touch with you.
– An About Page – Your customers need to know you, right? This is where you tell them about who you are, the history of your business, or any other relevant information they should know.
– Services Page/Pages – This is where you provide specific details on your services. Share all the services you provide, where and how you provide them and if there are requirements needed to get them done. Be as detailed as possible, so that if a customer is on the fence about whether to hire you, you can help them to make the decision.
Having a detailed plumbing services page also helps customers to find your business online with search engine optimization. You can read more on SEO here.
Social Media For Plumbers – Create Social Media Pages
Social Media Marketing for plumbers must be included in your digital marketing plan. Billions of internet users use the various social media platforms everyday. Of course, you don’t need to use them all. Your plumbing marketing team will recommend the best one for you based on your preferences and on where your audience spends most of their time.
Facebook is a must for your social media marketing. Other popular social media channels are Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter. These platforms all appeal to a different target audience, though some also overlap. Many of the platforms also facilitate live videos, which work well for people who want to show what they are doing in real time. For a plumber, this could be showing people your work in action.
What Should A Plumber Post On Social Media?
– Videos – These can be used to show recordings of your office, your supplies, your team, etc. Anything about your business that can be recorded and shared can be posted to your social media account.
– Images – Your team, your workspace, and your team in action are examples of images you can post on social media. The images should make you seem relatable and should help your customers to build a deeper connection with you, in addition to keeping them in the loop.
– Your Services – Customers are using social media for everything these days, this includes finding service providers. Ensure your services are clearly-visible on all your social media channels. You can post them in the form of images and put them in your bio or description.
Some platforms, like Facebook, even allow you to list your services in a special section. Make use of this. You can also save a story (live images or video) as a highlight on Facebook and Instagram.
– Your Work Hours – Never leave your customers wondering if you are open. Your service hours should be listed on your social profiles. If you are a 24/7 plumber, state that. You might lose customers if they don’t know when you are open.
One thing to always remember – customers will go somewhere else if it is too hard to figure out what you offer, where you service, and how to contact you.
Ask Customers For Reviews
Reviews from customers on your products and services is something you should always remember to ask for. They provide social proof and make it easy for prospective customers to trust you. Provided you have listed your business in online directories, you can ask your customers to post reviews on the various listings. You can also request reviews on your social media pages.
Blogging for Plumbers – Publish Blog Posts on Plumbing Topics
Does a plumber need a blog?
Ask any content marketer and the answer will be yes. The more digital assets you have online, the easier it will be for people to find your business. Blogging also helps your website and business to rank well using search engine optimization.
A sample blog title for a plumber could be ‘What To Do When Your Kitchen Pipe Is Leaking’. This is a search term that someone is likely to enter into Google Search in the event that they have a leaking kitchen pipe. If you write a blog post discussing this and it is properly optimized, you stand a high chance of ranking on the first page of the search engine results pages.
If you have no idea how to even start marketing your plumbing business online, evlos digital has extensive experience in digital marketing and we have helped our clients to increase their online visibility to reach thousands of customers each month. Contact us for a free consultation.