In today’s online world SEO for plumbers is an essential tool to gain well-needed exposure online.
With recent global developments, people have turned to the internet like never before with a massive increase in traffic and this bodes well for companies that have positioned themselves well online and in local SEO searches. There is a huge market to tap into, however, with this current trend gaining traction comes intense competition, competition that you must strive to get ahead of – Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the only way to do it.
Google searches are the most widely used for people searches for plumbing services. SEO enables you to gain a foothold online and using the right SEO practices rise in the ranking and become more visible to your potential clients.
Making your website user-friendly, easy to navigate and with engaging content and crisp images will help you achieve higher rankings on Google.
It is proven that over 90% of all business conducted online comes from page one of Google. Meaning it is vital for a plumbing company to have an effective online marketing strategy in place that covers more than just the website.
Search engines process millions of search request per day of people looking for certain products and services. A smart SEO strategy aims to attract free targeted traffic to you.
In this article, I look to advise you on the process, what to try to achieve and general advice. By the end of the article, you’ll understand there is a vast market out there. So, plumbing SEO has never been more essential for you to compete and expand your business in the coming years.
Before we go into tested methods for SEO, let’s take a look at the importance of SEO for plumbers.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SEO FOR PLUMBERS
The typical search trend for someone looking for a plumber is to type into the search engine ‘plumber’ followed by the area in which they are looking for the service. For the most part, people click on organically placed companies on the top three ranked companies on page one of Google rather than paid ads.
A common trend is for companies to now allocate over 50% of their annual marketing budget to SEO, that’s how powerful a marketing tool it has become.
You must have used a search engine yourself for products or services, to realise the importance of SEO asks yourself the simple question of:
‘How many times I have gone to page 2 or 3 of Google to find what I wanted?’ Exactly page one usually gives you what you want.
SEO for plumbers enables you to become visible in multiple areas, not just locally. For diversification and expansion of your client base, SEO is the catalyst.
Let’s say for example your business is in Canberra in the city, but you want to serve out to the suburbs.
If you apply the correct SEO strategy and principles, you can appear in searches for ‘plumber in Yarralumla’ and ‘plumber in Red Hill’ too. Providing you are targeting those keywords and looking for that business.
SEO is an investment; it is not an overnight fix. Gone are the days where an SEO company could get you to page one of Google from complete obscurity within a month or two. Organic SEO is a long-term strategy that lays the foundations of your online presence for years to come.
Pay-per-click lasts only as long as you pay, and then you disappear, organic SEO is the same as sewing a seed and watching it grow.
A well-thought-out strategy over the correct period will result in a higher click-through rate and ROI, and you will have sown digital seeds that have taken root and continue to reap the rewards in the future.
So, let’s take a look at what steps are involved in getting you to this point and pushing for page one on Google.
KEYWORD RESEARCH
Your first step is keyword research plumbing keywords that apply to your business that people are regularly searching for online.
As per the example above, let’s say you are looking to rank for ‘plumber in Canberra’, ‘plumber in Deakin’, ‘plumber in ‘Red Hill’ and other suburbs.
Every keyword will result in generating different results, so before you get too involved, you need to determine what keywords attract the customers.
If you are not using an SEO company to help set you on this path, some free online tools will help you gauge the popularity of search terms that relate to your business in your area.
Google Keyword Planner works well as does Moz’s Keyword Planner, look either up online and install them they are easy to use.
Once you are ready, type in ‘plumber in (the area you want to target)’ as a start. It will show you the keyword volume of how many monthly searches there are for that specific keyword search.
You should use as a rule-of-thumb if you are an SME to look at keywords with a search volume of between 10-1000 per month. That figure represents enough people to market your service to as with volume over 1000 those keywords are highly competitive, and it will take time, effort and money to break on page one for those search terms.
If you had set your sights on a local area, but there is little to no search volume then consider expanding your reach to the entire city and all suburbs if necessary.
Once you have a primary keyword in mind, you can start to look at subsequent keywords which can be more specific.
Here are some examples:
- Canberra Emergency Plumbing
- Canberra Bathtub Repair
- Canberra Drain Repair
- Canberra Tank Installation
- Canberra Toilet Repair
- Canberra Sink Repair
- Canberra Shower Repair
PLUMBING ON-PAGE SEO
Place the primary keyword in the title tag and meta description of your page.
To explain the title tag, it’s the title you see on Google. The meta description is the company or services described below that.
Try to keep your title to no more than seven words; your meta description can be no more than 156 characters.
To assist you in doing this a useful plugin is YOAST it will help you if you are not 100% sure how to do it.
Once complete, you’ll move onto creating an HTML and XML sitemap. This is where you are creating the pages that Google indexes your website with.
Yoast will help to install your XML sitemap automatically.
Your next step is your privacy policy page.
Google will prioritise your site if you follow their privacy protocol.
Also, sound advice is to make sure your physical address is placed in the footer of your site.
Optimising your page is the next step, this involved image-alt-tags. Images to Google are long strings of code, so you must ensure you describe the content of the image for it to be optimised.
Once you see the image in the media gallery, add the description under the key ‘alt-text’.
Then we move onto the motor behind the machine – entering your keywords throughout the content on your website.
You need to naturally incorporate each chosen keyword you want to rank and insert it into the text. Be careful not to overload a specific keyword to a point where the content becomes unnatural. Google does not like this and could result in a Google penalty (something you want to stay away from).
Look to have an absolute minimum of 500 words of content on the site. Google now favours content over visuals, so the more, the merrier as far as natural content is concerned, and your ranking will be better for it.
The reason blogs have become so popular with business is Google has become content focused.
Content works in your interest in various ways, it can attract people through blogs to your website, and on your website, engage them and guide them to call you for your services. Just remember this from this article, make quality and engaging content, searchers have too many search options today if you bore them they will click-off immediately, so grab them and keep them!
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
For plumbers, Google My Business is a diamond! The added bonus is it’s easy to set up and ensure you appear in the ‘map-pack’ section on Google.
Here’s a simple way to get started:
- Visit: https://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/business/
- Click on ‘Start Now.’
- Simply follow the displayed instructions
- Wait for a verification code. This will come by post in a few days
- Use the code to verify your page
To both a potential customer and Google by displaying who you are, where you are with lots of photos of your premises, you will be perceived as reliable and trustworthy, and let’s be honest that’s what we all look for in a good plumber right?
You will also find that this opens you up to receive reviews, and once you start getting positive, Google reviews your SERPs rankings and click-through rate will increase dramatically.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media has transformed from being something you used to keep in touch with friends and family to a marketing powerhouse that goes hand-in-hand with all your website and SEO work.
There are now many influential platforms that will compliment a well-constructed plumbing SEO strategy.
Your organic rankings can take a real foothold online with the right social media complementing its efforts.
Focus on the following pages to get a presence and reap the rewards:
- YouTube
- Google-Plus
These channels are made to be easy to set-up; the next step is to work on your presence. You will, however, need to keep them updated, regularly posting.
Once you start to grow followers naturally, you’ll find they will be the demographic you were looking for if you are posting about topics relating to your industry.
The next step is where you take it to the next level.
CITATIONS AND BACKLINKS
Using citations and backlinks to the best of your ability will result in the possibility of you becoming a well-known, respected voice and powerhouse in the industry over time.
CITATIONS
A citation works in the way of you being mentioned across the web.
The more you are mentioned, the more you are becoming recognised as credible within your field.
These act as natural boosts for your SERPs rankings.
Here are some sites to focus on getting mentioned:
- Yelp
- Yell.com
- Net
- Scoot
- Free Index
- Hot Frog
- Netmums
Once you have achieved this, then look at the next step of expansion. Make sure all your listings have consistent information and try to use backlinks to your site whenever possible.
If the directory allows, add images, it comes across as more professional.
BACKLINKS
Backlinks are not too dissimilar to a citation. It works as being mentioned from a website rather than in a directory. This could come from a blog or a news website within your industry, anything that links back to you.
Backlinks help achieve what we call ‘authority’ online.
Google’s algorithm will pick-up that your website is being referenced continuously across the internet.
So, the more plumbing backlinks you create, the better you look in Google’s eyes. Therefore, your ranking will increase as a trustworthy source for your keywords when searched.
A blog is an excellent way to get natural links.
If you are continually writing valuable and engaging articles with refreshing content, people are bound to catch on.
A blog can be an asset to talk about your industry. You can write about tips and tricks, latest industry news and give advice (that always gets you followers). Look to submit between 500-2000 words per blog and just be natural, you can reference your business, but try not to push it, and you’ll reap the rewards.
If after a while, if your blog is not catching on, a quickfire way to solve this is to reach out to other bloggers in your industry.
Search for ‘plumbing bloggers’ or ‘industrial bloggers’. If they see that your information provides value, they’ll link back to you, and this opens the doors for plenty of natural, organic backlinks to boost your rankings.
When you are writing your blog, be sure to be keyword centric. What’s the point in writing 2000 words if no-one can find it online as it doesn’t link to searches?
FINAL SUMMARY
Ok, we got there in the end! Thanks for reading.
If you follow the guidelines above, it will enhance your plumbing business and reach out to a broader demographic. If you are a start-up business and simply do not have the time to learn all of this, or as in many cases don’t have the time to keep on top of it, look to use a professional SEO company. When checking them out, use this guide to know yourself if they know what they are doing! Good luck.
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