If you operate a local home services company, like plumbing or HVAC, you already know how competition can be tough or challenging. Single-man operations, established plumbers, new start-ups, and national franchises are all eyeing to get in front of a property owner when they require assistance.
While investing in a paid advertisement, using local service ads, and building a conversion-focused plumber website are crucial elements of an internet marketing strategy, many plumbers overlook the importance of Google My Business listing. The sad reality is that plumbers that do not have a Google My Business profile risk losing tons of leads to your competition.
Plumbing contractors that offer their services in a specific location usually use Google My Business as one of the effective ways to establish a vibrant online presence and generate new business. Google My Business is about making your plumbing company visible to prospects looking for your services online. If you don’t know what Google My Business is, read on to know the essentials of Google My Business for plumbing contractors in 2021 and beyond.
What Is Google My Business For Plumbers?
Google My Business is a powerful, free tool for home service contractors like a plumber that promotes your company listing on Google Maps and search results. By claiming your GMB listing, you can showcase client reviews, post updates, and rank in the coveted local map3 for relevant plumbing keywords.
Why Is Google My Business So Important For Plumbers?
A common question from the conventional plumber is, why should you take your plumbing business online? Not all plumbers know what Google My Business is and how crucial it is in the modern digital environment.
If you are one of these traditional plumbers, you miss out on many potential customers online. So, let’s dive into how Google My Business strategy can benefit your plumbing business. Here are the top benefits of having Google My Business for plumbers:
1. Get Your Plumbing Business on Google’s Local 3-Pack.
If you have used Google local search results lately, you might have realized that only local listings to show the above organic search results in first-page reviews are in a simple 3-pack format. Most plumbers don’t know that by claiming a free Google My Business profile, you improve your local search rankings and boost the odds of being included in the coveted local-3 pack.
The benefits of being included in the local map 3-pack listing? Not only does such listing show your prospects where your company is situated on Google Maps, but they also show up higher in the search engine results pages, providing a significant impression share.
To better understand how GMB is crucial from a business perspective, plumbers that appear on Google’s local 3-pack get over 700% improvement in clicks over those that don’t.
2. Google My Business Increases Traffic and Sales
While a quick Google search can help narrow your options, particularly for clients on mobile devices, more than 80% of people use Google Maps to locate nearby plumbing contractors. When it is more appropriate for clients to come to your plumbing business, you are likely to make a sale if they realize you are close.
Plus, homeowners who find a plumbing company through their Google My Business listing are up to 50% more likely to close a sale. Simply claiming a Google My Business listing and finishing the verification steps, your office location will also start to show up for local searches on maps.
3. Google My Business Listing Earns Trust From Clients
One of the hurdles clients face today is building sufficient trust with a plumbing business to make a purchase confidently. As a plumber, one of the steps you can take to assist in offering them your location on your Google My Business profile.
Plumbers that appear on Google are almost three times deemed reputable by the client.
This is mainly because of the legitimacy of the Google My Business verification process. Since its known plumbers must go through specific steps to appear for a local search, Google is a trustworthy platform that users can depend on.
4. Rank Higher in Organic Search Results
By listing your plumbing business on GMB, you increase your chances of showing up when homeowners search for keywords related to your company (e.g., Murfreesboro plumbers). Google wants to tell users (clients) about your company since it intends to offer valuable information to searchers. The more Google knows your plumbing company, the higher it will rank in the search engine results and maps. Your Google My Business listing is the best way to give Google information so that it can satisfy your user’s intent.
5. Reach and Engage With Your Target Audience for Free
There are various ways to promote your plumbing business and put it on the first page of Google. One method is to run a Google Ads campaign, but you should allocate a hefty budget. The other tactic is to enhance your plumber’s SEO, but it takes time to establish authority and improve your ranking. But, a GMB listing provides a cheaper and faster way to gain targeted exposure on the major search engines. Creating, verifying, and claiming your Google My Business listing doesn’t cost you even a dime and takes less time to optimize your listing.
Google My Business listing puts your company in front of many wallet-out clients and gives them quick access to your direction, operation hours, and website, all without paying a dime! So, having an essential resource without incurring any cost allows you to invest your resources in other aspects of your plumbing company.
6. Improve Your Appeal Among Potential Clients with Reviews
Online reviews are influential when homeowners want to make a purchasing decision. Over 90% of clients first read online reviews to evaluate the quality of a plumber, and most property owners always choose a plumber with the highest number of positive reviews.
Google My Business profile is handy as it allows clients to review your plumbing company and leave feedback. This improves your appeal to prospects and gives you an honest analysis of what you are doing right and where you need to improve.
Reviews also establish confidence and trust among customers. According to a local client survey, over 80% of customers trust online reviews, and they carry the same weight as personal recommendations. Online reviews are also a ranking algorithm factor utilized by Google to know where to put your company on organic search results. According to a study by Moz on local organic search rankings, online reviews contribute up to 10% of how search engines determine their organic rankings.
7. It Shares Appropriate Information With Your Potential Clients
Google My Business listing helps you share information about your plumbing business, including your contact information, operating hours, and contact details. It also lets you share updates, news, offers, and announcements. These posts appear on Google Maps and Search, helping you keep in touch with prospects and update them.
But, before posting anything, it’s crucial to consider what you want to achieve. Do you want to increase awareness about a new service or new company? This will help you to craft the post with that goal. Besides, add a call to action that compels prospects to take action, like calling your business for a quote.
How Does Google Determine Local Organic Rankings For Plumbers?
For the large part, Google ranks local plumbers organically based on the following metrics;
Relevance refers to how well a local plumber matches what a homeowner is searching for. When you include detailed information to your GMB profile, you give Google more details to match your plumbing company to searches it may apply to.
Prominence denotes how well-known your plumbing business is in the area. Sometimes, Google will consider some offline factors to evaluate your distinction. For example, famous museums, landmarks, or well-known plumbers are likely to appear in the local organic search results.
Distance evaluates the distance of each prospect’s result from the location used in online searches. If a homeowner doesn’t specify a location, Google will utilize what they know about a potential client’s location to calculate the distance.
12 Ways To Optimize Your Google My Business Listing & Get More Plumbing Clients In 2021
Optimizing and claiming your Google My Business listing is one of the simple ways to get organic traffic and clients. To that end, there are several ways you should consider before diving into claiming and optimizing your plumbing contractor on Google.
Optimizing your Google My Business is one of the simple ways to reach new clients, but you should ensure that you follow the best practices to get the most out of your listing:
Google My Business For Plumbers Checklist
1. Ensure that You Qualify for a Google My Business Listing
The initial step in optimizing your GMB listing is to ensure that you qualify for a local plumber listing on Google. Not every plumber will qualify for such a listing. To clarify, you require a physical location to verify your plumbing business on Google.
Businesses or homeowners should be able to walk in or meet your representative. However, there are some exceptions, but primarily Google My Business is for an offline, conventional plumbing business.
2. Verify Your Plumbing Business’s Information
One of the fundamental steps when creating a profile is verifying your Google My Business listing.
Verification implies that you sign in with a Gmail account associated with your plumbing company.
The various method of verifying your Google My Business include a phone number, email, or postcard. Furthermore, you can use the Google search console to prove this, particularly if you have a plumbing website already. Verification using a postcard is the most common method to verify your plumbing business, and you will require a physical location to which Google can send the postcard.
3. Select the Best Category to Describe Your Plumbing Business
This is one of the most crucial steps toward optimizing your plumbing company’s Google My Business listing.
Google My Business allows you to select one primary and the other nine categories. The concept here is to state your plumbing business industry in simple terms, and you should pick the best primary category that accurately describes your plumbing business.
For example, a plumber is the best category for a plumbing contractor, and a secondary category might be the drain service category. Avoid the temptation of stuffing your listing with irrelevant categories unrelated to your plumbing business.
Accurate details matter on your Google Business listing; relevance is undoubtedly everything.
4. Complete Every Section
As a plumber, one of the most crucial things you can do is to fill out each section on your Google listing to ensure that Google knows more about your plumbing business and understands what is appropriate to display across the web. Such details include:
- Business Category
- Business name
- Phone number
- Plumbing website
- Operation hours
- Question and answers
- Photos
- Description
- Address
The details displayed for your plumbing company must be accurate and match what is said across other platforms online. Be thorough with each detail, as Google will favor listings with more details and higher rankings on the search engine results pages.
5. Get More Online Reviews
Online reviews can break or do your plumbing business in the modern digital business landscape. They are like word-of-mouth recommendations to new property owners considering scheduling service appointments with your plumbing company. Furthermore, online reviews can help you make an excellent initial impression, but they can also help your website rank higher on the search engine result pages. The more positive online reviews you have, the more prospects will want to book plumbing jobs with you. That said, it is crucial to be generating online reviews daily to keep your plumbing business afloat.
Here are some surefire tips to help you obtain more online reviews:
Asking for online reviews is the easiest way to obtain reviews daily.
When one of your technicians is on the job site with a happy client, request that the customer give you an excellent review on your plumber’s website. Mostly, the homeowner will be willing to leave a review on the spot but would have forgotten once you left the site.
Develop a viable online review management strategy. Always reach out to clients and ask them to leave reviews or leverage tools that automatically make such requests to your customers. Use email campaigns that follow up with customers, politely requesting if they can give a review or send reminders to vendors and clients on the Google My Business listing. Include survey links in your listing and describe how they will support your plumbing business, and tell them it will take less than five minutes to finish the survey.
Only go for the legit plumbing reviews, and this is because Google will detect fake reviews and spammers and penalize your website. Avoid trying to trick the system because Google only selects online reviews that are honest and unbiased. So, utilize natural tactics and offer exceptional client service to get glowing online reviews.
Besides, focus on quality as opposed to quantity. Also, remember to respond to all reviews. This shows clients that you listen to them and appreciate the effort and time they take to review your plumbing business. Plus, this lets the Google algorithm know that your plumbing company is engaged, responsive, and actively using the GMB platform. Focus on creating custom, meaningful responses that showcase your unique selling propositions.
6. State Your Plumbing Business Hours
You would assume that most plumbers would ace this crucial step. Unfortunately, most don’t.
The idea about Google search rankings is that they require regular attention. Some plumbing contractors start with ambitious plans and extend their operating hours.
However, your plumbing company can shorten operational hours for various reasons. Of course, no plumber would want a great client to show up when no one is around to serve them. Stating accurate business hours prevents that from occurring.
7. A Thorough Description of Your Plumbing Business
The description section of the GMB listing can be utilized to introduce your plumbing company to a prospective client as the most effective solution to their problem.
Your description should incorporate your plumbing services, experience in the plumbing industry, the advantages of hiring your company, and a compelling call to action. To optimize your plumbing company description, always include some hiring intent search terms for your plumbing specialties and services
Here is a simple formula you can use to describe your plumbing business in the Google My Business listing:
{Name of the business} provides professional {list your plumbing services}in your { Your City}. {Offer some background information about your plumbing company and why clients hire you} Call {phone number} now. Our technicians will be there in less than one hour!
8. Add Relevant Videos and Photos to Your Google My Business Listing
Did you know that including more than 100 photos on your listing increases the likelihood of getting found by prospects online? It’s true but doesn’t just go stuffing your profile yet. The videos or photos should be high definition and relevant to your plumbing business.
First impressions can make or break your plumbing business. Thus, uploading high-definition videos and photos shows search engines like Google or Bing that you care about your plumbing company and how to attract new clients.
Pro tip: Ensure your plumbing company logo is prominent on your main cover photo.
Upload new photos or videos regularly. This will improve user engagement and skyrocket your organic rankings. Many plumbers forget about the GMB listing once it is finished, but you should periodically update the videos or images to make fresh materials available to users. Check your photo/video engagement statistics, and you will note the positive impact.
9. Include the Plumbing Website in Your GMB Profile
Your plumbing website is essential for internet marketing; it is a platform where homeowners learn more about your business, meet your crew, and know if you provide the plumbing services they are searching for. Plus, your plumbing website and your GMB listing rank higher on search engines.
According to recent studies, 60% of plumbers link to their websites via the GMB profile. But if you don’t have a plumbing website, you can still use your Facebook page or set up a free Google Business page.
10. Point Clients to Your Appointment URL
An appointment URL is another method of contacting your Google My Business profile. It is visible to your clients, who can use any appointment system or leave a message through the contact forms.
11. Ask Questions & Provide Answers
Have you ever realized that on Amazon, besides giving customer reviews and product descriptions, there is a section for answers and questions? Google offers the same features in your Google My Business profile.
GMB allows clients to ask questions about your plumbing business. Answering such questions may be the impetus a client needs to schedule a service appointment with your plumbing company.
Go to the “knowledge tab” of your GMB dashboard, and you will see a tab for questions and answers. Complete it with questions that clients might have about your plumbing business and provide detailed answers to ensure that property owners view the most accurate information possible.
12. Pinpoint Your Service Areas
A service area denotes the distance you are willing to go to service a customer. Every plumbing business is unique, so you may only offer services at your client locations.
Independent plumbing contractors commonly experience this problem. This is because they provide plumbing services in person but not necessarily in one location.
In such a case, you should add a service area, not a direct physical address. Google doesn’t want property owners to show up where they can’t utilize your plumbing services. Service areas have a direct impact on your client’s experience.
Expert Google My Business Services For Plumbing Contractors
As a plumber, you want local businesses or homeowners to find your GMB profile when they quickly search online. Google’s new algorithm updates have put more emphasis on local search, which implies it is more crucial than ever to emphasize Google My Business optimization strategies. It has little-known features that allow plumbing contractors to boost their organic rankings and obtain more traffic.
Every plumber wants their business to get listed on the first page of Google to obtain more clients/leads for free. The problem comes when there are only ten listings on every page to claim the top spot on Google. But with a properly optimized Google My Business profile, it can be a potent advertising tool for your plumbing business. It helps your plumbing company appear greatly when property owners conduct local searches, boosting your conversion rates and landing more plumbing jobs.
Blackstorm Design + Marketing has helped many home service contractors, including roofers, HVAC, and plumbers, get their companies to show up on Google for relevant business keywords by leveraging and optimizing their Google My Business profiles.
Creating a Google My Business profile is the initial step in establishing a vibrant local SEO strategy for your plumbing business. This is because it allows plumbers to manage their online presence, which can significantly impact how well you run on Google or Bing.
Plumbers with a physical location, which draws local clients, can be found through a quick Google search, Mobile search, Google Maps, and Google Earth, respectively. By claiming or creating your GMB listing, you can include additional details about your business, including your phone number, business hours, address, and plumbing services.
Why Choose Us?
At Blackstorm, we don’t just make empty promises; we deliver accurate results!
With our optimized Google My Business profile, your plumbing business will be able to:
Show Up On Google Maps
We create a particular location and keyword-optimized content for your Google My Business listing. We optimize videos and images and publish posts consistently.
We Get Your Plumbing Business More Google Reviews
Our experts will manage your online reputation by soliciting positive reviews and handling negative reviews like an expert, offering your business more success and exposure.
We Promote Your Plumbing Company Rightly
We keep you updated and monitor your local ranking on the SERP results by measuring maps, organic and mobile rankings on Google maps, Google, and more.
And the list continues……
As a plumber, you must follow our post to ensure these tips for claiming and optimizing the Google My Business profile.
So, what next?
Contact Us For Google My Business SEO Consultation
Regardless of the current status of your Google My Business profile, Blackstorm + Design Marketing professionals are here to help. Our team of SEO professionals can help you achieve your plumber marketing goals.
Schedule a free strategy session with one of our Growth Coaches to help you create, claim and optimize your Google My Business profile today.