Social media has brought plumber memes to the forefront of industry humor. It’s now common for professional plumbing contractors to browse Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok for hilarious memes for plumbers while on break or off-duty.
If you’ve read our list of funny plumbing slogans, you probably know we have a pulse of the plumber’s sense of humor. With that in mind, check out these 33 plumbing memes that will burst your laughing pipes.
Funny Plumbing Memes
1) DIY Plumbing Expectation vs. Reality Meme
It’s funny that so many homeowners think they can be DIY plumbing contractors.
2) Plumbing Modern Art Meme
Certain kinds of commercial plumbing work end up looking like art.
3) Faucet Challange Meme
Sometimes seemingly minor leaks become big challenges in plumbing.
4) YouTube Plumbing Tutorial Meme
Access to information through YouTube makes everyone think they are a plumbing expert.
5) DIY Plumbers Meme
Have you noticed that DIY plumbing tends to yield disastrous results?
6) Panic Text Meme
Homeowners sometimes just can’t help themselves with these chemical cleaners.
7) DIY to SOS Plumbing Meme
DIY plumbing can lead to some disturbing outcomes.
8) A Plumber’s Long Day Meme
A full day of plumbing jobs can be exhausting.
9) Should’ve Called a Plumber Meme
By the time some homeowners realize they should’ve called a professional plumber, it’s too late.
10) Just a Small Leak Meme
The client’s interpretation of a “small leak” often leads to much more significant issues.
11) Rich Plumber Meme
The public perception of plumbers can be condescending at times.
12) Tired Plumber Meme
Those early morning plumbing jobs can be a pain.
13) Toilet Overflow Meme
There’s a reason why “emergency plumbing services” are so valuable.
14) Ride The Toilet Overflow Wave Meme
Sometimes the work of a plumber resembles professional surfing.
15) Repair Pointers Meme
Sometimes a professional contractor has to just smile and laugh.
16) On a Roll Meme
Expanding your plumbing business can be a rewarding experience. Keep going!
17) Payment Installments Meme
Sometimes plumbers have to look at customers’ requests with this type of gaze.
18) Chemical Cleaners Meme
Using chemical cleaners is considered an egregious DIY plumbing mistake and can lead to burst pipes.
19) Plumbing Van Meme
Plumbing truck wraps can bring attention to your business as you drive to different jobs.
20) Plumber’s Best Friend Meme
Dogs are everyone’s best friend, including professional plumbers on a break.
Plumbing Memes from Pinterest
21) “Do Your Own Plumbing” Meme
22) Bad Hair Day Drain Meme
23) First Service Call Meme
24) Let That Sink In Meme
25) Trust Me, I’m an Engineer Meme
26) Why God? Why Meme
27) We Don’t Need a Plumber Meme
28) Inspection Checklist Meme
Marketing Memes for Plumbers
29) Plumbing PPC Meme
We can’t tell you how many plumbing companies get roped into PPC marketing and live to regret it.
30) Plumbers vs. Telemarketers Meme
The emergence of ChatGPT and other tools used to mass-produce bad marketing processes has increased the number of telemarketers targeting small plumbing companies.
31) Plumbing Google Clicks Meme
A long-term investment in SEO for plumbers is still going to produce the greatest ROI, as it garners over 70% of all Google clicks.
32) Plumbing Marketing Scrum Meme
The majority of plumbing companies are dissatisfied with their existing marketing agency. Sometimes it feels like these “gurus” are intentionally trying to manipulate their clients.
33) PPC Plan for Plumbers Meme
The worst thing plumbers can do is enter a long-term PPC agreement with an agency, as it’s an easy way to lose money without building any long-term marking equity.
How To Make Your Own Plumbing Memes
One of the best ways to make free plumbing memes is through Canva. They have multiple ready-made free meme templates that allow plumbing professionals to swap out images and text to create their own jokes and perspectives. You can also use mobile apps like Memeatic and Photo Director.
Once you find the app that best fits your comfort level as a user, follow these steps:
Choose a Meme Template (Image)
Add Funny Text (Will Vary Based on Template)
Download The Meme to Your Phone or Computer
Share The Meme With Friends and on Social Media
Final Thoughts on Memes for Plumbers
Whether you view memes strictly for entertainment or wish to leverage them into your marketing strategy, plenty of options exist for plumbing companies. The memes listed above from Plumbing Webmasters aim to showcase the humor, candor, and insights presented by these image files.
We’ve also outlined how to create your own memes, which can potentially be incorporated into your plumbing marketing strategy. Of course, if you require assistance getting more eyes on your local plumbing business, feel free to reach out to our agency which can help you get started today.
Plumbing podcasts have emerged as one of the most accessible mediums for plumbing industry-related content. Plumbers can use various platforms like Spotify, Apple, and YouTube to consume free podcast episodes while working and performing other business-related tasks.
While plumbers were once required to attend industry conferences or join exclusive groups to access new perspectives and insights, the podcast space has broadened the entry point for industry professionals looking to expand their plumbing expertise.
Hosted by Plumbing Webmasters Owner Nolen Walker and Creative Director Jason Landry, The Plumbing SEO Podcast provides invaluable insights into the world of SEO for plumbers.
Furthermore, the episodes expand to the broader niche of digital marketing and go as far as providing business insights and mindset recommendations.
2) Potty Talk – The Podcast for Plumbing Business Entrepreneurs
Hosted by Richard Behey, AKA “The Million Dollar Plumbers,” Potty Talk Live offers advice for plumbing business owners, including lifestyle insights for times away from the office.
As a 30-year veteran of the plumbing industry, Behey’s perspectives are rooted in first-hand experience, making his insights particularly appealing to plumbers.
3) The Plumbing Sales Coach – The FRESH Approach
Hosted by Chris Fresh, AKA “The Plumbing Sales Coach,” this podcast dives into strategies for improving customer service and experience.
The host’s philosophy is built around “service over sales,” which ultimately leads to more sales and more service. Fresh also covers technical topics within the plumbing industry, making it an excellent resource for plumbers.
4) The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical
Hosted by Christopher Lohr of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, AKA “IAPMO,” The Authority Podcast: Plumbing and Mechanical presents high-level information about public safety and sustainability in the context of plumbing.
The highly informative episodes cover topics ranging from product reviews to industry regulations.
5) Waste No Day: A Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical Motivational Podcast
Hosted by Brian Burton and Nate Minnich, Waste No Day provides a needed boost for plumbers seeking extra motivation. The episode topics range from guest interviews with industry professionals to specific issues like risk management, customer services, and employee recruiting.
Both hosts also serve in leadership positions for Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Lancaster, PA.
6) The Plumbing Standards Podcast
Hosted by Dalton Lessen, The Plumbing Standards Podcast introduces a new standard for plumbers, countering the stereotypical portrayal of tradespeople in popular culture.
Episodes dive into various topics, from procedural implementation to customer service and technician presentation.
7) Personal Plumbing Repair Service Podcast
Hosted by Bob Muller, the Personal Plumbing Repair Service Podcast explores plumbing services, business tips, industry trends, and more. Most importantly, Bob Muller, the president of Personal Plumbing Inc. in Oceanside, CA, gives potential customers a first-hand look at his experience, expertise, and credibility.
This podcast is geared more toward the plumbing consumer but provides business owners with a blueprint for using podcasts as a marketing tool.
8) In The House
Hosted by Mike Wilson of Any Hour Services, In The House covers plumbing, electrical, and HVAC topics with expert guests in the residential service industry. The podcast offers practical advice on services like drain cleaning, garbage disposal repair, and tankless water heaters.
Like Personal Plumbing, Any Hour Services leverages the podcast medium to bring awareness to its service company and widen its marketing funnel in the digital landscape.
Leveraging Plumbing Podcasts for Your Business
Listening to these plumbing podcasts may inspire you to start your own podcast, which you can leverage to expand your plumbing company’s brand awareness.
Much like SEO and other forms of digital marketing, syndicating your podcast creates branded digital signaling for your plumbing company. As a result, podcasts can help grow your online presence and create synergy with your other marketing ventures.
If you search Google for free plumbing leads, nothing relevant comes up. Instead, the search engine shows you a list of articles about how to get more plumbing leads using various paid methods.
Let me let you in on a bit of a secret; there’s no such thing as a free plumbing lead.
Expert Answer from Nolen Walker
The closest thing to “free” plumbing leads comes from organic clicks on Google.
At Plumbing Webmasters, we could easily show a list of marketing techniques that would generate plumbing leads, but none of them are free. So the best we can do is show you which methods are the cheapest.
Table of Contents
Cheapest Way To Get Leads for Plumbers
Although free plumbing leads don’t exist, cheap ones do. The most inexpensive way to get plumbing leads is to get organic website visitors. Of course, your overhead depends on whether or not you already have a website, how old it is, and whether or not it ranks for any keywords.
Low-Cost Plumbing Website Leads
The goal is to spend the least amount of money to get the highest number of prospects. Unfortunately, contractors often fall into the trap of going for a free website or an incredibly cheap one at the cost of lead acquisition. As a result, some websites, like those below, never get traffic:
Subdomains: A plumber.weebly, or plumber.wix site, it won’t rank on Google.
Google Sites: The website that comes with your Google Business Profile won’t rank for any keywords.
Auto-Generated Site: An auto-generated site from your scheduling software or another platform won’t rank for anything.
Consumers want to buy from a plumbing business that demonstrates credibility, authority, and trust. The best way to achieve this is through a branded mobile website that showcases your unique value proposition.
Plumbing Website Requirements for Leads
Each website presents low-cost or free options, but none of them can achieve your most important goal. So what’s the next step? Spend the least amount of money you can to meet the base-level requirements of a plumbing lead generation website. These are the baseline requirements:
Top-Level Domain: Must be a .com or .net (prefrably.com)
Hosting Plan: You need a hosting plan to launch your website.
Content: You need some content on your site to rank for anything.
SEO: You need some basic on-page and technical SEO to get indexed.
Cost of Cheap Plumbing Leads Websites
You’re probably thinking, how much is this going to cost me? If you purchase a website for the first time, you can get a free domain name included with your hosting plan. For instance, IPage offers a free domain name (for the first year) with a hosting plan as cheap as $1.99 per month.
Domain Name + Hosting Total Cost: As low as $35.88 for the first year.
You can find content and SEO services for as low as $99 per month though we advise against it. Typically the content is awful, and the on-page SEO is even worse. Most of the time, these providers are glorified hosting services. To get legit content and SEO, you are looking at $750.
Content + SEO Total Cost: $750 per month (for life).
In other words, you can get everything you need for about $785.88 per month. Furthermore, considering that the average plumbing service costs between $45 and $200, you will need 10-20 leads to break even.
Using the services described above, securing 10-20 monthly leads is easily attainable, but you want to turn a significant profit. The good news is that the lifetime value is more potent than the initial payment. These customers probably come back multiple times, thus increasing their lifetime value.
Other Ways To Get Plumbing Leads Free or Cheap
A website with organic SEO is the best way to get cheap plumbing leads and free plumber leads. However, there are other methods you can try if you are desperate. We wouldn’t recommend relying on these tactics for a sustainable plumbing contractor business, but they might work occasionally.
Cold Calling
Americans get billions of spam calls per month, making telemarketing increasingly challenging to utilize as a legitimate business. However, a cold call may result in a free lead for truly desperate plumbers.
Try calling neighborhoods in need of emergency plumbing due to some kind of weather event, similar to how a roofer would go after areas hit by a hail storm.
Cold Emailing
An additional benefit to a robust online presence is the opportunity to accumulate email subscribers. As potential customers sign up on your website, you can send them newsletters, discounts, and coupons to encourage engagement with your plumbing business.
You can cold email someone who hasn’t signed up with your website for truly desperate plumbers. However, you can’t use an email marketing platform since it would violate CAN-SPAM guidelines. You will have to email these people one by one and hope that someone responds.
Influencer Marketing
The last insane way to get a free plumber lead is to beg one of your social media friends to promote your business on their channel. Perhaps your family knows someone with a prominent Instagram or YouTube following.
If they promote your plumbing service, it can spark an increase in branded searches and maybe even result in one or two leads for your business.
How to Get Free Exclusive Plumbing Leads
Companies promising your plumbing business x amount of leads per month fail to provide context on quality and conversion rates. Exclusive plumbing leads are the best kind of prospects for your plumbing business because they convert at a much higher rate.
A lead becomes exclusive when the prospect finds your plumbing business on your company website or Google Business Profile instead of through a lead service. The best way to get free exclusive leads is through SEO.
If you rank for plumbing services in your location, like sump pump repair denver, you will generate free exclusive traffic. The same is true if you focus on a specific consumer base, like a commercial plumbing business that ranks for commercial plumbing repair denver.
Rank for Local Plumbing Services
You can drive exclusive prospects to your website by ranking for service-based keywords in your area. Of course, to achieve this, you will have to invest in SEO and content writing, at the very least. Remember that it is possible to perform SEO yourself, although it will take up some of your time.
Establish a Plumbing Company Brand
Are you a plumbing contractor or a plumbing company? When you establish your service as a brand, consumers gravitate towards your business naturally. As a result, they will always view your services through a company lens. Instead of relying on HomeAdvisor, they will place their trust in your logo.
Showcase Your Plumbing Jobs
Building trust requires showing proof of your work, especially in cities where you lack authority. For example, if you have a good reputation in Dallas but also want to service homeowners in Plano, you must show proof of your work for Plano jobs. You can use photos and heatmaps to show your local work.
How Can a Small Plumbing Business Produce More Leads?
This post helps small plumbing contractors get affordable quality leads using digital marketing strategies like search engine optimization. Unfortunately, not every group of plumbing contractors has reached the peak of their earning potential in 2023.
However, a plumbing professional of any level can get quality plumbing leads if they invest in their brand.
Target Potential Customers
Small companies can generate plumbing leads by targeting potential customers. First, however, you have to ensure your consumers are in buying mode. So, where do your prospects spend most of their time? The answer usually lies on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
However, you are unlikely to get quality leads from these platforms without paying for advertising. Most business pages generate little to zero interest on social media because users are browsing primarily for entertainment purposes.
If you want to target new plumbing customers, you must become visible on Google search results.
Paid Online Advertising
Paid online advertising is another option for newer plumbers. However, paid ads (like Facebook Ads) cost money upfront. The benefit is that they work faster than SEO and can still build your brand. Unlike buying leads from 3rd-party companies, paid advertising lets you quickly get exclusive prospects.
Of course, paid ads are the direct opposite of free leads since they cost guaranteed money every time you generate a new customer. As a result, more unknown contractors may find paid advertising an unappealing option in 2023. There is no way to get free leads using paid advertising.
Final Thoughts on Getting Free Plumbing Leads
Free plumbing leads only exist in theory because plumbing companies can acquire them without spending money on advertising or paying a 3rd party lead seller. However, even with organic leads, some kind of monetary investment is required.
While generating completely free plumbing leads is not realistic, lowering your cost per lead through the techniques discussed in this post is both wise and profitable.
User experience is a plumbing consumer’s experience while interacting with your website. Factors include the user’s perception, the quality of the design, and the website’s ease of use.
What is User Interface for Plumbers?
User interface is how users interact with your plumbing website, regardless of experience. Of course, superior interfaces create better experiences, which should be every website’s goal.
5 User Experience Tips for Plumbing Companies
Website user experience has become vastly important in digital marketing over the last decade. As the interface between user and website becomes more defined, the user demands a more streamlined experience. And for the initiated, user experience refers to how your visitors interact and, yes, experience your website.
Are images loading quickly? Is your site easy to navigate? Are you offering interesting or engaging content that will make the user want to hang around for a while?
These questions and others are all matters of website user experience. And they are all pivotal questions because if your website is slow, confusing, or doesn’t offer anything of value to your potential customer, you better believe that they will click elsewhere.
In fact, a February 2021 study indicates that 40% of web surfers will leave your page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. That’s almost half of your potential clientele or existing customers. And we understand it could be hard for plumbing companies to keep up with the ever-changing demands of the website user experience.
It can be even harder to come up with ways of providing a modern UX to your visitors. After all, you run a plumbing company, not a website design company. So in the following post, we will be going over some tried and true tips that you can implement to improve our website user experience.
1) Increasing your Page Speeds
This is number one on our list because it may be the most important. If you can’t get anyone to stay on your website for more than 3 seconds, other user experience tips become moot. So start here. First, you will need to test your website page speed.
There are a lot of free and easy ways to do this. Pingdom offers a free website speed testing tool. All you have to do is enter the URL of the pages you want to test, and you will get an analysis of how they performed.
If your pages are loading in 3 seconds or less, then you’re fine. But if they’re not, there are some things you can do to try to speed things up without a major overhaul:
Compress Images: Compressing any images you have before loading them onto your site is one easy way to speed things up.
Don’t Overdo Images: Images are great for plumbing SEO. But having too many of them on any given page of your website can not only distract the user from your important content; it can also significantly slow your page load times.
2) Segment Content
This is another fairly simple yet powerful tip that you can use today. No one wants to read huge blocks of text. That’s why it’s good to segment your written content.
Break up big walls of text into smaller paragraphs and use numbered and bulleted lists to help break up important content and make it more readable for your visitors.
Another recent study has found out how important segmenting content is. Apparently, 70% of people prefer looking at content with bulleted lists instead of 55% of people who read content with no lists.
Simply breaking content up so it’s easier for your viewers to read can significantly differentiate how many potential customers you are moving along the sales funnel.
3) Indicative Headings
Google is really starting to crack down on misleading headings and page titles. This was a strategy that some marketers used to attract more attention to their client’s websites. But now, they are being penalized for it with indexing omissions.
In other words, Google and other search engines are getting better at identifying misleading headlines and page titles and omitting them from search engine results pages. Plus, it’s just bad business.
To provide a quality website user experience, you need to make sure that your headlines indicate content that the user will actually read about.
4) Fix Broken Links
Broken links are some of the most annoying problems for a consumer to run into when they need home service – fast. Imagine that a pipe under your kitchen sink just started suddenly spewing water. You hop on your phone and do a search for emergency plumbing in your area.
You find the top result, click on their website, and hit the contact us link…only to be led to a page that says “404 Error page not found.” That’s a surefire way to lose an otherwise surefire customer. So it’s imperative to make sure that you have no broken links on your website.
The first thing you need to do is find any broken links on your website. To do this, you can use this free tool. You can choose to check individual pages for broken links, or it can scan your entire site. If you don’t have any, great! But if you do, here’s what needs to be done:
Replace Links: Usually, broken links are the result of simply copying the wrong URL. Or maybe the page they lead to doesn’t exist anymore. In any case, you will need to replace the link with one that leads to a live page.
Remove Links: It’s better to not have a link at all than to have it lead to a dead end. If you can’t immediately find the solution to the broken link or a link to replace it with, simply remove it for the time being to improve the website user experience.
5) Optimize for Mobile
You may have already heard this tip, but it cannot be understated. You absolutely need to have your site responsive and optimized for people browsing with their phones and tablets. 76% of adults will use their phones to do online shopping and search for local services. That includes plumbers.
So you will need to make sure that you are offering a robust and speedy mobile user experience if you want to win over customers in 2023. Here are some tips on how to improve mobile UX:
3rd Party Video Uploads: For your mobile site, try uploading your videos through a 3rd party site. In other words, don’t upload them directly onto your site. You can use YouTube for 3rd party uploading.
Don’t Use Flash: Most people don’t have Adobe Flash Player installed on their phones, and most phones don’t come with it pre-installed. So it’s usually a good idea to avoid using flash for your mobile site animations and images.
Make Sure Links Aren’t Crowded: Remember that mobile users will have a smaller screen to work with. And it’s incredibly annoying when links are too close to each other on mobile pages, and you accidentally click on the wrong one as a result. Space out links on your mobile pages and make your CTA buttons nice and big.
Plumbing companies should view the mobile experience of their website as the top priority in 2023, as it will result in the most conversions compared to other devices like desktops and laptops.
Final Thoughts on User Experience
User Experience (UX) for plumbing websites is essential to online success in 2023. Search engines prefer to rank websites that satisfy users, which means UX can impact your keyword rankings on Google and Bing.
Furthermore, once users arrive at your website, they expect a positive user experience. Failure to provide such a UX will result in drops and loss of conversions. Conversely, a premium UX will increase conversion rates and drive more business to your plumbing company.
Plumbing Instagram ads are promotional posts, stories, or reels that highlight a plumbing company’s brand or services. An IG ad resembles a standard post but showcases a “sponsored” label to inform users of its purpose. Instagram Ads often feature a call-to-action (CTA) for conversions.
Plumbing Instagram Ads Cost
The cost of Instagram ads varies, but $1.25 is a standard cost per click (CPC). Variables include format, placement, location, season, and target demographics. As an advertiser, you control your total cost with daily budgets, bid strategies, and spending limits.
Instagram Ad Types for Plumbing Contractors
Your ideal ad type varies by your goals and overarching Instagram marketing strategy. Plumbing companies must consider each format’s objectives and invest in content that converts at the highest rate. Instagram’s built-in analytics tool, Insights, helps plumbers track ad progress and make data-driven adjustments. Ongoing focus on your Instagram ads is critical to sustainable success.
For many plumbers, photo ads convert well. With strategic targeting, consumers needing plumbing services in your area will respond to the photo ads. For more ambitious campaigns, Stories ads tend to work best.
IG Photos
Instagram started as a social media platform for photos, and it remains an integral part of its presentation. Photo advertisements empower plumbers to highlight services through visual images. Just like with a plumbing website, unique photos of your team, truck, and equipment convert best.
IG Stories
Stories ads appear to users in the time between watching one Story and the next. Compelling Stories ads resemble a standard IG Story to reach users on a psychological level. Plumbers can utilize all regular IG Story features, including text overlays, filters, and effects.
Carousel
Carousel advertisements feature multiple images or videos, exposing users to a series of plumbing services with unique calls to action for each. Alternatively, plumbers can showcase a single service or brand with up to ten photos. Sometimes, a high volume of visuals encourages users to buy.
The Instagram Advertising Process
Plumbing contractors can advertise on Instagram through Facebook Ads Manager or directly from the IG App. To advertise on the app, you’ll need a business or creator account. In either case, linking your IG Ads to your Facebook account is ideal.
If you know anything about plumbing Facebook ads, you know that Ads Manager is a very advanced tool. For companies looking for the most detailed ads, Facebook Ads Manager works best.
Choosing an Objective
Pull up Facebook Ads Manager and choose Create. By default, the tool assigns you Guided Creation. You can switch to Quick Creation if you require more precise control. From the Guided Creation screen, you then choose an objective. Most plumbers should select one of the following:
Brand Awareness
Conversions
Engagement
Lead-Gen
Messages
Reach
Traffic
Video Views
Next, you rename your campaign from its default. It’s best to label each campaign specifically with a name like Cowtown Plumbing Web Traffic.
Targeting an Audience
Reaching the right customers helps maintain a positive ROI. As a subsidiary of Facebook, Instagram allows for in-depth consumer targeting. For example, you may want to target homeowners recently exposed to winter storms. If their pipes burst, they’ll need immediate assistance.
Picking Ad Placements
Facebook Ads Manager gives plumbers the option of automatic and manual placements for Instagram ads. The automatic setting uses AI to determine the most effective arrangements. Conversely, the manual setting gives you the power to choose where you want to show your advertisement.
Setting a Budget
Daily budgets provide maximum daily spends so plumbers can cap their day-to-day cost. Similarly, lifetime budgets allow contractors to restrict their campaign’s lifetime spending. Facebook Ads Manager projects your ad’s reach so that you can integrate your budget with your marketing goals.
Instagram Ad Creative
Your ad’s creativity remains essential to positive results. Once you’ve set the stage with objectives, audiences, placements, and budgets, you must create your advertisement.
Plumbing companies can choose their visual content (video or image) and then produce the copywriting for the ad. Next, you will select your payment method, review your ad’s final draft and finally confirm it for publishing.
Remember to choose sensible calls-to-action to maximize conversions. Similarly, link to the most relevant landing pages in your CTAs. Becoming an Instagram expert doesn’t happen overnight. Still, with proper guidance, plumbing contractors can maximize their ad spend and earn new clients regularly.
Instagram Marketing for Plumbers
Advertising is the most detailed aspect of Instagram marketing for plumbers but far from the only way to reach new customers or maintain existing ones. Posting images of your work regularly, along with IG Stories of your team on the job, can separate you from competitors.
The more engaged your consumer base is, the more your plumbing company grows in 2023. Link up with HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters to learn more about Instagram marketing services for plumbers.
HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters reveals some relevant plumbing industry statistics in the following post. We will analyze each stat to show you how you can leverage recent trends to modernize your business and keep an edge over your competitors.
The world has gone through some pretty drastic changes just in the last year. These changes have trickled down to almost every industry imaginable. Through the pandemic, with technological advances and the preferences of consumers and homeowners, the plumbing industry’s demands are different.
Table of Contents
Top Plumbing Industry Statistics for 2023
The U.S. plumbing sector is a 92-billion-dollar industry
There are approximately 106,000 plumbing businesses in the U.S.
Plumbers earn a median salary of $59,880 and $28.79 per hour
The plumbing and pipe-fitting industries will grow by 4% over the next eight years
About 70% of plumbers with a marketing agency are unhappy with the results
The smart bathroom fixture market will be worth $6.6 billion by the year 2027
48% of consumers report that their first contact with companies they are looking to hire comes via a mobile device
Service-Related Plumbing Statistics
The average sewer line installation costs between $3,000 and $3,500
The average gas line installation costs between $600 and $800
The average whole house repiping costs $7,700
Slab leak repair costs vary greatly, ranging from $300 to $2,500
The average water heater replacement costs $1,600
The U.S. plumbing sector is a 92-billion-dollar industry
Despite economic fluctuations, the plumbing industry remains strong and sustainable for the near future. While A.I. technology may impact other forms of labor, plumbers can remain confident for the foreseeable future.
There are approximately 106,000plumbing businesses in the U.S.
The high number of plumbing businesses is encouraging for the industry at larger, but it also signals a competitive landscape for local customers. As a result, it’s important to implement an effective digital marketing strategy.
Plumbers earn a median salary of $59,880 and $28.79 per hour
The median plumber salary is higher than the U.S. median salary for all jobs, which is a badge of honor for the industry and encouraging for aspiring plumbing contractors.
The plumbing and pipe-fitting industries will grow by 4% over the next eight years
The plumbing industry’s growth is projected to ascend over the better part of the next decade, making it one of the most appealing industries for business owners.
About 70% of plumbers with a marketing agency are unhappy with the results
While digital marketing is vital to plumbing success, it’s worth noting that the vast majority of plumbers are unhappy with their current marketing agency. As a result, finding one of the few competent marketing firms can separate your business from competitors.
The smart bathroom fixture market will be worth $6.6 billion by the year 2027
Technology will impact the plumbing industry in a mostly positive manner. For example, the smart bathroom fixture market will reach peak value by 2027 and provide new service opportunities for plumbing companies.
48% of consumers report that their first contact with companies they are looking to hire comes via a mobile device
Consumer behavior demonstrates an increasing trend of searching for “plumber near me” and similar queries on their mobile devices. It’s simple for plumbing companies to optimize their mobile website to rank for these terms, yet most still do not go through with it.
The average sewer line installation costs between $3,000 and $3,500
Factors impacting the final cost include location, county regulations, sewer line length, materials used, and property type. As a result, the price may exceed the national average or fall short.
The average gas line installation costs between $600 and $800
The cost of gas line installation depends mainly on the property’s location. For instance, urban gas line installation requires horizontal directional drilling, whereas rural does not. Therefore, the service is less expensive for properties in rural areas.
The average whole house repiping costs $7,700
Pipe accessibility influences the cost of whole-house repiping as labor costs increase when pipes are difficult to access. Of course, the home’s size also plays a role in the final price, as does your choice of materials.
Slab leak repair costs vary greatly, ranging from $300 to $2,500
The reason for such a wide range in slab leak repair costs stems from the leak’s location. For example, the leak may originate in the water line or drain line, while in more severe cases, the foundation itself is the source.
The average water heater replacement costs $1,600
The primary variable for water heater replacement cost is unit size. A 30-gallon unit replacement is the cheapest, while an 80-gallon unit is the most expensive. The type of water heater also plays a role as tankless, gas and electric water heaters vary in replacement cost.
Analyzing Plumbing Industry Statistics
The Industry is Healthy
The plumbing industry is healthy and profitable in 2023. Business owners can feel comfortable that there is money to earn with good marketing and performance. The median salary for plumbers is just under $60,000 allowing for it to remain an appealing employment option.
Furthermore, the industry itself is worth 92 billion. In addition, the industry is expected to grow by 4% over the next eight years.
Plumbers Don’t Trust Marketing Agencies
Nearly 70% of plumbing companies with a marketing agency are unhappy with the results. This is a troubling statistic because competing in 2023 requires SEO for plumbers. Over 70% of clicks come from either Google Maps 3-Pack results or traditional organic results.
Smart Bathroom Fixtures are Booming
Experts estimate that the smart bathroom fixture market will be worth $6.6 billion by the year 2027. What does this mean for plumbers? It means that the demand for smart fixtures like Bluetooth showerheads and digital faucets is rising.
Suppose you aren’t already familiar with installing and servicing these types of fixtures. In that case, you could get left in the dust in 2023 and beyond. Plumbers should also be ready to explain the benefits of these types of fixtures to millennial homeowners.
Mobile Users Are Ready to Buy
69% of smartphone users report they will purchase from companies that answer queries and concerns via a mobile website. In other words, more people are now using mobile devices to search for home services than ever before.
So what can you do as a plumber? Make sure that your website and landing pages are accessible and optimized for mobile users.
Plumbing Service Costs Vary by Location
The cost of plumbing services varies by service type and location. As a marketing agency that works with plumbers from all over the United States, we understand that targeting the correct service types can yield legitimate ROI.
Final Thoughts on Plumbing Industry Statistics
The plumbing industry is in a good place and primed for companies to profit in 2023. However, the formula for success requires a strong digital marketing presence, which is difficult to achieve with low-quality agencies. Plumbing businesses that invest in the highest quality marketing will find themselves in an exclusive percentile of business owners that are dominating the industry.
Retargeting ads for plumbers are online display ads shown to users who visit your plumbing website and then exit without completing a call-to-action. The technique utilizes browser cookies and tracking pixels to retarget the user as they browse the web elsewhere. Plumbing companies can also use retargeting ads on Facebook.
Plumbing Retargeting Ads Basics
Retargeting is most often used to describe the online display ads shown to visitors who came to your website but navigated away without acting. This marketing type includes pixel tracking or cookies that follow the user around after they leave your website.
The marketing tactic of retargeting is nothing new. It’s been around for over a decade now, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. And there is a reason for that.
Retargeting works and the numbers don’t lie. Retargeting ads can boost click-through rates by a significant margin. People are more likely to click on an ad if they are already familiar with the brand, product, or service.
But we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves. For now, retargeting ads for plumbers can be very beneficial. They can help you convert more customers and make more sales. But how does it all work? How can you use retargeting ads for your business? These are the questions we will be addressing in the following post so let’s get started.
Defining Retargeting
The concept of a retargeting ad is straightforward: you show your ad to someone who has visited your website, seen the ad, or engaged with your content before. Technically speaking, retargeting ads also include any ad displayed to a past customer.
The digital concept works by applying code to a specific user when they visit your site. You can assign a unique code for those who make some action on it (clicking a link, signing up for a mailing list, etc.).
For example, have you ever noticed that you see ads for certain companies on the sidebars of other websites you visit? If so, they retargeted you. You see ads for this particular company because you have somehow shown a “digital interest” in their products or services already.
So why would any company want to do this? When someone leaves your website without making a purchase or requesting more information, doesn’t that mean they aren’t interested? Why hound them when they have already decided not to do business with you?
Because that isn’t always the case. 43% of retargeted customers end up making a purchase. It’s important to realize that many consumers will leave a website without purchasing for many reasons – not just that they are genuinely uninterested in the product or service.
And the benefits of retargeting don’t stop short of more conversions – although that is the most important benefit for many business owners.
Why Should Plumbers Retarget at All?
Retargeting ads for plumbers aren’t just about making more sales. That’s more of a short-term perk to these types of ads. Retargeting ads should be part of your marketing campaign for long-term, sustained lead generation and conversion. Besides increased sales, here are some critical retargeting ad benefits:
Increase Brand Awareness: Many professional marketers say that retargeting helps increase their client’s brand awareness. When people see your ad in multiple places, they become more aware and, typically, more trusting of your brand. Retargeting is a great method for letting people know who you are and what you do.
Customer Retention: Retargeting is also beneficial for customer retention. When someone has hired you in the past, they are more likely to return to you when reminded of your plumbing services. Retargeting ads for plumbers can serve as this friendly reminder.
Market Research: Most retargeting ad tools will allow you to see where the customer was when they left your website. This data can provide you with valuable market data as to what is working and what isn’t.
Upselling Opportunities: This benefit sort of goes hand-in-hand with the customer retention point. Retargeting ads can help you sell more expensive services to people who have already hired you in the past. These customers are the ones more likely to spend more money on higher-priced services.
How Plumbers Can Utilize Retargeting Ads
You can choose multiple platforms if you want to get started with retargeting ads for plumbers. Please note that this is not a free service. Retargeting ads are usually much less expensive than initial PPC (Pay Per Click) ads. So they offer value in terms of ROI or return on investment.
Google Remarketing for Plumbers
One of the most effective platforms for retargeting (sometimes also referred to as remarketing) ads is Google Ads. Google Ads includes a remarketing tool to display your plumbing ads in front of both Google users (of which there are billions) and even people that aren’t on Google.
The great thing about Google for retargeting ads is that they have millions of partners. Even if your target audience isn’t searching on Google, they will likely visit a partner site because millions of sites partner with Google. Here’s how it works:
Searches: When someone performs a Google search related to your service(s), your ad will show up near the top of the Google search.
Outside Browsing: When someone who has interacted with your brand in the past ventures off of Google to one of Google’s many partner sites, your ad will still show up somewhere on the site.
Facebook Remarketing for Plumbers
Facebook is perhaps the most accessible retargeting ad platform. It allows you to target Facebook users who have interacted with your business’s Facebook page (your company does have a Facebook page, doesn’t it?)
As you probably already know, Facebook has acquired several other social media platforms. So your ads won’t just display on people’s Facebook feeds. They will see them on Instagram, Messenger, and the mobile messaging app WhatsApp. Here’s how it works:
Install the Facebook Retargeting Pixel on your website.
Match existing customers through their email addresses to their Facebook account
You can also manually upload an email list of the current customers that you want to see your retargeting ad
Display your ad on any website that is part of the Facebook advertising network
Partner With HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters for Retargeting Ads
Retargeting ads for plumbers is just one of the many ways you can target your local market. They increase brand awareness, help with customer retention, and usually offer a great ROI. Plus, they aren’t as expensive as pay-per-click ads, which have merit in their own right.
But it will take more than a massive retargeting ad campaign to dominate your local market. That’s where we come in. We are HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters. We have a long history of helping contractors like you expand their business, increase customer retention, and win new customers.
We specialize in organic SEO services that will drive more traffic to your website and social pages. We also offer a complete website design service emphasizing local SEO for plumbers and HVAC contractors just getting started. And if you want to completely redo your website and make it the lead-generating machine it should be, we can help with that too.
Final Thoughts on Remarketing & Retargeting
Plumbers can improve CTR and conversions with remarketing and retargeting. The data reveals that users previously exposed to your company and its services are more likely to engage with subsequent advertisements than brand-new consumers.
As a result, investing in a retargeting strategy is a shrewd business move for your plumbing company. If you require assistance with any aspect of your remarketing campaign, be sure to contact Plumbing Webmasters to optimize your web effort in 2023.
SEO is the best digital marketing strategy for HVAC companies in 2023. However, as the HVAC SEO industry has grown more diluted, subpar practices have lowered its impact and cost business owners wasted dollars.
Still, when properly implemented, SEO yields the highest ROI and produces the most sustainable long-term revenue. In the following guide, HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters outlines how to implement SEO the right way in 2023.
Key Takeaway
As an SEO agency with 10+ years of experience with HVAC and plumbing clients, SEO is the most effective and affordable online marketing strategy.
Table of Contents
What is HVAC SEO?
HVAC SEO is a digital marketing practice that ranks a website or other digital property on search engine results. SEO aims to generate organic (free) clicks to digital properties and convert a percentage of those visitors into new customers.
Why HVAC Companies Need SEO
Heating and cooling companies traditionally rely on referrals and print media to acquire new customers. However, in 2023, the digital marketplace is now front and center. Most of your prospective customers search for HVAC services on search engines like Google.
As a result, establishing an online presence is mandatory in 2023, as nearly 100% of your competitors invest in some form of digital marketing. While the new marketing landscape should create a sense of urgency, it also presents outstanding opportunities for HVAC companies. See below:
Rank your website and GMB above competitors
Acquire organic (free) traffic from search engines
Generate exclusive and low-cost leads from Google
Build your brand and reputation online
SEO Components for AC Companies
SEO is a loaded acronym that encompasses many aspects of search engine optimization. Everything from XML sitemap submissions to blog post publishing falls under the SEO umbrella.
As a result, HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters breaks down SEO components into six main categories, keywords, content, links, on-page, technical, and local.
Keywords
Keywords are the foundation of SEO because your efforts must target terms and phrases that HVAC consumers search for online. Therefore, neglecting keyword research may render the rest of your SEO campaign worthless.
Keyword research tools like Moz Keyword Explorer and SEMRush can help you build a list of targeted keywords based on search volume, difficulty, and user intent.
Keyword Volume
Keyword volume is the estimated number of users who search for a query per month. Of course, the metric is not 100% accurate as no platform can access every query. Still, search volume gives you a general idea about a keyword’s popularity. Keep in mind that local terms will have a lower volume.
Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty measures how hard it is to rank for a given query. For example, the term air conditioner repair has a very high difficulty, but adding a local modifier, like in dallas, lowers the difficulty significantly. As a result, local terms have less difficulty depending on the overall population.
User Intent
User intent categorizes queries by the user’s estimated intent. For example, if someone searches for my furnace is blowing cold air, we can define their goal as informational. In contrast, a query like furnace repair near me shows transactional intent. The latter type holds the most value for HVAC websites.
Content
Content is the fuel for your keywords, as high-quality pages and posts allow your website to rank for your targeted phrases. HVAC websites typically publish three types of content: service pages, city pages, and blog posts. Each content type targets an individual keyword.
For example, a service page may target air conditioner repair, a city page may target dallas hvac company, and a blog post may target signs of furnace damage. Each query holds a specific user intent. The content must reflect the user’s needs within the text and visual presentation.
Service Pages
Service pages detail individual services for your HVAC company, like air conditioner repair, furnace repair, etc. Each service page targets one service so that Google and other search engines can index your pages accordingly. It’s wise to interlink service pages together for an SEO boost.
City Pages
City pages target nearby cities outside of your primary location. For example, if you operate your company in Dallas, TX, you might have city pages for Plano, McKinney, and Frisco. Your homepage targets Dallas, while individual city pages target nearby cities for optimal rankings.
Blog Posts
Blog posts target informational queries that wouldn’t make sense on a service or city page. For example, a query like why is my ac vent making noise isn’t something you can target on a service page. Instead, you should publish an informative blog post that interlinks to the ac repair service page.
Link Building
Backlinks are an endorsement from one website to another, making them vital to search engine optimization for HVAC contractors. Although links are one of Google’s most significant ranking factors, they are also one of the most dangerous SEO tasks you can pursue. Black-hat link building (such as paying for links) can result in a manual Google penalty.
White-hat link building involves creating high-quality content assets and sharing them on social media platforms. Other white-hat strategies include submitting your website to local and industry directories and joining HVAC associations within your region.
Natural Links
Natural links are those that websites link to without your discretion. For example, a blog writer researching various AC repair techniques might come across one of your highest-ranking blog posts. The writer may reference your post within their article, thus transferring link equity.
Citation Links
Citation links come from platforms like Google Business Profile, Yelp, and HomeAdvisor, which allow you to submit your business information within their directories. Since anyone can create these citations, the links are tagged with nofollow, making them less potent than natural links.
Institutional Links
Joining industry or local associations like the Chamber of Commerce can earn you a link on the website’s membership page. These types of institutions often link out to their members, who are typically local businesses like yours. As a result, you can earn valuable link equity.
On-Page SEO
On-Page SEO ensures that Google and other search engine crawlers understand what your content is about. You can write an outstanding article about furnace damage signs, but if you fail to implement the keyword into the title tag, meta description, and URL, it won’t rank.
In addition to the aforementioned keyword placements, placing your keyword in the first paragraph of your content and two more times throughout the rest of the page or post is ideal. Be careful not to oversaturate your content with a single keyword. Instead, use LSI keywords as synonyms that reference the same entity differently.
Title Tags
Your title tag is what appears on Google search results (unless Google modifies it) and the easiest way to relay a page or post topic to search engines. You can use WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO to ensure your title tags fit within the maximum character limit and contain your keyword.
Meta Descriptions
Your meta description appears beneath your title tag on Google search results. Although it’s considered less influential than the title tag, it is still a great place to insert your keyword and preview what your page or post is about. Like title tags, Yoast helps you optimize your meta descriptions.
URL Slugs
URL slugs, otherwise known as permalinks, appear in the address bar of the user’s browser. For example, if your company website domain is bigdavehvac.com, your service page URL slug would be bigdaveshvac.com/ac-repair. It helps to put your keyword within the URL.
Technical SEO
Ensuring that Google and other search engines can crawl and index your website is critical to SEO. As a result, Technical SEO is one of the most overlooked components for HVAC companies. It’s easy to ignore technical optimization when you lack the knowledge required to optimize your site.
Various factors influence your website’s technical optimization, including sitemaps, HTML, URL structure, canonicals, noindex tags, internal links, user experience, and Google Search Console setup. Hiring a professional is the best way to ensure a technically sound SEO strategy.
Sitemaps
XML sitemaps help Google easily crawl your website and find new pages and posts after publication. You can create a sitemap using the Yoast SEO plugin and submit your sitemap via Google Search Console. Think of your XML sitemap as a website roadmap for search engine crawlers.
URL Structure
Some HVAC websites use subfolders to separate their topics and subtopics. For example, a top-level page might cover HVAC services, while the sub-level pages target AC Repair Services and Furnace Repair Services. If you choose the subfolder structure, it’s critical to keep things organized.
Internal Links
Like sitemaps, internal links help Google crawl additional pages on your website. In addition, internal links also boost authority for pages and posts. For example, linking your ac repair service page to your blog post about signs of AC damage can transfer topical authority from page to post.
Local SEO
Local SEO is a sub-category of search engine optimization that applies to 99% of HVAC companies. Local optimization shares many of the standard components but requires extra efforts to rank locally. For example, setting up a Google Business Profile is mandatory for Local SEO.
Most HVAC contractors have a business address and work in multiple service areas surrounding their central city. As a result, it’s critical to set up and optimize your business listings, especially on Google Business Profile. In addition, you should publish city pages on your website and submit your business information to local directories.
Google Business Profile
Your GMB listing or Google Business Profile is your most crucial citation as an HVAC company. Users who search your brand name will see your listing appear within the knowledge graph on their search results. In addition, nearby users may see your listing with the Local 3-Pack for relevant queries like ac repair near me.
Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the most critical component of your Local SEO strategy in 2023.
Local Landing Pages
We mentioned city pages within our content section, but we must reiterate their importance here. City pages or local landing pages help reach customers outside your primary location. In addition, it helps to create unique and relevant content for each area to distinguish the pages from each other.
Local Directories
Submit your business information to all the major directories like Angi, HomeAdvisor, Yelp, and BBB. As your address appears on more websites, Google begins to view your entire brand as an entity with a confirmed location. As a result, you may start to rank higher for local searches.
Directory listings help organize your NAP information for local rankings. Optimized citations give you a greater chance to rank within the Google 3-Pack.
Helpful HVAC SEO Tips for 2023
Understanding SEO’s components is a great start. However, you still need helpful tips to get your campaign started in the right direction. Follow these suggestions to avoid common search engine optimization pitfalls and overtake competitors on Google SERPs.
1) Focus on User Intent
HVAC companies commonly mistake targeting low-conversion keywords because of a misinterpretation of user intent. Every user has a specific purpose with their search queries, typically transactional, informational, or navigational. Check out some examples of user intent below:
transactional intent: emergency ac repair near me
informational intent: ac not turning on in house
navigational intent: dave’s best hvac company
2) Build Brand Authority
The most successful SEO campaigns feed off a sustainable brand. For example, a company named Mission Critical Comfort Solutions will outperform a business called Denver HVAC Company long-term. You gain notoriety as you garner more reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook.
Similarly, as more people search for your brand name online, Google begins recognizing your brand name as an entity. Combining brand building with SEO, social media marketing, and reputation management ensures a sustainable campaign that yields a substantial long-term ROI.
3) Create a Custom Website
SEO applies to every website, but custom websites typically perform better on search results. Everything from the codebase, photos, and navigation should be customized to fit your brand and impress visitors. Furthermore, a stand-out design can increase dwell time and other metrics.
Custom websites also produce higher conversion rates for users who reach the homepage or service pages. Consumers would much rather see unique photos of you, your staff, and your equipment than generic stock photos they can find on thousands of other websites. Remember to insert calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout your website pages.
4) Measure Your SEO Campaign
Tracking your SEO campaign helps you diagnose problems and establish data-driven benchmarks. Install Google Analytics tracking code in your website’s HTML and validate your domain on Google Search Console. These Google-based tools will help you monitor traffic, clicks, queries, and other essential data.
Google Search Console also provides insights about website errors such as mobile usability issues, indexing problems, and manual penalties. Aside from the technical insights, Search Console also helps you see which queries users submit when finding your various web pages and blog posts.
5) Install The DataPins Local SEO Tool
HVAC contractors can streamline Local SEO & Reputation Management with the DataPins tool. DataPins allows you to document jobs via schema check-ins that send geo-coordinates and other local signals to Google. DataPins also showcases recent jobs on your website in various cities.
In addition to its vast Local SEO influence, DataPins also automates your reputation management process.
For example, DataPins sends automated review requests via SMS and email so that more of your customers remember to submit positive reviews of your business online.
HVAC SEO Services for Local Companies
Most companies are unequipped to implement proper SEO without professional assistance. As a result, it makes sense to invest in an HVAC SEO company like HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters. Our expansive team covers every aspect of your campaign, including web design, content, link building, on-page, technical, and local.
In addition, HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters includes DataPins for every new customer. With the DataPins tool, you can expedite your SEO process and begin overtaking local competitors ASAP. To learn more about our SEO services, contact us today.
Google Reviews drive local search and online branding more than almost any other ranking factor. Most plumbing professionals have some notion of the impact reviews have on their business. However, most don’t fully understand how to effectively collect and manage their client feedback.
To help guide your plumbing company toward stronger brand growth, we’ve created a quick how-to for gathering, managing, and protecting your client feedback. These reviews aren’t going to collect themselves!
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways for Plumbing Professionals
Google Reviews are the most visible form of feedback.
They directly affect rankability for local search results.
Google Reviews are best earned right after a successful service visit.
Negative reviews are opportunities to showcase your customer service prowess.
Fake reviews are not worth it. They’ve killed many businesses.
Understanding Google Reviews
Tied directly to your company’s Google My Business listing, Google Reviews represent your brand’s overall service quality to the entire local search community. Homeowners (and/or commercial clients) can leave a rating by directly searching your business name and submitting a review in the knowledge graph located on the right hand side of the screen. On mobile devices, the review tab on your listing houses the collection and submission area for new client ratings.
There are a few crucial truths you’ll need to when it comes to Google Reviews and their uses.
They are Necessary for SEO
Absolutely essential. To Google, these reviews provide undeniable proof that your business is both active and trustworthy. That means they can depend on your listing, and send more traffic your way by ranking up your website. That’s why many of the top listings on local map packs, some of the best traffic earners, feature companies with dozens (even hundreds) of Google Reviews!
That makes sense, because those reviews represent activity tied directly to your GMB account. Your GMB heavily influences local search results. If you want to win those premium map pack placements, you’ll need to consistently gather reviews on a job by job basis. By the way, if you want more detail about local map packs and optimizing for them, be sure to check out our video guide on Search Marketing, which covers the 3 major aspects of a search engine results page.
They’re Crucial for Sales
Even back in 2015, Pew Research studies showed that at least half of all Americans consider online reviews prior to making a purchase. Five years later, that number continues to climb. That’s because reviews are essentially personal recommendations from other consumers, less biased than the word of the associated business. Even with essential services like plumbing, reviews can make or break a purchase decision.
It’s not enough to gather one or two. Fresh reviews, at least in the mind of local homeowners, provide the most dependable representation of your service quality. The more, the better! After all, don’t you consider reviews on your key purchase decisions?
They Won’t Collect Themselves
Did you know that the vast majority of plumbing clients never leave a review, positive or negative? In fact, a business could consider themselves luck if even one in ten of their clients remember to leave a rating. On the other hand, most plumbing clients would be more than happy to provide a review when asked. According to a study covered by Search Engine Land:
“…if asked, approximately 71 percent of consumers will leave a review for a business.”
Those are good odds! Just imagine how many reviews you could collect in a given year if even half that percentage left them when asked. All you have to do is ask. Add in a geotagging review software (like BrandREVU), and you’ve got the makings of an outrageous improvement in local search rankings! This, of course, could mean significantly more revenue for your business.
Responding to Negative Reviews
Now comes the unpleasant, but necessary side of reputation management: negative reviews. When an angry client leaves a disparaging rating on your GMB, it’s easy to take it personally. With a little ingenuity and a lot of patience however, you can turn negative reviews into unique branding opportunities. Master the art of turning a low rating into a customer service moment, and you’ll wow all your future prospects!
Keep Calm and Carry On
First of all, don’t sweat every negative review that shows up on your GMB. If you’ve been doing a good job providing exceptional service, odds are these negative reviews will be few and far between. Continue to gather positive feedback every time you finish a job by immediately ask your clients for reviews.
The more reviews you gather, the less impact those stinging complaints will have!
Respond to the Problem
Some complaints are legitimate, while others are simply caused by misunderstandings. Either way, it’s best to respond to complaints quickly and courteously. Politely ask the client to provide more information about the circumstances behind their poor service rating. Be sure to take the conversation offline. Email or direct phone calls work best.
Once you’ve identified the cause behind the complaint, consider what you can do to satisfy the unhappy client. For repair problems, that might mean scheduling a next day service visit. For pricing or payment issues, that might mean giving a discount. Obviously, you’ll want to find a solution that meets their needs without breaking the bank!
Finally, make sure the client is completely satisfied before moving on. When you’re confident they feel happy, ask them if they’d feel comfortable updating or deleting their review. Be sure to emphasize just how essential their review is to your business, and how you’d appreciate their help. Odds are, you’ll see a higher star rating soon and earn a happy long-term client for your trouble!
Dangers of Fake Reviews
Fake reviews are bad business, whether they come from Google Reviews or somewhere else. Yet they’ve been a growing concern across multiple industries these last few years. Tech giants, such as Amazon and Google, have done their best to lessen the impact of these fictional ratings, but high demand means that review-writing services still manage to thrive.
How do fake reviews threaten your business? Consider the viewpoints of both clients and Google.
From a Client’s Perspective
Trust is everything in business, especially when it comes to essential home services. If a consumer can’t trust that the reviews on your GMB account accurately represent your service quality, they’ll turn to other options fast. So zealously guard your ratings from any sort of manipulation. If anyone suggests buying up reviews, don’t. It’s not worth the risk to your local search results.
Remember this: consumers understand if you don’t have a perfect 5-star rating. In fact, they may even prefer if your score is less than perfect, because it suggests your reviews are authentic! Just keep getting those new ratings.
From Google’s Perspective
A business caught with fake (purchased or incentivised) reviews creates risk for Google. After all, that company may be struggling for business or suffering from low service quality. Google takes risky company listings and ranks them on the backside of search results. At the very least, they could cancel any suspected reviews and remove them from your collection.
In worst case scenario, we’ve seen companies lose their GMB account overnight. That means no showing up for local-based searches. Worse yet, it means a tremendous loss of traffic and leads coming into your website. That’s an expensive mistake not worth making!
Closing Thoughts
As one of the most important factors affecting your local search ranking, Google Reviews deserve consistent attention. Collect them as often as you, immediately after service visits if possible. Not only does this protect and grow your brand, it promotes stronger results on Google Search. That’s easy money for your business.
If you’re looking to automate and empower your reviews process, talk with our team at Plumbing Webmasters. Each of our custom websites come with integrated review software, enabling you to automatically ask clients for reviews and post them on your website (and any citation sources you desire). We’ve helped plumbing companies, such as the Chattanooga Water Heater Co, dominate local map packs and earn premium leads in a matter of months.
To learn more about Google Reviews and our related services, call us at (877) 388-9884!
The following guide outlines conversational marketing for plumbers, exploring the concept and how you can adapt it for stronger lead generation! If you’ve struggled with leads this year, be sure to read along carefully.
Key Takeaway
One-on-one conversations with potential customers can increase engagement, conversion rates, and brand credibility.
Table of Contents
What is Conversational Marketing?
Conversational marketing creates stronger ties with prospective and existing clients by placing greater emphasis on personal conversation with each individual. That may seem like a very simple idea, especially in the plumbing industry, where in-person service is such a core aspect.
With conversational marketing, however, we take that principle online and adopt it for each of our primary points of interaction with clients.
Key Areas of Conversational Marketing for Plumbers
Your Website
Your Google My Business Listing
Your Social Media Business Profile
Some Consumers (Especially Younger Ages) Prefer Instant Message Over Calling.
It’s Personal Interaction
For most plumbers, conversational marketing will primarily involve direct correspondence with prospective clients prior to them hiring your service. The more direct, the better! A chatbot is better than an email.
An instant message tool is greater than chatbots, and a direct phone call is absolutely amazing!
At some point during the sales process – this matters whether the consumer needs fast repairs or a system installation – there has to be direct interaction between the client and a dedicated member of your staff. That’s personal service!
Your challenge is making sure that each client is directed to the appropriate member of your staff. Callers needing a water heater installation should be directed to an experienced plumber or a knowledgeable sales team, whereas a typical repair call should go straight to your office staff or your cell (depending on the size of your business).
Plumbing Companies That Focus on a Highly Positive Customer Experience Earn the Best Long-Term Success!
It’s Tailored Service
Not every client’s needs are the same. In metropolitan areas where contracting businesses are plentiful, conversational marketing for plumbers stands out. That’s because plumbers who incorporate this strategy into their marketing provide spectacularly tailored customer service!
What does that look like for a small business? It means offering multiple convenient ways for consumers to contact your business and inquire about your services. When a homeowner or commercial prospect lands on your website, they get the 5-star user experience with all the helpful insights and contact information they need.
It’s Timely Interaction
This may be the most crucial aspect of conversational marketing contributing to your success. Consumers have grown more and more demanding in their essential services.
If a prospective client can’t gain direct contact with a member of your team within a matter of minutes (sometimes seconds), there’s a real chance of losing the lead! So it’s essential that your business is ready to interact with these online consumers in real-time.
How to Use Conversational Marketing
So what can your business do to take the concept of conversational marketing for plumbers and really nail it for your customers? First, you’ll need to understand how your clients prefer to interact with your business, such as whether they prefer instant messaging or service forms (or both).
Next, you’ll need to have the systems in place to support these communication channels.
Don’t worry! You shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars on some complex organizational system (unless you want to). There are very simple ways to make sure your business is ready to handle these potential leads.
In Fast Plumbing Repair Service
When it comes to small-scale repair projects, consumers don’t need that much time to investigate their local services. Most likely, they’ll be eager to contact the first highly-rated plumber located in their community.
Your Google My Business (GMB) profile plays a critical role in whether your company shows up first in a consumer’s local map pack!
Make sure your GMB profile is up to date with your latest contact information. If you haven’t already, you should download the GMB app on your phone and enable instant messaging for your business.
This creates a “Message” button on your GMB profile that consumers can use for immediate contact. Considering the high percentage of consumers that use a phone as their primary search device, this is a great tool to have!
For Larger Home Projects
Home projects, such as water heater replacement, may require more steps between a consumer’s initial research and calling your business. With that being said, conversational marketing provides consumers with means to conveniently contact your business at any phase of the sales funnel.
For homeowners not quite invested in a particular solution, contact forms and instant messaging tools allow them to inquire about their options without calling your business.
You can easily provide a general quote for these prospects and allow them to follow up at their own speed. Just make sure your website is ready with dedicated service pages for those projects, be they water heater replacement, water restoration, or pump installation.
Your sales professionals can also follow up with questions and helpful information!
With Commercial Solutions
Do you provide specialized services for local businesses and non-profit organizations? When it comes to commercial-oriented projects, clear communication is essential. You need to be able to provide accurate documentation of the projected costs for the project, as well as the timeframe.
While chatbots and instant messaging could save you time, your commercial clients will appreciate direct communication. Make sure your GMB is set up to receive calls! Having a documented quote will also speed up bidding for any major projects, so it’s great to follow up with a personalized email.
Website Integration
For many consumers, the first point of interaction with your business is on your company website. For others, it may begin on a GMB knowledge graph with your company information. Conversational marketing for plumbers demands that both your website and GMB be ready to handle these interactions in a timely, convenient manner.
There are several tools worth integrating into your website to ensure your customers can easily contact you as they need. If you haven’t already added these features into your site, now’s the time to consider them!
Linking Your Chatbot
Chatbots have come a long way in the last decade. A long way! Through the use of artificial learning programs, they can better understand conversational subtext. Put simply, chatbots understand the sort of language we use every day in order to provide better service for clients.
If your clients need to ask questions about your plumbing services after hours, they can engage with the chatbot.
Image Source: Acquire – If a Chatbot Can’t Answer a Question, it Gets Routed to a Staff Member.
In the event of an emergency, the chatbot can redirect the prospect to a staff member on standby. Otherwise, they can answer many of the typical questions your clients have to ask.
According to the experts from Convince & Convert, “25% of consumers say that basic details about the business are hard to find!” Chatbots can relay this sort of information quickly.
Chatbots are by no means a replacement for dedicated, informed staff members. However, they can reduce the number of informational calls coming into your office.
Clever companies can also use the chatbot to link to important resources, blogs, and galleries, making it easier for prospects to find the details they need for their project.
Some programs can even service appointments for your clients, though that function may come at a premium to your business!
If you’re interested in learning more about chatbot technology, Drift and Intercom are two of the top names in the industry.
Setting Up Instant Messaging
As we’ve said before, there’s no replacement for quality human interaction. If you’ve ever struggled through an automated service call, you know how much comfort a real person can provide!
At the same time, not everyone likes to communicate through phone calls (especially younger age groups). That’s where instant messaging comes into play.
Image Source: Facebook – Facebook Messenger Already Has Over 1.3 Billion Users to Pursue!
Instant messaging, be it through Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, provides direct access between your business and your clients. That connection can be dangerous if you aren’t ready to handle the conversation, but it can be a tremendous source of higher lead conversion. I
f you aren’t ready for an integrated website feature yet, the Google My Business app allows you to set up instant messaging for your clients to your phone. You can also arrange instant messaging for your website.
Preparing Your Team
Now, it’s going to take a little work to make sure your team is ready to engage people in this highly-personalized manner. After all, communicating through multiple platforms can be a challenge for smaller teams.
With proper planning, however, you can achieve outstanding results with conversational marketing for plumbers!
There are several aspects of this marketing strategy that you’ll need to prepare for.
Receiving messages and calls through new channels
Delivering personalized care for each client.
Creating a process for collecting client feedback and reviews.
Process Training
For every line of communication that you open with clients, your staff needs proper training to receive them. Chatbots, for instance, can handle many of the initial questions that a homeowner has regarding your services.
When the time comes for the handoff to a live staff member, that process needs to happen quickly to avoid losing the prospective client. Some chatbot service providers offer training to help get your team acquainted with the capabilities and uses of their software. Be sure to take full advantage!
If you install an instant messaging system to communicate directly with homeowners and needy businesses, your staff will need to be able to write about services in detail. It may take some time to get used to each channel of communication, but success only comes from dedication and thorough preparation.
Personalized Care Training
As we mentioned before, there’s no substitute for the personal touch a human provides! As your staff members learn each new channel of communication, it’s crucial that they also grasp how to listen to the needs of each individual prospect.
At Plumbing Webmasters, we’ve witnessed so many high-quality leads lost due to miscommunication (or inexperience) from the call handler. We’ve also seen would-be clients turn away because of rude staff members!
If you want to provide the sort of personalized care that leaves clients wanting more interaction with your business, train your staff well.
Teach them how to talk about your services, handle questions about pricing, and how to work best with each channel. If you do, you’ll see much stronger returns in your conversational marketing.
Preparing for Glowing Reviews
When you have dedicated staff providing exceptional service, outstanding results are sure to follow! For many homeowners, customer service is almost as important as the plumbing work itself.
If you nail conversational marketing by providing the personalized service consumers so strongly desire, glowing reviews are the natural result. That is if you know how to ask for them!
Historically, consumers haven’t been very good at providing positive feedback for the services they receive. Only a small percentage ever takes the time to leave a review, while a larger number of consumers jump at the chance to leave an angry review!
That’s why your team must take every opportunity to ask for reviews, especially after a job well done. This ensures a steady stream of happy 4 to 5-star reviews, which does wonders for your local SEO!
Long-Term Strategy
When it comes to any marketing strategy, it’s always important to keep both eyes open for problems. While conversational marketing for plumbers is based on long-standing principles of customer service, it does come with its own share of obstacles to overcome. For instance…
How will customers react to the new communication channels?
How will your staff respond to learning a new process?
How will you examine/measure your results to determine success?
What will you do if customers struggle to use the new tools?
How will your team respond if the new channels are wildly popular?
Use the Analytics Behavior Flow Chart to Inspire Your Conversational Marketing Plan!
You will naturally find ways to improve your service over time, identifying areas of weak performance and opportunities for growth. Your staff may need to talk with clients and see how they like whatever chatbots, instant messaging, or form submissions you add to the website.
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes! As long as you continue to treat customers with respect (and provide good plumbing services), your clients will keep coming back.
On the other end of the spectrum, don’t shy away from rejecting a new technology if it fails to provide measurable returns after long-term use. Not every plumbing business needs a chatbot, even if many companies benefit from the technology.
Only cling to conversational marketing strategies that actively grow your business and serve your clients’ needs.
Measuring Success in Conversational Marketing
It’s exciting to try out new tactics and tools! However, it’s crucial for your long-term success to measure the effectiveness of each channel you open. If you install a chatbot on your website, for instance, you can gauge the effect it has on your sales.
Do you see a higher or lower number of people calling in for service? You may find that the volume of people calling into your office for service stays the same while the number of informational calls drops. That frees up more phones in the office, a definite win for your staff!
If your company sets up an instant messaging system, keep track of how many inquiries result in scheduled service. If instant messaging ends up taking more of your staff’s time than you’d like, that’s another important factor to consider in your overall strategy.
Conversational marketing for plumbers requires tinkering to ensure peak performance!
Adapting Your Strategy Over Time
As a plumber’s client base grows, there’s always the risk of losing hold of the customer service quality that brought people to that business in the first place. Your plumbing experts don’t have the time to answer every call for information.
To meet the needs of both your clients and staff, an effective conversational marketing strategy must be able to gradually expand over time.
Google Analytics Will Help You Track Your Marketing Effectiveness Over Time.
For example, instant messaging through your phone may become a serious challenge to keep up with once your client base grows large enough. This may lead your team towards a more integrated messaging system for your website or even a chatbot.
That’s just one more reason to routinely examine the effectiveness of your customer service!
Before You Get Started
Jumping into a new form of customer care without preparation is a recipe for disaster. No business is exactly the same as the next. Take the time to determine which channels will work best for your customers.
Determine which members of your staff are likeliest to provide exceptional service. Have them champion the new technology and processes, so they can train other people how to do it too!
How to Adopt Conversational Marketing for Plumbers
Research, test, and adapt the right conversational tools for your clients’ needs.
Make sure you have the time, energy, and resources for each new channel.
Pick capable team members to try out the new technology.
Train other staff on how to deliver personalized care through the new channels.
Again, we can’t stress enough how important it is to have the right people handling the customer service side of conversational marketing for plumbers. Well-spoken, courteous staff members make a huge difference in both the client experience and your lead generation.
If a rude or ignorant staff member handles the conversation, it could permanently mar the prospect’s view of your business. It might even result in a very public low-star review on Google.
On the other hand, skilled and friendly staff members turn interested homeowners into lifelong clients! That means recurring business and a steady stream of outstanding reviews coming into your brand. Stronger customer experience is one of the top 10 marketing trends of 2023!
Consumers are looking to develop deeper relationships with the companies they do business with. With a team of seasoned customer service experts driving your conversational marketing, you’ll create an experience unlike any your clients have seen in plumbing!
Our DataPins Check-in System Works Really Well With Conversational Marketing.
Support from the Plumbing Webmasters
Homeowners and commercial consumers demand better customer service than ever before. Thankfully, conversational marketing allows your plumbing company to uphold that premium standard of service. We’re here to help you adopt this strategy into your online marketing for stronger results than ever before!
Adapting new technologies and strategies can be a challenging process. Integrating them into your website is just as difficult. At Plumbing Webmasters, our website design team makes it easy to develop a custom site perfectly tailored to your team’s needs.
Not only do we make it easy for your staff to interact with plumbing prospects, we also produce stronger performance from local Google Search results!
Learn more about how conversational marketing for plumbers and plumbing SEO work hand in hand by calling us at (877) 388-9884.
Hello! If you have any questions, leave your info below and we'll call you.
