Every year some hotshot marketer poses the question, is plumber SEO dead? It’s a clickbait question to garner attention. Here’s the truth: SEO ethics, skills, and competence are dead, but the practice is alive and well. At Plumbing Webmasters, we decided to ask a better question for today’s podcast episode, is SEO B.S.?
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SEO Sales Are B.S. in 2022
The sales routine of SEO marketers is B.S. in 2022. For example, most SEO companies call random businesses to identify urgent calls to action about their website. Maybe they highlight an ambiguous metric that causes the business owner to panic and fork over $2,000 per month for 12 months.
These people are horrific human beings and destroy the competence of the SEO industry. Since their services are awful, the business owner grows furious with the entire process and begins to resent SEO as an industry. And who can blame them? They’ve been screwed so many times that it’s perfectly reasonable.
Why Lead Generation Overtook SEO
Plumbers often seek out lead generation services rather than SEO in 2022. Who can blame them since most SEO providers are despicable human beings? The problem with lead generation services is that SEO creates the best leads, and without SEO or PPC, you’re not getting any leads.
The same is true of funneling services that fall into the same lead generation sales pitch. But your funnel is only as effective as your SEO or PPC process. So when a lead goes from your contact form to your plumbing CRM, that’s a fantastic feeling. But unfortunately, that action only takes place with good SEO or PPC.
SEO is Still Over 70% of Search
PPC is one way to generate plumbing leads; however, SEO is still responsible for over 70% of searches. If you only invest in PPC, your business has little chance of surviving long-term. At Plumbing Webmasters, we are interested in long-term partnerships since they’re beneficial for both parties. Of course, such a philosophy requires ethics, which most marketing companies don’t have in 2022.
Google Map 3-Pack results are organic, which some plumbing companies don’t understand. Local SEO is part of SEO which is why your Google Business Profile is essential for good results. But you can’t only have a GBP and expect to rank either. Profiles with a high-quality website associated with the listing rank much higher, on average, in local results.
Plumber SEO is Not Dead
Plumbing SEO is still the most inexpensive method to grow your plumbing company in 2022. the tactics still work better than any other marketing venture, and the long-term impact is still greater than any other form of digital promotion. As a result, plumbing SEO is not dead in 2022. The key to SEO is finding the less than 1% of SEO providers who actually care about your business.
Plumbing Webmasters turns down customers we can’t help, which most SEO providers never consider. Instead, they rope them into long-term contracts that leave them with an unpayable bill. For startup plumbers, consider going to Angi and HomeAdvisor before you invest in SEO services.
At Plumbing Webmasters, every new client we speak with has been screwed by a digital marketing company at some point in their careers. Unfortunately, while there are a few good digital marketing agencies for plumbers, most web companies are horrible. In today’s The Plumbing SEO podcast episode, Nolen and Jason breakdown why most agencies are B.S.
Why Plumbing Marketing Companies Are B.S.
Most marketing companies are B.S. for the same reasons. They are companies run by salespeople with no SEO knowledge who manipulate the plumber into a long-term contract. Then, once they rope in the plumbing contractor, they perform horrific SEO work and spend money on PPC.
Sales Organizations
The worst type of marketing agency is a sales organization. They are great at sales, i.e., manipulation, but horrible at digital marketing. For example, they have no clue how SEO works or why it works in the first place. Still, they use jargon to create urgency for consumers and rope them into a 12-month agreement for an obscene monthly retainer—sales works…for the salesperson.
Long-Term Agreements
The B.S. of marketing agencies is noticeable in their payment structure. If the agency charges a multi-month agreement for setup, they will probably screw you service-wise. At Plumbing Webmasters, we only charge a nominal setup fee along with month-to-month agreements, so the plumber maintains flexibility and leverage.
Unfortunately, the marketer has all the power with most agencies because of unfair long-term contracts.
Slap On Marketing
We recently did a podcast about slap-on marketing for plumbers, which details how most agencies operate. They might provide you with a WordPress theme template used by thousands of other websites. From there, they will publish spun content and throw on some subpar stock images, and claim to have optimized your website. Of course, none of this drives results for local plumbers in 2022, making it complete B.S.
Shiny Tactics
Since most internet marketing companies are sales organizations, they care more about appearance than results. Shiny features that may appear attractive don’t actually drive results. Most agencies invest in these tasks to manipulate their clients into choosing the services. A plumber doesn’t know what they don’t know, so they try to do their best.
Reporting / Liasons
SEO reports are a popular tool for sales organizations because they create a facade of progress that may or may not exist. They distribute these reports through account managers who are primarily babysitters for the agencies’ clients. They send out reports that highlight worthless metrics and throw their clients of the scent of B.S.
Non-Transparent Billing
Any kind of bundle agency will merge SEO and PPC fees together as one. This is entirely dishonest since the billing looks misleading and fails to demonstrate where your funds are allocated. Some agencies pump all your funds into PPC with Google Ads and then perform nothing on the SEO end. As a result, your organic search results are suppressed.
Bottom Line for Plumbing Contractors
Don’t fall for standard B.S. agency sales, as they will end up hurting your company. Unfortunately, most plumbing companies have already been screwed by at least one web company. However, if you learn more about the value of SEO and other digital marketing tasks, you can more easily fend off salesmanship in 2022.
The industry can be tough to navigate when it comes to plumbing contractor marketing. Plumbers are constantly bombarded with calls from marketing agencies offering new shiny objects in the form of white-label features. But unfortunately, marketing is about salesmanship in many respects, which is bad for the plumber.
In today’s The Plumbing SEO Podcast, Nolen and Jason discuss slap on plumber marketing, which looks behind the curtain at how modern salespeople present the marketing process to local plumbing companies.
Marketing Sales Pitches for Plumbing Companies
The marketing industry is a challenge for plumbers because salespeople frame the marketing process that takes away from the process. An example of this is when a salesperson talks about features from white-label software. This salesperson might offer something like “pins,” but it really doesn’t help your plumbing website rank for any keywords.
The Upsell
Digital marketing services can range from $500 to $10,000 per month, so it’s key to understand what you’re paying for. Some agencies may upsell features unworthy of your investment, like slap-on marketing features that provide no tangible benefits. Companies that educate themselves about digital marketing can avoid such upsales and focus on ROI.
The Dog & Pony Show
Using a lot of big words does not mean the services works. For example, many plumbing marketing agencies will put on a dog and pony show with reporting, audits, and metrics that mean absolutely nothing. Once you start paying $1,100 per month, or more, you will grow frustrated quickly. Unfortunately, these shows don’t evolve into tangible actions that help your company.
The Urgency Instigator
The worse part of getting hosed by a marketing salesperson is when they create false urgency about your website or online presence. For example, they might show you competitor metrics out of context to get your blood boiling in these cases. However, since these salespeople don’t have the resources to actually help you close the gap, they only provide slap-on solutions.
Slap-On Marketing Examples
So what are some examples of slap-on marketing? Sometimes it’s easier to look at real-world instances so you can prevent these sales pitches from working on your company in 2022. Take a look at some prime examples of slap-on plumbing marketing below:
Heat Maps
Heat maps are relatively worthless unless they show up on your service and city pages with captions. For example, DataPins is a powerful local SEO tool because it disperses pins to the most relevant pages for SEO purposes. Unfortunately, other forms of heat maps barely do anything for your business.
Blog Posts
Most plumbing company blog posts are worse than worthless because they hurt your overall website authority. By publishing hundreds of 500-word blog posts that fail to target keywords, you are polluting Google’s index and telling search engines that you produce bad content regularly.
As a result, your crawl budget may lower, and you may lose ranking on your service pages.
Website Templates
If your website comes from a stock template, you can rest assured the agency loves slap-on marketing. Stock templates are prevalent throughout the web because they’re dirt cheap, and agencies can scale them across hundreds of clients.
Unfortunately, Google knows that these templates appear on thousands of websites, marking your website as completely non-unique.
Strong brand signals increase conversions for plumbing companies in 2022. If you’ve ever wondered why SEO works for some people and does not work for others, the answer is in the brand. A well-known plumbing company with a branded presence typically dominates online and grows its business over time.
In today’s ThePlumbing SEO podcast episode, Nolen and Jason dive into the importance of branding for conversion rates. You can watch the video version of the podcast below:
What is a Plumbing Brand?
A plumbing brand is an intangible concept rooted in consumers’ perception of a company, product, or individual. In laypeople’s terms, it’s how people feel about your plumbing company.
If they don’t feel anything at all, that’s a problem. If they feel disgusted, that’s a problem. The goal is to make them associate credibility, trust, and competence with your brand, making them feel positive emotions.
What are Brand Signals?
The literal definition of a brand has existed for centuries. However, the digital landscape has expanded what a brand means for plumbers. In Google’s eyes, brand signals help construct the hierarchy of plumbing companies and influence their rankings, conversions, and appeal.
Company Website
Your plumbing company website is one of the most crucial brand signals. By publishing a high-quality website, your plumbing bsuiness is showcasing a digital business card to the world. In addition, your website sends clear signals to Google about your brand with proper coding and SEO.
Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is another extension of your brand. In this case, it is directly affiliated with Google itself. As you know, Google shows GBP listings on the Local Map 3-Pack, which appear for the majority of local searches. An optimized GBP works wonders for brand signaling.
3rd-Party Reviews
Reviews from credible platforms like Google, Yelp, Facebook, and others serve as critical brand signals for plumbers. Getting reviews on these networks allows customers to research your company quickly and for Google to assign legitimacy to your business.
Of course, positive reviews are most valuable, but accumulating feedback, in general, is a brand signal.
When a customer searches for your brand name on Google, they demonstrate prior knowledge of its existence. For example, they may have heard about your company from a friend or seen the name mentioned on Nextdoor or another community network.
Branded Search
They may have seen your ad on Facebook or another platform in some cases. It doesn’t matter how they came to learn of your company, only that they took action. Once Google registers that lots of people are searching directly for your brand name, they will assign more value to your online entity.
Social Media Activity
A social media presence is another valuable brand signal for plumbers. YouTube is especially effective if you produce videos of your staff and even self-made commercials. Embedding YouTube videos on your website and other social platforms further expands its brand signal value. Other popular social networks include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Brands Impact on Conversions
Consumer psychology always gravitates towards trust and comfort. Your potential clients are ready to spend money on plumbing services, and they want to get it right the first time. By establishing your brand using some of the strategies listed above, you can become that credible customer brand.
Remember that offline actions like in-person greetings, fundraiser events, and performing excellent services contribute to your brand. Your offline activities will manifest themselves online as well, in the form of customer reviews. If you understand the synergy of a plumbing brand, you have a great chance to dominate your local market in 2022.
Nolen and Jason discuss user intent on today’s Plumbing Webmasters podcast. One of the most significant changes in Google’s algorithm has been user intent in the past decade. As a result, websites from 12 years ago that once dominated have lost out to websites targeting specific intent.
What is User Intent?
User intent is Google’s perceived intent of search queries based on large-scale data analysis. If x amount of people who search for plumbing click on a plumbing service website, Google concludes that the term’s primary intent is to locate a plumbing service rather than general information.
How Plumbers Can Influence User Intent
Plumbing companies can influence user intent through various levers, including company branding, on-site content, and SEO signaling. Plumbers should brand their company as a plumbing entity and fill their website with relevant content that demonstrates trust and credibility.
Company Branding
Your first chance to meet user intent is with your company and domain name. For example, if you specialize in slab leak repair, jimslableakrepair.com will be a beneficial name. However, it also limits you to a particular category. Still, Google will view your name as the leader in this specialty.
Of course, it’s not as simple as choosing a name. First, your website must meet the criteria Google lays out for its authority websites. For example, quality content, schema markup, and quality backlinks all contribute to your website’s brand. So keep these things in mind when choosing a name.
On-Site Content
Your web content is a great way to meet user intent in the plumbing industry. For example, you should publish a service page for each type of plumbing service you offer in 2022. In addition, you can strengthen intent by posting schema pins using the DataPins tool, which validates your service and service area.
Some plumbers try to expand user intent through blog posts, but most fail to move the needle in comparison to DataPins. In addition, blog posts don’t validate your company, particularly when written by outsourced content creators who are typically not affiliated with the plumbing industry.
SEO Signaling
Another way to meet user intent is through SEO signaling. SEO signals can include backlinks, branded search, and general entity connections. Using LSA keywords within your content is a great way to establish user intent. The more quality content you publish on a topic, the better.
Other signals include NAP citations from HomeAdvisor, Angi, Yelp, and social signals from Facebook, YouTube, and Linkedin. Whenever your brand is mentioned on another website, you will strengthen your brand signaling even without a link.
How User Intent Helps Plumbers
Ultimately, implementing these strategies will earn your website more traffic, generate more leads, and convert more customers in 2022. In addition, as you rank for long-tail keywords for various services in various cities, you pick up a more comprehensive range of potential clients. It’s a win-win for plumbers.
If you’d like to learn more about framing your plumbing business as a Google entity, get in touch with Plumbing Webmasters. Our content marketing strategy is crafted to help contractors establish themselves as authorities on specific services.
In the following post, HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters outlines seven steps to create the best plumber referral program.
As a plumber, you can never have too many leads. Leads can make or break your business.
However, some grass-roots marketing strategies are still incredibly effective for lead generation campaigns. Case in point: referral programs.
Ideas to Create a Referral Program
Call-To-Action
Customer Service
Referral Codes
Incentives
Email Marketing
Flyers
Word of Mouth
Why are referral programs for plumbers still so effective in 2024? Well, for one thing, a staggering amount of the consumer population prefers word-of-mouth referrals to any other form of research or advertising.
Another critical reason plumbers should be taking advantage of referral programs is that plumbing is very much a local business, and consumers value the opinions of their friends and neighbors when looking for home service providers.
Implementing a referral program is easier said than done.
So, how do you incentivize referrals without making them disingenuous? How do you influence your customers to tell their friends and family about your business?
The following tips will provide insights into these complex questions.
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1) Publish a Call-To-Action
Most customers learn about plumbing referral programs through your website or email marketing campaigns. But, of course, you can always mention the program in person or over the phone as well.
From a digital marketing perspective, displaying the terms of your referral program right on your website’s homepage can help increase participation.
You can take it further by creating a specific page for the program and linking it to each of your site’s service pages.
Be sure that the terms are clear wherever you describe your referral program. Take some time to write up a draft that reviews the terms and conditions, incentives, and time restraints. Then, take some time to review the draft a couple of times to make sure it makes sense.
Finally, end the description with a solid call to action like “sign up today,” “join now,” or even “tell a friend about us now!” Of course, the most effective CTAs appear as a button or link to the referral form.
2) Invest in Customer Service
As a plumbing business owner, deciding how to distribute your financial resources is crucial to long-term success.
When it comes to building a referral network, one of the best investments you can make is in your customer service.
Does your office manager create a good rapport with potential referral partners?
Do they inspire customers to want to spread positive feedback about the company?
While these things may not directly impact your plumbing services, they are paramount for creating a brand that people want to recommend to others.
3) Assign Referral Codes
Assign referral codes any time someone signs up for the program to track which referrals are coming from which customers. Giving names seems like enough, but you may have more than one customer with the same name.
When someone signs up for your plumbing referral program, be sure to assign them a code that they give to the people they refer to your business so you can reward the referee accordingly.
4) Incentivize Referrals
You can offer incentives to anyone referred to your business (and purchases a service) by an existing customer. Google Pay did this a little while back to great success.
To get people to sign up for their new service, they gave a signup bonus of $50. Then, they gave an additional $10 to the new signee every time they got a friend to sign up.
In turn, the new referral would be given the same $50 signup bonus plus the opportunity to get an extra 10$ every time they signed someone else up.
Of course, only a company like Google could afford a referral system like this, but you can scale it to your budget.
For instance, you can give 15% off the next plumbing service of the referrer and the referee in your program, thereby incentivizing both parties to refer/make a purchase.
5) Email Marketing
Plumbing companies with an existing email marketing list are ahead of the curve for referral awareness.
For example, you can immediately notify subscribers of your referral program with a single email broadcast. Similarly, you can remind subscribers of the program or provide new incentives to engage.
The list you worked so hard to cultivate will accelerate the success of your referral program. Include all the terms and conditions and your call to action (a link to where they can sign up or get their referral code) within your emails.
You can also create social media posts that promote your referral program to spread the word. You can more or less use the same content as your email messages for this. Just don’t forget to include all relevant information and a link.
6) Distribute a Flyer
A plumber referral program flyer can convince local residents to take action. Much like a CTA works on digital platforms like a company website or Facebook page, a brochure works in the physical world.
Existing customers might pass your flyers to friends or family members, while future customers may notice the flier and decide to utilize your services.
Designing an appealing flier is easy. You can even create the flyer yourself using a tool like Canva.
However, if you’d like to go the more professional route, consider hiring a flyer design and distribution company to handle all the heavy lifting themselves. You will get a complete report after the campaign completion.
7) Word of Mouth
It all comes back to word of mouth. Be sure that you and your team tell satisfied customers about your new plumbing contractor referral program at the end of service calls.
You may even want cards or leaflets made up that explain the terms and tell the customer how and where they can sign up.
Much like reputation management, discussing referrals in person can make your digital communications more potent.
Consumers who’ve discussed the process with you beforehand are more likely to take action when reminded of the offer in digital form.
Merge With Marketing
Referral campaigns are a form of marketing for plumbing companies. Like any other promotional effort, the impact is more significant with a full-scale marketing approach.
For example, plumbing contractors who invest in custom websites, SEO, and reputation management will reach more customers with every endeavor.
To learn more about plumbing marketing services, contact HVAC-Plumber SEO Webmasters.
We work directly with plumbers, so we know firsthand that many still use old CRM or Customer Relationship Management methods. While there is nothing wrong with the old ways, plumbing CRM software can increase efficiency and productivity. However, how small plumbing operations handle customer relations usually holds them back.
Still, choosing the right CRM software can be a challenge in and of itself. So in the following post, Plumbing Webmasters presents a guide for selecting the right CRM software. We will also describe what CRM software can do for your business and the advantages it brings.
What is a Plumbing CRM?
Plumbing Customer Relationship Management software seeks to streamline many of the processes that take up the time of your staff and service team. CRM software suites usually offer digital tools for getting in touch with clients, keeping track of your plumbers in the field, managing invoices, and following up with customers.
Here are some of the processes that CRM software typically automates:
Document Filing: Once your plumber gets out to the customer’s home or place of business and certain services are agreed upon, a CRM will allow your service team member to file paperwork detailing the work automatically agreed upon so that your office staff will be able to review it.
Team Check-Ins: Instead of having all of your plumbers call your staff members after finishing a job, CRMs have check-in tools that allow plumbers to notify staff and dispatchers of completion instead of having to pick up the phone, call the office and potentially miss a connection because your office staff is busy fielding calls from customers.
Fleet Management: Many CRMs for plumbers will include fleet tracking so you can see exactly where your service team is at all times.
Customer Follow-up: A good CRM software suite will include a tool that automates the customer follow-up process by alerting staff members to contact a customer or send out an email at an allotted time.
As you can see, plumbing CRM software goes beyond how your company interacts with customers – it streamlines many critical moving parts of your business. However, the goal is still the same: facilitate your operation to offer better service to the customer.
Plumbing CRM Benefits
If you have gotten along just fine without using plumber CRM software, you may wonder why you should change things now. The fact is that any business could always do better. CRM software will provide you with the means to operate your business more efficiently and effectively.
Here are some of the essential advantages of using CRM software:
Eliminates Human Error
All the moving parts of your operation are opportunities for human error. A CRM will eliminate some of these moving parts. For example, when one of your team members has to write down customer information with pen and paper, there’s no guarantee that your field team will be able to understand the handwriting.
Misplaced documents can also be a significant setback for your operations. CRM automates many of these processes and decreases the chances of miscommunication, lost documents, and missed connections.
Serves as a Phone Service
Your staff can only field one call at a time. What if they are talking to one customer while another one calls to schedule an appointment? That’s a missed opportunity and lost money. Most CRM software suites will include a phone service that fields calls or directs them to available staff members.
Improves Use of Man Hours
When menial tasks like filing paperwork, sending out invoices, and sending important emails are automated with a CRM suite, your team has more time to focus on more critical tasks. One of the most vital advantages of CRMs is delegating your man-hours in the most efficient way possible.
Minimizes Confusion
Has your team even gotten mixed up in the field? For example, maybe two plumbers showed up at the same property when one was supposed to go elsewhere.
With CRM software, field mixups will happen a lot less. All of your team members will know where they are supposed to be, and what’s more, this software makes it easier and quicker to pull team members off of a job and send them somewhere else when needed.
Saves you Money
In the end, fewer wasted man-hours, fewer missed customer connections, and better resource allocation will make your business more profitable.
Simplifies Organization
The best CRM software suites for plumbing contractors will also include options for keeping track of tools, materials, and supplies you have in your inventory. Some even have tools that keep track of your inventory and automatically order more supplies when needed.
Enhances Marketing
Unless you specifically ask the customers who call you how they heard about your business, you won’t know which marketing efforts yield results. Some CRM software suites will track where leads are coming in from to know which plumbing marketing tactics are working and which ones need improvement.
Best Plumbing CRM Software Features
Now that you know some of the most important benefits of using a plumbing company CRM software suite, let’s talk about some of the features that plumbers should keep an eye out for:
Mobile App Access
Your plumbers out in the field must be able to check in and relay important information to you or your staff on the go. Any good CRM software suite will include access to a centralized mobile app that your team can dispatch important information from the field.
Answering Service
Connecting with customers when they call or reach out via online chat is vital for your business. So try to opt for a CRM software suite that includes automated customer support chat and an answering service to avoid missed calls.
Smooth Interface
Chances are, some of your team members won’t be familiar with CRM software. That’s why choosing CRM software with a user-friendly interface is crucial. Of course, there will always be a learning curve; but the best CRM tools will help flatten that curve.
Customer Profiling
It can benefit existing customers to have a history of services rendered to them on hand. CRM software that allows you to keep a record of customers will make it easier to assign technicians to jobs and improve customer service.
Automated Texts
SMS automation is a helpful feature as it eliminates the need for your team to call the customer the evening before an appointment to remind them that they will be coming the next day. Other types of plumbing software often feature text automation tools, but CRMs should offer them as part of their suite.
Finding a competent HVAC business coach isn’t as easy as it sounds. Various factors influence whether or not an industry coach is a good fit for your long-term vision and comfort level. The best way to get started is to identify the qualities you require in a business coach for the HVAC industry.
Getting a foothold in the HVAC industry can be very difficult – especially if you happen to be operating in a particularly saturated market. Not only do you have to stay on top of your game in terms of technical skills, but then you have to navigate the business side of your operation.
Striking out on your own as a new HVAC contractor involves a lot of things they never taught you at trade school. But just as it was helpful for you to learn HVAC under an apprentice, an HVAC business coach can teach you what you need to know to make your operation successful.
But even choosing the right HVAC business coach can be a challenge. That’s why we dedicated today’s post to identifying the best characteristics for an HVAC business coach to have.
What is an HVAC Business Coach?
An HVAC business coach is someone who guides and assists heating and cooling contractors with running their business and developing a vision for their company. Additionally, a business coach helps contractors implement strategies to realize their vision and grow their company.
Traits of an Excellent Business Coach for HVAC Contractors
Most successful business coaches share specific qualities which you can look for in your research process. Of course, different coaches will fit better with various contractors. However, you should pay attention to the following qualities in your initial assessment.
1) Experience
First and foremost is experience. Any HVAC business coach you are considering needs to show you a proven track record of success. Keep in mind that one of the essential points of even working with a business coach is to help you avoid common mistakes. A coach won’t do that if they do not have experience themselves.
And as an HVAC contractor, you have to make sure that they have specific experience with other HVAC operations. A good business coach will have experience in everything from payroll and logistics to marketing and human resources. So look for a coach with a very well-balanced palette of experience.
2) Availability
Hiring a heating and AC business coach does no good if they are never available to you. Right from the gate, you need to ask them what their schedule is like, how often they would be able to work with you, when you can reach them, and how they will be available to you (phone, text, email, Zoom call, etc.).
It’s important to note that not every HVAC contractor will need a coach to be on-call 24/7. Maybe this isn’t your first time around the block, and you need a little guidance this time around. However, if you are striking out on your own for the first time, you will more than likely need a business coach who can field your questions and concerns as they arise.
3) Network
You know the old adage, “it’s not what you know. It’s who you know?” To a certain extent, that’s true, but not for the reasons that most people think. When shopping for HVAC business coaches, it’s essential to inquire about their network and connections. Yes, this is important for the apparent reason: opening doors for you and connecting you with people who can grow your business.
But more importantly, a coach with a strong network indicates strong communication skills, a willingness to help others, involvement in the industry, and of course, experience – all of which are fundamental traits for a business coach to have.
Therefore it would be constructive for you to ask, “what kinds of connections do you have in the industry?” when interviewing business coaches.
4) Willingness to Teach
There are some things that you will not be able to screen for. For example, a heating and cooling business coach can make all sorts of promises in the interview phase; but be utterly ineffectual after the hire. One thing that is hard to perceive until you work with a coach is their willingness to teach.
It is not good if a business coach has decades of experience and tons of industry connections if they’re unwilling to teach you everything they know or share their network with you. Still, it should be pretty easy to determine whether your coach is a good fit in the early days of working with him. So here are some red flags to look out for:
Punctuality: It’s usually not a good sign if your business coach is late for your first meeting.
Communication: A good business coach who is willing to teach should be communicative. They should be bringing up new subjects and pointing out opportunities to educate.
Inspiration: A good teacher doesn’t just hurl facts by rote; they seek opportunities to inspire their students. A good business coach will take everyday business situations and turn them into opportunities for inspiration.
Perspective: If your business coach isn’t sharing lessons from their personal experience, it’s unlikely that they will be able to give you the perspective you need when you get discouraged or bogged down in numbers.
5) Compatibility
It’s important to remember that business coaching is a 2-way street. It’s not all about the coach’s qualifications – although that is a massive part of the equation. In general, though, you have to get along with the coach. Is the coach personable? Do you have anything in common with them outside of the HVAC business?
Do they seem to share the vision you have for your business? Are they intimidating, or do you feel you can come to them with any problem or question? These can be very subjective judgments which is why 96% of students cited personal rapport as an important coaching factor.
It can also be beneficial to examine their history. If possible, you will want to work with a business coach who started their own HVAC business and made it a success. You can take it a step further and opt for a coach who has run an operation similar to yours (equal number of employees, services offered, geographic market, etc.).
Plumbing contractor local services ads are online advertisements that can help plumbing businesses succeed. Local services ads for plumbers take paid advertising to the next level. After initially rolling out in select cities throughout the U.S., these ads are now available nationwide.
Local plumbers can undoubtedly take advantage of this service. As a result, local services ads are already becoming an essential aspect of digital marketing, which your plumbing company should research and test as part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.
Key Takeaway
LSA ads for plumbers appear at the very top of local search results, making them a valuable advertising channel for plumbing companies.
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What Are Plumbing Contractor Local Services Ads?
Local services ads are digital, paid ads that appear when someone does a local search for a particular type of service. A perfect example of a search that would qualify for a local service ad would be something along the lines of Plumber in St. Petersburg, FL.
If you are a plumber in St. Petersburg and you have a live local service ad, then your ad would show up to the searcher. Local service ads differ from standard PPC ads, though. Instead of paying every time someone clicks on your ad, you pay when the searcher makes a call to your company.
This way, you can eliminate the need to pay for people who errantly click on your ad or don’t move further along the sales funnel. With local service ads, you only pay for warm leads.
Why Plumbers Should Use Local Services Ads
There are many advantages to local services ads. Here are just a few of the most important ones:
Google Guaranteed
You will need to get the Google Guaranteed badge to start using local services ads, which is a hurdle, but it will add credibility to your brand. The Google Guaranteed badge lets consumers know that they can trust you. In some instances, having this badge can increase leads.
Fast Results
Local service ads target people already looking to connect with service providers. As a result, they can move consumers along the sales funnel faster than standard PPC ads. With traditional ads, the consumer arrives at a landing page and maybe gets in touch with you.
Conversely, the consumer clicks the ad with local service ads, asks a couple of qualifying questions, and calls you.
Top Rankings
Local service ads appear at the top of qualifying search engine results pages – even above the highest-ranking organic search results. Their positioning increases visibility and makes it more likely people will see and respond to your ad.
Reputation Compatibility
Signing up for local services ads will include setting up a Local Services profile. Part of your profile will consist of reviews that people have left you on Google. Google ranks your ad based on the number of reviews and aggregate star scoring (along with considering the searcher’s proximity).
Built-in Conversions
One of the best things for plumbers is that you won’t need to design any landing pages. There’s nothing fancy about plumbing contractor local services ads. Instead, they provide all the vital information that consumers need to know, like your area of service, phone number, hours of operation, and the services you offer.
Getting Started with Local Services Ads
The first thing you will need to do is head over to the Google Local Service Ad signup page. The signup process will first include providing Google with copies of your business license, business insurance, and background checks for any of the team members that actually will be entering your customers’ homes – including yourself.
The Google Screening process usually takes between 2 and 5 weeks. In the meantime, though, you should be setting up your Local Service profile. The information you will need to fill out includes:
Basic Business Info
Business info includes your company’s name, the phone number(s) for your business, hours of operation, and the areas you service.
Services Offered
It’s essential to include all of the services you provide. Local services ads use the service information you provide to qualify customers and connect them to your business, so make sure you list all of the plumbing services you provide.
A Company Overview
Google allows you to write a little something about your business in your own words. It would be best if you used this section to talk about what makes your company unique, your company values, important customer history, or anything that will endear your business to the viewer.
Google Reviews
Google reviews are included in your local service ad, so it helps to generate as many as possible using software like DataPins.
Local Service Ad Tips for Plumbers
While the process is relatively simple, there are still some things you should keep in mind if you want the highest ROI for your ads. Here are some tips:
Check NAP
Double-check that all the NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information on your Local Service profile is correct and corresponds to NAP information listed for your company elsewhere on the internet.
Request Reviews
Be sure you keep up with asking your customers for reviews. Positive reviews are essential for local service ads and help yours rank higher.
Monitor Certificate Expirations
Your certifications will have an expiration date with Google. So when setting up your profile, be sure to closely review when your business licenses and other certificates will expire and include the precise date.
Final Thoughts on LSA for Plumbing Companies
One benefit of plumbing contractor local services ads is that they are more straightforward than PPC ads to set up. Yes, you will have to gather copies of insurance, licenses, and background checks and send them out to Google; but that’s the hardest part.
Setting up the profile is very easy and can be done in about an hour. Your work is done once your documents have been verified and your profile completed.
Plumbers can take several steps to generate plumbing leads through digital marketing, advertising, and brand development. However, emergency plumbing leads present a new set of challenges for lead generation.
For instance, emergency leads come with urgency and require specific resources to meet their demands. In the following post, Plumbing Webmasters offers six tips to generate emergency plumbing leads in 2023.
Table of Contents
1) Target Emergency Plumbing Keywords With SEO
Your company website targets plumber, plumbing services, and plumbing repair keywords. However, you will need to target keywords with user intent to generate emergency leads.
For example, the phrase emergency plumber near me is vital for your SEO campaign. Optimize a service page specifically for emergency repairs and write content to support the topic.
SEO involves inserting keywords within your title tags, meta descriptions, and on-page content. Don’t forget about the image alt text and your URL slug or permalink.
Of course, you can further boost your SEO by linking from other website pages to the page you are trying to rank. Make sure you use anchor texts that contain the emergency keyword.
2) Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Using a series of tactics, you can generate emergency leads for plumbers through your Google Business Profile. The most impactful one will be naming your plumbing company something like Jim’s Emergency Plumbing Service.
If your keyword exists within your business name, you will garner more clicks and impressions through Google Maps.
Next, be sure to add emergency plumbing to your list of services on your profile. Google allows listing managers to add and edit services offered.
Other steps you can take include uploading photos of emergency plumbing jobs and requesting reviews from clients who requested emergency services.
If their reviews mention the service you performed, it can boost your profile.
Bonus Tip: Make sure the website connected to your Google Business Profile has content about “emergency plumbing,” as Google Maps will scan your associated site for website justifications.
3) Run Google Ads for Emergency Plumbing Terms
SEO can take a while to implement, so consider investing in Google Ads for short-term emergency plumbing leads. You can run ads for keywords like emergency plumbing repair near me and appear above organic results. You will pay each time someone clicks on your Google Ad, so make sure you monitor the cost per click and your campaign budget.
Clicks are only as valuable as their conversion rate, so make sure you lead users to a well-designed landing page for conversion. The fastest way to blow your marketing budget is to pay for worthless clicks that produce zero ROI. For example, your Google Ads landing page should make it easy for customers to contact your plumbing company.
Customers needing emergency services will want to contact you ASAP, so ensure your ad reflects your ability to resolve their plumbing issue quickly.
4) Buy Emergency Plumbing Leads
You reserve the option to buy plumbing leads from a 3rd-party provider. These platforms typically generate leads using the methods above but then sell those leads to contractors.
Emergency leads will cost more than a typical lead since the hourly rate is higher per job. Be careful where you purchase leads since some platforms run shady services in this area.
When purchasing emergency plumbing leads, ensure you get exclusive leads instead of shared leads.
Exclusives are for your business directly, while shared leads force you to compete with other plumbers for the same prospect. Ultimately, exclusive leads are more valuable and more likely to convert in 2023.
5) Brand Your Business as an Emergency Specialist
If you want to get referral leads for emergency plumbing, you must brand your business as a specialty service. For example, name your company something like Davis’ Brothers Emergency Plumbing Service.
This way, all of your marketing materials will drive home your specialty, and you can become the obvious choice for word-of-mouth referrals.
We noted earlier how a keyword-rich company name could increase your Google Maps rankings locally, but its impact extends beyond that.
For example, if your domain name has the keyword within it, you can expect an organic SEO boost and the ability to establish topical authority.
In addition, building 50+ content pages/posts around this topic can boost your ranking.
6) Run Emergency Plumbing Ads on Nextdoor
Aside from Google Ads, Nextdoor is the best place to advertise emergency plumbing services and generate leads.
Because Nextdoor is like a digital word-of-mouth platform, the users’ comfort level is higher than with Facebook and other social media platforms.
People are essentially discussing plumbing services with their neighbors.
Because emergency services are urgent, you must reach customers who actively seek plumbing repairs.
However, it’s unlikely that a user will go to Facebook to find an emergency plumber, so running Facebook Ads is less logical than for standard plumbing services.
Final Thoughts on Emergency Plumbing Lead Generation
The tips above can help plumbing companies increase emergency leads in 2023. At Plumbing Webmasters, we highly recommend using DataPins to increase your lead generation sources.
Each time you perform an emergency plumbing job in a specific service area, you can pin that job to your website. Google Maps will scan your site and may add a “website justification” to your Google Business Profile.
Furthermore, DataPins allows you to request a review from that customer and display it online.
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