Tag Archives: local seo

Google Reviews: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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!

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!

Naming Your Business for the Best SEO (Podcast)

What’s more powerful than a name? Your plumbing company name not only establishes your identify to potential clients, it communicates who you are to search engines as well. That’s why originality, clarity, and conciseness are so crucial when it comes to choosing your brand name!

In our latest discussion with Jason and Nolen, they’ll explore some simple guidelines on choosing a brand identify that’s optimized for search. Following these guidelines could be the difference between steady traffic and none at all! Be sure to listen in if you’re rebranding or kicking off a new plumbing business!

Helpful Tips on Naming Your Business

Pick a name that’s very memorable!
Generic names do not rank well in local search.
Avoid using your city in the name.
If you have an interesting personal name, consider using it for your company.

Purple Monkey Plumbing

What do you say: is “Purple Monkey Plumbing” an effective company name? Believe it or not, your answer says a lot about how much you understand local search marketing! We’ll reveal this name’s effectiveness at the end of this short blog. Before we get there, let’s run over a few facts about your company name.

The Purpose of Your Company Name

No, it’s not just to sound cool! Your company name helps people identify your services and stand out from other businesses. Think of the dozens of contractors that operate in your city alone. In broader metropolitan areas, your business could be competing against hundreds of other trained professionals.

When a local homeowner’s water heater breaks down and needs repairs, will they remember your brand name?

Despite the size and prevalence of the search engine, even Google can have a challenging time telling businesses apart! Your company name allows the hardworking Google Search algorithm to separate your brand from other nearby players. Choose wrong however, and your website may never receive the traffic you need to earn leads.

Watch Out! Some Brand Generators Can Produce Extra Generic or Misleading Names.

How to Pick a Company Name

There are two key qualities your brand name needs to succeed in local search: distinctiveness and memorability. While there are a host of other traits that could aid your other marketing activities, these two qualities are non-negotiable. What do these two terms mean?

First, a company name should stand out from the crowd. We hate to say it, but “5 Star Plumbing” isn’t going to be easy to remember (for consumers or Google). Steer clear of generic terminology that could get your brand confused with another professional’s! A memorable company name also increases the likelihood of past clients searching for your brand directly in search. Direct searches enjoy a higher chance of converting into actual sales.

The Classic Naming Mistake

Ten years ago, it was common practice to take a common search term, such as “Plumbing Company in Dallas, TX” and adopt it for your business name. This practice was enormously successful, so everyone and their grandmother started choosing generic names for their plumbing companies. Then Google stepped in with an algorithm update. Countless professionals started dropping off the map.

City Based Names Will Likely Pit You Against Citation Companies and More Popular List Articles.

Today, choosing an (Insert City) Plumber company name makes it almost impossible for people to find your business. Even if someone searched your name directly, Google would think the consumer was looking for a list of plumbers in your service area. Your business profile won’t even show up!

Bottom line: stay away from generic brand names, even if they are optimized for your city.

Other Important Steps for Your Business

Once you’ve decided on a quality company name, there are still a few steps to take to start ranking in local search. First, you’ll need to register a domain that closely matches your new name. If you plan on expanding your business into other cities / states, make sure you don’t pick a domain with a location prefix.

Make Sure Your Hosting Company Registers Your Company as the Domain Owner. Image From Bluehost

Make sure that you own the domain, not the registrar. Too many plumbing companies have gotten screwed over by their host when their registration expired. Just play it safe and make sure you buy the name!

Next, you’ll need to register the company name and domain with Google My Business (GMB). Google will provide a verification method for you to complete, then your plumbing company will be eligible to start ranking in local search. Fill out as much of the information as possible. The physical address for your company should be exactly the same as the one you registered with Yelp, the BBB, etc.

Need Help With Your Branding?

By the way, yes! Purple Monkey Plumbing could be a very successful company name.

At Plumbing Webmasters, we support hundreds of professionals from around the country with professional web design, brand development, and organic SEO solutions. If you’ve been looking for a seasoned digital marketing team to partner with, we’d be thrilled to talk with you! Call us anytime at (877) 388-9884 for a free consultation.

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Skin in the Game With Plumber’s Marketing Money | The Plumbing SEO Podcast

Does your marketing company have a vested interest in seeing you succeed? Are they working hard to produce outstanding growth for your business, or just hard enough to earn another 12 month contract? Having a marketing company with skin in the game can make all the difference for plumbing contractors, as Jason and Nolen discuss in our latest podcast.

Helpful Tips on SEO for Plumbers

It’s getting harder and harder to compete without an established presence in local SEO.
Make sure your digital marketing company provides direct Google Ads reporting for PPC.
PPC budget and reporting should be kept separate from organic SEO.
Results for plumbing SEO usually take 2 to 3 months after launching a new website.
Research your top competitors’ websites.
See how well your marketing company ranks in organic search!

Overcoming the Past

You’ve been hurt before. Based on the number of angry, confused plumbers we’ve talked to over the years, odds are you’ve been taken advantage of by an untrustworthy digital marketing agency. In fact, you may have gone through the same situation multiple times now. Naturally, this leaves you hesitant to trust again. We understand!

However, you’ve also know by now just how essential local search is to finding clients.

There’s no getting around it. If you don’t have the talent inside your team already, you are going to have to find a company who understands SEO for plumbers. That’s where the Plumbing Webmasters come into play.

Learning to Trust Again

Instead of immediately jumping back into the online fray, why not take a day to reexamine what it means to succeed in Google Search? Take a day to research the different ways to rank #1. Better yet, take a look at your most productive online competitors to see what they’re doing different! You’ll probably find them at the top of search results in a Local Pack (see the picture below).

Examining Top Performers in a Local Pack

See What Businesses in the Local Pack and Top Regular Listings are Doing for Plumbing SEO!

Since organic search champions earn the lion’s share of website traffic, it pays to understand what they’re doing to be successful. Do some research! Spend a little time digging through their websites and exploring their service pages.

Critical Research Questions on Competitors

How good is the content on their service pages and homepage?
What sort of service page structure do they have?
Which keywords are they using to get noticed by Google?
Do they write blogs? How often are they posting?
Are they using stock photos?
What sort of calls to action (CTAs) are they using?
How many reviews do they have on their Google Search listing?
How good is the overall design of the website?

Just remember: to outrank these professionals, your website and related internet marketing must be better than the current champions. If you only match their website quality, you’re unlikely to outrank them (especially if they’re older companies).

Find a Winning Team

Emphasis on “Winning”. For all the technical expertise and fancy service packages a marketing company may provide, do they produce successful clients? If you Google Search “plumbing contractors in (insert city, state)”, you should be able to find their customers listed there!

Here’s another important question: How many keywords do their clients rank for? Big name companies like to advertise front page rankings for five, ten, or thirty keywords. An experienced marketing company can get your plumbing business ranked for hundreds of keywords (with dozens of front page listings)!

On a side note, make sure to steer clear of companies that offer a PPC/SEO bundle deal, especially if their campaign spending isn’t provided directly through Google Ads!

A Website Produced by a Plumbing Marketing Company

How Well Does Your Plumbing Marketing Company Rank in Organic Search?

Team Up With Plumbing Webmasters

We won’t sugarcoat it. Our team at Plumbing Webmasters wants to earn your business! We know you’ve been hurt before, which is why our SEO professionals work so hard to make it easy and (practically) risk free to test our services. While it costs us thousands of dollars to produce a professional website that ranks for hundreds of keywords, we only charge you $99 for the first month. Our clients pay on a monthly basis, because we crave accountability for our results. That means you can quit anytime if our work doesn’t live up to your standards!

We think you’ll stay though, because our clients regularly dominate their local search results with better placement, more consumer traffic, and higher-quality leads.

If you’re tired of getting the runaround from your current marketing company, Plumbing Webmasters is always here to help. Consult with one of our seasoned plumber SEO professionals for free by calling us at (877) 388-9884. It’s tough to trust again, but we’re worth it!

Resources from Plumbing Webmasters

Blogs and Podcasts
– What is a Plumber SEO WordPress Theme? (Article)
– Plumber Online Marketing Confusion (Podcast)

Plumber SEO Services
– Website Design Services for Plumbing Companies
– Organic SEO for Plumbing Contractors
– Plumber Reputation Management

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The $3200 Plumbing SEO Screw Job | The Plumbing SEO Podcast

Does it ever feel like your plumbing SEO company is trying to hide something? Unfortunately, too many plumbing businesses get cheated by their digital marketing agency. That doesn’t have to be you! Thankfully, there are many red flags that can help you steer clear of shady marketing practices. Be sure to listen closely as Jason and Nolen discuss real industry stories that should serve as a word of warning.

Helpful Tips on SEO Services for Plumbers

Watch out for bundled deals! These tend to cover up shady reporting practices.
Many digital marketing rely heavily on PPC to markup their services.
Month to month SEO services often work the hardest to produce results.
SEO for plumbers should only require a couple months to start producing results.

Discovering the Tough Truth

“Bob” is a local contractor who relied on the same marketing service for two years. Despite his significant investment into online marketing, Bob noticed a suspicious lack of phone calls coming into his office. With growing concerns, he reached out to the agency that handled his PPC and SEO service bundle. As always, he heard the same old sales runaround that had grown less and less reassuring. So Bob decided it was time to consult with another marketing team.

After running a brief search of some of the top ranked SEO companies in his area, he arranged a one-on-one consultation with our team at the Webmasters. Pretty soon, Bob realized his nagging concerns were justified. Not only was his current provider using confusing reporting practices to hide their lack of organic SEO activity, but it was clear they were spending very little of the money they had allotted for PPC campaigns (and pocketing the rest).

In other words, Bob had been royally screwed for almost two years.

Does Your Reporting Come From Google, or a Less Trustworthy Source?

A Common Trend in Digital Marketing

Bob’s story is one we hear all to often. As an experienced contractor in a modestly-sized, non-competitive market, he should have been a rockstar in local search. But his digital marketing company had done literally nothing to optimize his website or his company Google My Business listing.

This trend fits many SEO services for plumbers: using flat fee bundles to hide inactivity and mark up prices.

Bundling paid search and organic SEO services together is almost always a bad idea, especially if the bundle is tied together with a long-term contract. Since contracting professionals see this sort of pricing all the time however, they think nothing of it. Frankly, digital marketing companies do a fantastic job of selling these services. Here’s what happens when a plumbing contractor steps into a long-term PPC/SEO bundle deal.

Part #1: They See Results (for a Time)

Most plumbers start seeing results, but not quite the quantity they expected. That’s because paid search campaigns start producing leads almost immediately. The initial influx of business is usually enough for most plumbers to grudgingly continue without contacting their marketing agency. Those that do speak out end up hearing the same familiar line:

“We’re working hard on your organic SEO, but it always takes 6 months to a year to start seeing results.”

Part #2: They Experience the Runaround

When leads begin to slow down, most plumbing contractors naturally start to wonder what’s going on. That’s when the confusing reporting comes out. Some marketing agencies appear more trustworthy by pushing their numbers through a third party reporting company.

On a side note: this is why you should always have your PPC campaign spending issued directly from Google. This prevents your digital marketing company from hiding the actual costs per click.

The reporting also enables SEO services for plumbers to cover their lack of progress on website optimization. Remember, successful SEO practices actually produce cheaper, higher quality leads for your business. Companies that make the most of their money with inexpensive PPC campaigns don’t want a productive organic presence taking money away from their primary source of income.

Part #3: They Get Addicted to PPC

What happens next? The same thing that plumbers experience when they purchase leads from a vendor: addiction. PPC’s slower, but dependable source of leads makes it difficult for most plumbing companies to part with their marketing agency. After all, who wants to leave a steady stream of business, even it if is smaller than they’d like?

Thus begins the cycle of PPC addiction, which takes many plumbers years to overcome. Those that do escape inevitably feel jaded against other marketing professionals that could actually provide real, lasting, and remarkable results. That’s why productive SEO services for plumbers have to work so hard to prove themselves!

Have you ever been ripped off by a plumbing SEO service company? With so many businesses out in the market, separating the wheat from the chaff can be a tough challenge. Today, Nolen and Jason talk about how to separate shady web companies from legitimate SEO services. They’ll also explain the differences between our team at Plumbing Webmasters and other digital marketing services. Listen in and check out our guide below, especially if you’ve been frustrated by web companies in the past!

Key Points to Listen For

SEO results usually take a few months after starting out.
Some SEO service companies use deceptive metrics.
Mixed-match online solutions often produce poor results.
Pretty websites don’t always perform.

https://youtu.be/rBay16daIZM

Finding Your SEO Service Company

So you want to take your budding plumbing business online and pursue new clients? Great! Now you just need to find a dependable SEO service company to guide your digital marketing strategy. There’s just one question:

Who do you trust with your company’s online development?

Finding your perfect online marketing partner isn’t as simple as Google searching “SEO for Plumbers” and picking the first organic result. Admittedly, the Plumbing Webmasters team would be very happy if you did, but that’s besides the point. With multiple quality solutions available on the market, and a long list of poorly performing services, you’ll need to do some careful research.

SEO Service Qualities to Investigate

Familiarity with your service industry
Content writing quality
A service’s own SEO rankings
Typical time requirements (production & search results)
Pricing and results policies

The Webmasters Showing Up as a Top SEO Service Company

It’s Smart to Examine Multiple Top Companies, Including Their Reviews, Pricing, and Included Services.

As you cultivate a list of potential prospects, you’ll inevitably come across both winners and losers. Examine each solution carefully, especially when it comes to included services and promised results. Below we’ll explore some of the crucial qualities to hunt for in your SEO service company, and which ones to avoid like the plague!

Great Qualities in Your SEO Service Company

Look for the same qualities that Google demands from its listed companies: expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T, for short). Try to cultivate a list of at least 5 premium candidates for your plumbing SEO service company. Here’s what those characteristics may look like for such a business:

Expertise: Years in Business; Certifications; High Search Rankings
Authoritativeness: Extensive Content Production (blogs, videos)
Trustworthiness: Great, Uncensored Reviews; Listings in BBB

This certainly isn’t an exclusive list. The team you want heading up your plumbing SEO should at least be able to rank in the front page of their own primary keywords. Also, you should desire a company that shows clear knowledge of the search industry in their writing. Finally, great companies crave transparency. They’ll happily show you all their reviews, both positive and negative.

Red Flags For Plumber SEO

Reducing your negative options is just as important as collecting your top 5. For this, you’ll need a list of serious red flags that should automatically disqualify (or at least devalue) potential candidates for your plumbing SEO service company.

Avoid These at All Costs

Intentionally deceptive or misleading claims
Salesmen that try to exploit your inexperience with SEO
Overly narrow marketing services
Companies with no reviews in search or on their website
Businesses that don’t rank well themselves
SEO service companies that don’t understand plumbing
Services that guarantee immediate results

All business relationships must grow from a foundation of trust. Misleading or deceptive online companies are not worth your time or your money. The same can be said for underperforming digital marketing businesses (or “specialists”) that can’t prove their own capabilities. Finally, try to stick with candidates that already work plumbing companies like yours. It makes a difference!

Setting Your Expectations

One of the most destructive forces in a business relationship is failed expectations. With that being said, reasonable goal-setting both drives your plumber SEO company towards quality results and protects your business from wasted investments. Unfortunately, most plumbing contractors haven’t been trained on how to gauge success in online marketing. This leaves plenty of opportunity for unreasonable expectations to take root.

Dangerous Fallacies for Plumbing SEO

#1: “Search engine optimization produces results practically overnight!”
#2: “Search engine optimization requires at least a year to take effect.”
#3: “This single service can produce lasting benefits for your SEO.”
#4: “Our team guarantees immediate results.”
#5: “Our team ensures front page rankings for all your chosen keywords.”
#6: “Anyone can handle their own SEO plan, website development, etc..”

At Plumbing Webmasters, we’ve seen these lies cost businesses thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in wasted investments. Let’s undo each of these falsehoods right here.

Google Analytics Results From Our SEO Service Company

SEO Naturally Fluctuates, Which is Why it Pays to Create Logical Expectations Early On.

Reasonable Expectations for Plumbing SEO

#1 & #2: Most business see significant results after 2 to 3 months.
#3: Optimizing for search requires hundreds of small changes that no single solution provides.
#4: Even Google doesn’t guarantee results, and your marketing team isn’t Google.
#5: Front page local ranking is a reasonable expectation for some keywords, not all of them.
#6: Few plumbing contractors have the required talent pool for handling pro-level SEO.

How to Measure Your SEO Service Results

Don’t let these points discourage you from pursuing a fruitful partnership with a capable SEO service company. We simply wish to drive plumbers toward qualified, trustworthy businesses that can actually provide lasting results. To gauge these results, you’ll need sophisticated metrics for your SEO strategy. There are numerous metrics your business can examine for success.

How to Measure Success

Localized keyword rankings (primary and secondary)
Site traffic improvements
Lead call, email, and/or text volume
Lower bounce rates
Heavier page engagement
and More

How can a business that is just starting out get a hold of these measurements? Unfortunately, there may not be enough data initially to track most of site related activity. However, there are still ways to track SEO progress. During lead calls, talk with your potential clients about how they found your services. If they answer “I saw your website.”, you’ll know you’ve found a winning company.

Of course, you can also track your keyword ranking improvements through the Incognito Search function in Google. Since these don’t track your browsing history, you’ll get more accurate results when you test local keywords to see if your brand is ranking. If your marketing company created a new business website for you, you’ll be able to start tracking results within a few months via Google’s Search Console and Analytics.

Team Up With the Plumbing Webmasters!

At the Plumbing Webmasters, we consistent and measurable results for our clients. Our plumbing contractors dominate the ranks in their local search results, often for hundreds of keywords. This naturally produces better site traffic, stronger engagement, and higher quality leads. Of course, we invite you to check out our reviews and see if they back up our claims.

If your plumbing company struggles with online search marketing, or if you’ve just entered the industry, we can help! Consult with one of our seasoned SEO veterans (for free) about your goals, and see if our business could be the right fit. You’ll quickly find why plumbers and many other service professionals choose us as their trusted SEO service company!

Simply call (877) 388-9884 to get started.