SEO for Plumbers
By: Joseph de Souza
A Complete Guide to Optimising a Plumber Website
- SEO is necessary for plumbers as it is a cost-effective way to generate targeted leads for their business.
The conversion rate of visitors from search engines is high, especially for long tail keywords. - Many plumbing businesses in the UK resort to buying leads, but this can result in higher costs and unnecessary charges.
Advertising through Google Ads can be expensive, with each click costing upwards of £4 for a majority of keywords. Buying leads from online listing companies can be even costlier, with a markup of approximately 40% over Google Ad rates. - Customized Google Ads setup can be a more cost-effective option, with one-time charges and direct payment to Google.
- Websites provided by yellow pages type companies have many disadvantages, such as high initial charges as well as recurring charges.
- A WordPress-based website can be a more affordable option, with full ownership and lower hosting charges.
- It is important to have a well-structured website for a plumbing business, including pages for various services offered.
- Keyword research is crucial to choose the right keywords that will have the maximum impact and match the intent of potential customers.
Specific keywords with the city name included should be used for detailed keyword research to target the desired areas. It is important to consider search intent when targeting keywords for web pages, as this can affect conversion rates. - It is important to consider search intent when targeting keywords for web pages, as this can affect conversion rates.
- Creating separate pages for each service provided is ideal, but closely related services can be grouped together on one page.
- When creating service pages, it is important to include a summary of the service, paragraphs on sub-services, pictures and videos, areas serviced, and reasons why customers should choose your service.
- The URL structure should be simple and easily recognizable, such as service-name.
- Technical SEO considerations include proper website structure, HTTPS and SSL certificates, meta robots tags, sitemaps, redirects, and canonical tags.
- Contact and About Us pages should include relevant information about the business and team members.
- Creating a Google Business Profile can be beneficial for small businesses, as it can appear on Google products and searches. It is important to provide accurate information and choose categories carefully.
Why is SEO Necessary for Plumbers ?
SEO is necessary for plumbers as it is the cheapest way of getting targeted leads for your business. As you can see in the screenshot below, thousands of potential customers search for plumbers and related services everyday. I will discuss how a plumber in Stevenage can optimise his plumbing website to get lots of targeted leads.
Advertising using Google Ads will involve a large cost as each click will cost you upwards of £4 for a majority of keywords in the plumbing niche. And buying leads will be even costlier as it will involve a markup of approximately 40% over the Google Ad rates.
Also the conversion rate (Proportion of your website visitors turning to customers) of visitors from search engines is high. It is even further increased in case of long tail keywords i.e. longer queries which target more precise terms and have usually low volumes.
Situation in the UK for Plumbing Businesses - Why Buying Leads From Online listing Companies is Not a good Idea
Many plumbing and HVAC companies in the UK resort to buying leads. These are sold by yellow pages and online listing companies. These leads are generated using Google Ads and you are charged a markup of 40% on The Google Ads rates. That is if your competitor is paying £5 a click, you will have to pay £7 a click. Also the management of Google Ads is automated using software. It is managed by an automated software platform and not done manually. This results in even higher click rates as you are likely to get charged for unnecessary keywords too.
Lastly as your Google Ads account is not optimised, your Ads will have a low quality score and you will have to may to begin with and on top of that a 40% markup.
Customised Google Ads Setup for Your Plumbing Business
You can have a customised setup of Google Ads for a one time charge, and though not ideal it will still be a million times betten and extremely cost effective as compared with the lead selling companies.
For this basically the following jobs are done - setting up your Google Ads account, keyword research, making the ad groups and setting up the ads.
You only have to pay Google directly.
You will get even better results if your landing pages (the page where the link in your ad leads to) are optimised.
Disadvantages of Websites Provided by Yellow pages Type Companies
Many yellow pages type of companies also provide websites. They setup a website for you by automation and keep all copyright. In case you leave them you can only reuse the content that you uploaded. The rest belongs to them.
Besides that there is a large initial charge and recurring charges every year.
Typically for the initial setup a minimum of £400 + VAT for the smallest website (5 Page templated website). In addition , a monthly charge of £30 +VAT to £80 +VAT which works out to at least £360 +VAT a year.
What a WordPress Based Website Will Cost You
You should be able to get a WordPress website with about 15 pages entered and upto 6 plugins installed and configured for less than £500.
A 5 page website plus a contact page will be even much lower and you could even get a website for less than £300.
The advantage being that you fully own the website. The hosting charges for a good quality European webhost and an SSL (Security Certificate) will just be about £60 a year. So you are effectively saving right from the first year. For more details you can check out SEO for small business websites, where details of the website options and more details of WordPress based websites are given.
Of course, I am assuming that you are going to write the entire content and take the photographs illustrating your work yourself.
Website Structure For Your Plumbing Business
It is now time to think about all the services you offer and list them.
Also have an contact us, about us and about the owner/writer your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
As an example for plumbing these are some of the pages we will have to have
Emergency Plumber
Drain Unblocking
Drain Cleaning
Frozen Pipes
Leaking Pipes
Toilet repair
Plumbing Repairs
Household Plumbing
Bathroom Refurbishment
Shower Installation
Tap Replacements
Sink Replacements
Plumbing Replacement & Installations
Plumbing System Maintenance
The exact topics and the priority for inclusion can be found out after keyword research.
Keyword Research For Plumbers and HVACs - What Keywords Should I Choose?
We have to research the topics which will have the maximum impact in terms of visitors Extremely broad keywords will not bring results as their intent will not match. e.g. Central heating means lots of things to the searchers.
So we have to use central heating installation, central heating repair etc. Then lastly we have also to check how many people search for that word in our targeted areas.
Finally we use such specific keywords to do detailed keyword research. We then check by adding cityname at the end to check the number of searches. For example for Stevenage we use words like "gas boiler installation stevenage" Here is a check for top level Keywords citywise for heating
If you have resource constraints, give priority to the keywords that have larger number of searches and are relatively easier to rank.
Intent of the Searcher
Finally take a note of search intent or your visitors will not convert. For example "drain unblocker" has a much higher search volume than "drain unblocking" but people who search "drain unblocker" wish to find out about the products and tools available so they can unblock the drains themselves.Assigning Keywords to Web Pages
Ideally you must create a separate page for each service that you provide. You can group similar or very closely related services on one page for example drain unblocking, drain cleaning, sewer drain cleaning, drain clearance, storm drain cleaning, drain unblocker etc. can be targeted in the same page.
In case you are in doubt of whether you should create a single page or multiple pages for closely related keywords - check if you have enough content that would be useful for your visitors to fill additional page(s).
For example when we create a page for drain unblocking and cleaning we have to research the closely related keywords.
For example the following are some of the keywords that people use when searching for a drain unblocking or cleaning service: cleaning kitchen sink, unblock kitchen sink, drainage cleaning services, unclog bathtub drain, blocked drain plumber, clean shower drain,sewage line cleaning services, sewer drain cleaning, cleaning kitchen sink drain, outdoor drain cleaning, drain plumber, emergency drain unblocking, cleaning out clogged underground drain pipes, dishwasher drain blocked, local drain cleaners, unblock stormwater drain, professional drain cleaning, professional drain unblocker and home drainage cleaning services.
Creating the Service Pages
Create a summary of your service on top of the page. write a paragraph each on the sub-service. Add pictures when performing each sub-service to illustrate. Example unblocking a kitchen sink. You can also add short videos. Towards the end of the page write the areas serviced. you could also add at the end why people should choose you over a rival service. Check the example of a service page below.
Title: Drain Unblocking And Cleaning Services Stevenage
Meta Description: Our team of highly skilled technicians will provide a fast and efficient solution to all your drain problems. Get rid of blockages and buildup in your drains and prevent potential damage to your property.
Heading H1- Drain Unblocking And Cleaning Services in Stevenage for kitchen sink, toilet, bathtub drain, shower drain, stormwater drain, underground drain pipes and sewage line cleaning services
Write a paragraph on each of the different types of drains that you provide unblocking and cleaning service.
Answer questions regarding the Drain unblocking and cleaning services like:
How do you know if your drain is blocked?
How much does it cost to unblock a drain in UK?
how much does it cost to unblock a sewage drain?
Can a plumber fix blocked drains?
How long does it take to unblock a drain?
How long does it take to unclog a sewer drain?
Tell the potential customer why you should be selected to do their job
Why You Should Choose Us:
Professional Expertise: Our experienced and skilled technicians are well-trained in diagnosing and resolving drainage issues of all kinds, ensuring a long-lasting solution.
State-of-the-Art Equipment: We employ advanced tools and technology to unblock and clean your drains thoroughly, leaving no residue behind.
Quick Response: We understand the urgency of drainage problems. That's why we offer fast and reliable service to prevent further inconvenience. We also provide emergency drain unblocking service.
Preventative Maintenance: Beyond unblocking, we also provide professional drain maintenance services to keep your drains clear and prevent future blockages.
Eco-Friendly Approach: We prioritize eco-conscious practices to protect the environment while effectively restoring your drains to optimal functionality.
Finally add the areas that you service. For Stevenage, UK it will be something like this:
We serve the following residential and commercial areas of Stevenage including:
Bedwell, Broadwater, Bragbury End, Chells, Chells Manor, Great Ashby, Industrial Area, Old Town, Symonds Green, Poplars, Shephall, Pin Green, Town Centre and St Nicholas.
We also provide services to the neighbouring town of Welwyn Garden City
URL Structure
A slug or URL slug is the last part of a URL that identifies a particular page. It is best to write it so that a visitor can immediately recognise what the page is about. For example for the drain unblocking and cleaning page your slug should be drain-unblocking-cleaning
A simple format for the slug would be :
service-name
Technical SEO
Make sure that your website has a proper website structure so that it will be easier for your visitors as well as googlebot to navigate your website. You should have your Home, services, About and Contact as your main pages.
Under services all your service pages should be listed. You should preferably have a small description of each your services on the service page and then link it to the specific service page.
Use HTTPS and install a SSl (security) certificate
Make sure that your pages are not blocked to the search engines in the meta robots meta tag or by the robots.txt file. You can link your sitemap in the robots.txt file.
Also make sure that no duplicate pages are present by the use of proper redirects or canonical tag.
Secondly thin content like category and tag pages created automatically by the content management system like WordPress must be noindexed. This usually can be achieved by the use of a suitable plugin and setting noindex, follow in the robots meta tag in the head of the page to get them deindexed.
Contact Us and About Us Pages
On the contact page include the name of the business, address, email id and telephone numbers. You could also include directions and a map.
The about us page should consist of a write up of why selecting you will benefit the customer and brief details of the key members of your team.
It is also very advisable to create a separate profile page for the person who is responsible for writing the content and has the most knowledge regarding carrying out the various services.
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)-
It is very beneficial for a small business to create a business profile on Google as it can appear on Google products like Maps and Search, when people search for the keywords associated with your products and services. In addition it will also appear when people search for your business.
Provide your hours, website, phone number, and location (a street address, service area, or place marker, depending on your business) on your Google My Business profile.
Choose your main category and additional categories carefully. An analysis of plumbing businesses in Stevenage when you search for "Plumber Stevenage", it was revealed that Plumber was the most common category followed by Gas Engineer and Heating Contractor.
About The Author
Joseph de Souza is a leading Freelance SEO consultant and Web developer in Goa, India with more than 15 years of experience in internet marketing.
He has a proven track record and has has helped several companies increase their traffic many times over and thereby increase their revenue and profits.
Besides English, Joseph has also successfully optimized two German language websites and a Danish language website and obtained outstanding results.