A homeowner discovers they have a leaky faucet or broken pipe. Knowing they can’t fix it alone, one of the first things they’ll do is check local search engines for plumbers.
If you aren’t working to optimize your website for Google, you’ll get left behind and forgotten in local search results. Worst of all, you can lose a significant amount of business to your competition with this approach to marketing.
There are plenty of reasons why local SEO is important for plumbing companies. Consider the following reasons for investing in SEO and including it in your digital marketing plan:
1. Local SEO Improves Search Engine Visibility
If you aren’t already optimizing your website for local search, now is the time to start. Plumbers who prioritize SEO can experience first-page rankings on Google and the benefits that come included.
There are several ways to optimize your website for local search. You can do so by adding keywords to your website that contain geographical specific terms. Combining these keywords with your services will help improve search engine visibility.
Other optimization strategies include off-page SEO. You can boost search engine rankings by listing yourself on Google My Business and backlinking strategies such as guest blogging.
2. Attract the Best Quality Website Visitors
The promise of more website visitors won’t help you if the traffic is low quality. It’s important to attract customers who intend to hire you for plumbing services, and those customers must be within your service area.
How do you attract website visitors who are interested in your plumbing services? It starts with your SEO strategy. Including a strategic range of keywords on your website will bring the right type of traffic to you.
Keep in mind that keywords aren’t the only route to attracting more quality traffic. You’ll need to consider the customer experience of your website, which is another important element of SEO.
3. Enhance User Experience on Your Website
Did you know that user experience is an important element of search engine optimization?
It’s true. If you aren’t providing visitors with a positive user experience, they won’t remain on your website for long. This signals to Google that your website is not providing the right type of results that customers want.
Over time, you will notice a drop in your website traffic. You may also find that your website disappears beyond page 2 or 3, which will yield little-to-no traffic. In fact, 75% of people don’t click past the first page of Google!
4. Build Local Authority
You may not imagine yourself as a local authority with your plumber services, but an optimized website can change the way the world views you.
This is especially true if you create consistent content that helps people understand your plumbing services. Many people will search for local plumbers on Google by asking questions. This is why you should include long-tail keywords in question format on your website.
For example, a customer may Google ‘how to unclog a kitchen sink.’ If you write a blog post based on this topic, that customer will find your website and read your advice. They may decide to tackle it themselves, but the person can also decide that there is too much work involved and hire you instead.
This is where the magic happens as you build authority. Content creation combined with SEO adds value to your customers as you earn their trust.
5. Create Trust & Connection with Customers
As you continuously optimize your website on web pages and blog posts, you’ll build trust and connections that your competitors can’t touch.
This is what leads to more local referrals and repeat customers. Meanwhile, the trust-building strategy by way of SEO will score you big points with Google. Google wants to display search results with websites that have high authority.
The more authority your website shows, the more trust that Google and customers will have in you.
6. Stay on Top of Customers’ Minds
Even if a customer doesn’t choose your plumbing services right away, you can stay on top of their mind as well as the search engines with SEO.
When you’re at the top of Google search results, you’ll grab attention faster than plumbers who are on page 2 or 3.
This is even more effective when you can optimize with off-page SEO in addition to your own website. Leverage the power of places such as Google My Business and Angie’s List to get more eyeballs on your business.
7. Get a Great Closing Rate
You’ll get a great closing rate on your plumbing services when your website is optimized for search. Studies show that local leads from search engines have up to a 15% close rate. This is compared to just 1.4% from outbound leads, including cold calling.
8. Ongoing SEO Can Cost Less than PPC
Not only is organic search incredible for closing rates, you also will experience an edge over PPC campaigns. Google ads have their place. However, they can be pricey depending on your market.
Furthermore, you’re constantly paying Google money for their ads. Once your budget is gone, your ad disappears.
SEO doesn’t exactly work this way. While you do need to maintain your SEO strategy on a regular basis, your results won’t instantly disappear the moment you stop working at it.
However, know that SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it approach. It takes a lot of work to get great rankings on Google. The good news is that you can keep those rankings without paying ad fees to Google.
9. SEO May Lower Other Advertising Costs
Did you know that SEO can reduce other advertising costs? Think about what you may spend on billboards, local magazine ads, direct mailers, and other forms of traditional marketing.
SEO reduces advertising costs when you already have a top ranking. When you have a high search position, you don’t need to pay for clicks or advertise your page. Your ranking will stay above the rest of the results as long as you continue to work on your strategy.
Overall, this will lead to more money in your wallet and less that you need to spend on traditional advertising and other forms of marketing.
10. Take Advantage of Voice Search
People are increasingly turning to voice search for answers to their most pressing questions.
It makes sense that voice search is becoming so popular. It’s a natural extension of the way people search in the modern era, where smartphones are widely used.
In fact, 71% of consumers prefer to search via voice rather than typing out their query.
Not surprisingly, it turns out that optimizing your website as voice-search friendly is beneficial for SEO. You can optimize your website for voice search in several ways, giving yourself the upper hand against the competition while providing value to customers.
You can do so by creating content that:
– Incorporates questions and answers in a conversational tone
– Uses long-tail keywords specific to your services
– Provides thoughtful answers to questions that customers are asking
– Goes the extra mile in providing value, which you can do by offering in-depth answers or directions for easy tasks that customers can do on their own
When you can win with Google voice search, you can win with traditional Google text search, too!
11. Create a Primary Lead Source with SEO
No plumbing company, no matter the size, wants to worry about chasing leads all day. It’s exhausting and it can be expensive. The good news is that SEO can provide you with a steady stream of leads when you leverage it correctly.
Inbound strategies are one of the most effective and successful sources of leads for B2C companies, including plumbers.
When you’re needing leads for your plumbing business, SEO is one of the best investments you can consider.
12. SEO Can Lead to More Social Media Followers
Social media is another excellent source of leads. But did you know that SEO and social media can work hand-in-hand with lead generation?
Your website will be easier to find if you rank well on search engines. As people continue to explore your website, they will be more likely to click on your social media icons and follow you there.
Not only will this result in more activity on your website, but you can also score additional social media followers in the meantime.
Local SEO is the Way to Go
There’s no denying the power of local SEO for plumbers. It is one of the most beneficial ways to boost your business, bring in leads, and create brand awareness.
When you begin working on your SEO strategy for plumbers, know that results don’t typically happen overnight. Google’s algorithm is always changing. Staying on top of fluctuations can keep your website at the top of Google’s search results, always a step ahead of the competition.
Interested in hooking new plumbing customers with SEO services? Contact us now to learn more.