Plumber advertising ideas to grow your business
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Key takeaways
- An effective digital strategy incorporates a combination of marketing tactics like email marketing, social media, and online reviews
- Your plumbing website serves as your digital storefront and receives leads from your digital marketing channels
- Your social media pages, email marketing, and blog will drive traffic to your website
You’ve mastered the ins and outs of your plumbing business, like fixing water heaters, unclogging drains, and installing piping. But what about the marketing side of things? Are your plumber advertising efforts enough to bring in new clients and grow your business?
You can have the best plumbing company in town, but you must effectively advertise your services to expand your customer base. Potential customers need to believe they can trust you before deciding you’re the right contractor for the job.
Traditional forms of plumber ads like radio ads, billboards, or TV commercials may benefit your business, but they come with a high price tag. On the other hand, digital advertising can be a much more affordable way to go. Plus, it reaches your customers online where they’re already spending a substantial amount of time.
Check out these essential digital marketing tools you can use to grow your online presence and win new business. You’ll learn what to include on your website, how to improve your SEO strategy, and effective ways to increase customer leads.
Build a website that converts leads into customers
Your plumbing website is a critical component of your online marketing strategy. It serves as a centralized location that all lead generation channels point to. In a nutshell, your company website is your plumbing marketing one-stop-shop.
You must have an appealing website that’s not only eye-catching but also functional. But more than having an attractive web design with your logo and high-quality pictures, you must show visitors that you’re an expert plumber. You can build trust by incorporating elements like customer testimonials and showing that you’re licensed and insured.
Potential customers must also understand the specific services you provide and which local areas you service. Dedicate website pages to individual services like drain cleaning, boiler installation, or water heater repair. Be sure to include which service areas your business operates in.
Lastly, your website must be optimized to convert leads into customers. Add a compelling statement to your landing page, like “With over 20 years of experience, we are Austin’s trusted plumbing experts.”
Immediately following this statement, provide a call to action with a way for customers to contact you. Write something like “Contact us now for your free estimate. Fix your plumbing problem today!” along with a contact form, email link, and phone number.
Get more traffic with an SEO strategy
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of adjusting your website and online presence to increase traffic to your website. Your local SEO strategy relies on having the appropriate plumbing terms within your website content. The goal is to incorporate terms that customers are looking for on search engines.
For example, people in your local area may be using search terms like “best plumber in Boston” or “residential plumber in Scranton.” You can use one of these keyword research tools to uncover the most searched terms in your region.
Page speed is another critical element of your SEO strategy. A slow website will cripple your search engine rankings. There are several methods to speed up your site, but an easy starting point is reducing the size of your images and compressing them. You can use this image compressor to reduce file sizes, then upload these new images to your site.
Other SEO adjustments can lift your rankings, like making sure your site looks good and loads properly on mobile devices. Beyond that, there are more technical aspects of SEO that may require an expert SEO service provider or SEO marketing expert. Hiring someone will come at a cost if you’re unable to implement these changes yourself, but it could be well worth the investment.
Educate customers with an informative blog
An educational blog is excellent for boosting your search engine rankings and building trust with potential customers. A successful blog is supported by proper keyword research, content scheduling, and consistent blog posts.
It may sound counterintuitive, but your blog should educate customers on fixing basic plumbing problems on their own. Give them tips and guidance to show you’re a plumbing expert and are there to help. They may use your blog content to fix issues independently, but if they can’t, you’re the first business they’ll turn to for help.
But how do you know what plumbing issues customers run into? You don’t need to guess. Instead, you can do keyword research using your choice of tools to find terms local customers are searching for.
Once you’ve found high-traffic terms, create a blog publishing schedule of about once a week. You must stay disciplined and stick to your publishing schedule. Consistency is key to having a successful blog.
You’ll then need to promote your posts once they go live on your site as they are your own form of plumbing advertising. Your social media pages are the perfect place to post links to your blog content.
Connect with leads using social media marketing
A strong social media presence will open doors to new customers in your area. It also helps maintain relationships with previous customers.
At the very least, plumbers should be active on Facebook and LinkedIn. These social media channels serve two different purposes. You can leverage Facebook’s features to interact with residential customers. Meanwhile, LinkedIn gives you access to other business owners who may be interested in commercial plumbing services.
Use your Facebook page to post links to your blog articles, photos from previous jobs, and current promotions. For example, you could write posts covering basic plumbing tips—like how to unclog a drain or install water filters—and then offer a discount for new customers.
You can use LinkedIn in a similar manner, but instead of targeting homeowners you’ll be reaching business owners. Make sure to connect with other business owners (such as HVAC providers), contractors, or property managers on LinkedIn after you complete a job. Doing so will expand your professional network and maintain a connection with previous clients. It’s the perfect strategy to stay top of mind and increase your repeat business with commercial clients.
Support your plumber advertising with online reviews
Online review platforms should be an integral part of your digital marketing strategy. Reviews and testimonials are a major deciding factor for potential customers. They provide an accurate description of your business and the level of service you offer customers.
More than 80% of consumers read online reviews before purchasing from a local service, and 75% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a friend’s personal recommendation.
Claiming your Yelp Business Page is a good starting point. A Yelp Business Page expands your online presence and gives customers a place to write and read reviews. You can respond to user reviews and resolve any negative issues that may come up.
You can also provide details about your plumbing service like a business description, contact information, and photos. Potential customers can then use this information to determine if you’re the right fit for the job.
Engage leads with email marketing
Although email marketing isn’t a new concept, it’s still a powerful way to grow your plumbing business. An effective email marketing program can nurture potential plumbing leads and re-engage previous clients.
You can collect emails from potential customers by offering a newsletter sign-up form on your website. Provide an incentive to increase the number of people who sign up. For example, offer 10% off the first service for those who sign up for your email list.
Be sure to ask your clients for their email addresses and request permission to send them occasional emails. You can then send monthly newsletters and periodic emails with links to your blog content or current promotions.
Segmenting your emails will further personalize your correspondence and send the most relevant information to specific subscribers. For instance, a residential client shouldn’t necessarily receive the same email as your commercial clients.
Research shows that segmented campaigns yield up to a 760% increase in revenue for email marketing plans. As an example, you’d send your residential clients do-it-yourself content that may be relevant to their home. Meanwhile, you would send commercial clients useful information about large-scale plumbing topics.
Use plumber marketing to build your online presence
Internet marketing for plumbers doesn’t need to be an overly complicated process. It starts with a well-designed website that serves as your digital storefront.
From there, you can explore ways to increase traffic to your site, like SEO optimization, maintaining a blog, and being active on social media. You can then build trust with potential clients by claiming your Yelp Business Page and growing your online reviews.
Implement some of these plumber advertising strategies to expand your digital presence and grow your local customer base.
The information above is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice and may not be suitable for your circumstances. Unless stated otherwise, references to third-party links, services, or products do not constitute endorsement by Yelp.
