Plumbing marketing

Each works differently, so a plumber who wants more calls usually needs to be in at least two of them.

The map runs on your Google Business Profile. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence (Google Business Profile help). In practice that means the right primary category (Plumber), every service you offer listed, accurate hours, real photos of your trucks and jobs, and reviews that keep coming in. The regular results come from your website: a page for each main service, such as drain cleaning, water heaters and repiping, and a clear list of the towns you serve.

A lead is a call or message from someone in your area about a job type you chose.

Two things decide whether they pay off. First, Google screens your business before the ads run, and for plumbers that can include background checks and proof of license and insurance, depending on your state. Second, Google ranks these ads partly on your rating, your number of reviews and how quickly you respond (Local Services Ads help), so a missed call costs you twice: the job and your place in the ads. Google also reviews your leads and credits back the ones it finds invalid, like spam or a wrong number (Local Services Ads help). We set up the account in your name, choose the job types worth paying for and keep an eye on the leads.

That means your phone number at the top of every page, one tap to call from a phone, and pages that load fast on a weak cell signal.

Below that, visitors want three answers: do you do my kind of job, do you come to my town, and can I trust you. Give them a page per service, the towns you cover, your license number, real photos of your team and your reviews. Say whether you take emergency calls and when. If many of your customers speak Spanish, offer the site in Spanish too. Google mainly uses the phone version of a site for ranking (Google Search Central, mobile-first indexing), so check every page on a phone first.

In California, plumbing is a licensed trade under the Contractors State License Board, and the CSLB requires your license number in your advertising, website included. Add an about page with who answers the phone and who shows up, and a contact page with a booking form next to the number, so a customer who can't talk right now can still book; keep the call and booking buttons in reach on every screen on a phone. Then tie the site to your Google Business Profile: the same business name, address and phone number on both, the profile linked to your site, and the services on the profile matching the pages on the site.

Your Google Business Profile gives you that link to share (Google Business Profile help).

The best moment is when the leak is fixed and the customer is relieved, so a text that arrives within the hour is easier to say yes to than an email a week later. Follow Google's rules: don't pay or give discounts for reviews, and don't ask only the customers you expect to be happy (Google's policy on reviews). Reply to every review, the bad ones too, briefly and politely. People choosing a plumber read the replies, not just the stars.

The map often moves sooner than the website, because a complete profile and new reviews count as soon as Google picks them up. That's why many plumbers run Local Services Ads while the SEO builds, then lean on the ads less as calls from the map and the website grow. Be wary of anyone who promises you the #1 spot: Google's guide to hiring an SEO says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking (Google Search Central, "Do you need an SEO?").