Local SEO for Plumbers: How to Use Your Website to Find More Customers

SEO is one of the most powerful marketing strategies for plumbers for two reasons:

01. It can help you find local customers and…

02. It doesn’t need a constant flow of money to keep finding work.

In fact, thousands of customers search for plumbing services online every single day. In the UK, there are over 180,000+ searches each month for keywords like ‘plumbers near me’, and that’s not counting all the other searches that include local towns and cities you service.

In all of these searches, Google serves up results like this:

Recommendations are always appreciated, but they can only take your plumbing business so far. If you want to be one of the businesses that shows up and gets seen on these search results, you need to know your way around some basic plumber SEO.

In this guide, we’ll show you how:

Understanding SEO for Plumbers

What is Plumbing SEO? 

Plumbing SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of improving your website so that it becomes more likely to appear in search results. There are many small modifications you can make that contribute to SEO, but all work towards the same goal: ranking higher and getting your company name directly in front of people who need the services you offer.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• On-site optimisation: Everything from including relevant keywords in your content to writing good headlines.
• Technical SEO: Optimising your website’s structure and performance to improve loading speeds, mobile performance, and security.
• Content: Creating high-quality, relevant content that engages users and aligns with search intent. 
• Link building: Building a network of reputable backlinks to boost your site’s authority and rankings.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a subset of SEO that focuses on helping your business appear in location-based searches. For example, ranking for terms like “emergency plumbers in Manchester” or “plumber near me” ensures you attract local homeowners actively seeking plumbing services near them. 

Local SEO ensures you’re visible to customers who need your services the most and live in your service area.

For example, if a customer searched for “emergency plumber manchester”, they would see something like this:

[business name] has more reviews and a higher star rating, so it’s an obvious choice. All the other plumbers that serve the same area? They’re missing out.

Why Local SEO is Key for Plumbers

For plumbers, local SEO is crucial because customers in regions of the UK you don’t serve are of no value to you.

Traffic figures for local keywords might seem lower, but that traffic is by far your most valuable.

Here’s how local SEO can transform your plumbing business: 

• Improved Visibility 

 Potential customers searching for local keywords like “emergency plumber swansea” will find your business right when they need it. 

• Higher Conversion Rates 

 Local keywords are often searched by ready-to-buy customers.

• Build Trust 

 A strong local presence makes your business look more reliable to potential customers. 

• Stay Competitive 

 Your competitors are investing in local SEO. To stay ahead, you need to optimise as well.

• It’s time-effective

 While you can dive deep into the world of SEO, it is by no means necessary for a basic plumbing business that ranks well locally. Get it right, use AI tools, and let the leads roll in.

How to Master Local SEO for Plumbers

1. Claim and Update Your Google Business Profile (GBP) 

Our first tip has nothing to do with your website itself. However, your Google Business Profile is one of the easiest and most effective first steps in local SEO. 

If you’ve ever searched for a brand or services, you’ll have seen a Google Business Profile. If you haven’t yet claimed yours, do this first. Here’s a quick guide from Google to help you with that.

Next, you’ll want to optimise it:

• Add accurate business details such as your name, address, phone number, hours, and services. 
• Add all your different services
• Upload professional photos of your work, tools, or van (especially if you’ve wrapped it). 
• More long-term, but encourage customers to leave reviews on Google and they’ll show up here.
• Be sure to link your website from your Google Business Profile.
• Write a description of your business that includes information about your services, where you operate, how many years of experience you have, and so on.

2. Use Local Keywords to Target Your Audience 

Local keywords are essential for guiding nearby customers to your website. The first step is to find the keywords you want to target. There are some more ‘obvious’ ones, but you’ll want to find keywords for all the services you offer as well.

How to find your plumbing SEO local keywords: 

• Use free tools like Google Keyword Planner to find keywords with high local search volume. 
• Start typing into Google and see what it auto-suggests.
• Note down phrases like “emergency plumber near [Your City]” or “drain unblocking in [Your Area].” 
• Map out all your relevant local keywords for towns, cities, and regions you cover for each different type of service.

Tip: You do not need to write “near me” into your content, as Google will use location data to match the searcher with relevant local plumbers.

How to add keywords to your content:

You may find that some keywords are naturally embedded into your content as you write it. For others, you may need a bit of extra effort.

Here are some tips:

• Use AI tools like ChatGPT or Google Gemini to write your content. Let them know what your services are, what page you’re writing for, and what keywords you’re trying to include.
• Try to map certain keywords to specific pages. A good rule of thumb is to create a different page for each service you offer, as well as each location. For example, if you service both Stoke-on-Trent and Crewe, you should have pages for both. Likewise, if you do boiler servicing, drain cleaning, and bathrooms, have pages for each of those (and any others).
• Don’t stuff keywords in content just to include them. Be natural, write relevant content, and Google will do the rest.

3. Join Local Directories and Build Citations 

Citations are mentions of your business online, particularly in directories. These help confirm the legitimacy of your business to search engines. 

How to build citations effectively: 

• Add your business to popular directories such as Yelp, Checkatrade, and TrustATrader, and link to your website. 
• Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is consistent across all platforms, including your website and Google Business Profile. 

💡 Fun Fact: Businesses with consistent citations are 70% more likely to rank in Google’s local map pack. 

4. Gain Reviews from Happy Customers 

Online reviews are critical for SEO and building trust with local homeowners for two reasons:

Firstly, having more quality reviews is a signal to Google that your business is reliable and offering a good service. This means you are much more likely to appear on map pack results, which look like this:

Secondly, to a real human browsing these results, more reviews and better reviews is an easy, instant choice.

Tips for collecting reviews: 

• Politely ask satisfied customers to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile. 
• Share review requests via email or text with a direct link to your review page. 
• Respond to reviews promptly. Thank customers for positive comments and address any concerns professionally. 

Once you have reviews, be sure to include a few nice ones throughout your website, as well as before/after photos to demonstrate your experience and expertise.

5. Collect Local Backlinks 

Backlinks from trusted websites signal credibility to search engines, boosting your site’s ranking. 

How to build local backlinks: 

• Partner with local trades like electricians or builders and exchange links on your websites. 
• Sponsor community events or local charities and request a mention on their websites. 
• Submit your contact details to local business associations
• Paste your website link across all the different directories mentioned above.

6. Ensure Your Website is Mobile-Friendly 

Nowadays, over half of website searches come from mobile devices. It’s crucial to make sure your site is easy to use on smaller screens as well as a computer.  

Quick Wins for Mobile Optimisation: 

• Use responsive web design so your site adjusts to any screen size. 
• Make sure all elements (such as menus, phone numbers, and contact buttons) are visible and clickable on mobile.

A website builder like Squarespace, Wix, or WordPress will help immensely with this, but it’s always good to double-check.

7. Finish With Some Technical Optimisations

These are all the small things you can do on the back-end of your website that can have a huge impact on some users. For instance, many users will click away from a website that takes more than just a few seconds to load.

• Schema markups: These are structured data snippets added to your website’s code to help search engines understand your content better and improve search result visibility. For your user, this might appear as additional links underneath your listing, or star ratings as seen here:

Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to quickly generate the code, which needs to be placed into the <head> code of the page.

• Image optimisation: Large images are by far the biggest reason for slow websites. Instead of including less of them, just make sure they’re compressed and ready for use on the web.

A simple online image compressor can help with this, such as https://compresspng.com/

There’s never been a better time to optimise your site

SEO gives long-term, reliable results – but it doesn’t happen overnight.

Start small, be consistent, and make changes gradually. Over time, you’ll see your visibility grow, your leads increase, and your customer base expand. 

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