Use Plumber as your main category. List each service separately, in the words that customers use. Show 24-hour hours only if a person answers at night. Take five photos at each job. Ask each customer for a review on the same day. Keep your business name clean.
How customers search for plumbers
These are the searches that produce calls in this trade. Each one has a different value and a different level of competition.
| Search | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| plumber near me | The largest search. It goes to the map, and the customer calls one of the first three businesses. |
| emergency plumber | Highest value, and the customer calls immediately. Your hours and your answer speed decide the result. |
| water heater repair | A planned job with a high price. Customers compare two or three companies. |
| drain cleaning | High volume, lower price. Good work for a slow week. |
| slab leak repair | High price, and a small number of companies compete. Add the service if you do it. |
| sewer line repair | High price, and customers read reviews carefully before they call. |
Your categories
Main category: Plumber
Plumber is the category with the most searches attached to it. Keep it as your main category, even if water heaters are most of your work. Add Water heater installation service as an additional category in that case.
Additional categories to consider:
- Drainage service
- Water heater installation service
- Septic system service
- Gasfitter
Use our category finder to confirm, and read the category guide for the method to change a category safely.
The services to list
Add each service as a separate item. Use the words that customers type, not the words that the trade uses. This list covers most companies in this trade.
- Drain cleaning
- Water heater repair
- Water heater installation
- Tankless water heater installation
- Leak detection
- Slab leak repair
- Sewer line repair
- Sewer camera inspection
- Toilet repair
- Faucet installation
- Garbage disposal installation
- Water line replacement
- Gas line repair
- Repiping
- Sump pump installation
- Backflow testing
- Emergency plumbing
Write one or two sentences for each service. Add a price or a price range if you publish prices.
Hours and availability
Emergency work is the highest paid work in this trade, and customers select by availability. Show 24-hour hours only if a person answers the telephone at 2 a.m. A missed call at night gives you a bad review and sends the customer to a competitor.
The photos to take
Take these six photos. Each one answers a question that a customer asks before the call.
- A new water heater with clean connections and a drain pan
- A repaired pipe under a sink, with the area left clean
- A cleared drain, before and after, from the same position
- Your van with the company name and the license number
- A technician with shoe covers on a customer floor
- A sewer camera screen during an inspection
Add three to five photos each week. Our photo audit shows the gaps on your listing.
Your review system
Ask each customer on the day of the job. Send a direct link in a text message. Ask one time, then send one reminder after three days.
Use our review link builder for the link, and the request template for your trade. Answer each review with the reply writer.
Do not offer a discount or a gift for a review. Do not ask only the customers that you think are satisfied. Google and the FTC prohibit both practices.
Your posting plan
Post one time each week. These are the messages that work in this trade.
A hard freeze
Post about burst pipes on the first cold day, with your telephone number. Search volume for a burst pipe rises in hours, not days.
Heavy rain and flooding
Post about sump pumps and backups before the storm season in your area.
The holidays
Garbage disposal and drain calls rise after large meals. Post your holiday hours one week before.
Suspension risks for plumbers
These are the mistakes that remove listings in this trade.
- A business name such as “Joe’s Plumbing Emergency 24/7 Baton Rouge”. The name must be your real business name.
- A second listing for a second city. One business gets one listing.
- A storefront setting with a home address. Use a service area instead.
- A service area that covers half of the state. Google states that about two hours of driving is the limit.
- Extra verification. Google asks many home service businesses for more proof. Keep your license, your insurance and photos of your branded van ready.
Examine your business name with our free name checker.
What your website must do
Google reads your website when it selects the businesses for the map. Three things matter most.
- One page for each main service, with the words that customers use.
- The same business name, address and telephone number as your listing.
- A page for each area that you serve, with real local detail.
See local SEO for your website.
An example of the work in order
A plumbing company with a van and no shop. This is an example that shows the order of the work. It is not a client report.
- The company had 11 reviews, a main category of Water heater installation service, and six photos from 2021.
- The corrections: main category changed to Plumber, water heaters kept as an additional category, 14 services added with plain names, 18 new job photos, and a review request sent to every customer from the last six months.
- The measurement: a rank scan before the work and again after 90 days, at 49 locations across the service area.
Your checklist
- Main category set to Plumber
- Additional categories added for regular services only
- Each service listed separately, in customer words
- Business name is the real name, with no extra words
- Hours are correct, and they match the telephone that you answer
- Service area covers the places that you drive to
- At least 15 real photos, and new photos each week
- A review request sent to each customer on the day of the job
- Each review answered within 48 hours
- The same business name, address and telephone number on other websites