It isn’t a piece of cake to be a plumber.
Along with the million other things on your plate, the thought of learning digital marketing is enough to make any tradie run for cover.
But digital marketing doesn’t have to be a cumbersome and highly technical “chore” as you can win this game with some industry-leading techniques. In today’s piece, we will look into some of some common plumber marketing ideas and explore the benefits (or negatives) that they bring to the table.
Digital marketing ideas for plumbers
1. Google
Google is the king of this world, taking the lion’s share of digital advertising every year. The right place on Google not only gets you more business but it also helps your potential new clients trust you a little more.
If you want to get your business noticed quickly, then you should try Google Ads (previously known as AdWords). It’s a good way to get calls fast, but unless you know what you are doing, it’s very easy to waste money. Our advice here is to hire professionals who focus solely on the trades. If they are from a trades background, even better.
It is also extremely important to optimize your website for Google with well written content. This will help your ads rank better and become more cost effective because Google rewards advertisers whose landing pages relate to the ads being clicked on.
A great side benefit to well written content, is that your natural ranking will also improve over time, lessening your reliance on paid ads.
2. Bing
Google may be leading the search game but it isn’t the only one. Many businesses often forget that there are other search engines that offer even better exposure since there are significantly fewer companies fighting for rank on those.
Do some research and look into your clientele. If your clients are from an age group, industry, or a region where Bing is more popular than Google, you have to consider exploiting this platform to your benefit.
Considering there are several similarities between the two platforms, you can easily optimize your site for Bing if you are already doing it with Google.
If you’re already using Google Ads, then why not try similar ads on Bing. The big benefit here is that the ads often don’t cost as much as Google, but the volume of clicks and calls is usually a lot less.
3. Facebook
Having a quality presence on Facebook not only helps you get better ranking on search engines, but it also helps you create a long-lasting relationship with your customers.
When it comes to plumber marketing ideas, you can’t forget this platform. While many believe they won’t get any customers by showing ads on Facebook, when it’s done the right way, it can be very powerful.
By including some simple code on your website, anyone who visits can be presented with your Facebook ad next time they login. That way your business always stays top of mind when your competitors are long forgotten.
4. Directory listings
Directory listings have helped businesses as an easy and cost effective marketing strategy for many years. Whether it’s True Local, WOMO, HiPages or Yellow Pages, they all play a part in digital marketing for plumbers.
Question is, does your company benefit from directory listings? It depends. For a larger portion of the population, they honestly don’t work since they have been replaced by platforms like Google and Facebook. BUT, if you believe you cater to a specific set of consumers that you can target via directory listings, it won’t hurt.
They can also be a great option if you want extra links to your website to help with SEO.
They won’t be a replacement of the other strategies, but they do bring extra eyes to your business, which will help you if you are running a new, small business.
5. SEO: Search Engine Optimization
No matter what marketing ideas you use for your plumbing business, a great website with well written content, will help you make the right first impression on your clients and also help you rank better on search engines. So SEO and paid advertising should always work hand in hand with your digital marketing strategy.
Too much?
It’s often more cost effective to outsource your digital marketing to an external company that is an expert at marketing for plumbers. In the long run, it is way more cost effective than doing things yourself, and it also helps you focus on your business while a digital marketing partner like “It Just Happens” takes care of getting you the calls.
