5 Things most Plumbing Websites Miss

Plumbers often have websites, but rarely do they produce the kind of value that most contractors look for when embarking on digital marketing. The goal of plumber is fairly simple, generate local leads for their plumbing business. Accomplishing this feat is much easier with a well designed website than it is with one that is poorly designed. But design is not the only element of a website that determines its level of success. Furthermore, there are variables that many in the industry are unaware of that can make or break their lead generation process online. Most plumbing websites are missing the following elements:

Customization

Too often contractors buy web templates for $15 to $50 dollars and assume it’s going to work well. While these templates might appear nice visually, their coding structure can severely hinder your online promotion. Google looks for certain code elements when crawling a website, and if they see a template that has been used on many different sites, they devalue you it immediately. Sometimes, plumbers work for larger organizations that provide a web template for them, which is equally as problematic. The following web elements should be custom:

Code Content
Graphics Information
Mapping

Plumbers sometimes believe that Google My Business & Maps is exclusive from their website. In reality, all of these things are connected. That’s why claiming, optimizing, and verifying your Google listing is imperative. Furthermore, the synergy of your website and listing must be precise. That means the address listed on your Maps listing must match the address listed in the footer of your plumbing company website. The same is true for the website link on your GMB profile, which must lead directly to the homepage for your company site. Be aware of the following:

Google Maps
Google My Business
NAP Uniformity
Website Contact Information

Keyword Placement

Keywords are nice, but they are only effective when properly researched and implemented. Too often, neither is executed properly. In research, keywords should only be considered if they contain buyer intent, which means that the search query is coming from a user who is looking to spend money on your service. Search volume is still important, but only if the buyer intent exists alongside of it. After researching keywords, you must properly integrate them in the appropriate sections of your website. There’s a few non-negotiable places to place terms, but you’ll also want to avoid “stuffing” keywords onto your page. Include keywords in the following:

Body Content
Header Tags
Meta Description SEO Title (“Title Tag”)

Call To Action

A website should be a sales tool, not just in appearance, but in performance. Most plumbing sites describe certain services offered, but too few highlight an urgent call to action. So what is a CTA? It’s a message to the visitor that they should complete an action. This can be anything from calling your office, to filling out a contact form. When there’s incentive or urgency to do so, the likelihood of generating a lead increases exponentially. So instead of your website being merely a digital business card, it can actually do some of the sales work for you. Examples of calls to action include:

Contact Form Submission eBook / PDF Download Phone Number Button / Link Subscription Button / Link

URL Structure

Unsuccessful plumbing sites are often bland or disorganized in their structuring. URL structure is a big deal for Google, and it helps them understand your websites’ content and navigate users towards it appropriately. Having a logical and convenient hierarchy is user-friendly and therefore excellent for SEO. For example: yourplumbingwebsite.com/services/toilet-repair is a great URL address. Google knows that toilet repair is one of your services, and you’ll likely have several more, each which should follow the same structure outline. Schema.org is a microdata language that aids URL structuring, and marks certain pages for Google to crawl as “services.” In summary, a sound URL structure is: