5 Digital Marketing Tips for Plumbers

On average, Americans spend about 7 hours online every day. That’s almost a third of the day. So, it should come as no surprise that a lot of modern commerce begins online. 

The online marketplace offers access to almost any business at the touch of a button. Most internet users can find and compare businesses instantly.

Research shows that 97% of people use the internet to find plumbers in their area. Digital marketing offers plumbing companies a way to appear in these searches. 

In this article, we’ll look at how to use digital marketing to benefit your plumbing business. We’ll explore the components of a strong online marketing strategy. Then, we’ll check out what strategies you can use to help grow your business. 

What Is Digital Marketing and What Can It Do for You?

Digital marketing is the blanket term for all online advertising and promotions. Almost all customers search for plumbers online before converting. This makes digital marketing an important tool for plumbing contractors. 

Online marketing helps businesses reach new audiences and gain clients. There are 400,000 licensed plumbers in the US. That creates a flooded market and a lot of competition. Using just one digital marketing strategy can help increase brand awareness. 

There are many platforms and strategies for marketing online. These strategies include things like SEO, social media, and paid advertisements. With defined goals and a solid plan, digital marketing can have a high return on investment. 

Using data analytics, plumbers can pinpoint their audience. Then, they can target those demographics. Plumbers can create engaging content for these campaigns. 

Understanding these marketing strategies is a must for small businesses. We’re in a digital age that is always evolving. These new technologies and trends are setting the standard for modern marketing.

Critical Components of a Digital Marketing Strategy

Knowing how to use digital marketing is the key to success. A good marketing strategy can increase customer acquisition and build your brand reputation. Without it, your business may not be appearing in online searches or driving any leads. 

When building a digital marketing strategy, start with setting goals. When you set marketing goals, you’ll have a means to measure the success of your campaigns. This way, you can check that your strategies are effectively driving results.

Once you’ve set your goals, then you’ll want to implement your strategy. A good digital marketing strategy should use multiple platforms and tactics. 

Let’s look at some essential digital marketing strategies:

Start With SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial function of digital marketing. SEO uses keyword and content relevancy to help your brand appear in searches. Plumbing businesses can optimize their content with the right text and link integration.

SEO is one of the driving forces in digital marketing. It can be used in all campaigns and website content. With the right SEO strategy, your plumbing business can build relevant campaigns. 

Solid SEO helps your business rank higher in local searches. Higher ranking helps attract more lead conversions.

Businesses should do frequent SEO analysis. Most websites and marketing platforms offer data around SEO integration. This can help with keyword research and continued optimization of your content. By keeping it updated, your campaigns and content are always relevant. 

Maintain Consistent Branding and NAP Information

Plumbing businesses should create and maintain a well-defined brand and image. Branding can play an important role in the success of your marketing campaigns. 

Consistent branding can increase revenue by an average of 20%.

A brand should be defined by your image and your culture. Branding needs a logo, a defined color palette, and a solid company ethos. 

Certain colors, fonts, and messages can evoke different emotions from your customers. Because of this, the right branding can really impact your business.

Cohesive branding across all media and marketing campaigns increases customer loyalty. Branding increases recognition. With the right branding, your business will more likely come to mind for plumbing needs and services.

Your company name, address, and phone number (NAP) should also be consistent. Make sure that this information is correct across the board. That way, any potential leads can correctly locate your business.

Digital Ads

Digital ads are typically what comes to mind when you think of digital marketing. The ads pop up on various websites and search engines. If you click on them, they’ll send you to a business’s landing page. Digital ads are a powerful tool for driving leads to your website. 

Digital ads are usually pay-per-click (PPC). This allows businesses to set spending limits and reach targeted audiences. Most of these paid advertisements display text, images, or videos. Your business can get creative with them. 

The primary forms of digital ads are search ads, display ads, and social media ads. 

Search ads are generally text-based. These PPC ads are displayed at the top of a search engine. They will appear when related keywords and local plumbers are searched. 

With the right SEO, your business will appear at the top of these searches. Search ads are most common on Google.

Display ads are image-based banners that appear on various websites and content. This type of ad is usually PPC and can prompt users to your landing page through various actions. 

Social media ads are paid ads through social media platforms. Businesses can pay to promote posts, send advertisements to users in your area, or run ads in users’ feeds. 

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a valuable marketing technique. Email marketing returns $36 for every $1 spent. This is a high-volume and high-return way to stay in touch with your community.

Email marketing platforms offer easy-to-use templates and multi-media channels for promoting your business. Any user can easily opt-in to your mailing list. They’ll then have access to deals, products, and promotions from your plumbing company. 

Email campaigns can prompt actions, gain conversions, and track engagement. This is a great way to promote different content and see what your community is most interested in. 

Content Marketing and Social Media

Content creation and social media are related strategies. Social media needs content to promote, though content can be used in many ways.

These marketing strategies use informative and engaging content to draw in potential customers. Both options offer indirect and direct marketing techniques. 

Content marketing helps to drive potential customers to your business through related content. This could be blogs, YouTube videos, social media, or any digital creations. 

The idea is to lead people to your business by engaging them with your media. Using SEO and user data, your content can appear in the feeds of people in your area.  

Social media marketing is made up of digital content. However, you can also use these platforms to engage with your community. 

By using a combination of content types, businesses can create an interactive network. Social media helps develop brand familiarity with your local community.

Content and media are a fun and creative way to build your brand and network. 

A/B Testing

A/B testing helps you to compare two different campaigns. The data will allow businesses to see which strategy performs better. To use A/B testing, decide what to test and set a metric to measure it. 

For example: You decide you want to see if users click on images or text ads more. You run both types of advertisements at the same volume of ad investment. You then check your analytics to see how many clicks each ad has after a set amount of time. 

This type of testing can be done with different marketing campaigns. Most platforms offer analytics to help you compare your campaigns.

The Role of Technology in a Digital Marketing Strategy

The digital world can be tricky to navigate. Marketing automation technology enables your plumbing business to streamline many digital tasks. 

These digital tools are more data-driven and optimized for online content. In this way, they can help improve business operations and provide helpful insights. 

These apps and software can simplify day-to-day tasks and help drive marketing results. Evolving smart devices, data analytics, and customer-facing programs offer endless growth opportunities. 

Let’s look at some technologies that can help improve your digital marketing strategy.

Data Collection and Analysis 

There are many different software companies and websites that offer data analysis. This data can range from customer satisfaction and advertisement engagement to website traffic. Often, these metrics will be embedded into business or marketing software.

Data analysis can reveal pain points in your advertising campaigns. This data can also show what campaigns are driving sales. This way, your plumbing business knows where to invest time and money.

CRM Software

Customer relationship management (CRM) software helps manage and track customer data. This software can store and reveal vital information for marketing campaigns. 

Customer data can show things like service popularity and customer satisfaction levels. The software also tracks where your leads and conversions are coming from.

AI and Chatbots

Many businesses are integrating artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify the customer experience. 

Chatbots use AI technology to streamline customer service. These bots can provide immediate customer support. They can also prompt engagement with different content. 

AI can be used to turn leads into conversions. These programs provide data on what customers are interacting with and searching for online. 

Plumbers can use this information to improve marketing campaigns and customer service alike. 

Internet of Things for Plumbers

The Internet of Things is the network of smart devices and programs your business uses. This network allows companies to create “smarter” interactions with customers.

Many smart devices (such as smart pipes that report leaks) can help produce useful marketing data. It also can provide real-time statistics on consumer preferences and content interaction. 

Automated Emails

Automated emails can help to boost your contact list with low effort on your end. Customers can sign up for your newsletter through an easy digital setup. 

Plumbers should send a “welcome” email to all new contacts. Then, email campaigns can be automated and managed through your mailing platform.

Sites like MailChimp can even integrate AI technology to help increase conversions. 

Contact Request

Contact request forms can be digitized and automated through many online platforms. Plumbers can use ads, website prompts, and SMS to request contact information. These automated forms are easy to use and take just a few moments to sign up. 

Contact forms and email registration systems can nudge more engagement and lead generation.

Grow Your Plumbing Business with These Digital Marketing Strategies

As you create your growth strategy and target your goals, you’ll want to dial in your marketing plan. Your plumbing business can use a mix of traditional and digital marketing strategies. That way, your business can target multiple demographics. 

There are many digital marketing strategies. Some cost more. Some produce more leads. Others drive more traffic to your content. Focusing on the most strategic methods will help you grow your business and build revenue. 

Finding the right combination may take some time. A lot of marketing is trial and error while you analyze the data behind the scenes. But, using some of these strategies may help you get a head start. 

Boost your Google My Business Profile

Google My Business is a free platform that connects your business with Google. Plumbers can register their business so that they will appear in local searches. 

Your business page should verify your contact information and location. You can also add a link to your website and maintain updated business hours. 

This helps plumbing companies appear in local searches and on business maps. It also gives customers accurate business information. 

Registration with Google automatically integrates SEO to help increase your search rankings. This is a useful tool for improving SEO and ensuring you appear in any local “plumbers near me” searches. 

Cross-Platform Marketing Campaign Integration

Cross-platform marketing uses multiple platforms to create a cohesive campaign. This strategy follows a marketing campaign throughout the entire customer experience. This integration can create more customer satisfaction. In turn, that can bring in more conversions.

Using multiple marketing channels can engage customers at different points. Reaching your audience from different angles can help build a strong brand. 

For instance, if your customer clicks on an ad, that ad could lead them to an email registration. Then, your business can send a welcoming email right away. Email can offer various products and services and more engaging content. And so on.

Cross-channel campaigns can improve marketing budget efficiency by about 20%. By using tools like A/B testing and CRM, you can track what content is successful. This will allow you to create media and ads that can be used in these multi-level campaigns. 

Consistent Social Media Interactions

Nearly 4 billion people are on social media. So, developing a social media presence is a logical move for plumbing businesses. 

Social media provides an opportunity to be creative and engaging. These platforms help you develop and promote your brand. 

Plumbers can choose to educate or entertain their followers. Whatever type of content you share, your tone should be consistent and professional. Posting and interactions should always be in line with your brand. 

Always be mindful of what content you’re sharing and how you’re responding to followers. Businesses should use social media primarily to engage with followers and build community. This is a great way to thank customers while using a less direct marketing strategy. 

Localizing Your SEO Across All Platforms

SEO localization aims to improve your searchability and relatability. This strategy ensures that your plumbing company is visible within your targeted region. Using keywords that are specific to your region helps attract more local customers. 

A quality localized SEO strategy is proven to lower bounce rates. This is because localized SEO targets specific needs and searches. 

Customers using those keywords can find the exact landing page they need—yours. This helps bring in more conversions and improve the customer experience. 

Mobile First Optimization

It’s no secret that most of us are glued to our phones. Smartphones, while they may be distracting at times, are useful tools. They can be used to answer any question on a whim. Because of this, almost 60% of all online searches happen on a smartphone. 

Ensuring that your plumbing content is optimized for mobile viewing is essential. Not all websites and graphics translate well to mobile devices. 

Always test whether your campaigns load on both mobile and desktop. This improves the customer experience and enhances your advertisements for all potential viewers.