What’s the mark of a successful plumbing company? Determination, adaptability, and earnestness. All these qualities make for a fantastic business, no matter what industry you operate in. When it comes to spreading your brand in search engine marketing, these characteristics will help you keep at it while those sweet, sweet leads start to trickle in.

Today, Nolen and Jason talk about what separates the top ranking plumbing companies apart from the rest. If your company doesn’t quite earn the rankings you’d like, be sure to listen in.

Key Lessons for Plumbing Professionals

* Your top competitors work hard to earn their rankings in search engine marketing (SEM)!

* Online success takes time and money, but anyone can win.

* There’s no secret weapon to succeeding on Google Search.

Plumbing Search Winners

You know them well by this point: the top performers in your local market. Every time you run a Google search to see where your brand lands, these plumbing companies sit comfortably in the top positions on the front page. What do they do different? How did they get so lucky?

Search engine marketing champs don’t win by luck! They win because of determination.

So many plumbers break into the industry just to give up early in their online marketing efforts. Those top companies in your market however, kept at it and are reaping the rewards as a result. So what sort of qualities can they inspire to help you rank up?

Quick Tip #1: Keep at It!

Trial and error courses through every discipline of marketing, and business management in general. For plumbing professionals just getting into local search, earning high quality rank positions may feel like a daunting task. Keep at it! 

Practical Applications

While your brand needs some time to start ranking for those primary keywords and phrases, you can use secondary keywords to supplement your leads. Keep producing that content that’s enriched with multiple keyword combinations. Some of our clients at Plumbing Webmasters are listed for over a thousand different words and phrases. If you stay determined and continue to release quality material, your overall brand ranking is sure to rise.

Quick Tip #2: Adapt as Needed

Finding success in online search engine marketing is something almost anyone can accomplish, with the right strategy. Staying at the top however, requires a continued commitment to studying and adapting that strategy. As Google releases, new algorithmic changes and/or new search-related products, learn to experiment with the changes.

Practical Applications

Moz, Search Engine Land, and Search Engine Journal are three great sources for hot industry news and strategies. Try taking a few hours each month to see what’s new in search engine marketing. You may find fresh opportunities to improve your rankings in local search, such as the rise of featured listings in SERPs (see our guide on Ranking #1 in Google).

Quick Tip #3: Get Invested

Marketing is simply a part of doing business these days. Traditional methods of spreading brand awareness – we’re looking at you, door knocking – simply don’t provide the same results they did a decade ago. That’s why search engine marketing is more essential than ever before for driving people towards your business and creating leads. Successful marketing requires investment: time, effort, and money.

Practical Applications

Learn where to invest your resources for maximum impact. While lead gen companies and PPC campaigns provide a more immediate return,

What’s the mark of a successful plumbing company? Determination, adaptability, and earnestness. All these qualities make for a fantastic business, no matter what industry you operate in. When it comes to spreading your brand in search engine marketing, these characteristics will help you keep at it while those sweet, sweet leads start to trickle in.

Today, Nolen and Jason talk about what separates the top ranking plumbing companies apart from the rest. If your company doesn’t quite earn the rankings you’d like, be sure to listen in.

Key Lessons for Plumbing Professionals

* Your top competitors work hard to earn their rankings in search engine marketing (SEM)!

* Online success takes time and money, but anyone can win.

* There’s no secret weapon to succeeding on Google Search.

Plumbing Search Winners

You know them well by this point: the top performers in your local market. Every time you run a Google search to see where your brand lands, these plumbing companies sit comfortably in the top positions on the front page. What do they do different? How did they get so lucky?

Search engine marketing champs don’t win by luck! They win because of determination.

So many plumbers break into the industry just to give up early in their online marketing efforts. Those top companies in your market however, kept at it and are reaping the rewards as a result. So what sort of qualities can they inspire to help you rank up?

Quick Tip #1: Keep at It!

Trial and error courses through every discipline of marketing, and business management in general. For plumbing professionals just getting into local search, earning high quality rank positions may feel like a daunting task. Keep at it! 

Practical Applications

While your brand needs some time to start ranking for those primary keywords and phrases, you can use secondary keywords to supplement your leads. Keep producing that content that’s enriched with multiple keyword combinations. Some of our clients at Plumbing Webmasters are listed for over a thousand different words and phrases. If you stay determined and continue to release quality material, your overall brand ranking is sure to rise.

Quick Tip #2: Adapt as Needed

Finding success in online search engine marketing is something almost anyone can accomplish, with the right strategy. Staying at the top however, requires a continued commitment to studying and adapting that strategy. As Google releases, new algorithmic changes and/or new search-related products, learn to experiment with the changes.

Practical Applications

Moz, Search Engine Land, and Search Engine Journal are three great sources for hot industry news and strategies. Try taking a few hours each month to see what’s new in search engine marketing. You may find fresh opportunities to improve your rankings in local search, such as the rise of featured listings in SERPs (see our guide on Ranking #1 in Google).

Quick Tip #3: Get Invested

Marketing is simply a part of doing business these days. Traditional methods of spreading brand awareness – we’re looking at you, door knocking – simply don’t provide the same results they did a decade ago. That’s why search engine marketing is more essential than ever before for driving people towards your business and creating leads. Successful marketing requires investment: time, effort, and money.

Practical Applications

Learn where to invest your resources for maximum impact. While lead gen companies and PPC campaigns provide a more immediate return,

Congratulations! You’ve just started your professional plumbing company. You’re also dirt poor and have no marketing budget to speak of. We’ve all been there.

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to start earning brand recognition online, without breaking the bank. Today, we’ll discuss a number of free to cheap activities that anyone can handle. If you’ve been worried about getting noticed in local search, be sure to listen in!

Key Insights on Plumbing Marketing (on a Tight Budget)

* Register a domain under your name! Make sure it’s distinct from common industry terms.

* Set up your Google My Business listing and submit your address. Complete the free forms.

* If you don’t have money, try a cheap service like WIX and GoDaddy.

* Stay away from digital marketing services in the mid-hundreds. You’re better off going DIY!

Starting Fresh in Local Search

Normally, our team at Plumbing Webmasters likes to steer the conversation away from other web design companies. We may also go the opposite direction and show just how many people get royally screwed by other SEO companies. But we’re going to do something different today, because sometimes you just need a place to kick off your marketing plan.

If you have no marketing budget to speak of, starting up your out-of-home plumbing company can be a real challenge! With so many established businesses in the community, how can you start making a name for yourself? It all begins with a domain name and a company website.

Without an established budget, there’s only one solution left: go DIY (do it yourself)!

A 3-Step Starter’s Guide

While many marketing activities can help you cultivate clients, three are absolutely mandatory. Without these three steps, your plumbing SEO has almost zero chance of taking off and earning clients for your business.

Your Three Essential Steps

* Step #1: Claim Your GMB (Google My Business) Listing.

* Step #2: Register a Unique Domain Name.

* Step #3: Create and Launch a Starter Website.

Google My Business Account

Among the numerous qualities it has and the benefits it provides, your Google My Business listing is absolutely free. It’s Google’s way of getting to know your business location, basic service category, and operating hours. Fill it out as much as possible, and regularly come back to it as you gain more information. Your GMB listing helps you start showing up in local search queries. Then there’s the crucial ability to gather Google Reviews!

Be sure to use the same physical address for all your citations as your business grows. This makes the Google Search algorithm more confident in your operating area, increasing your chances of showing up for localized searches. When business booms, your marketing budget expands, and your company grows into an office, you’ll need to change the name for all of your citation listings (BBB, Angie’s List, Yelp, etc.).

Choosing a Domain Name

Your domain name isn’t just a web address. It’s also part of your brand identify, and it heavily impacts people’s ability to find your company online. Choosing a smart domain and guarding it carefully will help your business grow consistently over time.

Domain Name Examples

* Great: purplemonkeyplumber.com

* Poor: americafirstplumber.com

* Great: pipefighter.co

* Poor: seattleplumbingcompany.com

* Great: rooterrex.com

* Poor: bustedpipestx.co

What makes an ideal domain name? Memorability and uniqueness. Thousands of businesses shoot themselves in the foot by picking what ...

Congratulations! You’ve just started your professional plumbing company. You’re also dirt poor and have no marketing budget to speak of. We’ve all been there.

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to start earning brand recognition online, without breaking the bank. Today, we’ll discuss a number of free to cheap activities that anyone can handle. If you’ve been worried about getting noticed in local search, be sure to listen in!

Key Insights on Plumbing Marketing (on a Tight Budget)

* Register a domain under your name! Make sure it’s distinct from common industry terms.

* Set up your Google My Business listing and submit your address. Complete the free forms.

* If you don’t have money, try a cheap service like WIX and GoDaddy.

* Stay away from digital marketing services in the mid-hundreds. You’re better off going DIY!

Starting Fresh in Local Search

Normally, our team at Plumbing Webmasters likes to steer the conversation away from other web design companies. We may also go the opposite direction and show just how many people get royally screwed by other SEO companies. But we’re going to do something different today, because sometimes you just need a place to kick off your marketing plan.

If you have no marketing budget to speak of, starting up your out-of-home plumbing company can be a real challenge! With so many established businesses in the community, how can you start making a name for yourself? It all begins with a domain name and a company website.

Without an established budget, there’s only one solution left: go DIY (do it yourself)!

A 3-Step Starter’s Guide

While many marketing activities can help you cultivate clients, three are absolutely mandatory. Without these three steps, your plumbing SEO has almost zero chance of taking off and earning clients for your business.

Your Three Essential Steps

* Step #1: Claim Your GMB (Google My Business) Listing.

* Step #2: Register a Unique Domain Name.

* Step #3: Create and Launch a Starter Website.

Google My Business Account

Among the numerous qualities it has and the benefits it provides, your Google My Business listing is absolutely free. It’s Google’s way of getting to know your business location, basic service category, and operating hours. Fill it out as much as possible, and regularly come back to it as you gain more information. Your GMB listing helps you start showing up in local search queries. Then there’s the crucial ability to gather Google Reviews!

Be sure to use the same physical address for all your citations as your business grows. This makes the Google Search algorithm more confident in your operating area, increasing your chances of showing up for localized searches. When business booms, your marketing budget expands, and your company grows into an office, you’ll need to change the name for all of your citation listings (BBB, Angie’s List, Yelp, etc.).

Choosing a Domain Name

Your domain name isn’t just a web address. It’s also part of your brand identify, and it heavily impacts people’s ability to find your company online. Choosing a smart domain and guarding it carefully will help your business grow consistently over time.

Domain Name Examples

* Great: purplemonkeyplumber.com

* Poor: americafirstplumber.com

* Great: pipefighter.co

* Poor: seattleplumbingcompany.com

* Great: rooterrex.com

* Poor: bustedpipestx.co

What makes an ideal domain name? Memorability and uniqueness. Thousands of businesses shoot themselves in the foot by picking what ...

Does your marketing company have a vested interest in seeing you succeed? Are they working hard to produce outstanding growth for your business, or just hard enough to earn another 12 month contract? Having a marketing company with skin in the game can make all the difference for plumbing contractors, as Jason and Nolen discuss in our latest podcast.

Helpful Tips on SEO for Plumbers

* It’s getting harder and harder to compete without an established presence in local SEO.

* Make sure your digital marketing company provides direct Google Ads reporting for PPC.

* PPC budget and reporting should be kept separate from organic SEO.

* Results for plumbing SEO usually take 2 to 3 months after launching a new website.

* Research your top competitors’ websites.

* See how well your marketing company ranks in organic search!

Overcoming the Past

You’ve been hurt before. Based on the number of angry, confused plumbers we’ve talked to over the years, odds are you’ve been taken advantage of by an untrustworthy digital marketing agency. In fact, you may have gone through the same situation multiple times now. Naturally, this leaves you hesitant to trust again. We understand!

However, you’ve also know by now just how essential local search is to finding clients.

There’s no getting around it. If you don’t have the talent inside your team already, you are going to have to find a company who understands SEO for plumbers. That’s where the Plumbing Webmasters come into play.

Learning to Trust Again

Instead of immediately jumping back into the online fray, why not take a day to reexamine what it means to succeed in Google Search? Take a day to research the different ways to rank #1. Better yet, take a look at your most productive online competitors to see what they’re doing different! You’ll probably find them at the top of search results in a Local Pack (see the picture below).

Since organic search champions earn the lion’s share of website traffic, it pays to understand what they’re doing to be successful. Do some research! Spend a little time digging through their websites and exploring their service pages.

Critical Research Questions on Competitors

* How good is the content on their service pages and homepage?

* What sort of service page structure do they have?

* Which keywords are they using to get noticed by Google?

* Do they write blogs? How often are they posting?

* Are they using stock photos?

* What sort of calls to action (CTAs) are they using?

* How many reviews do they have on their Google Search listing?

* How good is the overall design of the website?

Just remember: to outrank these professionals, your website and related internet marketing must be better than the current champions. If you only match their website quality, you’re unlikely to outrank them (especially if they’re older companies).

Find a Winning Team

Emphasis on “Winning”. For all the technical expertise and fancy service packages a marketing company may provide, do they produce successful clients? If you Google Search “plumbing contractors in (insert city, state)”, you should be able to find their customers listed there!

Here’s another important question: How many keywords do their clients rank for? Big name companies like to advertise front page rankings for five, ten, or thirty keywords. An experienced marketing company can get your plumbing business ranked for hundreds of keywords (wit...

Does your marketing company have a vested interest in seeing you succeed? Are they working hard to produce outstanding growth for your business, or just hard enough to earn another 12 month contract? Having a marketing company with skin in the game can make all the difference for plumbing contractors, as Jason and Nolen discuss in our latest podcast.

Helpful Tips on SEO for Plumbers

* It’s getting harder and harder to compete without an established presence in local SEO.

* Make sure your digital marketing company provides direct Google Ads reporting for PPC.

* PPC budget and reporting should be kept separate from organic SEO.

* Results for plumbing SEO usually take 2 to 3 months after launching a new website.

* Research your top competitors’ websites.

* See how well your marketing company ranks in organic search!

Overcoming the Past

You’ve been hurt before. Based on the number of angry, confused plumbers we’ve talked to over the years, odds are you’ve been taken advantage of by an untrustworthy digital marketing agency. In fact, you may have gone through the same situation multiple times now. Naturally, this leaves you hesitant to trust again. We understand!

However, you’ve also know by now just how essential local search is to finding clients.

There’s no getting around it. If you don’t have the talent inside your team already, you are going to have to find a company who understands SEO for plumbers. That’s where the Plumbing Webmasters come into play.

Learning to Trust Again

Instead of immediately jumping back into the online fray, why not take a day to reexamine what it means to succeed in Google Search? Take a day to research the different ways to rank #1. Better yet, take a look at your most productive online competitors to see what they’re doing different! You’ll probably find them at the top of search results in a Local Pack (see the picture below).

Since organic search champions earn the lion’s share of website traffic, it pays to understand what they’re doing to be successful. Do some research! Spend a little time digging through their websites and exploring their service pages.

Critical Research Questions on Competitors

* How good is the content on their service pages and homepage?

* What sort of service page structure do they have?

* Which keywords are they using to get noticed by Google?

* Do they write blogs? How often are they posting?

* Are they using stock photos?

* What sort of calls to action (CTAs) are they using?

* How many reviews do they have on their Google Search listing?

* How good is the overall design of the website?

Just remember: to outrank these professionals, your website and related internet marketing must be better than the current champions. If you only match their website quality, you’re unlikely to outrank them (especially if they’re older companies).

Find a Winning Team

Emphasis on “Winning”. For all the technical expertise and fancy service packages a marketing company may provide, do they produce successful clients? If you Google Search “plumbing contractors in (insert city, state)”, you should be able to find their customers listed there!

Here’s another important question: How many keywords do their clients rank for? Big name companies like to advertise front page rankings for five, ten, or thirty keywords. An experienced marketing company can get your plumbing business ranked for hundreds of keywords (wit...

Does it ever feel like your plumbing SEO company is trying to hide something? Unfortunately, too many plumbing businesses get cheated by their digital marketing agency. That doesn’t have to be you! Thankfully, there are many red flags that can help you steer clear of shady marketing practices. Be sure to listen closely as Jason and Nolen discuss real industry stories that should serve as a word of warning.

Helpful Tips on SEO Services for Plumbers

* Watch out for bundled deals! These tend to cover up shady reporting practices.

* Many digital marketing rely heavily on PPC to markup their services.

* Month to month SEO services often work the hardest to produce results.

* SEO for plumbers should only require a couple months to start producing results.

Discovering the Tough Truth

“Bob” is a local contractor who relied on the same marketing service for two years. Despite his significant investment into online marketing, Bob noticed a suspicious lack of phone calls coming into his office. With growing concerns, he reached out to the agency that handled his PPC and SEO service bundle. As always, he heard the same old sales runaround that had grown less and less reassuring. So Bob decided it was time to consult with another marketing team.

After running a brief search of some of the top ranked SEO companies in his area, he arranged a one-on-one consultation with our team at the Webmasters. Pretty soon, Bob realized his nagging concerns were justified. Not only was his current provider using confusing reporting practices to hide their lack of organic SEO activity, but it was clear they were spending very little of the money they had allotted for PPC campaigns (and pocketing the rest).

In other words, Bob had been royally screwed for almost two years.

A Common Trend in Digital Marketing

Bob’s story is one we hear all to often. As an experienced contractor in a modestly-sized, non-competitive market, he should have been a rockstar in local search. But his digital marketing company had done literally nothing to optimize his website or his company Google My Business listing.

This trend fits many SEO services for plumbers: using flat fee bundles to hide inactivity and mark up prices.

Bundling paid search and organic SEO services together is almost always a bad idea, especially if the bundle is tied together with a long-term contract. Since contracting professionals see this sort of pricing all the time however, they think nothing of it. Frankly, digital marketing companies do a fantastic job of selling these services. Here’s what happens when a plumbing contractor steps into a long-term PPC/SEO bundle deal.

Part #1: They See Results (for a Time)

Most plumbers start seeing results, but not quite the quantity they expected. That’s because paid search campaigns start producing leads almost immediately. The initial influx of business is usually enough for most plumbers to grudgingly continue without contacting their marketing agency. Those that do speak out end up hearing the same familiar line:

“We’re working hard on your organic SEO, but it always takes 6 months to a year to start seeing results.”

Part #2: They Experience the Runaround

When leads begin to slow down, most plumbing contractors naturally start to wonder what’s going on. That’s when the confusing reporting comes out. Some marketing agencies appear more trustworthy by pushing their numbers through a third party reporting company.

On a side note: this is why you should always have your PPC campaign spending issued directly from...

Does it ever feel like your plumbing SEO company is trying to hide something? Unfortunately, too many plumbing businesses get cheated by their digital marketing agency. That doesn’t have to be you! Thankfully, there are many red flags that can help you steer clear of shady marketing practices. Be sure to listen closely as Jason and Nolen discuss real industry stories that should serve as a word of warning.

Helpful Tips on SEO Services for Plumbers

* Watch out for bundled deals! These tend to cover up shady reporting practices.

* Many digital marketing rely heavily on PPC to markup their services.

* Month to month SEO services often work the hardest to produce results.

* SEO for plumbers should only require a couple months to start producing results.

Discovering the Tough Truth

“Bob” is a local contractor who relied on the same marketing service for two years. Despite his significant investment into online marketing, Bob noticed a suspicious lack of phone calls coming into his office. With growing concerns, he reached out to the agency that handled his PPC and SEO service bundle. As always, he heard the same old sales runaround that had grown less and less reassuring. So Bob decided it was time to consult with another marketing team.

After running a brief search of some of the top ranked SEO companies in his area, he arranged a one-on-one consultation with our team at the Webmasters. Pretty soon, Bob realized his nagging concerns were justified. Not only was his current provider using confusing reporting practices to hide their lack of organic SEO activity, but it was clear they were spending very little of the money they had allotted for PPC campaigns (and pocketing the rest).

In other words, Bob had been royally screwed for almost two years.

A Common Trend in Digital Marketing

Bob’s story is one we hear all to often. As an experienced contractor in a modestly-sized, non-competitive market, he should have been a rockstar in local search. But his digital marketing company had done literally nothing to optimize his website or his company Google My Business listing.

This trend fits many SEO services for plumbers: using flat fee bundles to hide inactivity and mark up prices.

Bundling paid search and organic SEO services together is almost always a bad idea, especially if the bundle is tied together with a long-term contract. Since contracting professionals see this sort of pricing all the time however, they think nothing of it. Frankly, digital marketing companies do a fantastic job of selling these services. Here’s what happens when a plumbing contractor steps into a long-term PPC/SEO bundle deal.

Part #1: They See Results (for a Time)

Most plumbers start seeing results, but not quite the quantity they expected. That’s because paid search campaigns start producing leads almost immediately. The initial influx of business is usually enough for most plumbers to grudgingly continue without contacting their marketing agency. Those that do speak out end up hearing the same familiar line:

“We’re working hard on your organic SEO, but it always takes 6 months to a year to start seeing results.”

Part #2: They Experience the Runaround

When leads begin to slow down, most plumbing contractors naturally start to wonder what’s going on. That’s when the confusing reporting comes out. Some marketing agencies appear more trustworthy by pushing their numbers through a third party reporting company.

On a side note: this is why you should always have your PPC campaign spending issued directly from...

Apart from employees and equipment, your brand is the most important company asset. Effective branding separates fledgling companies from industry champions. Despite this, thousands of plumbing contractors continue to neglect branded SEO online. Below, Jason and Nolen discuss how to unlock your brand’s potential in organic search. They’ll also point out some disastrous mistakes that hurt local businesses.

If you desire stronger online lead generation, be sure to listen closely!

Pro Tips for Plumbing Contractors

* Never abandon an established brand name or URL, unless you absolutely have to.

* Treat your digital brand with the same respect as you would your physical brand.

* Don’t try to “game the system” using your GMB account. It could cost you!

* Negative reviews lose their impact when surrounded by a host of positive feedback.

* Make sure your website is optimized for local search.

What is Branded SEO?

Branded SEO refers to optimizing your online assets in a way that makes your brand more recognizable and trusted by Google. Just like developing trust with someone takes time and effort, so does establishing your trustworthiness with the world’s most popular search engine. As you prove your company’s reliability, local search rankings almost always rise as a result. 

Why Trust Matters

Google Search strives to provide finely tuned results for all of its user base. If you want to buy tickets to a football game or purchase a gift for a family member, the search engine wants to make sure the results you see not only match the keywords you typed but that they bring you much closer to your desired service/product. If they believe a website won’t provide dependable results, that site will never see page one rankings!

In other words, Google needs to know that you’ll provide the quality services you claim to. Any plumbing company can say they provide “professional water heater repair in San Antonio, TX”, but only a handful get listed. How do these businesses achieve such fantastic success? Let’s break down that process.

Strategy for Successful Branded SEO

Complete Your GMB Listing

Everything starts with your online company listing! Google My Business (GMB) provides a free, convenient way to get your plumbing business listed. Without claiming and completely filling out this profile, it’s almost impossible to achieve top rankings in local search. Then again, businesses that take full advantage of GMB tend to enjoy higher rank and website traffic! If you haven’t already, make sure your business listing has been claimed and finished.

Again, it’s free and from Google. That alone makes GMB worth the minimal time investment! Just make sure that the address you register with Google is the same one you use for all your other citation sources (such as Yelp and BBB), and vice versa. Even differences in abbreviation can make Google suspicious.

Optimize Your Website

We could spend hours talking about what makes a website appear more trustworthy to Google. The company website is an integral part of branded SEO. Google Search regularly combs through your site, searching for new pages and content. If its crawlers (bots used to examine a site) discover these elements, it’s much more likely to judge your company favorably.

* Service Pages

* A Company Blog

* Clearly Visible Branding (Logo, Contact Info, Etc.)

* A Sitemap

* Applicable Keyword Usage

* Professional Content Formatting

* Optimized Imagery

* Schema Coding

Apart from employees and equipment, your brand is the most important company asset. Effective branding separates fledgling companies from industry champions. Despite this, thousands of plumbing contractors continue to neglect branded SEO online. Below, Jason and Nolen discuss how to unlock your brand’s potential in organic search. They’ll also point out some disastrous mistakes that hurt local businesses.

If you desire stronger online lead generation, be sure to listen closely!

Pro Tips for Plumbing Contractors

* Never abandon an established brand name or URL, unless you absolutely have to.

* Treat your digital brand with the same respect as you would your physical brand.

* Don’t try to “game the system” using your GMB account. It could cost you!

* Negative reviews lose their impact when surrounded by a host of positive feedback.

* Make sure your website is optimized for local search.

What is Branded SEO?

Branded SEO refers to optimizing your online assets in a way that makes your brand more recognizable and trusted by Google. Just like developing trust with someone takes time and effort, so does establishing your trustworthiness with the world’s most popular search engine. As you prove your company’s reliability, local search rankings almost always rise as a result. 

Why Trust Matters

Google Search strives to provide finely tuned results for all of its user base. If you want to buy tickets to a football game or purchase a gift for a family member, the search engine wants to make sure the results you see not only match the keywords you typed but that they bring you much closer to your desired service/product. If they believe a website won’t provide dependable results, that site will never see page one rankings!

In other words, Google needs to know that you’ll provide the quality services you claim to. Any plumbing company can say they provide “professional water heater repair in San Antonio, TX”, but only a handful get listed. How do these businesses achieve such fantastic success? Let’s break down that process.

Strategy for Successful Branded SEO

Complete Your GMB Listing

Everything starts with your online company listing! Google My Business (GMB) provides a free, convenient way to get your plumbing business listed. Without claiming and completely filling out this profile, it’s almost impossible to achieve top rankings in local search. Then again, businesses that take full advantage of GMB tend to enjoy higher rank and website traffic! If you haven’t already, make sure your business listing has been claimed and finished.

Again, it’s free and from Google. That alone makes GMB worth the minimal time investment! Just make sure that the address you register with Google is the same one you use for all your other citation sources (such as Yelp and BBB), and vice versa. Even differences in abbreviation can make Google suspicious.

Optimize Your Website

We could spend hours talking about what makes a website appear more trustworthy to Google. The company website is an integral part of branded SEO. Google Search regularly combs through your site, searching for new pages and content. If its crawlers (bots used to examine a site) discover these elements, it’s much more likely to judge your company favorably.

* Service Pages

* A Company Blog

* Clearly Visible Branding (Logo, Contact Info, Etc.)

* A Sitemap

* Applicable Keyword Usage

* Professional Content Formatting

* Optimized Imagery

* Schema Coding