SEO For Plumbers – Updated Guide for 2025

Main image for the Plumbing SEO guide. On the image are displayed a plumber and a google search results for a search term related to plumbing.

If you’re a plumber looking to expand your business in 2025, mastering SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is one of the most crucial steps to achieving online success. SEO for plumbers helps your business rank higher in search results, making it easier for potential customers to find you when they search for plumbing services online.

In this guide, I’ll break down everything you need to know about plumbing SEO, from local search strategies to technical SEO tips and content creation advice. Whether you’re just starting or looking to improve your online presence, my comprehensive guide will help you boost your plumbing business and attract new customers. Let’s dive in.

What is SEO for Plumbers?

Image of a plumber looking at a SEO optimised website.
Creative: The Nurtur

SEO for Plumbers is a powerful tool that helps your website rank high in search results when people search for terms like “emergency plumber near me“. The goal of SEO is to help your website appear in front of the right people at the right time.

Whether offering emergency plumbing services or general plumbing repairs, ranking higher in search results can significantly impact your business.

Alongside this, plumber SEO helps you rank on Google when people search for DIY information, for example, “How to unblock my sink“. This helps with building authority in the plumbing space and boosting brand awareness.

The more people come to you with problems and find quick and easy solutions, the more they will trust you in the future. Eventually, when they experience a problem and are unable to fix it themselves, will reach out to you. 

What Are The SEO Benefits For Plumbers in 2025?

Plumbers and plumbing companies who’ve started working on their SEO say this has been their best decision ever made. Unlike lead generation platforms and costly PPC campaigns, search engine optimisation provides 5 main benefits that can transform your business in 2025.

  • Increased Online Visibility: The higher you rank on Google, the more likely customers are to see your plumbing company website and click on your services which leads to higher traffic to your website and enquiries.

  • Higher Authority: The more people rely on your information online to fix their plumbing problems, the more they will trust you to fix a problem they cannot do themselves.

  • Targeted Leads: With SEO, you attract people who are already interested in plumbing services, leading to higher conversion rates and more sales.

  • Cost-Effective: Unlike paid ads, good SEO practices can provide long-term benefits without ongoing investment. If you are not technically minded, the best approach is to invest in a reliable SEO agency that can lay out the SEO fundamentals and nurture your website for the first 6-12 months. After that, your admin staff or you can get trained by the agency on how to produce good content and acquire backlinks.

  • Opportunity to Rank “Evergreen” Content: Evergreen content is a blog, article or guide that helps people solve a specific problem. If you manage to rank on Google for an evergreen topic, it will constantly drive traffic to your website and leads.

How do I know?

I wrote an article (a cost guide) for a business in the UK 12 months ago. The article ranks 1st for 2 keywords and drives 300-400 visitors and 15-20 leads every month, without any additional optimisation. My article outranks industry-leading websites like Checkatrade and Fantastic Services.

My blog article outranking authoritative site. | Source: Google

What Does SEO for Plumbers Involve

Optimising your plumbing website for SEO requires a mix of techniques, including keyword research, optimising your Google Business Profile, on-page SEO and ensuring your website is technically sound. Let’s dive into these plumbing SEO aspects in detail.

Keyword Research for Plumbers

One of the first steps is identifying the right keywords. These are the terms and phrases potential customers are typing into search engines when they need a plumber’s help. Targeting the right keywords is critical for improving your search engine rankings.

Keyword research for Plumbers. | Source: SEMrush

Long-Tail Keywords for Plumbing Businesses

Long-tail keywords are specific phrases that tend to have lower competition, average monthly search volume and higher conversion rates. For example, instead of targeting broad terms like “plumber,” focus on more specific keywords like “emergency plumber near me” or “water heater repair in [city]”.

A broad keyword like “plumber” might have a difficulty level of 50 – 60, meaning there is a lot of competition and a new website has a very low chance of ranking for it, whereas “emergency plumber near me” might have a 10-20 difficulty which means with a bit of patience and correct strategy, within 6 months you can rank for it. 

Comparison between long-tail and a short-tail keywords. | Source: SEMrush

While it might sound like it takes a long time to rank only for 1 keyword, let me elaborate:

Your chosen keyword has a monthly search volume of 500-600. If you manage to rank in the top 1-5 position, this means you will get 50-400 visitors every month, and because the word “emergency plumber near me” is transactional, it means the visitors are ready to buy.

Optimise Your Google Business Profile

One of the most important factors in SEO is optimising your Google Business Profile (GBP). Claiming and optimising your GBP ensures that your plumbing company’s website shows up in local search results when potential customers are searching for plumbers in your area. The best part, claiming your Google Business Profile is free.

Plumber’s Google Business Profile Ranking on Google Maps. | Source: Google Maps

Here’s how to optimise your GBP:

  • Complete Your Profile: Ensure all your business information—like your business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and services—is accurate and up to date. This is also called NAP (Name, Address, Phone), and it’s crucial to keep it consistent through your website, social media, local citation websites and on your GBP.

  • Add Photos: Show pictures of yourself or the team with uniforms, images of you fixing a plumbing problem, images of an office or your work tools and branded vehicles, etc. Visuals help build trust with potential customers.

  • Add Questions and Answers: This is often overlooked, but it works great for SEO and helps customers make an informed decision.

  • Add Product/Services: This part is also often overlooked and trades don’t use it, but this is an additional feature on your GBP that allows you to display exactly what you can help people with, add prices and brief descriptions as to what people can expect from each specific service you provide. You can also add images to make it look more appealing and this also helps a ton with your local search engine optimisation.

  • Encourage Reviews: Ask satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. Reviews not only boost your credibility but also improve your rankings in local search results.

  • Post Regular Updates: At the bottom of your GBP you can post updates. This works great because you can highlight any current offers and discounts or can be used to share your blog articles and guides. The more people read them, the more positive signals are sent to Google meaning that your content is valuable.

On-page SEO for Plumbers

On-page SEO involves optimising elements on your website to improve search rankings. While everything we do is about improving our chances of ranking higher, we’ll start exploring the more strategic and technical aspects. This includes using the right keywords in the right places, ensuring your site is mobile-friendly, fully responsive and loads fast on all types of devices.

Optimise Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Your title tags and meta descriptions are crucial in ranking and driving traffic to your plumbing website. Make sure they include relevant keywords and provide a clear description of the services you offer.

Here is an example:

If you want your page to rank for the search term “emergency plumbers in East London“, your meta title (the title that appears on Google search) should be something like “Best Emergency Plumbers in East London – Available 24/7 ” and your meta description can be “Choose the most responsive emergency plumbers in East London. Give us a call now for a free quote and fast resolution.” 

Example of meta title and meta description. | Source: Google

Create Content

Content creation is a major component of on-page SEO. Having helpful, informative content on your website will improve your rankings and help you stand out as an authority in the plumbing industry.

Alongside this, if you approach the blog-writing aspect strategically, Google will consider you an authoritative source of information and recommend your pages to more people.

  • Service Pages: Create individual pages for each service you offer, such as “Drain Cleaning Services” or “Plumbing Repair Services”.

  • Location-Specific Pages:  This is a powerful approach to rank pages for particular areas that you serve. For example, you can create pages like “Plumbing Repair Services Manchester” or “Drain Cleaning Services East London”.

  • Blog Posts: Write informative blog posts that answer common questions, like “How to Fix a Leaky Faucet” or “What to Do in a Plumbing Emergency.” 

  • FAQs: Include a frequently asked questions section on every service page and blog post on your website to target more specific queries from potential customers. This helps with conversions and helps Google understand the common questions your customers ask and relate those to your business, ultimately boosting your ranking factor.

  • Shoot Videos: Record videos of your work such as before and after results or a testimonial from a happy client. Another idea is to record more complex jobs and explain how you managed to solve the problem.

    Videos boost your credibility in front of Google, improves user experience and can significantly impact your conversion rates.

Optimise Your Website for Mobile

According to explodingtopics.com over 92.3% of people use smartphones to access the internet, hence having a mobile-friendly website is essential for plumbing SEO. Ensure your site is easy to navigate on mobile devices. 

Statistics about internet usage for 2024. | Creative: The Nurtur

Technical SEO Tips for Plumbing Websites

Technical SEO refers to the aspects of SEO that ensure your website is crawlable by search engines and optimised for performance. This includes improving your website’s loading speed, fixing broken links, and using a secure HTTPS connection (SSL certificate).

  • Improve Website Speed: A fast-loading website provides a better user experience and helps with SEO rankings. One of the best ways to boost your website’s speed is by making sure your images are compressed to a minimum and using WEBP format rather than PNG or JPEG.

    If you are using WordPress, the best way is to install LiteSpeed cache or WP Rocket plugins. These plugins help you optimise your website on a highly technical level, and without them, you’d need to hire an expert to adjust the code in the backend.

  • Use HTTPS: Ensure your website is secure by using HTTPS rather than HTTP. Most hosting providers these days offer SSL certificates as part of their hosting services. I use Hostinger, which is one of the most reliable hosting providers.

  • Fix Broken Links: Regularly check for broken links and fix them to ensure a smooth user experience and better SEO. Broken links happen when you either misspell a URL on your anchor element or if you’ve changed the original URL.

Here’s an example of a broken link:

For example, if your URL was “yoursite.com/emergency-plumbers” but for some reason it has been changed to “yoursite.com/emergency-plumbing“, when someone clicks on the element on your website that was linked to the original URL, will be redirected to a 404 missing page, which is bad for SEO and user experience. Technical SEO is an important aspect and shouldn’t be overlooked.

The report shows 91% site health and a number of warnings and recommendations which are stopping this website from ranking higher on Google.

3 Tips on Building Backlinks as a Plumbing Business

Acquiring backlinks from reputable sources helps build your website’s authority and local and national rankings. Reach out to local websites, business directories, and plumbing-related blogs to request backlinks to your plumbing website.

With that said, it’s not easy to convince other websites to link back to you. This has to come in the form of an exchange. Here are 3 ways you can acquire backlinks:

  • Backlinks Through Business Partnerships: Partner with other local businesses such as cleaners, electricians, and plumbers and ask them to exchange links on your websites.

    For example, you can write an article helping people solve a problem with a blocked drain and then recommend a cleaning service provider to clean up the mess from the flood caused by it. Then the cleaning company might write an article on how to clean a property at the end of tenancy and add your website link in case their drains are blocked or the heating system doesn’t work.

  • Write Comprehensive Plumbing Articles: You are the plumbing expert, hence, when other writers, journalists or DIY sites want to get inside information about plumbing, they will feature you as the source of information to justify that the information in their article is 100% accurate.

  • Buying Backlinks: This is something that many SEOs do, however, it’s a very costly link building technique and it could result in your website being penalised by Google. This happens when you get a ton of spammy backlinks that are not relevant to your industry.

Remember, Google is an algorithm and it has the power to track where a link is coming from, and what is the intention of the text that was written on the website that links back to yours. For example, the text could say “sportswear 50% off” and when people click on it it leads to your plumbing website. This is a 0-relevance link and Google dislikes it.

My advice is to use the first 2 link building techniques, they will reward you long-term and never get your website penalised.

Local SEO Strategy For Plumbers

Local SEO is a key part of plumbing SEO because most customers are searching for plumbing services close to their homes, especially if they have an emergency. If your plumbing business doesn’t show up in local search results, you’ll miss out on valuable leads.

  • Targeting Local Keywords: Run local keyword research and find easy-to-rank keywords like “plumber near me” or “emergency plumber in [City]” to increase your visibility in local search results.

  • Optimise Your Google Business Profile: As mentioned earlier, claiming and optimising your GBP is the most important element for local SEO. This helps you rank in Google’s local pack and appear in Google Maps when people search for local plumbers and bring organic traffic.

  • Register Your Business on Local Directories: Listing your website on local directories sends positive signals to Google that you are a legitimate business and boosts your local SEO rankings.

    Aim to list your business on 50 – 200 local directories and keep the information such as address, phone number, name and opening hours the same. Be sure your plumbing business is listed on platforms like Yell, Yelp and Nextdoor.

  • Get Reviews from Local Customers: Encourage your local customers to leave reviews on your GBP. This helps improve your visibility and builds trust with potential customers in your area.

Here’s a trick of the trade:

When you have customers who are happy with your service, ask them to structure their reviews in a way that includes words like “he’s the best plumber in [City]” or “the most reliable emergency plumber near me“. This way your reviews are also optimised for local SEO.

If you need some help with your local SEO, check what our local SEO services include.

How to Choose the Right SEO Agency as a Plumber

If you don’t have the time or expertise to manage your plumbing SEO efforts, hiring an SEO agency can be a great option. A professional agency specialising in SEO for trades or plumbers can help you optimise your website, implement the right strategies, and achieve better rankings in search engine results. 

You don’t need to get locked into lengthy contracts and pay high monthly fees. Avoid agencies that promise you wonders. Here are some red flags to be aware of when searching for an SEO agency:

  • SEOs promising to rank number 1 on Google for highly competitive keywords in a short period. This is a common selling point, but it’s very unlikely because your website will compete with other websites that have been nurtured for multiple years with fresh content and backlinks.

  • Agencies that guarantee high ROI within the first 6-12 months. Unless they offer to give you a refund if they fail or offer to work for free until they reach that goal, it’s a big red flag. There are no guarantees in SEO.

  • SEO agencies that try to sign you up and at the same time work with your direct competitors.

  • Most SEO agencies work with every type of business out there, from charities and ecommerce, to service businesses and non-profit organisations. If they don’t have a unique approach to handling SEO specifically for trades or Plumbers, the risk of your campaign failing is over 50%.

  • Ask them how they plan to acquire backlinks and what methods they use. If the agency buys backlinks in bulk, just end the meeting. The likelihood is that your website will get penalised by Google after a few months and you’ve wasted your money for nothing.

At The Nurtur, we provide SEO services at flexible terms and affordable rates. Why affordable rates? Because we don’t overcharge our clients, we prefer to build long-term relationships that mutually benefit both sides.

For a plumbing business that wants to start investing in SEO, it’s important to take 1 step at a time and over time build a sustainable revenue stream. Learn how we can help your plumbing business with SEO.

Conclusion: SEO For Plumbers

SEO for plumbers is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort. By focusing on local SEO, optimising your website’s technical aspects, and creating valuable content, you can improve your search rankings and attract more customers. Start implementing these strategies today, and watch your plumbing business grow.

Remember, SEO is a long-term investment. The more effort you put into optimising your plumbing business’s website, the greater the rewards will be. Whether you do it yourself or hire an SEO agency, the key is to get started and stay consistent.

FAQs

Why is SEO important for plumbers?


SEO for plumbers is the most important element of a digital marketing strategy. This is the only way your business can stay visible online 24/7 and attract organic leads to your plumbing business without any extra effort. 


How do plumbers find clients?

The trick is to make potential clients find your plumbing business. One of the best ways to do that is by optimising your website to appear organically on search engines like Google and Bing. 


Do Facebook ads work for plumbers?

Yes and no. It depends on the type of plumbing services you provide. For example, if you are strictly dealing with plumbing emergency enquiries, local SEO would be a better option, so when people search for emergency plumbers in their area, you appear in search results and they ring you straight away.


How much does it cost to work for SEO?

Local SEO prices vary between £350 and £10,000 per month depending on how many locations you have and how competitive your market is. Hourly rates vary between £50-£150. Here’s a comprehensive guide for SEO costs in the UK.


Can I do SEO on my own?

Anyone can do SEO on their own with some guidance. For example, this guide for Plumbing SEO is a great starting point which covers a lot of details and strategies that take years of practice to learn.

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Image of the founder of The Nurtur who is also author of this article.
The author:
Adrian Peh

Founder of The Nurtur

With over 8 years of experience in website design and over 3 years working hands-on with SEO, I deeply understand how to help businesses rank high in search results and convert more customers.

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