Emergency calls go to others
A leak leaves no time to compare. The person calls one of the three names Google Maps shows them. If your profile isn't there, you won't even know the request existed.
Home / Industries / Plumbing and heating
SEO for plumbers: calls from your area, for the jobs you want.
When a water heater gives up on a Sunday morning, your future customer picks up their phone, types “plumber” and the name of their town, then calls one of the first names shown. When they're planning a bathroom, on the other hand, they take several weeks to compare. I work on your Google Business Profile and your website so you're visible in both cases, in the towns you actually drive to.
- Rattle your competitors.
- Overtake them.
- Protect you from their attacks.
15 years in SEO
4 books on SEO and GEO
200+ sites tracked every day
1M / month visits to my e-commerce site
They trusted me with their visibility
Darty
Eurofins
Cegid
EBP
CNP Assurances
Ingram MicroThe detail of this page
Seven results, only one plumber
Someone is looking for a plumber in Angoulême, with water on the tiles. The first six lines are platforms and directories. Your business is seventh, and it's the only one with a van in the area. Move it up.
- A call-out platform · callout-1.examplePlumber Angoulême: fast response
- A directory · trades-directory.examplePlumbers in Angoulême: addresses and phone numbers
- Another platform · plumbing-emergency.exampleEmergency plumber Angoulême 24/7
- A quote comparison site · plumbing-quotes.examplePlumber in Angoulême: compare quotes
- A national network · callout-network.exampleEmergency plumbing Angoulême | Tradespeople network
- A price guide · job-prices.examplePlumber rates: what you need to know
- Youyour-plumbing.examplePlumber in Angoulême: call-outs, water heaters, bathroomsTradesperson based in the Angoulême area. Call-outs on weekdays and Saturday mornings, written quote before any work.
Your position: 7
Fig. 1. Seven results for a plumber. Only one turns up in person. (The other six take the call, then go looking for a plumber themselves.)
What this means for you. I give your page what those sites can't write: your towns, your real hours, your jobs and your customers' reviews.
What is SEO for a plumber?
SEO for a plumber is the work that makes a plumbing business visible on Google when someone in its area searches for an emergency call-out, an installation or a bathroom renovation. It rests on three things: a complete Google Business Profile, a website page for every service you want to sell, and recent customer reviews. It's judged by the number of useful calls received in your area, not by the number of website visitors.
The problem
Where plumbers get stuck.
Too many small call-outs, not enough proper jobs
The washer to replace and the blocked trap fill the week without paying for it. Bathrooms, water heaters and boiler replacements are decided elsewhere, on pages your website doesn't have.
Call-out websites that aren't plumbers
For “plumber” followed by a town, platforms and directories often come before the tradespeople. They take the call, sell it on or send a subcontractor. The customer thinks they've called a local plumber.
An audit, for real
What I spot in thirty seconds on a plumber's website.
The site below doesn't exist, but its flaws do: they're the five I spot most often. Hover over a number.
https://votre-plomberie.exemple
YOUR PLUMBING BUSINESSHome · Services · Contact
Your trusted plumber
A responsive, professional team for all your work, 24/7.
Request a quoteFig. 2. Fictional site, reconstructed. Any resemblance to yours would be a good reason to call me.
- 1A page title with no town“Plumbing Services” doesn't say where you work. “Plumber in Angoulême: call-outs, water heaters, bathrooms” says it in one line.
- 2Emergency call-outs aren't in the menuIt's the first thing people look for when there's a leak. You need a visible “Emergency call-out” link, with the number next to it.
- 3“Trusted”, like everyone elseThis sentence gives no information. Write down your services, your towns and your call-out hours.
- 4An adjustable spanner on a white backgroundIt's a bought image. A photo of a bathroom you've redone shows your work.
- 5Three “All work” blocksWater heater, shower, boiler, unblocking: each service needs its own name and its own page.
What your customers type
What your customers type when they need a plumber.
Here are six plausible searches for a plumbing business. I give them as examples. Yours, with their real volumes, come out of the audit.
- 1“plumber” followed by the name of their town
- It's the basic search, made from a phone. The answer is decided on the map. It needs a Google Business Profile in the right category, with your real hours and a number that gets answered.
- 2“water leak emergency sunday”
- They have water on the floor and want to know who'll come out now. A call-out page must state your days, your hours, your towns and how you charge for a call-out.
- 3“water heater replacement price”
- Their tank has broken down or is nearing the end of its life. They want a ballpark figure before calling. A water heater page explains the types of appliance, what makes the quote vary and your lead time for fitting.
- 4“walk-in shower bathroom quote”
- The project is ready and the budget is serious. They're looking for photos of finished bathrooms. They need a bathroom renovation page, with your projects and how the job unfolds.
- 5“boiler losing pressure”
- They're trying to understand before paying for a call-out. A short article explaining the common causes and saying when to call gets you known. They'll remember you when the service is due.
- 6“gas-qualified plumbing and heating engineer reviews”
- They're checking before trusting you with their installation. Your qualifications, your insurance and your reviews must be readable on the website and identical to those on your profile.
What works
The five levers for a plumbing business.
The Google Business Profile and its opening hours
In plumbing, a large share of calls come from the map. I check the main category, the secondary categories like heating engineer or bathroom fitter, the service area and above all the opening hours. A profile showing “closed” at seven in the evening doesn't get the evening call.
One page per service
Call-outs, water heaters, bathrooms, heating, unblocking: each of these services matches different searches. A dedicated page gives Google a clear answer for each search. A single “plumbing” page answers none of them well.
The call-out page
It's often the page your visitors open first, and it's rarely designed for them. It must fit on one phone screen: what you fix, where, when, and a call button. The visitor won't go any further, so everything must be there.
Reviews after a job
A customer helped within the hour is happy straight away, and forgets about it within three days. I set up a link sent by text message right after the visit. Reviews describing a specific job count for the profile and reassure the next customer.
Bathrooms in photos
A bathroom sells with pictures. Three before photos, three after, the town, how long the work took and what was fitted: this simple format is enough. It feeds the website, the Google Business Profile and the customer's trust.
What costs dearly
The mistakes I often see on plumbers' websites.
“24/7 call-outs” when it isn't true
Many write it because competitors do. The customer who calls at midnight and gets voicemail sometimes leaves a harsh review. Show your real hours; they're enough.
Not a word about prices
Nobody's asking you for a full price list. Saying how a call-out is charged and what a quote includes heads off some of the pointless calls and reassures everyone else.
A list of forty towns at the bottom of the page
That block of town names gives readers nothing, and Google recognises it for what it is. Better to name your areas in sentences, backed by real jobs.
Heating filed under plumbing
If you service and replace boilers, it's a separate trade in the customer's eyes. It deserves its own pages and its own category on the profile.
The method
What I set up for a plumber.
Four steps, in this order. I start with what makes the phone ring quickly.
- The profile. Categories, hours, area, number, photos of your jobs: everything is checked and completed.
- Call-outs. A clear page, readable on a phone, with your towns and your hours.
- The jobs. One page for each profitable service: bathrooms, water heaters, heating.
- Tracking. Every month, I count the calls and form submissions, then look at where they came from.
One-minute test
Is SEO right for you?
Five frank questions to find out whether support makes sense in your situation. Sometimes the answer is no, and I'll tell you.
What it brings in
SEO you can count in euros.
A ranking doesn't pay a salary. What counts is what it brings: enquiries, customers, revenue. Move your page up and see what it could bring in.
Example assumptions, open to challenge: 700 searches a month for a plumber in your town, 6% of visitors make an enquiry, one enquiry in three is signed (this varies a lot from one trade to another), €900 per customer. Click-through rates by position are orders of magnitude, and they've been shifting since Google started showing AI answers above the results. Redo the calculation with your own figures
What your page could bring in
Ticket no. 10th · worked example- Searchesper month, for a plumber in your town
- 700
- Estimated visitsclick-through rate: 1.5%
- 0
- Potential enquiries6% of visitors
- 0
- Possible customersone enquiry in three
- 0
Possible revenue€0
Close to home
Plumbing in Charente.
In Charente, a plumber rarely works in a single town. They cover Angoulême or Cognac, then a ring of small towns like Jarnac, Barbezieux or Ruffec. In town, people type “plumber” and the town's name. In a small town, people type the name of their commune and want to know whether the tradesperson comes out that far. Your profile and your pages must therefore name the towns you drive to. I live between Cognac and Paris; I know the département and its distances.
Old houses, old pipework
Town centres and renovated farmhouses are old buildings. When the plumbing or the shower room is redone there, people look for a tradesperson used to that kind of job. A page dedicated to plumbing renovation in old buildings speaks directly to these owners.
Angoulême, Cognac and the road between them
In both towns, searches include the town's name. Between and around them, housing is made up of detached houses, with their water heaters, boilers and bathrooms. People search there using the name of their commune. Your website must name those communes.
Call-outs in rural areas
In a remote village, the customer first wants to know whether you'll come out to them. Clearly stating your service radius and usual response times answers their first question before they even call.
Beyond Google
What AI changes for a plumber.
Some of your customers now put their question to an AI like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Mistral instead of typing three words. For example: “my electric water heater is fifteen years old and leaking from the bottom, should I repair or replace it, and who can come out near Cognac?”. The AI answers with an explanation, then sometimes names one or two businesses.
To choose those names, it relies on what it reads: your website, your Google Business Profile, your reviews, tradespeople directories. The more precisely these sources say the same thing, the better your chances of being cited. “Water heater replacement around Cognac, fitted within the week” is useful to it. “All plumbing work” tells it nothing. I work on this consistency alongside traditional SEO.
Question put to an AIMy water heater is leaking and I live near Angoulême. Which plumber can replace it this week?
Answer
Three possible answers for this request:
- Our client— plumbing and heating engineer: water heater replacement, towns covered listed, fitting lead time stated on their website, recent reviews.
- — call-out platform, plumber not specified, price given after the call.
- — DIY chain, sells the appliance, fitting optional.
Plumber's websiteGoogle Business ProfileCustomer reviews
Fig. 3. Reconstruction, names hidden. This is the spot we aim for: on the list, with the most precise description.
Three typical cases
Three plumber scenarios.
These three cases are made up to show the method. None of them is a client. Your plan will start from your audit.
A sole-trader plumber, recently set up
They don't have word of mouth yet and depend on a quote platform.
- Create and complete the Google Business Profile, with the real opening hours.
- Put a short website online: call-outs, water heaters, contact.
- Ask for a review after every job for six months.
A plumbing and heating business with four employees
The schedule is full of call-outs and it would like more servicing contracts.
- Create a boiler servicing page, with appointment booking.
- Separate plumbing and heating in the menu and on the profile.
- Post a servicing reminder on the Google Business Profile before the heating season.
A plumber who wants to sell bathrooms
They know how to do them, but their website only shows call-outs.
- Photograph every finished bathroom, before and after.
- Write a bathroom page describing the stages and lead times.
- Add a page on showers adapted for older people, if they fit them.
In practice
What you get.
- A complete Google Business Profile, with your real hours and towns
- A call-out page designed for a phone screen
- A page for each service you want to grow
- A template text message for asking for a review after every job
- A monthly report on calls received, by service and by town
Pricing
How much does an SEO consultant cost?
The fee depends on four things. I give you a precise amount after a free first thirty-minute conversation.
- The size of the site: ten pages or ten thousand
- The competition on your queries
- What you can do in-house, and what needs producing for you
- The pace you want
Fancy a game?
Insert a coin.
Quote platforms, directories, comparison sites: they swim between you and your customers. Take the coin and slide it into the machine.
Slide it into the machine
JAWS OF THE WEB
INSERT COINSLIDE THE COIN INTO THE SLOT
Credit: 0
Fig. 4. Sixteen seconds. No sharks were harmed, only their commission.
Together, let's devour your competitors.
One by one, and in order. Every spot gained makes the next one easier to take: that's why it keeps growing. See the method
Who you're talking to
Your SEO consultant: a business owner, not just an SEO.
My name is Kévin Papot. More than fifteen years in the job, four co-written books, and the Newp agency, co-founded in Charente. I also run my own online shops, in France and internationally: one of them went from zero to a million visits a month.
Before we talk tags, we talk margin, average basket and profitability. When you book a call, I'm the one who picks up.
FAQ
SEO for plumbers: your questions.
I already get too many calls for small call-outs. What's the point of being more visible?
The goal is to change the kind of calls, not to add more. We put forward the services you want to sell and say clearly which ones you don't take on. The targeted searches are no longer the same.
Should I show my prices on the website?
An exact rate, not necessarily. An indication, yes: the cost of a call-out, what a quote includes, what pushes the bill up. A customer who has read those lines calls with confidence.
I don't do night-time on-call. Is that a handicap?
No, as long as you say so. A profile showing honest opening hours gets fewer missed calls and fewer negative reviews. Many breakdowns can wait until the next morning if the customer knows you'll call back early.
Are paid ads for call-outs worth it?
They can help to get started or during a quiet period. On emergency searches, clicks are expensive and many sites compete for them. I'd rather sort out the profile and the website first, which aren't billed per call.
Should I keep my subscription to a quote platform?
Keep it until your own enquiries start coming in. Then compare, over three months, what each source brings in and what it costs. You'll choose based on your figures, not on a hunch.
My business is run from home. Can I have a Google Business Profile?
Yes. Google caters for businesses that travel to their customers: the address can be hidden and replaced by a service area. I set this up with you, because a mistake here can get the profile suspended.
How long before I see a difference?
Changes to the Google Business Profile often show within a few weeks. Website pages tend to need several months to settle in. I don't promise positions or timescales; I show you how calls evolve every month.
Should I mention my qualifications and my ten-year building insurance?
Yes, on a visible, up-to-date page. Customers look for them before a big job, especially for gas and heating. You send me your certificates, and I use the exact titles without adding anything.
I don't have time to deal with a website. What will I have to do myself?
Not much. Take a few photos on your jobs, send me a voice message describing the work, and send the review text. Writing and updates are done by the Newp team and by me.
Can a one-page website be enough?
To exist, yes. To show up for water heaters, bathrooms and call-outs all at once, no. Google ranks pages, and one page can't properly answer three different needs.
See also
Other industries
ConstructionJewelleryDigitalManufacturingSmall businesses & SMEsElectriciansRoofersBuildersSolar panelsHeat pumpsAir conditioningJoinersPrivate clinicsHair removal centresAesthetic medicine and surgeryLocksmithsPool buildersKitchen fittersEnergy renovationOpticiansHearing aid specialistsAccountantsLawyersRemoval companiesLandscapersRestaurantsBarsCaterersEvent agenciesCoachesHypnotherapistsSophrologistsBeauty and hair salonsGarages and body shopsEstate agentsProperty surveyorsDriving schoolsNotariesArchitectsFuneral directorsHotels and B&BsBathroomsPainters and decoratorsTilersConservatories and pergolasCarpentersFacade specialistsStoves and fireplacesAlarms and CCTVGyms and studiosBrokersPhotographersWines and spiritsCar dealershipsTraining providersRecruitment agenciesCleaning companiesSoftware publishersFloristsBakeries and patisseriesWine shopsTravel agenciesCampsites and outdoor accommodationPrintersCommunication agenciesHauliers and logistics firmsWellbeing practitionersNaturopathsWellbeing massage practitionersYoga teachersWellbeing training providersSophrology schoolsHypnosis schoolsCoaching schools
Support services
SEO consultant in Charente
30 minutes · video call · with me
Be the one they remember.
Together we look at where you stand on Google and in AI, and what should change first.
Book a callFig. 5. A K. (The landscape was missing one.)