Why Most Plumbing Businesses Fail in The First 5 Years

If you are a plumber just getting your business off the ground, chances are your company can be labeled a small business. And in the U.S., 20% of small businesses fail in their first year of operation. One out of every five companies is an abysmally high failure rate. But there is hope. Many factors play into a plumbing company’s success or failure. Today, Plumber SEO Now talks about the most important ones so that you might avoid the common pitfalls that cause plumbing businesses to fail. Let’s take a look at why most plumbing businesses fail.

They Price themselves out of the Market – A plumbing business can rarely pull off “being the best and being the most affordable.” It just doesn’t work in reality, and many plumbing businesses go under because they try to be both—plumbers either price their services too low or too high. Low pricing can’t sustain operations, and increased pricing fails to attract new customers.
They Focus on one Type of Customer – A lot of plumbers shoot themselves in the foot by focusing solely on commercial or residential customers. The fact is that in the plumbing industry, you set yourself up for success better by catering to both markets. But you have to have the proficiency to back it up, which leads us to the following reasons why most plumbing businesses fail in the first five years.
They Lack Technical Proficiency – A lot of plumbers get their journeyman’s license, their contractor’s license, and think they are ready to take over the world. When in reality, they lack the real-world technical proficiency needed to render the services they offer successfully. As a plumber, you need to be familiar with both commercial and residential systems of all kinds. And even if you are a master at your craft, when you start a plumbing business, your crew needs to be technically savvy as well. It is hard to maintain a high level of technical proficiency across the board, which is another reason why most plumbing businesses fail.
They Manage Their Business Poorly – Business operations are a huge part of any small company. Customer service, in-team communication, procuring tools, managing overhead costs, making schedules, and managing payroll are all things that, as a plumber, are probably not your favorite things. When you try to do too much as the owner because you don’t want to hire more personnel, you can easily get overloaded. Staffing your company with reliable people to handle these operational tasks is a challenge, but it is often better than trying to do too much on your own. Don’t be afraid to seek and invest in quality help.
They Start in a Saturated Market – Plumbing is very much a local business when you are first starting. Many plumbing companies fail in short order because they try to plant their flag in a territory whose plumbers are already fighting for scraps. That’s not to say that you can’t succeed in a crowded market but if at all possible, focus on an area that isn’t already brimming with plumbers.
They Ignore Marketing – This is the most crucial reason why most plumbing businesses fail in their first five years. Plumbing is an ancient trade in itself, but marketing is an ever-changing beast that needs its due respect – otherwise, it will eat you alive. Just because you offer the best plumbing service in town doesn’t mean your business will survive. It would be best to implement an effective digital marketing strategy to generate leads and let people know where you are and what you do. The plumbing industry is mainly dependent on local SEO. Whether you are hiring a marketing team or plan to tackle the job yourself, your SEO efforts should have a strong local inclination.

What Plumbers Can Do To Prevent Failure

We have talked a lot about why most plumbing businesses fail, but what are the common attributes of successful, long-standing plumbing businesses? Every successful plumbing business will have one thing in common: a strong digital marketing strategy.

The most important step you can take toward ensuring your plumbing business’s success is to carefully cultivate a marketing strategy that is suited to your business. But doing this on your own can be challenging. Do you go with a PPC ad campaign, or do you focus on organic marketing? Do you emphasize content marketing or social media presence? How do you manage your online reputation, generate backlinks, and establish yourself as an authority?

If you don’t know how to answer those questions, it is best to hire professionals. Here at Plumber SEO Now, we offer complete marketing solutions specifically for plumbers. Contact us and give your plumbing business the best shot at success.

What does original content mean?

As a service contractor, when you have a custom website designed to boost your online presence, you want that website to contain original content. But, what exactly does original content mean? This is content that hasn’t been published online before. It’s content that uniquely describes your business and services. It’s informative and relevant to the customer. It builds the customer’s interest so they choose your services over others.

Many older websites produced recycled content that was stuffed with keywords. The content wasn’t unique and rarely held a potential customer’s interest. This kind of content also no longer works well with Google’s current search algorithms. Those algorithms change constantly. Google responds better to fresh content, and so will prospective customers. When you get a custom website designed by Plumber SEO Now it will contain fresh, relevant content that your customers will care about. They’ll be informed by it, stay on your site longer, and will be more likely to elect to use your services. You can learn more about our content writing and other digital marketing services by calling (866) 984-8905.

Why is original content important?

When it comes to on-page SEO, you need to have original content on your site. First and foremost, customers want to read something new. They prefer not to read the same things over and over on every site they visit. They want to know what makes your company different from the hundreds of others in your area. They want to know why they should spend their money on your services or products. Here are more reasons you want your site to have content people haven’t seen thousands of times before:

Local search rankings will improve: The better your content is, the more visible your page becomes in search rankings. Good content that features expertly crafted SEO like strong, well-placed keywords, will quickly improve your search engine results page (SERP) ranking.
Establishes your credibility and authority as a service contractor: When you are providing a service such as pipe leak repair, people want to know that you know what you’re doing. They want to know who you are, what you value, and what you do. Good content shows off your brand and business and gives you credibility and authority as a contractor.
Improves chances of information getting shared by others: People want insightful information, especially from experts in their industries. If you post a blog that shows someone how to keep their pipes from bursting in a freeze, for instance, and what you’ve shared actually helps, that post may be shared and lead to new prospects coming to your site and using your services. Sharing information across platforms like social media or business listings is a great way to generate leads.

What is bad content?

In terms of marketing and SEO, bad content is content that’s recycled and repeated, over and over and over on site after site after site. It’s pages stuffed randomly with keywords, written with the hope that somehow Google’s algorithms will pick them up and begin ranking your site at the very top of search pages. These are the keywords everyone else has written, too, and stuffed on their pages with the same hopes. It’s the way SEO was done in the beginning. And it’s the kind of thing Google no longer tolerates. It’s the kind of content that won’t allow you to leapfrog your way to the top of local searches.

Bad content is also simplistic, poorly written, and poorly researched. It provides general information that anyone might know about a service or a particular topic. It might even be incoherent and might have several basic grammatical errors in it that makes it difficult to read. It will often be poorly researched and probably have a lot of misinformation in it.

When you choose Plumber SEO Now as your digital marketer, you can rest assured you won’t get bad content. Our in-house writers are all professional writers with years of experience. They will research your industry and your service area so they can create original content for your website. When someone reads their content, they’ll be informed and more likely to choose you for services. Moreover, they learn and receive continuous training on the best SEO methods and strategies to ensure your content helps your site climb the ranks of local Google searches. Some of these strategies include researching keywords people currently use and strategically locating them within the content on relevant pages or making sure the services you offer are keyed to your location.

Give Us a Call Today

When you have a custom website, it needs original content to attract customers and boost your search rankings. Plumber SEO Now’s professional content writers are the team you can trust to create great content for your site. Content writing is just one of the many services we provide as digital marketers. To find out more about everything we offer service contractors or get started with us, all you need to do is call (866) 984-8905.

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