5 Plumbing Blog Topics to Attract New Customers

When brainstorming ways to connect with new customers, a blog may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But blogging is an incredibly effective way to attract potential customers to your website.

A survey of 2,300 small businesses found that those with active blogs experienced 126% more leads per month than those without a blog. This graph from Hubspot shows an impressive difference.

Source: Hubspot

If you want to get in on the content marketing action, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll discuss why blogging is important for plumbers, five engaging plumbing blog topics, and tools you can use to uncover more worthwhile blog ideas.

Why is blogging important for plumbers?

As the Hubspot study shows, placing yourself above competitors with a well-crafted blog can make a tangible impact on your lead generation. Beyond this, blogging is beneficial for plumbers because it allows a company to build trust.

Consumers are more likely to use a company that they trust. As you display your knowledge of plumbing topics, readers will see that expertise as proof that your company knows what it is doing. For instance, Len the Plumber has an active blog that answers common questions related to its service offerings.

Thanks to the blog, the company can position itself as an expert on many common plumbing issues.

Maintaining a blog is a great plumber SEO (search engine optimization) tactic. SEO refers to practices you can implement to make your website appear higher in search rankings.

Interested in SEO? Learn what SEO is and how it relates to small businesses.

As you write pieces addressing specific plumbing questions, you signal your authority on the topic to search engines. This boosts your rankings on the search results page, making blogging a top plumbing marketing idea. But gaining this increased visibility requires a strategic approach. You need to craft blogs around topics that people are looking for and questions they are searching for answers to.

Let’s get some plumbing blog ideas flowing and address how to uncover topics using free tools from Google.

5 plumbing blog topics to draw searchers to your site

By now you understand the array of benefits blogging brings about. But how do you actually reach those rewards? It starts with choosing the right plumbing blog topics. The focus should fall into the sweet spot between what you are knowledgeable about and what users are looking for.

Read on for topic ideas, the reason they are impactful, and real-world examples from plumbing blogs that understand how to attract readers.

FAQs

A great place to start with blog topics is to address questions that you know people are asking. What questions do customers ask you often? If multiple customers are asking the same questions, you can bet that even more people are searching for the answer online. What problem do you often address on plumbing jobs? Write a piece about this to inform and attract new customers to your site.

Best Plumbing in Seattle took this approach on its blog by informing consumers how to tell if they have a leak.

This is a common question and one that can directly be tied back to Best Plumbing’s services. At the end of the blog, they include a call to action that urges the reader to reach out for leak repair services.

Address plumbing myths

Who doesn’t love a good myth-busting article? As a plumber, you have the authority to debunk common misconceptions about pipes and plumbing systems. This style of blog post offers a way to build trust with your audience. You’re telling readers the truth after all. Incorporating stories from past plumbing jobs and citing facts will boost content value in the reader’s eyes.

An intriguing title doesn’t hurt either. This one from architecture lab would make anyone want to click through to get the facts.

Locally focused posts

Locally focused posts are next on our list of plumbing blog ideas. Just like listings in plumbing directories connect you to people in a specific area, blog posts with a local focus do the same.

You serve a certain area or areas, so why not create some content focusing on residents? That way, you are targeting people in the immediate area who are in search of plumbing help. You can incorporate the city name into titles of blog posts and throughout articles. Think: How to Find the Best Miami Plumber or 5 Plumbing Issues that Milwaukee Residents Face.

Express Sewer and Drain took this approach in a blog post with information on what to look for in a plumber.

Instructional guides

Some plumbers shy away from posting “how-to” guides and videos because they don’t want to lose potential customers. But DIYers are going to try their hand at fixing plumbing whether they find the information from you or from another source. By providing expert information freely, you build trust with viewers. Then, when things go awry or a plumbing problem that requires a professional appears, you’ll be the one they turn to.

Budget-friendly plumbing tips

Valuable content gets higher rankings in the search results and has an impact on readers. One great value-adding topic is money-saving tips and ideas. There are many ways to address this subject. For instance, you can share information about how homeowners can save money on plumbing or how families can reduce water costs with a few simple changes. Whichever avenue you take, make sure to explain why it is cost-efficient.

Ragsdale Plumbing posts content like this on the company blog to bring helpful information to searches.

Brainstorming tip: Finding plumbing blog topics using Google Trends

Do you have a favorite tool in your toolbox? One that is reliable, sturdy, and gets the job done?

For marketers, Google Trends is a valuable tool in the digital toolbox. It is free and easy to use so that you don’t have to be an SEO expert to benefit from it.

If you are looking for a data-backed way to discover plumbing blog ideas, turn to Google Trends.

Let’s use the tool to see how it can be of use in the blog topic ideation process for plumbing websites.

1. Search for a broad topic related to plumbing

In this example, let’s use the term “low water pressure” because it is a common issue that many turn to plumbers for. The chart reveals search traffic from the past 12 months.

Not only has the search popularity been steady (never dipping below the 50) but it seems to be on an upward trend. So a blog post on low water pressure has longevity and it is a good choice to target this topic on your blog.

2. Zone in on more detailed topics using the ‘Related queries’ section

The term low water pressure is very broad. It’s easier to rank for detailed keywords than broad ones, especially when your blog is new. A quick scroll down the page leads us to the Related queries section. Here, Google Trends displays detailed topics that users are searching for under the umbrella of the broader “low water pressure” search term. You can also see the percentage increase in interest for each term.

It’s that simple! Rinse and repeat this process with another broad search term like “clogged drain” to see what the search trends reveal. You can do this as often as needed to determine what to write about next.

Brainstorming tip: Finding plumbing blog topics using Google Suggest and People Also Ask

Having another tool at your disposal can’t hurt. Especially when it is free and easy to use just like Google Trends. To access Google Suggest and People Also Ask, simply head on over to the search bar. From there, it’s an incredibly simple process to find plumbing blog ideas:

1. Type in a topic, but don’t hit enter

For this example, let’s type in “why is my plumbing” and then let Google fill in the rest. A long list of suggestions appear but they all have a common thread. People are looking up specific plumbing noises to determine what they mean. You could write a comprehensive post covering the top 10 most common plumbing noises and what they mean.

Whatever phrase you’re curious about, you can type into this box and see what common searches have to reveal.

2. Use ‘People also ask’ on the first page of results

Choose one of the suggested answers and hit enter. The first page of results will appear. You may see a box filled with questions and the heading “People also ask”. This is another valuable tool as it shows specific questions related to the topic. You can target these topics in blog posts or address them together if they are closely related.

Best practices for using plumbing blogs as a marketing tool

You know the why behind blogging for a plumbing business. And we just covered how to find plumbing blog topics with little effort. Now, it’s time to focus on what you can do to increase your blog’s effectiveness. Incorporate these steps to drive traffic:

• Create a content calendar to form a consistent posting schedule. A blog that is regularly updated is much more likely to show up in search results than one that goes dormant every other month. Search engines view consistent posting as a sign of active and relevant websites. Another benefit of a calendar is the birds-eye view of content topics you have already covered. This helps you from being repetitive in your posts.

• Stick to one topic per blog post. If you target the keyword “common causes of low water pressure” in one blog post, you can give an in-depth analysis along with solutions. But if you try to target that keyword along with other not so related keywords in the same piece, you won’t be able to give each point the attention it needs.

And as you produce more content, keywords in one piece will overlap with target keywords in another so that your own content pieces are competing against each other for a position on the SERP. Save yourself the headache and keep each post laser-focused on one topic.

• Format for great user experience. People read quickly on the internet. They skim paragraphs and jump between tabs. If you want people to be engaged, pay attention to the layout of your blog. Ask a family member or friend to visit your blog and give you feedback about any areas that need improvement.

Unsure where to start with formatting your blog? Try these seven blog formatting tips to engage readers.

• Craft each post with a target audience in mind. The way you write and the topics you write about shouldn’t be random. They should focus on the audience you are trying to reach. Who is your ideal customer? What do you want this person to know about your company? Questions like these can inform your content strategy and give your blog a clear, cohesive message.

Need a boost to lift your plumbing blog off the ground?

As you can see, writing for the internet is a complex process. There are many elements to consider when launching a blog and background research that must be done to form the right strategy.

Partnering with an SEO agency takes the guesswork out of growing your plumbing business. At Markitors, we work closely with small businesses to create and execute winning strategies. We understand what it takes to rank in high positions because we help companies achieve this goal regularly. If you need expert guidance in digital marketing, contact us today.

To learn how your plumbing website is performing, get a free SEO audit report.