Trades
SEO for plumbers and heating engineers: winning the searches that turn into jobs
SEO for a plumber is won in the map results and on a handful of service pages. Get the Google Business Profile right, build one page each for boiler installs, boiler repairs, leaks and bathrooms, show your Gas Safe number wherever gas work is mentioned, and collect reviews that name the job and the town.
The emergency searches and the install searches behave differently, so they need different pages. Most plumbing websites treat them as one, and lose both.
Why do emergency and install searches need different pages?
Because the person searching is in a different state. "Burst pipe", "no hot water" and "boiler not working" are typed by somebody with a problem now. They choose from the map results, they ring the first business that looks open, and they rarely read more than the top of a page. What wins is a complete profile, recent reviews, a call button and a phone that gets answered.
"New boiler cost", "combi boiler replacement" and "heat pump installer" are typed by somebody planning. They compare quotes, read about brands and warranties, and look for a price before they ring. What wins is a page that answers those questions better than the three other plumbers they are comparing you with. One "Services" page cannot do both jobs.
What should a plumber's Google Business Profile say?
Choose the primary category that matches the work you most want: Plumber if you are mostly plumbing, or the heating category Google offers if boilers are the business. Add secondary categories only for work you genuinely do. List every service with a line of description, and a price wherever the job is predictable, such as a boiler service.
Keep your hours honest. If you take emergency calls, say when; if you do not, do not imply it, because the review from somebody who rang at midnight and got nobody will cost you more than the call was worth. Add photographs of finished work: a neat boiler install with the pipework dressed, a bathroom before and after, your van on a real street. Our Google Business Profile guide walks through every field.
Why does Gas Safe belong on every page about gas work?
Because it is the law, and your customers know it. The Health and Safety Executive's guidance for landlords says they "must only use a Gas Safe registered engineer for maintenance and safety checks", and gas work in homes generally has to be done by a registered engineer. Customers are told to check the Gas Safe Register before they let anybody near a boiler.
Make it easy. Put your Gas Safe registration number on every page that mentions boilers, cookers or gas fires, in the footer of every page, and on your profile. Name the type of gas work you are registered for. A customer who can check you in ten seconds is a customer who rings you, not the next result.
Should a plumber have a landlord gas safety page?
Yes, if you do the work, because it is demand that repeats every year. Under the gas safety rules, landlords must have a check done "at least once every 12 months" and give existing tenants a copy of the record "within 28 days of the check being completed", according to the HSE's guidance for landlords and letting agents. The record is often called a CP12, and landlords search for that term too.
Write the page for two readers. The landlord wants a price, a date and a record that satisfies the letting agent. The letting agent wants one dependable engineer who books access, turns up and sends records in the same format every time. A short section for agents, covering how you arrange access and how quickly the record arrives, can bring in a portfolio rather than a single job.
Which pages does a plumbing and heating website need?
| Page | What the searcher wants to know | What the page should show |
|---|---|---|
| Boiler installation | Cost, brands, warranty, how long | A price range for a like-for-like swap and a system change, the brands you fit, warranty lengths |
| Boiler repair and servicing | Can you come soon, what it costs | A fixed service price, the call-out charge, the makes you repair |
| Landlord gas safety records | Price, date, record format | Price per property, what is checked, how the record is sent |
| Leaks and emergency plumbing | Can you come now | Your real hours, a tap-to-call button at the top, what to do while they wait |
| Bathrooms | Cost, timescale, examples | Finished bathrooms with town names, a price band, how long the room is out of use |
| Heat pumps (only if you fit them) | Cost, grants, is my house suitable | The survey you do, a typical installed price, a link to the official grant terms |
Each page should name the towns you cover, show two or three reviews about that job, and end with a way to book. Bathrooms and boiler installs benefit most from photographs, because the customer is buying a finish they can see.
Is a heat pump page worth writing?
Only if you install them, and then yes. The government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers "£7,500 towards an air source heat pump" or a ground source heat pump in England and Wales, according to GOV.UK. Homeowners research that grant before they look for an installer, and an installer whose page explains the survey, the likely cost and the grant in plain English is the one they call.
Link to the official grant page rather than restating its terms, because the terms change and an out-of-date page loses trust fast. Be honest about suitability: a page that says when a heat pump is the wrong choice is more convincing than one that says it is right for everybody.
How do reviews and the phone close the loop?
Google says "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking", and BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers found that 74% look for reviews written in the last three months. So a steady trickle beats a burst. Ask on the day, by text, and ask the customer to mention the job and the town.
The other leak is the phone. If you are under a floor when it rings, the emergency caller rings the next plumber. A missed-call text that replies within seconds, saying you will call back and asking what the problem is, keeps many of those callers. Our enquiry automation starts from £650, and an AI receptionist that answers the call itself is from £999 to set up plus £250 a month.
What does it cost, and what can wait?
The profile and the reviews cost time, not money. A website with a proper page per service starts from £995 with us, local SEO from £695 a month if you want someone working on it continuously, and every price is on the price list. A free SEO audit (normally £495, free for a limited time) shows what is holding you back before you commit.
What can wait: daily social posts, weekly blogs and directory listings beyond the half dozen that matter. Our guide to local SEO for trades covers citations and the emergency path in detail, and websites and SEO for trades shows how we build for the trade. Electricians have their own guide to SEO for electricians.
Questions plumbers ask about SEO
How can a plumber get more customers online?
Complete the Google Business Profile with the right category, services and honest hours, build separate pages for boiler installs, repairs, leaks and bathrooms, show your Gas Safe number on every page about gas work, and ask every happy customer for a review that names the job and the town.
Do plumbers need a website if they are on a trade directory?
A directory rents you leads that it also sells to your competitors. Your own website and profile are the only places that send enquiries to you alone, and they keep working when you stop paying a directory.
How long does local SEO take for a plumber?
Changes to the Google Business Profile and new reviews can move map results within a few weeks. New service pages usually take two to four months to settle in the normal results, and longer in large towns.
Is SEO or paid advertising better for a plumber?
Paid adverts bring calls the day you switch them on and stop the day you stop paying. SEO is slower and keeps working. Most plumbers do best with the profile and service pages first, and adverts only for the jobs that pay best.