How Nixco Plumbing Gets 183 Extra Calls Thanks to Google Maps (And the Five Things You Need to do to Maximize Your Listing on Google Maps) - Plumbing & HVAC SEO

What do consumers see when your business shows up in online listings? Your listing could be the deciding factor on whether they call or move on. Learn how to leverage Google Maps for more business.

Is Google Maps a part of your marketing strategy?

If it isn’t, you may want to reconsider that stance.

Let me tell you about a client we work with…

Nixco Plumbing is a full-service plumbing contractor out of Cincinnati, Ohio. They’re mainly in the residential sector and they do a little bit of commercial, too.

We helped the client boost their online profile in a variety of ways.

At the time, their lead generation was 421 per month thanks to their internet marketing strategy. 

But, do you know where a lot of their calls came from?

Google Maps.

183 calls came from it, to be exact.

If they weren’t showing up in that three-pack, the company would have missed out on 183 calls each month.

Fast forward a year and they’re doing even better now that they’ve increased their marketing budget.

Now, the company is working with 572 leads. They’re from organic leads, Google paid search and Google Maps. And their Google Maps leads have gone up to 196.

You may think that your Google Maps listing is just like the old-fashioned yellow pages phone book, or simply a way for customers to find your location. But it can be so much more. 

It’s a chance for more leads if you get it right.

Find out how you can leverage Google Maps and get a spot in the three-pack with these important tips.

The Tips

Companies already have a Google Maps listing online. Let us show you how to make the most out of this untapped opportunity with these tips:

Tip #1 – Make Sure You Have a Real Office in the City You’re Targeting

First, you need to ensure that your office is in the same city you’re targeting. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s because there was a big problem around fake listings on Maps a few years ago.

Google has cracked down on these fake listings and knocked almost 70% of them out.

So now, Google really wants to see businesses that have a real physical location where they’re claiming to be on Google Maps. There’s a massive competitive advantage to be a plumbing or HVAC home service company with a physical office in the city where you want to rank. At the very least, try to have a showroom or a warehouse where you park the trucks. 

The bottom line is that you need something that customers can drive out to and check out that’s legitimately connected to your business.

Tip #2 – Make Every Map Listing Consistent

Another thing that could be hurting you is that your listing is inconsistent, whether it’s your name, address, or phone number.

Sometimes you get variations of a company name. We’ve seen a lot of companies that make this mistake because they read it somewhere.

Let’s say that your company's name is Bob’s Heating and Cooling. The piece of advice said that you need to change your company name if you want to rank in Maps.

Suddenly, Bob’s Heating and Cooling changes to Bob’s Heating or the city plus the name of the company.

This could hurt you, though, because it’s inconsistent with the authentic name, address, and phone number of your company. When you get different permutations of your company name coming up in listings, it could drag down your rankings.

Tip #3 – Customer Reviews Have a Huge Impact on How Well You Rank

Do online reviews make a difference?

Say that there are 279 plumbing and HVAC companies that you’re competing with and 30 of them have a real location in the city. You have a solid website, get consistent references with your company name, and all things are equal.

It’s going to be online reviews, then, that have the biggest impact in terms of how you rank and how you convert.

Just ranking on Google Maps isn’t going to guarantee that you get that many more calls. You also need to appeal to the psychology of your consumer.

What are they doing?

They’re searching to find somebody that can solve their needs. Consumers want to find somebody that’s reliable and somebody that they can trust. 

This is what’s going to happen…

They’re going to do an online search for companies in their area and see the top ones. These listings may get more eyeballs, but legitimate reviews drive conversions. This is what drives people to click or call you directly.

Tip #4 – Make Sure You Get Your Google My Business Listing Right Too

First, you need access to your Google My Business Listing. Even if someone else is doing your website or writing your content, you want to be able to log in, too.

You also need to ensure that your company name is just your company name, nothing extra.

Also, make sure that you have a website address in your listing and use a local number. You want to reassure consumers that your company is the real thing with an actual local office.

Tip #5 – Upload Authentic Photos to Your My Business Listing

Google gives you the ability to upload a profile picture of your staff, trucks, or equipment. You can put all kinds of stuff there.

But, make sure that they’re authentic.

You need real pictures of the team or real pictures of yourself. If you can get pictures of the tech at a job with a smiling customer, that’s even better. 

These are the kinds of things that show authenticity.

Remember, just because you can post pictures of your truck doesn’t mean you should. Nobody cares about your truck.

What they do care about, though, is seeing pictures of people, even if it’s just a picture of you.

It’s Time to Get Your Business on the Map

Businesses take Google Maps listings for granted. But as we showed you at the beginning, it can help bring in more calls if you leverage it the right way.

Keep your listing simple and consistent. Don’t try weird SEO tricks you read on a website somewhere. That may end up hurting you in the end.

Show consumers what they want to see – an authentic company.

And let your service reviews do the rest.

If you'd like to discuss how you can generate better results online, let's schedule a time to chat. You can pick a time that works for you now by going to https://go.plumberseo.net/schedule 

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