Plumbing searches are often urgent. Someone with a burst pipe or no hot water wants a plumber now, which makes Google Ads a good fit and makes wasted clicks expensive. This is how we set up and run a plumbing account. For the full step-by-step version, read our Google Ads for plumbers guide.
1. One job per ad group
We build the account around the jobs you want more of. Emergency callouts, hot water, blocked drains and leak repairs each get their own ad group, with keywords for that job, ads that name it and a landing page about it. The ad stays close to the search, and you can see which jobs bring in work.
- emergency plumber near me
- blocked drain plumber
- hot water repair
- burst pipe plumber
- leak detection
- plumber jobs
- plumbing apprenticeship
- how to unblock a drain
- plumbing supplies
2. Only the areas you cover
Ads run in the suburbs, postcodes or zip codes you service, aimed at people who are in or regularly in those areas. Negative keywords go in from day one to block job seekers, DIY how-tos, courses, suppliers and towns you don’t cover.
3. Calls first
Most people with a plumbing problem would rather call than fill in a form. We add call assets and a clickable number to your ads and match the ad schedule to the hours someone can answer. If after-hours calls go to voicemail, we either pause the ads for those hours or send the clicks to a booking or WhatsApp option.
4. Tracking that counts real enquiries
Before we scale anything, we track calls from ads, calls from your website, form enquiries and WhatsApp clicks as conversions. A call from an ad only counts when it lasts long enough to be a real conversation, so bidding works toward enquiries you can turn into jobs.
5. Search ads or Local Services Ads
Search ads charge per click and let you control the keywords, ads, landing pages and schedule. Local Services Ads are a separate Google product that charges per lead and shows a Google Verified badge. They’re only available in some countries and categories (see Google’s list of supported countries and categories). If they’re available for plumbers in your area, we’ll tell you whether they’re worth testing alongside Search. If they’re not, the budget goes into Search and call campaigns.
We run every local service account this way. See our Google Ads management page for the full service, or the B2B account rebuild case study for a real account structure.