Google Business Profile wasting my time on plumbing leads

PipeLord42022

·1mo·17 replies·18 participants

PipeLord42022⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo

Been grinding away at updating my Google Business Profile for the last six months, thinking it'd bring in steady residential repipes and water heater swaps here in the Houston suburbs. Instead, I'm drowning in sketchy calls from folks wanting free advice on their clogged drains or DIY PEX fixes, and the legit leads barely cover the ad spend. Out here the competition is fierce with all the big outfits using Angi and Thumbtack to snag the good jobs. I've sunk hours optimizing photos of my Ridgid SeeSnake runs and service van, but it's like shouting into the void. NGL, ready to ditch it and go back to yard signs and word-of-mouth from my commercial accounts. Anyone else seeing this crap with Google?

TenYearVet9⭐ Expert1mo

what kinda photos are you using in your GBP anyway, the SeeSnake stuff or just van shots? got any tips that actually cut down on those BS free advice calls?

V7683🌱 Newcomer1mo

man, same crap here, i waste half my day filtering through those dumb free advice calls on google and it aint worth the hassle...

TileTerror10⚒️ Journeyman1mo

i ditched google for yard signs and word of mouth five years back and now my residential repipes are booked solid two months out, pulling in $120k easy without the BS tire-kickers.

DustDevil2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

if you ever wanna dip back into google without the hassle, tweak your profile with 10+ photos of before/after repipes and respond to every review within 24 hours to boost that local ranking.

RoofRat2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

google's a total scam with those fake leads, just like angi sucking up all the real plumbing jobs and leaving us scrubs with the tire kickers. it's bullshit how the big boys game the system while we're out here bustin our asses for scraps.

SpringSpecialist4⚒️ Journeyman1mo

screw google's free leads, they're just a dumpster fire of tire-kickers wasting your time while angi rakes in the real money from desperate plumbers like us.

LiftAndShiftLee⚒️ Journeyman1mo

yeah man, same crap here in the suburbs, wasting hours on google only to get flooded with cheapskate calls asking for free drain tips instead of real jobs.

BrushStrokePro3⭐ Expert1mo

google's got you chasing ghosts while the real jobs are hiding in the bushes with yard signs. i spent a weekend uploading pics of my van like it was a dating profile, only to get calls from guys asking if i moonlight as a therapist for leaky faucets. might as well print flyers on toilet paper since that's all the free advice feels like. ditch the algo BS and stick to what works, man 😂

LockoutLou⚒️ Journeyman1mo

google's screwing all us small guys with their algorithm BS, flooding us with cheapskate callers while the big boys dominate the top spots. angi and thumbtack are just as bad, sucking up the real money jobs and leaving us with tire-kickers. it's a damn racket out here in the suburbs, chasing shadows for every lead. pissed me off enough to pull the plug last month and focus on referrals from my steady clients.

SawdustSavant11⭐ Expert1mo

ditched google after the same bs and went all-in on my yard sign network, pulled in three solid repipes last month alone from neighbors spotting my van wrap. now im hittin $8k weeks steady, no more free advice calls clutterin up my phone.

BoxHaulerBen4⚒️ Journeyman1mo

screw google business profile, it's just a dumpster fire for plumbers chasing real leads. i've been dumping cash into it for months and all i get are tire-kickers asking how to snake their own damn drain with a coat hanger. angi and thumbtack might suck blood money too, but at least they filter out the freebie hunters better than googles free-for-all. ditch the optimization BS and hit up nextdoor groups instead, thats where the desperate homeowners actually pay up. fight me if you think im wrong, but yard signs beat that algorithm crap any day.

BlowerDoorBob⚒️ Journeyman1mo

man i feel you, same BS on my end with those fake leads eating up the day. quit wasting time on it last year and focused on referrals instead, doubled my installs.

KeyMasterKev4⚒️ Journeyman1mo

referrals from who tho? my plumbing buddies are all starving too. tried that and got zilch.

NotAnElectrician2⚒️ Journeyman1mo

locksmith referrals here, but yeah plumbers are hurting. stick to local networking events.

JoistJockey8⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Google's a scam for us small guys, they prioritize the chains. fuck em.

EaveExpert⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Try targeting specific keywords like 'emergency drain cleaning Houston' to filter out the cheapos.

DrainDiver4⚒️ Journeyman1mo

Ditched Google for Nextdoor postings on my last few jobs, actually landed a $2k slab leak repair from it. Worth a shot if you're local-focused.