There isn’t a perfect number of keywords for a plumber’s website. Anyone selling you a package of 50, 100 or 500 keywords is starting at the wrong end of the job.
A useful page has one clear purpose. It might help somebody find an emergency plumber in Stirling, compare bathroom fitting options in Cardiff, or work out whether you cover Bangor. That page will naturally use several different searches because customers describe the same need in different ways.
So the honest answer is: target one main topic per page, then cover the closely related searches a real customer would use. For a small plumbing business, that normally means a modest group of service and location topics rather than an enormous spreadsheet.
A keyword is just the customer’s wording
Plumbers tend to hear “keyword” and picture awkward phrases repeated through a page. That’s the old, bad version of SEO.
A keyword is simply what somebody types or says when they need help:
- emergency plumber near me
- leaking pipe repair
- boiler service in Belfast
- bathroom fitter Swansea
- plumber in Dundee
The useful question isn’t “how often can I squeeze this phrase in?” It is “do I have a page that properly answers this search?”
Google’s own guidance is refreshingly plain: use the words people search for in prominent places such as the title and main heading, but create the page for people first. There is no preferred word count and no prize for repeating a phrase until the copy sounds broken.
Start with the jobs you actually want
Take a sheet of paper and write down the five to ten types of work you would happily receive more calls about. Not every job you’ve ever done. The work you want.
For example:
- emergency leaks and burst pipes
- boiler repairs and servicing
- bathroom installations
- blocked drains
- taps, toilets and showers
- landlord plumbing maintenance
Those are topic groups. Under “boiler repairs”, customers might search for “boiler not firing”, “boiler losing pressure” or “no hot water”. They do not automatically need three separate pages. One strong boiler-repair page can answer all three if the service, intent and customer are the same.
This is where a tidy services page earns its keep. A one-page site can cover a smaller list with clear sections. A larger site can give the most valuable services their own pages, with photos, common faults, the area covered and a straightforward way to call.
Give each page one main job
Think of the main keyword as the label on a drawer. Everything inside should belong together.
A page headed Boiler repairs in Glasgow could sensibly cover:
- boiler repair Glasgow
- boiler engineer Glasgow
- boiler losing pressure Glasgow
- no heating or hot water Glasgow
- emergency boiler repair Glasgow
Those searches share the same basic need. The customer wants someone nearby to diagnose and fix a boiler. Splitting each variation into a thin page would make the website repetitive and harder to use.
On the other hand, bathroom installation in Glasgow deserves a different page. It is a planned, higher-value job with different questions, photos and buying decisions. It should not be wedged into an emergency boiler page merely because both involve pipes.
How many topics does a small plumbing site need?
For a one-person or small local firm, a sensible starting plan often looks like this:
- Homepage: plumber plus the main town or area.
- Services page: an overview of the work offered.
- Two to five important service pages: only for services with enough useful detail to stand alone.
- About page: experience, qualifications, who turns up and why customers can trust you.
- Contact page: coverage, availability and the quickest way to get a response.
- A small number of genuine area pages: only where you regularly work and can say something specific.
That may give you six to twelve important page topics. Each page can rank for many closely related searches. You do not need one page per keyword, and you certainly do not need hundreds of near-identical pages.
If you’re starting with a one-page website, don’t panic. Give each core service its own heading, state the towns you cover and make the contact details impossible to miss. Split a service onto its own page later when you have enough photos, reviews and useful information to improve it.
Locations need judgement, not a template
A plumber in Falkirk might genuinely work across Stirling, Grangemouth and Larbert. A firm in Bristol may cover Bath as well. Someone based near Wrexham might cross the England-Wales border every week, while a Belfast plumber may keep most work within the city and nearby towns.
The SEO principle is the same in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland: describe the real patch you serve in the language local customers recognise.
The details can differ:
- Use the town, city, county or postcode areas customers actually mention when they call.
- Be clear if crossing a border, island journey or long rural drive affects availability.
- Use the qualifications and schemes relevant to the work you offer, but never imply membership you do not hold.
- Keep your website coverage consistent with your Google Business Profile service areas.
Google says service-area businesses such as plumbers should use one profile for the area served, can list up to 20 service areas, and should normally keep the overall boundary within roughly two hours’ driving time. It also says a plumber working from home should hide the residential address. Those are useful limits for the profile. They are not an invitation to publish 20 copied town pages.
An area page earns its place when it contains something real: jobs completed there, a local review, relevant travel or access details, nearby areas you cover and original photos. If the only unique word is the town name, keep the information on your main service page instead.
Where the wording should appear
Once a page has a clear topic, put the wording where it helps both customers and search engines:
- a specific page title
- one clear main heading
- an opening paragraph that confirms the service and area
- useful subheadings for related questions
- image descriptions that say what the image genuinely shows
- internal links with descriptive wording
That last point is easy to miss. “See our boiler repair service” tells a reader and Google more than “click here”. Internal links also stop useful pages becoming hidden corners of the site.
You do not need to count exact-match phrases. Read the page aloud. If it sounds like a plumber explaining the job to a customer, you’re probably close. If it sounds like a list of search terms separated by commas, start again.
Avoid two pages fighting over the same search
Keyword cannibalisation sounds dramatic, but the idea is simple: two pages are trying to do the same job.
Suppose you have:
/plumber-edinburgh//edinburgh-plumbing-services//best-plumber-in-edinburgh/
If all three contain the same services and near-identical copy, neither customers nor Google can see why they are separate. Combine the useful material into one strong Edinburgh page and point the old addresses to it.
Separate pages are justified when the intent changes. “Emergency plumber Edinburgh” and “bathroom installation Edinburgh” may deserve their own pages because the customer, urgency, proof and questions are different.
Use Search Console instead of guessing
After the site has been live for a while, Google Search Console shows the searches that produced impressions for each page. That is far more useful than a generic keyword list.
Look for three things:
- A page appearing for an unexpected but relevant search. Add a short section if it genuinely helps the reader.
- Several pages appearing for the same search. Decide which page should own the topic and make the other pages support it.
- A page sitting just outside the strongest results. Improve the answer, title and internal links before creating another page.
Use enough data to avoid chasing noise. One impression is not a strategy. A repeated pattern over several weeks is worth investigating.
A simple plan you can use today
Write down your best services. Group similar jobs together. Match each group to an existing page, or mark it for a new page only when you have something useful to say. Then do the same with the handful of places you genuinely serve.
You should end up with a plan a customer can understand at a glance. No magic keyword total. No page factory. Just a clear website where every page has a reason to exist.
If you want the wider checklist, read our practical guide to local SEO for plumbers. If you’d rather have the structure, copy and technical setup handled for you, compare our website packages or send Gary a message.