Winning clients online
How to get customers for plumbing companies in United States
Industry card · United States ·
1 · What your customers need
Where the demand is and where the opportunity is
Each circle is a buyer need. Further right, more searches; higher up, harder to rank. Size shows what the client is worth.
- Take now: high value, little competition
- Contest: high value, more competition
- Later: low or medium value
| N1Find a plumber I can trust nearby | Homeowner | Very high | Low | 43 % | Very high |
| N2Clear a clogged drain | Homeowner | Very high | Medium | 56 % | Very high |
| N3Get my hot water back | Homeowner | Very high | Low | 34 % | Very high |
| N4Switch to a tankless water heater | Homeowner | Very high | Low | 22 % | High |
| N5Get a plumber out now in an emergency | Homeowner | High | Low | 99 % | Very high |
| N6Replace my water heater | Homeowner | High | High | 25 % | High |
| N7Repair or replace a toilet, faucet or sink | Homeowner | High | High | 41 % | Medium |
| N8Repair or replace my sewer line | Homeowner | High | Low | 50 % | High |
| N9Find and fix a hidden water leak | Homeowner | Medium | Medium | 41 % | High |
| N10Fix a burst or frozen pipe | Homeowner | Medium | Low | 13 % | Low |
| N11Install a water softener or filtration system | Homeowner | Medium | High | 52 % | Low |
| N12Install or replace a sump pump | Homeowner | Medium | High | 58 % | Medium |
| N13Hire a commercial plumber for a business or building | Homeowner | Low | Medium | 40 % | Medium |
| N14Install or repair a gas line | Homeowner | Low | Medium | 65 % | Medium |
| N15Fix low water pressure | Homeowner | Low | Medium | 2 % | Low |
| N16Know what a plumber costs | Homeowner | Low | Low | 8 % | Low |
| N17Repipe my house | Homeowner | Low | Low | 35 % | Low |
2 · What they ask
The questions your customers ask Google
- How to tell if your plumber is overcharging you?
- How to avoid getting ripped off by a plumber?
- How much can plumbers charge?
- How much should a plumber cost an hour?
- What is the current rate for a plumber?
- Why do plumbers charge so much to replace a water heater?
- What is the average lifespan of a hot water heater?
3 · What buyers want to hear
What your buyers want to know and nobody tells them
We asked ChatGPT and Gemini what a buyer should check before choosing a business in this sector, then read what the first Google results say. What the AI explains and nobody tells them is your opportunity.
That they offer emergency response
26%of AI answers mention it
7%of Google results mention it
Some roomThat they can handle water heaters
36%of AI answers mention it
18%of Google results mention it
Some roomWhat the price is based on
16%of AI answers mention it
4%of Google results mention it
Some room
- That they offer emergency response19Some room
- That they can handle water heaters18Some room
- What the price is based on12Some room
- That the plumber is licensed11Some room
- That the job meets codeLittle room
- That they fix low water pressureLittle room
- Mentioned in the first Google results
- Mentioned by ChatGPT and Gemini
- Room to stand out
Measured in November 2026 on 17 buyer needs: 170 ChatGPT and Gemini answers to 85 buyer questions, and the titles and descriptions of 4,376 first-page Google results across 548 searches. A percentage is the share of those answers, or of those results, that mention the topic at least once.
4 · Who wins today
Who takes the clicks, by type of business
Example: the sector's 17 needs. Estimated share of clicks on Google’s first page.
- Big platforms and chains
- Blogs, guides and comparison sites
- Video and social
- Businesses in the sector
The business in the sector with the most clicks takes 0 % of the total.
5 · Who gets recommended
Whom Google and ChatGPT cite
The sources ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI answer cite when they answer this sector’s customers’ questions, and how often.
ChatGPT
- angi.com24 citations
- epa.gov7 citations
- homeguide.com6 citations
- thisoldhouse.com5 citations
- bls.gov4 citations
- energy.gov4 citations
Gemini
- angi.com9 citations
- homedepot.com8 citations
- youtube.com7 citations
- reddit.com4 citations
- paulbunyanplumbing.com4 citations
- mytidyboss.com4 citations
Google (AI Overview)
- youtube.com225 citations
- reddit.com87 citations
- google.com66 citations
- facebook.com57 citations
- homedepot.com44 citations
- lowes.com27 citations
Summary
Key conclusions
Buyers of plumbing companies in the United States most often search for a plumber they can trust nearby, getting hot water back, and getting a plumber out now in an emergency. Other common needs include fixing a hidden water leak, repairing or replacing a sewer line, fixing a burst or frozen pipe, and knowing what a plumber costs. Questions they ask include how to tell if a plumber is overcharging, how to avoid getting ripped off, and how much plumbers can charge. AI answers more often name emergency response, water heaters, what the price is based on, and that the plumber is licensed than competitors claim them.
Classification
Which businesses this card covers
Plumbing contractors that fix leaks, clogs, water heaters and sewer lines, and repipe or remodel bathrooms and kitchens. Their buyer is a homeowner or property manager who needs a plumber now or is pricing a larger job.
Activity codes · NAICS 2022
- 238220
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors · main
Do Google and ChatGPT recommend you?
Epica asks the way your customers do, finds out who gets recommended instead of you and tells you what to change.