If you’re a plumber who has been wronged by their digital marketing agency, this blog post was written for you. I recently had an audit with Andy Davis, the CEO of Pilot Plumbing and Drain. Pilot Plumbing & Drain is a plumbing company that serves residents in Portland, Vancouver, and Longview.
However, after taking a look into the work that was done, it was pretty easy to see that Andy was robbed of his money, and there wasn’t much to show in terms of results. This is a very common story in the world of digital marketing, and my goal is to help plumbing company owners like Andy realize what’s truly going on behind the scenes.
The above screenshot was taken from an email thread where we were attempting to retrieve a YouTube account which had apparently been “lost”. As you can see, Alesha Paluso of Three Summers Creative wasn’t too happy with us attempting to get information that could possibly help us get Andy’s YouTube channel back. See the email thread below:
Will: Hi Alesha, could we get an update here?
Tim: Hi Will, As mentioned, Alesha has little to no involvement here. We still haven’t heard back from our requests to YouTube. I will let you know the moment that we do.
Will: Perhaps you could fill her in on the issue, since we’ve had to resort to escalation to her to get some answers.
Tim: Hi Will, She is aware of the issue. I’m curious as to what else you would like us to do at this point. Other than trying to uncover which account this channel is associated with via YouTube, is there another solution you’re looking for us to provide?
Not at all. People typically get frustrated at lack of perceived care.
Will: Since we’ve personally had to chase you to get simple updates on getting access to Andy’s asset, I’d hope you’d understand why we feel the need to ask your boss for help.
Alesha: Will,
Tim has been extremely thorough and responsive and this email thread is revealing a startling level of incompetence.
>>> We. Do. Not. Have. Access. <<<
Please do not reach out to me or my team again.
So, how can a company like Pilot Plumbing & Drain, who has countless 5-Star reviews on Google, get destroyed like this? Let’s take a look at what happened to Andy:
Exploring Efficient Ad Spending with Dennis Yu and Andy Davis
Dennis Yu and Andy Davis shed light on the art of identifying high-performing ads. Dennis begins, “Let me show you how easy this is.” He points out that in most campaigns, a significant portion of results often stems from a single campaign. By sorting ad groups by metrics like clicks or spend, one can swiftly identify the heavy hitters.
Dennis highlights, “These conversions, they’re all driven off of this one [campaign]. It’s all about ‘plumber’, ‘plumbers’, ‘plumber near me’.” This simplifies maintenance, as the focus narrows down to a few key areas. Discussing ad rotation and dynamic keyword insertion, they note how these tactics keep ads relevant and targeted.
Andy then brings up the cost aspect, observing a rate of “20 bucks a click.” Dennis acknowledges this, attributing it to the rising costs in the industry, but implies that such spending can be justified given the efficiency of the targeted approach. Their conversation underscores the importance of drilling down into data to find where the bulk of conversions originate, ensuring maximum return on ad spend.
Uncovering Local SEO Missteps with Dennis Yu and Andy Davis
In a recent discussion, digital marketing experts Dennis Yu and Andy Davis delve into the effectiveness of local SEO strategies using the LocalFalcon tool. Dennis explains the results of a map grid analysis, highlighting a significant issue: “Your office ranks for ‘plumber’ and plumbing terms locally, but as soon as you go a couple of miles outside, you fall off the search results.” This drop-off, Dennis suggests, indicates inadequate SEO efforts.
He elaborates that a quick examination reveals only basic directory submissions, likely automated through services like Yext, with no substantial SEO work evident. Dennis’s expertise in analytics, built from his experience developing analytics for a search engine over two decades ago, lends weight to his critique. He states, “There’s no evidence of SEO having been done on this site.”
When Andy mentions the current SEO spending of “$5,690 a month,” Dennis’s response is unequivocal: “You’re flushing money down the toilet.” This conversation underlines the importance of not just investing in SEO but ensuring that the investment is strategically and effectively utilized. Dennis’s and Andy’s insights offer a stark reminder that not all SEO services provide equal value, especially in the realm of local SEO.
Fake Directory Listings
“SEO people, they’re not all liars, but it’s almost always a scam.” He explains that 80% of the power of SEO lies in obtaining relevant links that are geographically and topically pertinent. For instance, for a plumbing business, links should be related to plumbing and localized to areas like Vancouver or Portland.
They discuss how some SEO efforts are limited to simple directory listings, such as yellow pages or local business directories. Dennis points out that anyone could accomplish this with minimal effort, suggesting, “You could just have a VA spend a couple weeks doing all of this.”
However, the conversation takes a turn when they analyze specific backlinks. Dennis shows Andy a link from an article about plumbing linking back to their site, demonstrating some effort in obtaining relevant backlinks. But as they delve deeper, they uncover links from irrelevant blog posts on varied topics like marriage, wine in Italian dining, and cricket in the U.S., none of which relate to plumbing or the targeted geographic area.
Dennis highlights the deceptive nature of these tactics by pointing out a blog supposedly written by a woman named Mila Light. Upon investigation, they discover that Mila Light appears to be a fabricated persona, with her image being used as stock art across various sites. This raises serious doubts about the authenticity and effectiveness of the backlinks.
Their analysis underscores a critical issue in SEO: the quality and relevance of backlinks are paramount. Using unrelated, fabricated content to create links can not only be ineffective but also detrimental, as Google is likely to flag such tactics. Dennis and Andy’s discussion serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of genuine, relevant SEO strategies.
Spam Site Backlinks
Dennis Yu and Andy Davis on the Perils of Spam Site Backlinks
In a revealing discussion, Dennis Yu and Andy Davis analyze the impact of using spammy tactics to artificially boost a website’s Domain Rating (DR). Dennis points out a perplexing scenario: “This site has a DR of 31, which is okay, but it ranks on no keywords.” He notes the alarming fact that despite having a decent DR, the site fails to rank for any keywords and has virtually no traffic – a clear indication that Google labels it as a spam site.
Andy raises a critical question about the consequences of building links on spam sites. Dennis responds by revealing a deeper issue: the same entities buying or creating these fake links for one client are likely doing it for others too, creating a network often mislabeled as a Private Blog Network (PBN). This network includes dubious links to casinos and other questionable entities.
Dennis challenges the notion that such tactics are undetectable, asking rhetorically, “You think Google can’t catch this?” His comment suggests that Google’s algorithms are more than capable of identifying and penalizing such practices. This conversation emphasizes the risks involved in adopting such black-hat SEO strategies and serves as a warning about the short-sightedness of trying to outsmart search engine algorithms with spammy backlinks.
The Truth
Most digital marketing agencies suck. Plumbers are getting scammed left and right by agencies promising results that never come. Luckily, Andy is now working with Will Troup, the founder of LocalSink, a company that helps plumbers like Andy fix their digital marketing and recover from the damage caused by these scam agencies.
