Quick answer
37 ranked items across technical, on-page, local, and content SEO. Designed for UK plumbers, gas engineers, heating engineers, and bathroom fitters. Each item tagged with impact (High/Med/Low) and effort (Low/Med/High). Work through high-impact, low-effort items first.
How to use this checklist
Print it out or copy it into a spreadsheet. Tick off the high-impact / low-effort items first — these typically take a single weekend and move rankings in 4-8 weeks. The high-impact / high-effort items (location pages, service pages, content) are where most plumbers stall. Block out dedicated time or delegate to an agency.
Where an item is technical and unfamiliar (schema markup, Core Web Vitals, sitemap submission), use Google's Rich Results Test, PageSpeed Insights, and Google Search Console — all free, all official.
Technical SEO
- HTTPS enabled with valid SSL certificate HighLow effort
- Mobile page load under 2 seconds HighMed effort
- Core Web Vitals — LCP, INP, CLS all green HighMed effort
- XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console HighLow effort
- robots.txt allows all major crawlers including AI bots MedLow effort
- Canonical tags on every page MedLow effort
- No broken internal links (404s) MedLow effort
- Schema markup validated via Rich Results Test HighMed effort
On-page SEO
- Unique title tag on every page (under 60 characters) HighLow effort
- Meta description on every page (150-160 characters) HighLow effort
- Single H1 per page with primary keyword HighLow effort
- Logical H2/H3 hierarchy MedLow effort
- All images have descriptive alt text MedMed effort
- URLs short, descriptive, hyphenated MedLow effort
- Internal links with descriptive anchor text HighMed effort
- No keyword-stuffing in headings or body MedLow effort
Local SEO
- Google Business Profile claimed and verified HighLow effort
- GBP primary category = "Plumber" (or equivalent) HighLow effort
- GBP service area set to specific UK towns and postcodes HighLow effort
- 30+ photos uploaded to GBP HighMed effort
- Weekly GBP posts with completed-job photos HighMed effort
- NAP consistent across top 10 UK directories HighMed effort
- LocalBusiness JSON-LD schema with correct address HighLow effort
- Dedicated landing page for every town served HighHigh effort
- Review acquisition cadence — 2-4 new reviews per month HighMed effort
- Every review responded to within 7 days MedLow effort
- GBP Q&A seeded with common customer questions LowLow effort
Content SEO
- Dedicated page per service (boiler install, repair, gas safety, drains, etc) HighHigh effort
- FAQ section on every commercial page with FAQPage schema HighMed effort
- Direct-answer block in first 100 words on key pages MedLow effort
- Named author with bio on all blog content MedLow effort
- External citations to authority sources (Gas Safe, gov.uk, ONS) MedMed effort
- Blog publishing cadence — 1-2 posts per month minimum MedHigh effort
- dateModified updated on revised content LowLow effort
- Service pages 800+ words; blog posts 1,500+ words MedHigh effort
- Original visuals (charts, diagrams) not stock photos LowMed effort
- llms.txt file present for AI search visibility LowLow effort
Top 5 by ROI
- Fully complete Google Business Profile with 30+ photos
- Consistent NAP across the top 10 UK directories (start with Gas Safe Register, Yell, Checkatrade)
- LocalBusiness JSON-LD schema on every page (validated via Rich Results Test)
- Mobile load speed under 2 seconds (compress images, lazy-load below the fold)
- Review acquisition cadence — text customers a Google review link immediately after each job
What to skip in 2026
Three items that used to feature on plumber SEO checklists no longer move the needle:
- Meta keywords tag — ignored by Google since 2009
- Mass directory submission services — Google devalues low-quality directories; stick to the top 10
- Exact-match domains — domains like "plumberlondon.co.uk" no longer get automatic ranking boost; quality of content matters more
If 37 items feels overwhelming, the SEO for plumbers service implements all 37 as part of the Journeyman and Master website packages.