Case Study: Shoreline Plumbing & Heating
Campaign Duration: 6 months
Client Background
Shoreline had been trading locally for 14 years, relying on word-of-mouth and Checkatrade leads. Their two-page brochure site was slow, unbranded, and invisible in Google’s local pack. With a new national chain moving into Portsmouth, the owners needed reliable – not sporadic – inbound calls to keep three vans busy year-round.
The Problems We Uncovered
Low Map Visibility – averaged position 13 for “plumber Portsmouth”; never surfaced for “emergency boiler repair near me”.
Inconsistent NAP – six directories still listed an old workshop address, confusing Google and customers alike.
Thin Service Coverage – one generic “Services” page tried to cover boilers, bathrooms and leaks with no local intent.
Slow, Non-Secure Site – 5.2 s mobile LCP and no SSL; 71 % bounce rate.
Solutions We Implemented
Foundational Fixes & Site Speed
- Migrated the site to a lightweight, mobile-first WordPress theme, activated HTTP/2 and Brotli compression, converted all imagery to WebP, and trimmed Largest Contentful Paint from 5.2 s to 1.8 s.
- Installed an SSL certificate and forced HTTPS, eliminating the “Not Secure” browser warning that had been scaring prospects away.
Citation & Google Business Profile Cleanup
- Audited 15 UK directories, then corrected name, address and phone inconsistencies—especially six listings that still showed the old workshop address.
- Fully optimised the Google Business Profile: added secondary categories (e.g., Boiler Repair Service), uploaded geo-tagged on-site photos, and scheduled a weekly “Plumber’s Tip” post to keep the listing fresh.
Service-Intent Local Pages
- Built five high-intent pages such as “24-Hour Emergency Plumber Portsmouth” and “Boiler Servicing Southsea,” each with unique copy, FAQ schema, and click-to-call buttons above the fold.
- Added structured “SameDayService” markup so Google could display rich snippets like “Open 24/7 – Call now” directly in the SERP.
Local Authority & Review Engine
- Earned 18 relevant backlinks—from builders’ merchants, a Portsmouth trade college blog, and the chamber of commerce events page—boosting domain trust without spammy tactics.
- Implemented an SMS follow-up asking every finished customer for a Google review; combined with a “£10 off next call-out” magnet, this generated 97 new ★4.9 reviews within the campaign window.
Results After Six Months
Six months later, Shoreline ranked in the top-3 map pack for “plumber Portsmouth” and “boiler repair near me” across the entire PO1–PO6 postcode area. Organic sessions jumped from 1,900 to 5,400 (+184 %), while Google Business Profile calls climbed from 38 to 122 per month (+221 %). Quote-form submissions on the new service pages rose from 11 to 34 monthly, keeping all vans scheduled at least 10 days ahead. With an average job value of £220, monthly revenue grew roughly +41 % year-on-year. The 97 new ★4.9 Google reviews now reinforce a virtuous cycle of trust, clicks, and conversions.
Ready to Attract
More Local Customers?
Take your business from invisible to unstoppable in local search. Whether you’re looking to dominate Google Maps or grow foot traffic to your shop, Thunder Digitals has the tools, knowledge, and experience to make it happen.