How to Choose a Marketing Agency for Your Plumbing Business (2026 Checklist)

Every marketing agency that works with plumbers says the same things. More calls. More booked jobs. No contracts. This checklist helps you tell them apart before you sign anything.

A note before you start: Cadyen is a plumbing marketing agency, and we wrote this checklist. Use it on us too. If we can't answer these questions well, don't hire us.

1. Do they work with trades?

An agency that mostly serves software or retail companies will treat your emergency calls like online sales. Ask what share of their clients are contractors, and ask which plumbing services they would advertise first. A good answer names real jobs, like water heaters and drain cleaning, not "brand awareness."

2. Do they sell leads, or run your marketing?

These are two different businesses. A lead seller sells the same homeowner to several plumbers. A marketing agency builds your ads, your Google Business Profile, your site and your reviews, so the homeowner calls you directly. Ask plainly: "Is any lead you send me also sent to another company?" The answer should be no.

3. How do they report results?

Clicks and impressions don't pay your techs. Ask to see a sample monthly report. It should show calls, which channel produced each call, and how many turned into booked jobs. If they can't track calls, they can't tell you what is working.

4. Who owns the accounts?

Your Google Ads account, your Google Business Profile, your website and your call tracking numbers should belong to you. If you leave, you should keep the history, the reviews and the phone numbers. Get this in writing.

5. Is the price clear?

You should know two numbers before you sign: the management fee and the ad spend. Ask whether ad spend is paid to Google directly or through the agency, and whether there is a setup fee. Be careful with any price that only appears after three sales calls.

6. How long is the contract?

Long contracts protect the agency, not you. Month-to-month terms mean they have to earn your business every month. If a contract is required, ask what happens if results don't show up.

7. What happens in the first 90 days?

A good agency can tell you what they will do in week one, month one and month three. Ads can bring calls within days. Google Business Profile work shows up over weeks. SEO usually takes three to six months. Anyone who promises page-one rankings next week is guessing.

8. Will they fix the basics first?

Ads won't save a phone that rings out or a website that loads slowly on a phone. Ask if they will check your hours, call answering, Google profile and service pages before spending your money on clicks.

Red flags

• Guaranteed rankings or a guaranteed number of leads.
• They won't tell you who owns the ad account.
• Reports that only show clicks, impressions or "reach."
• Leads that are also sold to other plumbers.
• Long contracts with no way out.

The short version

Hire an agency that works with trades, runs your own marketing instead of selling you leads, tracks calls to booked jobs, gives you the accounts and lets you leave. If you want to see how we handle each of these, read about our approach as a plumbing marketing agency, or start with a free visibility check-up.