How to Get More Sewer Line Replacement Jobs

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Summary: To get more sewer line replacement jobs, win the drain and backup calls that lead to them, scope every repeat clog and show homeowners the footage. Add a sewer page with real inspection video, honest options and financing, earn referrals from real estate agents and home inspectors, and aim ads at the ZIP codes where your past replacements cluster. Judge it all on cost per booked replacement, not cost per drain call.

The fastest way to get more sewer line leads is to win more drain and backup calls, then put a camera down every line that keeps clogging. A sewer line replacement is a high-ticket job at the end of that chain: a drain-cleaning call, a camera inspection, then a repair or replacement. Get more people into the chain, lose fewer at each step, and open the doors that lead straight to the camera: real estate agents, home inspectors and your own past drain customers.

The chain: drain call, camera, replacement

Three handoffs decide how many replacements you book:

1. Drain call to camera. When a main line clog keeps coming back, or the cable brings up roots, offer a camera inspection on the spot. A tech who clears the line and leaves without offering one leaves the replacement for the next plumber.
2. Camera to quote. Show the footage on a tablet while you're there and send the video after. One California sewer program describes a camera inspection as letting the contractor and the owner see "offset joints, root intrusion and cracked or broken pipe segments." A homeowner who has seen the problem trusts the quote.
3. Quote to booked job. Big quotes need follow-up: a call the next day and another later that week. Our call scripts include quote follow-up texts.

Those handoffs move two of the three numbers in our free guide, How a local service business can spend $1,000 and make $60,000 in a month: how many leads become jobs, and what a job is worth. The guide's $60,000 is worked math, not a promise; sewer work is where the job-value number gets big.

The searches at each step

Backups are emergencies, so run them like emergency plumbing calls, with sewer backup ad copy that matches the search. For Search ads, give drain and sewer work their own ad groups and landing pages; the setup is in our Google Ads playbook for plumbers.

A sewer page that proves it

A replacement is a big decision, so the page has to earn trust:

• Real inspection video and photos from lines you've scoped: the roots, the offset joint, the break, then the new pipe. Get the customer's OK, and keep house numbers and faces out of shot.
• Options in plain words: spot repair, full replacement, and trenchless methods only if you offer them, with when each makes sense.
• What happens on the day: permits, utility marking, digging (or not), the inspection and cleanup.
• Which part of the line is the homeowner's in your city, so they know what's theirs to fix.
• A camera inspection price up front, and replacement price ranges only if you'll honor them.
• Financing, if you offer it. Once an ad states a monthly payment, a number of payments or a down payment, federal Truth in Lending rules (Regulation Z) can require extra credit terms in the same ad, so use your finance company's wording.
• A tap-to-call number at the top for the people standing next to a backed-up drain.

Local Services Ads and your Business Profile

• Job types. Check which drain and sewer job types your Local Services Ads account lists and keep on the ones you do. Switch off work you don't take, such as septic, because Google won't credit a specific job you don't do when you listed the general service. Accounts moved into Google Ads make the same choice with service type chips. More in which job types to keep on.
• Ad photos. Google suggests "before and after photos" for your ad. A camera still of the break beside the new pipe does the selling. Google also says personally identifying photos shouldn't be uploaded.
• Business Profile services. Add sewer line repair, sewer line replacement and sewer camera inspection, as custom services if Google doesn't suggest them.
• Business Profile video. Upload short clips from real jobs. Google takes Business Profile videos up to 30 seconds long.
• Reviews. Ask every customer the same day, including the drain-cleaning ones. Google's policy bans incentives for reviews and asking only happy customers. Reply to each review.

Referrals: agents, inspectors and past customers

Pre-purchase sewer scopes put your camera in homes before the buyer moves in, and an agent who trusts you orders them again and again.

• Why the gap exists. InterNACHI's home inspection standards of practice say the inspector is not required to inspect "underground utilities" or "underground items." A buyer who wants the sewer line checked may need a separate scope.
• Local rules can make it routine. In parts of California's East Bay, a regional ordinance run by the East Bay Municipal Utility District requires a compliance certificate, issued when the private sewer lateral is shown to be leak-free, to close escrow on a sale. Check whether your city or sewer district has a rule like that.
• How to earn the referrals. A fixed scope price, fast scheduling, a short written report with a video link the agent can forward, and honest findings. Agents need deals to close; the plumber who calls every line a disaster stops getting calls.
• Who to ask. Agents who list homes in the ZIP codes where your sewer jobs cluster, and home inspectors who don't scope sewer lines themselves.
• Your own drain customers. Anyone whose main line you've cleared more than once is a camera inspection waiting to happen. Call them, or text if they've agreed to texts, and offer one before the next backup.

Aim your ads where lines fail

Older neighborhoods are the obvious guess, but your camera has already shown you where the tired sewer lines actually are.

1. Pull the addresses of every sewer repair and replacement from the last few years and group them by ZIP code.
2. In Google Ads, give those ZIP codes their own sewer campaign and budget. Google lets you target US postal codes and add up to 1,000 locations at once in bulk, entered like "94103, California."
3. Don't go too small: Google says very small targets may show ads only intermittently or not at all, and location targeting isn't 100% accurate in every situation.
4. On Smart Bidding, don't rely on location bid adjustments, which Smart Bidding doesn't use. A separate campaign does the job.
5. After each replacement, leave a door hanger for the neighbors: "We just replaced a sewer line on your street. If your home is the same age, ask about a camera inspection."

Track the upsell from drain call to replacement

Judge sewer marketing on cost per booked replacement, and credit each replacement to the source of the first drain call, even if it books weeks later. Track every drain lead through the chain: source, camera offered, camera done, finding, quote, booked, job value. Example numbers to swap for yours:

1. Drain and sewer ads cost $2,000 in a month and bring 40 leads, $50 each.
2. You book 14 drain calls (35%) and put a camera in 6 of those lines.
3. Two become replacements: $1,000 in ads per booked replacement, with the drain work paying along the way.

Then find the leaking step. Few cameras? Coach the techs. Cameras but few yeses? Fix the follow-up and the financing. Across the accounts we run, leads have averaged $63 over the last twelve months; measure your close rate from your own job records. More in how to track marketing ROI.

What to do this week

1. Ask every tech to offer a camera on repeat main line clogs and to note the answer on the ticket.
2. List your sewer repairs and replacements from the last few years by ZIP code.
3. Add sewer services and a 30-second scope clip to your Business Profile.
4. Draft a sewer page with real footage, options, your camera price and financing wording.
5. Call three real estate agents and two home inspectors and offer a fixed-price pre-purchase scope.

FAQ

How do plumbers get more sewer line replacement jobs?

Win the drain and backup calls, offer a camera on repeat clogs, show the footage, follow up on every quote, and build referrals with real estate agents and home inspectors.

Do home inspections include the sewer line?

Not necessarily. InterNACHI's standards of practice say the inspector is not required to inspect underground utilities or underground items, so a buyer may need a separate sewer scope.

Can Google Ads target specific ZIP codes?

Yes. Google lets you target US postal codes, including in bulk, though very small targets may show ads only intermittently and location targeting isn't always 100% accurate.

Can I show sewer camera footage online?

Yes, with the customer's OK. Business Profile videos can run up to 30 seconds, and Google says personally identifying photos shouldn't be uploaded to Local Services Ads.

What should a sewer lead cost?

Across the accounts we run, leads have averaged $63 over the last twelve months. Judge sewer marketing on cost per booked replacement, not cost per drain call.

Should I put sewer line replacement prices on my website?

Put your camera inspection price up front, because it is a fixed job. Show replacement ranges only if you will honor them, since depth, length, access and method all change the price. Otherwise say you give a written price after the camera inspection.

Is trenchless sewer repair worth advertising?

Only if you do it. If you do, give it a section on your sewer page and its own ad group, explain when it suits a line and when digging is the better option, and show footage from your own jobs.

How can a tech offer a camera inspection without sounding pushy?

Tie it to what the tech just saw: a repeat clog or roots on the cable. Explain that the camera shows whether the line needs cleaning, a repair or nothing at all, show the footage on the spot and send the video afterwards.

Opus Group runs Google Ads, Local Services Ads and high-converting landing pages for local service businesses. See how it works.

Opus Group is a plumbing marketing agency working with plumbers across the US, including Chicago, Sacramento, San Diego and Charlotte.

Theo Prada is the founder of Opus Group, which runs Google Local Services Ads and Google Ads for local service businesses.