Sample · not a live customer
Hill Country Plumbing
4821 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78745
Primary “plumber” plus 2 category signals.
73 characters — short of a complete about section.
6 photos on the listing.
4.3 stars from 87 reviews. 3 reviews in the last 90 days.
Places does not expose GBP Q&A. Awarded 4/8 because 2 owner replies appear on recent reviews.
Last public post ~140 days ago — treat the profile as silent.
2 filled attributes: Onsite services, Credit cards.
5 days of hours.
Competitors
| Business | Rating | Reviews | Photos | Strength | Δ reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup 2015 E Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78741 | 4.8 | 2140 | 48 | 19.2 | +2053 |
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Austin 8701 Wall St, Austin, TX 78754 | 4.7 | 890 | 36 | 16.4 | +803 |
Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Austin 1301 S IH 35, Austin, TX 78741 | 4.6 | 720 | 29 | 15.1 | +633 |
ABC Home & Commercial Services 9500 N I-35, Austin, TX 78753 | 4.4 | 410 | 61 | 13.8 | +323 |
Rescue Rooter 5555 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78751 | 4.5 | 540 | 22 | 13.7 | +453 |
Top 10 fixes
1 · impact 5 · effort 2
Rewrite the business description (750-character outline)
A tighter, service-specific description is one of the fastest GBP lifts for home-service shops.
Who we are: Hill Country Plumbing is a licensed plumber team serving Austin and nearby neighborhoods. What we do: [list 4–6 services you actually sell this month — e.g. drain cleaning, water heater replacement, slab leak detection]. Proof: [years in business], [license #], [insured], [same-week / 24-7 emergency if true]. Service area: [list 5–8 cities or ZIP clusters you will actually drive to]. How to book: Call [phone] or request a slot from this profile. We reply to every review.
2 · impact 5 · effort 2
Upload 8 job-site photos this week
You show 6 photos. Pack leaders nearby typically show 15–40 of real trucks, crews, and finished jobs.
Shoot: (1) truck + logo, (2) tech at the door, (3) before, (4) after, (5) close-up of the part/fixture, (6) happy-customer (with permission). Geo-tag in Austin-area neighborhoods you serve. No stock catalogs.
3 · impact 4 · effort 1
Publish a complete 7-day hours set, including emergencies
Incomplete hours make you drop out of 'open now' filters — the cheapest Local Pack leak to plug.
Mon–Fri 7:00–6:00 · Sat 8:00–2:00 · Sun Emergency only. Put the after-hours number in the description, not only in chat.
4 · impact 4 · effort 1
Add missing secondary categories
Primary type plus 4–8 honest secondaries (Water Heater Installation, Sewer Cleaning, etc.) is how home-service shops show up for adjacent money queries.
Primary: plumber. Secondaries to consider (only if you sell them): Water heater installation, Drain cleaning service, Emergency plumber, Sewer cleaning, Gas fitter, Boiler installation.
5 · impact 4 · effort 1
Use a dedicated template for 1-3 star reviews
Unanswered negatives sit at the top of the listing and train the next shopper to bounce.
Hi [First name] — I'm [Owner], and I'm sorry we missed the mark on [specific issue]. Please email [owner@hillcountryplumbing.com] or call [phone] so I can make this right. We don't want a bad day to be the last word on Hill Country Plumbing.
6 · impact 4 · effort 2
Reply to every review in 48 hours
Owner replies are a public engagement signal and the only Q&A-adjacent proof Places currently returns.
Hi [First name] — thank you for taking the time to review Hill Country Plumbing. Glad we could take care of [job type] at [neighborhood]. If anything else comes up, call us at [phone] and ask for [owner/dispatch]. — [Your name], [Title]
7 · impact 5 · effort 3
Close the review gap vs Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup (2053 behind)
Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup holds 2140 reviews at 4.8 stars. Volume, not star-chasing, is what moves pack strength.
Text after invoice: “If we earned it, a Google review takes 30 seconds — [short GBP review link]. If anything was off, reply to this text and I'll fix it.” Never gate or incentivize the star rating.
8 · impact 3 · effort 1
Fill GBP attributes (payments, accessibility, service options)
Attributes are free filters. Empty checkboxes make you invisible when a homeowner filters for 'wheelchair accessible' or 'on-site estimate'.
Turn on everything that is true: Women-owned / Veteran-led, Identifies as Latino-owned, Onsite services, Online estimates, Credit cards, Debit cards, Apple Pay, Wheelchair accessible entrance, Languages spoken.
9 · impact 3 · effort 2
Stand up a Q&A seed set (8 questions you write yourself)
If you do not seed Q&A, competitors and trolls will. Places does not expose this field — treat it as a must-do from the dashboard.
Q: Do you offer emergency plumbing after 6pm? A: Yes — call [phone]. After-hours dispatch covers burst pipes, no-hot-water, and sewer backups in [city]. Q: Which ZIP codes do you serve? A: [list]. Travel fees only apply outside [ring]. Q: Are you licensed and insured in Texas? A: Yes. License [#]. COI available on request.
10 · impact 3 · effort 2
Post one Google Update per week for 30 days
Silence on Posts is a freshness leak. Even a photo + offer ('$79 drain camera, mention Maps') beats a dead profile.
This week: photo of a finished water-heater swap + 'Same-week installs in [city]. Book from this profile.' Next week: crew + storm/freeze tip. Do not recycle the same graphic four times.