Ask around. Ask your friends, ask your neighbors and get referrals. Nothing is more powerful than the testament of someone who has had a local plumber in their home and can speak to his/her capabilities.
Do independent research using the Yellow pages, search engines and local business listings. Beforehand, make a list of what you are seeking in a plumber on Long Island. For example, years of experience, what services they provide, whether or not they have emergency service, areas of expertise, types of jobs they perform (residential, commercial, industrial) etc. Look for local plumbing service companies that are a match.
Make sure that you call a plumber as soon as things start to act up. You will save a lot of money bathtub repair in the long run because you won't be dealing with the damages caused by flooding after the fact. Most people will find that they are not too willing to call in a professional early on, but it is worth it. It is better to pay someone for a minor issue rather than to try and fix it yourself and end up with a huge mess.
For instance if you are looking for a Trustworthy plumber, you can post a tweet in Twitter and ask for referrals. Be careful of spammers who may connect with your keywords. Trust the comments that come from within your network.
Before you hire your Local plumber, make sure they are licensed to carry out the work. A lot of plumbing work has to be carried out by licensed professionals, you need to make sure that they are - ask to see their license. Also, ask them their hourly rate, ask friends if they can recommend a reliable, reputable tradesman. When carrying out large renovations in your home, always ask for a written quote from your plumber first, supply him with a set of drawings of the project and ask him to price from the plans.
Here's an example. Let's say you are a plumber. Will people put "plumber" into Google to try to find you? How about "plumbers"? How about "plumbing"? All of these are valid search terms, but they each reflect a different "conversation" in the mind of the searcher.
You found this opportunity online right? Do you think this opportunity is in the phone book? Heck no. Same as a competitor in business in a small town. If someone is searching for a plumber in ABC town and they find a plumber with a nice site in Google with details on services, maybe incentives as opposed to a link to an address and phone number who are they going to call. Obviously the one with the site that they found. It is your duty to keep that business in business.