BUSINESS | PPC113 November 2023
Ben Sisson, Managing Director of Targeted SEO, gives PPC113 the lowdown on getting pest control websites seen by as many people as possible.
If you’re serious about increasing enquiries for your pest control business, then it’s time to get on board with search engine optimisation (SEO). You may have heard a bit about SEO already, but if not, you’re in the right place.
SEO is no dark art, it’s just a clever combination of techniques to help websites rank higher in search engine results so they are seen by more potential customers. Key SEO tactics to help generate more pest control leads:
- Well-structured web design
- High-quality user experience
- Use of keywords
- Location targeting
- Online reviews
- Content strategy
- A good Google business profile.
I’ll explain these points in more detail, and I promise to use as little techie jargon as possible!
The premise of SEO is simple: more online visibility = more traffic to your webste = more enquiries = more customers!
The practice is somewhat more complicated, but the Targeted SEO team is keen to demystify what it does, so that more pest control business owners like you can reap the rewards.
Why is it important to have an optimised website for a pest control business?
If a potential customer Googles local pest control companies in your area, you want your website to be as high up in the organic search results as possible.
By ‘organic’, we mean the results that start below the paid-for and sponsored ads. The top search result gets the lion’s share of clicks – a recent study found it to be over a quarter.
As you move down the list, the number of click-throughs drops dramatically, and it peters down to almost nothing beyond the tenth result. And less than one percent of web users venture past the first page of search engine results pages (SERPS).
Let that sink in. If your website is not on page one for pest control searches in your local area, there’s less than a one percent chance of it being seen by your potential customers. Even if it ranks fourth, a person is six times more likely to click on the three results above it.
That’s why SEO is an essential investment for your pest control company. It will make your website more visible to your target market and can result in a steady stream of pest control leads for years to come.
What is SEO for pest control?
SEO for pest control is a variety of techniques to help websites get higher rankings in Google search results. It is usually carried out by a specialist SEO company. SEO is much more than just a pretty website; to enable a search engine to read and understand a site takes a lot of technical jiggery-pokery.
At Targeted SEO, our services broadly break down into four categories...
On-page SEO involves optimising elements on your website, like titles and descriptions.
Off-page SEO refers to activities outside of your website, like getting links from other sites to yours to improve your reputation.
Local SEO helps to target customers in your area by ensuring your website appears in local searches for pest control.
Content strategy is fancy term for filling your website with lots of great information.
“If your website is not on page one for pest control searches in your local area, there’s less than a one percent chance of it being seen by your potential customers.”
Top SEO tips for getting more pest control customers
Provide valuable information about your pest control services
Google favours websites that feature relevant and high- quality content. The more credible and useful it deems a website to be, the higher it will rank it.
So it’s important to have rich content about your pest control services and create blog posts based on what your target audience Googles, eg ‘why do wasps come out in summer?’.
SEO aside, creating content will help establish your pest control company as knowledgeable and trustworthy, which is crucial in winning over new customers.
Sort your Google business profile
When potential clients Google your services, your Google business profile may be the first thing they see. So, if your company's profile is somewhat lacking, I urge you to whip it into shape as soon as possible.
It's a valuable free tool that improves online visibility in Google Maps and local search results. It's also become one of the most popular sources of online reviews, so the more positive reviews you have, the more it will impress potential customers.
Get ahead of the local competition
A lot of pest control SEO revolves around improving visibility in local search results, eg ‘residential pest control near me’ or ‘bed bug treatment in Berkshire’.
A local SEO campaign employs several on-page and off-page SEO techniques to ensure that Google knows where your business is located and what it does. That way, you are more likely to appear in the Google ‘local pack’, ie the top three search results.
Structure your website so that search engines understand it
Website structure must be in a format that search engines can ‘crawl’ and understand. This involves using the right words and phrases (keywords) on your website’s pages so that search engines can easily match them with what people are searching for.
On-page SEO also includes making sure your website offers a high-quality user experience on both desktop and mobile devices. We all know from experience that page speed is essential, as well as clear headings and descriptions.
Not only is it great for the person looking at your website, but Google prefers websites that are easy to use and ranks them higher.
There’s a lot of back-end work that goes into making sure a website is structured properly, but I promise to keep the jargon to a minimum!
But, if you’re curious as to what terms like ‘technical SEO’, ‘meta description’, ‘title tags’ and ‘schema markup’ mean, get in touch, and we’ll be happy to elaborate.
See what your competitors do
It always pays to keep a beady eye on what the most successful pest control company in your area is up to.
Every successful SEO campaign involves analysing other websites to see how they are performing and what their customer base is searching for.
That way, we can identify targeted keywords to help your website get the edge and rise through the rankings.
“The more credible and useful it deems a website to be, the higher it will rank it.”
Is SEO expensive for pest control companies?
At Targeted SEO, we don’t have rigid pricing structures.
We can give you a bespoke SEO quote based on the size and condition of your current pest control website and what you hope to achieve.
We charge a monthly retainer rate which includes everything you need to get your business seen.
SEO takes time to work, so you should plan to invest for at least 12 months, ideally 24 months. But the results are valuable and sustainable.
Your optimised site will continue to generate leads for years to come with little effort, giving you superb value for money.
Increase your enquiries
If this has sparked your interest in SEO and what it can do for your pest control company, then take a look at some of our recent case studies, including how we increased website traffic for one pest control company by 2,494% in 12 months!
We’re proud of the SEO results we’ve achieved for pest control clients, and we’d love the chance to do the same for your business.
Get in touch by filling out our contact form, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
targetedseo.co.uk/industries/seo-for-pest-control
PestEx - The pest management show, 13-14 March 2024
Targeted SEO is a digital marketing agency specialising in SEO for the pest control industry.
Find us in person at stand 66 PestEx 2024.
The team will be on hand to answer your questions and provide insights into the world of SEO for pest control. See you there!
pestex.org/register