Search engine optimization (SEO) is all about optimizing your website so that search engines push it out to your target customers. It’s important for all businesses, but especially for local pest control companies since your service area is your local community. Many pest control searches are urgent, with common phrases including “get rid of rats now” or “emergency pest control.” Being the top company suggested leads to more business.

We’ve compiled some of the best SEO tips for your pest control company. Prioritizing your website’s SEO means more website traffic and, ultimately, more leads for your business.

Find the Perfect SEO Keywords for Pest Control

To start ranking for high-value keywords, you will first have to determine what those keywords are. We recommend thinking of a topic you want to cover. You should build your site around effectively covering that topic.

After you have your topic in mind, you can develop your initial list of target keywords. Ask yourself—what are your customers searching for? What are they hoping to learn? What questions can your website currently solve?

PRO TIP: To brainstorm new keywords, try putting your topic/base keyword into Google and see what Google autocompletes. These suggestions are common queries.

You can refine your initial list by utilizing third-party tools (or bringing in an SEO expert). These tools give you insight into exactly how many people search for that keyword daily and how competitive it is.

Tools or companies can tell you what content currently ranks for those keywords and where your content is already appearing. You should use these tools to estimate what keyword rankings are realistically achievable for your site. Using data to refine your list will leave you with a very strong keyword list.

Create Strong Content Around Your Target Keywords

To rank for your target keywords, you can strategically create new content for your website that targets those words or phrases. When you create new content for keywords, remember to provide the value that users want. Search engines reward content they judge as useful to users. Two of the most common forms this new content will take are blogs and location pages.

Writing Blogs for Pest Control Companies

Blogs are informational articles written by industry experts. These blogs can answer common questions or explain popular topics. This helps bring more people to your website and makes them aware of your brand!

A great way to come up with blog topics is to look for informational keywords on your target keyword list. Those are the searches from people looking for specific information, and they typically take the form of a question. Examples of this for pest control companies could be “what are common pests in Florida” or “what are the signs of rat infestation”.

You can use a blog to show your expertise and build trust with a lead. At the end of your content, use a strong call to action to convert them.

Creating Location Pages for Pest Control Websites

A location page is a page of your website that’s specifically targeting one geographic location. Theoretically, you could have a location page targeted at each major part of your service area.

Location pages let you target more specific geographic keywords than you can with your home page. For example, you can create a page targeting “pest control Houston” instead of “pest control Texas.”

These geographic keywords will have less competition and bring leads more likely to convert since customers need a company that can serve their specific community. This is especially important for pest control companies that serve a major regional area, not just one city.

 

Optimize Your Pest Control Website for SEO

Whether you are adding new content or updating old content, some on-page elements can boost the SEO of your pest control website.

  • Title Tags: The title of your web page as it appears on a search engine. Search engines use your title tag to get an idea of what your content is about. Title tags help them serve it up to the right people.
  • Meta Descriptions: The introduction paragraph as it appears on the search engine results pages. This should give a user a preview of the page’s content. A strong meta description will attract more clicks to your page, which tells the search engine to show it to even more users.
  • Header Tags (H1): Using headings in your content helps search engines know what each part is about. This is going to help them serve it up to the most relevant users.

Monitor Your SEO Performance

Part of an effective SEO strategy for any website is frequent tracking and tweaking. Using platforms like Google Analytics and Google Search Console will give you valuable insight into how users get to your website and how they interact with it. Here are some key SEO metrics to monitor:

  • Organic traffic: The number of visitors to your website who found you through a search engine (without any paid advertising). Organic traffic is a good marker of how effective your SEO strategies are.
  • Bounce rate: The amount of users who leave your website without taking action. If your bounce rate is high, consider optimizing your home page to keep people engaged.
  • Click-through rate: The amount of people who saw your website on a search engine and clicked on your link. The click-through rate will indicate how effective your title tags and meta descriptions are.

Anti Pesto team member on a job site with company van in the background.

Bug-Proof Your Search Engine Rankings

SEO is a key part of any successful digital marketing plan. It focuses on reaching the right customers at the right time. SEO is critical for pest control companies to succeed online. If someone in your area needs your services, you want to be the first pest control company they see.
This guide provides all the tips you need to start a great SEO strategy for your pest control business. If you’re looking for a more personalized SEO strategy—or any other help with your digital marketing—PHOS has helped pest control companies around the country top their local search results!

Contact Us

 

Ben Reid

With experience in digital marketing across a range of industries, Ben loves to leverage data, trends, and creative practices in order to help clients tell their story to the right people.

Outside of PHOS, you’ll find Ben at the movie theater, reading a new book, staying active, or exploring local coffee shops.