SEO Strategy for the Pest Control Industry in 2021

Pest control companies are in a unique position to leverage some of the best features of organic search, including local SEO, while using compelling and informative content to reach their customers.

Prioritizing an SEO strategy can help pest control companies increase their organic visibility and get higher-quality leads.

Learn the most recent trends in organic search and how to develop an SEO strategy that works.

Local SEO Is More Important Than Ever

Whether you are a hyper-local pest control company or serve customers across multiple states, local SEO has never been more important to stay ahead of your competitors and communicating with your customers and potential customers.

There are a variety of factors used to rank high in organic search results, but search engines will prioritize the location of the specific user. For example, if someone searches for “pest control near me” in Chicago, Illinois, they will be shown vastly different results from someone searching the same query in Dallas, Texas.

Pest control companies utilize location pages on their website to capitalize on these geo-specific queries. Location pages allow the companies to provide pertinent information, like contact information and hours of operation.

Using tools like Google My Business and Bing Places for Business, among others, helps companies have control over how they appear in organic search and local map packs. In addition to basic contact information, these tools allow pest control companies to list the various services offered in that region.

Google My Business & Local Service Ads

Google My Business is by far the most powerful tool for local SEO for the pest control industry.

Google holds the largest search market share and the average business is found in 1,009 searches per month from their Google My Business listing, according to a 2019 study by BrightLocal.

The first step for your business to take is to create or claim your business’ listing.

Once you have access, make sure all contact information — including address, phone number, and hours, are correct. Then, add service areas to make sure your listing shows where your customers are.

Some other important aspects of your brand’s profile:

• Services: Make sure to add all services provided with a description of each. Added services will help the listing rank for discovery searches, such as “bed bug treatment.”
• High-Quality Images: Image views on Google My Business listings are often the top action taken by customers. Make sure to use high-quality images that represent your company, technicians, and services.
• Reviews: Building a strategy for gaining positive reviews is important to increase the ranking of your Google My Business listing. However, your staff should never write fake reviews or specifically request that customers leave a positive review.

Once you have optimized your listing, consider investing in Local Services ads. These types of paid search ads are available to companies within the service industry.

Local Services ads will use information added to Google My Business, including reviews, to generate high-quality leads for your business.

It is also just as important to obtain a Google Guaranteed badge as a trusted professional to stand out from your competitors.

The badge was created with the hope that it will instill confidence in consumers.

Business owners who are looking to obtain the Google Guaranteed badge will need to go through a screening and qualification process.

Online Directory Citations

Local citations are any mention of your business’ name, address, and phone number on business directory listings.

Listing your business on trusted online directories can be a ranking factor and builds authority for your website so that the brand is viewed as a trusted business.

There are many business directory listings that are specific to pest control or the service industry.

A Local Listings Audit should be performed to find each of the directories your business is currently listed on and find new listings that will help you reach more customers. This audit analyzes which directories your business has a listing on, and whether the general information is accurate.

Build Authority for Your Brand

In August 2018, Google released an algorithm update that made expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E.A.T) an important ranking factor. But SEO experts can track this all the way back to 2014 when Google added authority indicators to their Search Quality Guidelines.

So, what is E.A.T and why is it important for businesses?

Showcasing expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness lets search engines and your customers know why they should trust your business.

These on-page authority markers are typically present on pages about the company or author biographies of blog content.

Your company should have a page dedicated to letting customers know how long you’ve been in business, why you are experts in your industry, and any awards received.

Additionally, any blog content on your site should be attributed to industry experts and their bios should reflect that.

Developing high-quality content is another way to gain quality backlinks to your website. If other sites are willing to link to your content, that lets search engines know the company is a trusted source.

On-Site SEO Isn’t Just About Metadata

Keyword research, optimizing title tags, and optimizing meta descriptions are typically the first steps an SEO Analyst will do to help with organic ranking for a pest control company.

But on-site SEO isn’t just about optimizing metadata.

One of the most overlooked opportunities is with images. Image Search is a powerful tool used by prospective customers to find the information they are looking for.

By optimizing these images with relevant keywords in the image filename and alt text, images on your website can start ranking in the search results and in the separate Images tab.

Additional opportunities can be found through embedded videos and PDF files found on the site. These assets can be optimized just like web pages and images with relevant keywords.

Thinking about different ways your website can rank is the best way to ensure you are maximizing organic visibility for your brand.

Work with Pest Control Marketing Experts

Working with a team of marketing experts is the best way for pest control companies to stay on top of the ever-changing world of organic search.

If you’re looking to elevate your brand, contact our search engine marketing experts today.