Having an optimized website is critical for pest control companies looking to attract more customers online. With the majority of people using search engines like Google to find local services, appearing at the top of the search results translates to more calls and sales.
According to a survey, 88% of potential customers use search engines when looking for pest control providers.
Unsurprisingly, a 2014 PCT Online survey found that nearly 8 out of 10 customers looking for pest control services use search engines like Google over other channels to find providers. If your company's website doesn't appear on the first page of the search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant search queries, you will likely miss out on business.
The good news is that you can dramatically boost your rankings and website traffic with some key search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. By implementing on-page and off-page optimizations detailed in this article, you, too, can appear above competitors in search results for service requests in your area.
Key Elements of SEO
An effective SEO strategy requires optimizing several critical components on and off your website. You can significantly improve your organic search visibility and website traffic over time by tackling these areas.
A Fast, Mobile-Friendly Website
With mobile usage continuing to rise, having a website optimized for speed across all devices is essential. Slow load times lead to high bounce rates and dissatisfied visitors. Google has made site speed a ranking factor, so optimizing page speed should be a top priority.
Some quick tips include compressing images, minimizing HTTP requests, optimizing code, and upgrading to faster web hosting. For example, after Linda at the fictional Dream Weaver Pest Control upgraded her site's hosting and optimized images, her mobile load time decreased from 6+ seconds to under 2 seconds. She saw an immediate boost in mobile rankings soon after.
Comprehensive On-Page Optimization
On-page SEO means optimizing individual web pages with relevant keywords and semantics that users search for. This includes placing keywords strategically in titles, headers, image alt text, meta descriptions, schema markup, and body content.
Ensuring pages are fully optimized for the terms you want to rank for signals search engines what each page focuses on. For example, Dan at the fictional Green Pest Elimination conducted on-page SEO by adding 10-12 primary and secondary keywords to his most important website pages. He saw a 25% increase in organic traffic within a few months.
Backlinks from Relevant Industry Sites
Also referred to as off-page optimization, backlinks remain among the strongest ranking signals. High-quality backlinks show search engines that other reputable sites find your content valuable enough to link out to. This, in turn, boosts your domain's authority.
Many ethical strategies, such as guest posting, can help earn authoritative backlinks pointing to your website. For example, Julia from Guardian Pest Services landed a couple of guest blog posts on industry-specific websites. The high-quality backlinks she obtained catapulted her organic search visibility over the next six months.
On-Page Optimization Tips
Fully optimizing the content of each page should be central to your pest control website's SEO strategy. On-page factors, including keywords, content, media, and structure, signal to search engines what specific topics every page covers. The more pages effectively optimized for targeted queries, the better your chance of ranking.
Use Targeted Keywords Across Page Elements
Seamlessly integrate primary and secondary keywords within page titles, headers, image alt text, meta descriptions, schema markup, URLs, and body content.
For example, after Chris at Defenders Pest Control targeted the keyword "bed bug inspection cost Raleigh" in titles, URLs, and H2s across his site, he saw a significant increase in organic traffic for that phrase and related long-tail searches.
Mike from Bug Off Pest Control added "mosquito control Charlotte," "mosquito spraying," and related variations to his Services and Mosquito Control pages. This resulted in higher rankings for mosquito-related searches.
Create Content Around Popular Customer Questions
Optimize top pages to rank for question-based searches that prospects commonly ask. For instance, create pages targeting "How much does termite treatment cost," "What causes roaches," or "Best mosquito control company near me."
For example, some top questions Dan at Green Pest Elimination targeted include:
- "What do termites look like?"
- "Why do I have ants in my house?"
- "How much for monthly green pest control?"
Dan created detailed posts around each question, optimizing with the exact keyword phrase in titles, meta descriptions, headers, etc. This resulted in featured snippets in Google search results, directly answering user questions with a snippet from his content.
Structure Pages for Easy Crawling
Have a consistent site architecture with appropriately named categories. Ensure crawling bots can easily navigate from page to page through keyword-focused nav menus and internal links.
Mike from Bug Off has groups of service pages, company info pages, location pages, and more, all internally linked to improve on-site SEO.
Optimize Media for Search Engines
Give all images descriptive names, alt text with target keywords, caption summary, and file name with dashes instead of spaces if uploading new images (e.g., pest-control-technician.jpg). Also, create videos with text title overlays and detailed descriptions, including keywords. This expands pages' reach to image/video search results.
Give all images descriptive names, alt text with target keywords, caption summary, and file name with dashes instead of spaces if uploading new images (e.g., pest-control-technician.jpg). {Also create videos with text title overlays and detailed descriptions, including keywords.}
For example, after Julia at Green Pest Elimination added location-based keywords like "Asheville pest control" to image names and detailed alt text, she saw an increase in image search visibility and website traffic from Google. This expanded her pages’ reach in both standard and image search results.
In addition to media, having a secure site helps establish trust and authority. Some best practices include:
- Installing an SSL certificate to enable HTTPS and padlock icon
- Conducting regular malware scans
- Keeping software and plugins updated
- Implementing reCAPTCHA for forms
Finally, building relationships with complementary businesses to foster link exchanges. For example:
- Trade links with local landscapers, contractors, and cleaning services
- Write articles for regional home service blogs in exchange for guest post links
- Request citations on various directories
Additional Recommendations
While on-page optimization does the heavy lifting, complementing it with these extra off-page activities can accelerate SEO success:
Refresh Website Content Monthly
Adding new blog articles and web pages gives search bots more optimized pages to index, expanding your site's footprint.
For example, after increasing her site's blog cadence from 1 post per quarter to 2 posts per month, Julie at Pest Defense saw an increase in organic traffic in 5 months.
Adding content more consistently helps rankings across more keywords and gives you more of an opportunity for internal linking. Ideally, you aim for 1-4 new monthly on-brand posts. Consistency is critical, so establish an editorial calendar of topic ideas beforehand.
Analyze and Reduce Page Load Times
With site speed being a ranking factor, analyze current speeds and reduce page load times. For example, Linda at Dream Pest Solutions optimized image file sizes and minimized HTTP requests. This decreased her homepage load time from 8 seconds to 1.2 seconds. She subsequently saw her mobile rankings improve by over 15 positions in 2 months.
Build Relationships with Local Sites
Reach out to local business partners, directories, news sites, and niche blogs to share content and links. This starts relationships that can result in earned backlinks, boosting authority.
For example, Guardian Pest Services provided expertise for articles on home improvement sites in exchange for backlinks and referral traffic.
Optimize for Local Searches with Geographic Landing Pages
Most pest control searches are local, so having a locational aspect of your on-page optimization is critical. This means creating geographically targeted landing pages for the various regions, cities, zip codes, and neighborhoods you service.
For example, Dream Weaver Pest Control services the Hickory area and uses local landing pages to target not only the city of Hickory but the surrounding communities:
- Newton pest control
- Conover exterminator
- Claremont termite inspection
When coupled with strong foundational SEO focused on service-based keywords, localized landing pages help convert online visibility into phone calls and consult requests from nearby residents.
Each page should contain:
- The city name in the title tag and H1 header
- Alt text with geographic keyword
- Body content referencing the specific locale
- Contact info for nearest office location
Over time, optimizing for enough zip code and community variations can help you own the local SERPs. This compounds the website's domain authority in Google's eyes as a reputable regional pest control company.
Prioritizing geo-pages landing pages to capture localized demand is crucial in this increasingly mobile age. As more searches shift to smartphones, content tailored to specific areas will capture those at home who need your services.
Conclusion
Implementing an effective SEO strategy requires working on both on-page and off-page factors over time. Pest control companies can dramatically improve their organic search rankings by optimizing website content and technical elements and building quality backlinks.
While SEO can initially seem overwhelming, focusing on the core components outlined in this article will help you appear for relevant searches in your service areas. The payoff for getting to that coveted first few spots on the top of the Google searches is huge - more calls, customers, and revenue.
Now is the time to optimize your website rather than lose to competitors ranking above you. Contact me today for a free website SEO analysis and recommendations for your pest control business.
