Pest Control: Why your customers can't find you in your own backyard

Presented by Chad J. Treadway
NC PCT School
January 27, 2026

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Transcript

Why Your Customers Can't Find You in Your Own Backyard

Lessons from 200+ Pest Control Website Evaluations

Presenter: Chad Treadway, CMO, Cube Creative Design
Event: PCT School, Durham, NC

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Introduction

Good morning everyone. My name is Bob. I serve as Chad's digital assistant—a role which requires a certain tolerance for chaos. It's a pleasure to meet you all, even under these circumstances.

My apologies. Chad is currently attending to Webster. Apparently he requires fresh content. It seems everyone who crawls these days expects to be fed regularly. Dreadfully inconvenient timing, but one doesn't argue with an arachnid.

Let me briefly check in on Chad. Ah yes, he is preparing this month's pages for him.

Sir, I feel obligated to inform you. After you did those 200 evaluations, I crunched the numbers. I found a pattern, and I'm afraid it's rather grim.

Chad: What do you mean grim?

Yes sir, 55% of these companies receive fewer than 50 visitors a month. That's not a website, sir. That's a cobweb with a logo. And most of them haven't the faintest idea.

Chad: Thank you, Bob.

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Quick Definitions

Before we dive in, let's make sure we're all on the same page with some terminology:

• Google Business Profile (GBP): The gateway to the internet for your business. You must have this optimized to do anything online. It's how you show up in Google Maps and local searches.
• Map Pack (Local Pack): The map section with three business listings that appears at the top of local search results.
• Pay Per Click (PPC): Ads where you pay for every click. Usually marked as "Ad" or "Sponsored" in search results.
• Local Service Ads (LSA): Pay-per-lead advertising through Google. Think Angie's List on the browser.
• Organic Traffic: Visitors who find you through unpaid search results.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your website to show up in search engines like Google or Bing.
• Local SEO: SEO focused specifically on local search intent.
• Geographic Landing Pages (Geo Pages): Dedicated pages on your site that cover a specific geographic location AND a specific service you provide.

Now that we've got alphabet soup out of the way, let's move on.

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The Evaluation: What I Found

I evaluated over 200 pest control websites across the United States—with a heavy focus on North Carolina, obviously, because it's home. If you can't tell from this accent, I'm born and raised here.

When I started, I expected to find the usual suspects causing visibility problems:

• Bad designs
• Technical issues
• Not enough reviews

But that's not what I found.

The results were surprising:

• About 40% weren't showing up in the top 10 search results
• The rest were showing up somewhere below that

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Understanding the Traffic Gap

Let me explain what I call the "traffic gap":

• Peak Traffic: Your highest historical traffic
• Current Traffic: Where you're at now
• The Gap: The difference between the two

Here's the hard truth: You're not just invisible online. You're actually losing ground.

What Happened to Traffic?

Looking at traffic patterns across these 200+ sites:

• COVID Peak: Everyone was home, everyone was searching, traffic spiked
• 2022-2023: Seasonal ups and downs, relatively normal
• 2024: Things just dropped

If you've felt this drop in the last couple of years, here's why:

1. AI Overviews (May 2024): Those AI-generated descriptions now appearing at the top of Google searches
2. Google Business Profile Websites Shut Down (March-June 2024): Many businesses used these as extra links—gone now
3. The Diversity Update (2024): A major algorithm change that reshuffled rankings

This wasn't a fun rollercoaster drop. This was a Wile E. Coyote drop.

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The Missing Piece

So what was I missing? What was actually keeping these companies from showing up?

Here's what I found:

• 62% had NO geographic landing pages at all
• 20% had orphaned pages (not properly linked)
• 20% had some geo pages but weren't doing it fully
• 0.5% (literally ONE company out of 200+) was doing it right

The biggest missing piece was geographic landing pages.

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The One Company Doing It Right

That one company that was doing it right?

• Peaked at 83,000 visitors
• Ranked for 2,000 keywords in the top 10
• Spent $0 on PPC ads

When the industry got hit with algorithm changes, they had something to fall back on. Everyone else was scrambling.

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What Are Geographic Landing Pages?

Google needs to know two things:

1. What you do
2. Where you do it

A blog post tells Google what you do (answers questions, provides expertise).

A geo page tells Google what you do AND where you do it.

Your competitors may be showing up for "Pest Control Near Me" searches not because they're better than you—but because they have content that Google thinks is relevant to that location.

Search Rankings Reality Check

Where do you want to rank?

• Top 3: This is where you want to be. These positions get the clicks.
• Positions 4-10: You're on page one, working your way up.
• Page 2: I like to say this is where we hide the dead bodies.
• Pages 3-5: You're digging up dinosaur bones. You're fossilized. Nobody goes to page 5 to find a pest control company.

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What Is a Geo Page?

A geo page is a dedicated page for a specific city or town you serve, combined with a specific service.

Example using Durham:

• Termites Durham
• Fire Ants Durham
• Bed Bugs Durham
• General Pest Control Durham

What Goes on a Geo Page?

1. Unique content for each location — You cannot copy and paste the same content with different city names
2. Links back to your main service pages — Connect to your primary Termites, Ants, Bed Bugs pages
3. Local details — Let the reader AND Google know that you know the area
4. Local photos — A photo of your technician in front of a local landmark
5. Neighborhood mentions — Reference specific neighborhoods you serve

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The Math: How Many Pages Do You Need?

Let's do some quick math:

Example 1: 3 cities × 4 services = 12 pages

• Cities: Raleigh, Durham, Cary
• Services: Termites, Mosquitoes, Bed Bugs, General Pest Control

Example 2: 10 cities × 4 services = 40 pages

Example 3: 40 cities × 4 services = 160 pages

I know that seems like a lot. But here's the thing:

Don't run trucks to areas you're not in. If you're in Raleigh and don't want to run to Wake Forest, don't build a page for Wake Forest. If you're in South Raleigh and don't want to go to Butner, don't build a page for Butner.

Scaling Guidelines

Where to Start

1. Start with General Pest Control — It's the easiest service to write about
2. Pick your easiest wins — Just like when you started your company with a single route
3. Go where the money is — New fancy neighborhood being built? Consider building content for that area
4. Avoid the headaches — If an area has lots of difficult customers, maybe skip it

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The Doorway Page Trap: What NOT to Do

Don't:

• Create 50 pages this weekend and throw them all up at once
• Use auto-generated, mad-libs style content where you just swap city names
• Hide pages from your navigation completely
• Build them all at once

Do:

• Create unique content for each location
• Include local details that prove you know the area
• Fit pages naturally into your site structure
• Roll them out gradually

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Case Study: Bull's Eye Pest Control

This is Bull's Eye Pest Control out of Texas. I found them in my research—I have no affiliation with them whatsoever.

In June 2025, they had:

• Zero paid traffic
• Strong keyword rankings

They were doing geo pages right.

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Case Study: Our Client (Name Withheld)

This client recently sold, so I won't name them specifically. Here's their journey:

That's a 99.4% reduction in ad spend. I ran those numbers three times because I'm not a math major.

What Happened to Their Organic Traffic?

• 2023: Less than 30,000 visitors
• 2025: Almost 100,000 visitors

The Paid Traffic Reality Check

At their height in 2021, spending $1.38 million on Google Ads, they only got 750 visits from that paid traffic.

That math doesn't work.

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Let's Do Some Napkin Math

Annual savings from reducing ad spend: $1.37 million

What could you do with that money?

• 20 new trucks at $50,000 each (and yes, that's a Toyota Tacoma, because I am a Toyota guy)
• 27 new technicians at $50,000/year salary to push into new markets
• Pure profit in your pocket

Instead of money in Google's pocket, put it in your own.

Geo pages aren't just nice to have. They're money in your pocket.

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Let's Talk About Reviews

I know everyone says "I need more reviews." You do. But it's also about responding to reviews.

The Numbers

• Businesses that respond to reviews get nearly 1,000x more monthly traffic
• 75% of businesses do NOT respond to their reviews
• Consumers spend 49% more when the business responds to reviews
• 89% of consumers expect responses
• 63% expect a response within 3 days

If you're sitting down once a month during peak season to respond to reviews, you're already behind.

And that 5-star review from two years ago? Nobody cares anymore.

How Many Reviews Do You Need?

Aim for 2-4 reviews per month depending on your size. Bigger companies need more.

Example: How to Respond to a Positive Review

Customer Review:

"Called these guys up after seeing some mud tunnels along the foundation of the house. They came out the next day and did a full inspection, found the termite problem."

Good Response:

"Thank you, Hiram! We're glad we were able to identify the issue quickly. Eastern Subterranean Termites are common in the Raleigh area, and those mud tunnels are definitely the key warning sign to watch for."

Notice what this response does:

• Thanks the customer by name
• Explains what was found (Eastern Subterranean Termites)
• Mentions the location (Raleigh area)
• Educates future customers on what to look for
• Feeds information directly into Google

Example: How to Handle a 1-Star Review

Customer Review:

"I was overcharged. Two weeks ago, still seeing bugs. What exactly did I pay for? Complete waste of money."

Good Response:

"We understand your frustration. It's actually normal to still see some activity in the first few weeks after treatment as the products take full effect. [Explain the process]. We'd love to discuss this further and make it right."

You're informing the future reader AND Google.

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Optimizing Your Google Business Profile

Key things to check:

1. Correct Category — Make sure you're listed as "Pest Control" first (not landscaping or something else)
2. Service Areas — Set up as a Service Area Business
3. Weekly Posts — But don't treat these like social media posts
4. Complete Your Attributes — Veteran-owned? List it. People do business with veterans.

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NAP Consistency

NAP = Name, Address, Phone Number

(Not the kind after Sunday lunch.)

Your information must be identical everywhere:

• Website
• Google Business Profile
• Yelp
• Angi
• HomeAdvisor
• Nextdoor
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

The Problem

If your website says "ABC Pest Control," your GBP says "ABC Pest Control LLC," your Yelp says "ABC Pest Control Inc," and an old listing says "A.B.C. Pest Control"—Google sees those as four different companies.

Why This Matters

• At least 57% of searches come from mobile (I'd guess it's higher for pest control)
• 67% of ADA lawsuits target companies under $25 million in revenue

When I evaluated websites, I looked at:

• The website itself
• How they showed up for brand name searches
• Their Google Business Profile
• How they showed up for "near me" searches
• ADA compliance (color contrast, readability)

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Questions to Ask Your Agency (or Yourself)

1. Do you have geographic pages for every city you serve?
2. When was the last time you added content to your site? (Not 6 blogs every quarter. Not 200 words this month—you left a couple zeros off.)
3. Are you responding to Google reviews? Who's responsible for that?
4. Can you show me our keyword positions? Where do we rank in top 3 vs. top 10?
5. What's our traffic month over month?
6. Is our NAP consistent?

You deserve to know what you're getting.

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The ROI of SEO

SEO delivers a 550% return on investment.

For every dollar you spend on SEO, you should get five dollars and change back.

SEO Timeline (In Pest Control Terms)

Think of it like termite treatment:

Here's the thing: If a customer has you put bait stations in the ground in January, then calls in March saying "pull these out, they're not working"—you know it hasn't had time to work yet.

Same with SEO. If someone tells me "my SEO isn't working" and they've only been doing it for three months, they haven't given it enough time.

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Focus on Lifetime Value

With pest control, there are one-time jobs. But you really want those yearly retainer customers—the ones paying quarterly or monthly.

What's the lifetime value of your top customers?

Compare that to what you're spending on digital marketing and PPC. The math starts making a lot more sense.

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Homework: Four Things to Do When You Get Home

1. Check for Geo Pages

Look at your site menu or go to yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml to see what pages Google can actually see.

2. Check Your Content Depth

Is your service page more than two paragraphs? Believe it or not, I found sites with two paragraphs—if that—on their main services.

3. Test Your Mobile Experience

Google yourself. But don't do it from your office or home. Do it from one of your prime service areas in an incognito/private browser window so Google doesn't know you're logged in.

4. Review Your Reviews

Look at your last 10 Google reviews. Did you respond? How long did it take?

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Free Tools

SEO Research:

• SEMrush (what we use)
• Ahrefs
• SpyFu (for PPC tracking)
• Screaming Frog (desktop app)
• Ubersuggest (keyword research)

Site Speed:

• Google Lighthouse
• GTmetrix
• Pingdom
• WebPageTest

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Summary

There's a lot I covered and some I couldn't cover in 45 minutes:

What I covered:

• Geographic landing pages
• Content strategy
• Review responses

What I couldn't cover:

• Technical SEO
• Site structure
• Schema markup
• And much more

But here's the key takeaway: The technical stuff wasn't what was keeping these companies from showing up. It was the missing geo pages.

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Closing

Bob: Sir, if I may, I've prepared a summary of today's presentation for your guests. With your permission, I'll display the retrieval code.

Chad: The QR code?

Bob: Yes sir, the QR code. I hope you can all use it. I'd hate for any of you to leave here and remain—what was the phrase, sir?

Chad: A cobweb with a logo.

Bob: Precisely so. Though I'm told cobwebs are rather on-brand for this audience.