Pest Control Digital Marketing: Get Better Leads & Bigger Jobs

How to use this pest control marketing guide

This pest control marketing guide aims to provide an all-in-one resource for learning:

• How digital marketing can generate qualified leads and jobs
• How to use online marketing to grow a business
• How to get professional help marketing your pest control company

The basics of digital marketing for pest control companies

Learn the basics of digital marketing for pest control companies now:

What is pest control digital marketing?

Pest control digital marketing uses online channels, like search and paid, to reach the property managers, homeowners, and organizations looking for your services. Examples of online marketing include search engine optimization (SEO) and Google Local Services Ads (LSAs).

How can digital marketing help your pest control company?

Digital marketing can help pest control companies like yours by:

• Growing your online visibility: Online marketing reaches users where they’re at, from browsing search results on Google to watching videos on YouTube. Being present in these places makes it possible for users to find your business when they need you.
• Improving your lead quality: You can eliminate the time spent with low-quality leads, from phone calls to driving time, with digital marketing. This means you can put more time and energy into converting those good pest control leads. With web marketing, you can create campaigns focusing on the people and places matching your target customer.
• Increasing your job size: Pest control companies can also use targeting to reach users who will likely have a larger job size. For example, with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising or SEO, you could target keywords used by commercial vs. residential shoppers.
• Protecting your business during the slow season: You can’t avoid the slow season. However, digital marketing can limit its impact by making your business visible to people that need a pest control company now.
• Slowing your competition’s growth: Look at the search results for pest control providers in your area — these are the businesses taking jobs from your team. Use digital marketing, though, and your company can cut into their profits and slow their growth.
• Building your brand reputation: Whether inviting someone into their home, business, or complex, people want someone they can trust. With digital marketing, it’s possible to demonstrate experience, certifications, and more to these shoppers to win the job.

Is online marketing better than traditional marketing for pest control companies?

Yes — and no.

From our experience as a pest control marketing agency (we have thousands of hours of experience helping pest control companies grow their businesses via digital marketing), we’ve seen how online marketing can generate leads, jobs, and a return on investment (ROI).

However, our clients have also benefited from some traditional marketing initiatives, like:

• Vehicle wraps
• Referral programs
• Signage and branding for the business location

Compared to traditional marketing, though, digital marketing has a competitive advantage by meeting customers at the right moment — when they’re researching a pest control problem or searching for a service provider.

Plus, online marketing for pest control companies is easy to measure. Via tools like Google Analytics 4, it’s possible to see which marketing efforts generated a phone call or form submission. In comparison, traditional marketing often requires asking the lead how they found your business.

So, consider digital if you’re debating where to spend your marketing budget.

How long does online marketing for pest control take to work?

Online marketing for pest control companies can take days to months to work. In most cases, paid strategies, like Google LSAs, will deliver results the fastest, while unpaid strategies, like local SEO, will take longer.

If you’re hiring someone to manage your digital marketing efforts, they should provide an estimated timeline for results. However, pest control marketing agencies promising overnight results are often less reputable (and unlikely to deliver).

Getting started with pest control marketing

Learn how to get started with pest control marketing now:

How much does digital marketing for pest control cost?

Pest control digital marketing costs depend on several factors, including:

• Who manages the marketing efforts, like an agency vs. in-house team member
• How many strategies the company uses, like local SEO vs. local SEO and PPC
• Whether the pest control company is established or new to the market

On average, businesses will spend $51 to $10,000 per month on digital marketing. Alternatively, companies will invest 7 – 10% of their revenue into marketing initiatives, whether traditional or digital.

What are the most effective digital marketing strategies for pest control companies?

The most effective digital marketing strategies for pest control companies include:

• Local SEO, which reaches users in your service area via localized search results.
• Google LSAs, which creates service-based ads using your service area.
• Geofencing, which targets users via localized fences, like for a neighborhood.

Learn more about these pest control marketing options (and others!) below:

Local SEO

Local SEO makes it easier for people and businesses in your service area to find your company. This strategy focuses on claiming and optimizing local listings that appear in localized search results, like Google Business Profile, and creating localized content on your site.

Get started with local search engine optimization by:

• Claiming local listings like Google Business Profile and Bing Places
• Updating local listings with your name, address, and phone number
• Optimizing local listings with photos of your work, services offered, and more

For localized website content, consider these tips:

• Research common search terms for your services, like ‘mice exterminator’
• Create localized content based on these terms, like ‘mice exterminator las vegas nv’
• Optimize content with SEO best practices, like adding keywords and matching search intent

Learn more about getting started with this strategy in our guide to how to do local SEO.

Google LSAs

Google Local Services Ads for pest control companies offer one of the most effective marketing strategies. That’s because these paid ads appear for relevant and localized searches with enhancements demonstrating your experience, trust, and capabilities.

Getting started with Google LSAs is fast, too. Just complete these steps to get started:

1. Add your business name, service type (like pest control), and location
2. Select a flexible monthly budget
3. Complete any necessary verification, like providing your business registration

You can also apply for the Google Guarantee badge as an additional trust signal. Earning this badge requires passing a background check and providing Google with your company’s license and insurance information.

Geofencing

Geofencing is another advertising option for pest control companies. Its advantage is the ability to create hyper-targeted ad campaigns based on location. For example, businesses can target specific neighborhoods and business complexes with geofencing.

If you’re looking to get started with geofencing, a top geofencing agency can help.

Website

Whether people hear about you through online or offline marketing channels, they’ll search for your business online to learn more about your services, reviews, and prices. That’s why it’s important to have a website.

Best practices for websites include:

• Maintaining a consistent style (think colors, fonts, and writing tone)
• Having a homepage, contact page, about page, portfolio page, and service page(s)
• Including trust signals, like certifications, years of experience, or testimonials
• Allowing search engines to crawl and index the site so it can appear in search results

In our pest control web design guide, you can learn more about creating an effective website.

Traditional SEO

SEO is one method of generating traffic to your website. It’s the practice of optimizing and building your website so that it appears higher up in search engine rankings.

Much of SEO is based on the content that you have on your website, which gives pest control businesses a great opportunity to inform, educate, and build trust with potential customers.

For example, you could have an entire section of your website dedicated to explaining how to recognize the signs of certain types of pests or how to deal with minor issues that don’t require the help of a professional.

Another section could describe preventive measures homeowners can take or steps to take after an infestation has been identified.

This content establishes your business as an industry-leading authority and gives potential customers a reason to do business with you over your competitors.

Learn more about using search engine optimization in our guide on pest control SEO!

PPC advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a form of online advertising — and it’s an excellent option for pest control online marketing. You create ads displayed above Google search results for specific keywords or on social media pages, and you only pay when users click on those ads.

PPC is a fantastic marketing idea for pest control companies with tight advertising budgets because it gives you complete control over how much you’re spending.

It also gives you very actionable data. For example, if you publish a newspaper ad, you’ll never know how many people saw it, and it can even be hard to tell which customers you acquired because of that ad.

With PPC advertising, you’ll always know exactly how many potential customers viewed your ad, clicked on your ad, and so on.

Learn more about creating effective PPC ads with our guide on PPC for pest control companies.

Social media marketing

Social media for pest control businesses can be a huge deal. Word of mouth has essentially gone digital and taken the form of social media networks.

It’s extremely important to have your business listed on all relevant sites (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), so that you can start collecting reviews from current and past customers.

Many people head straight to Facebook or Instagram when researching potential exterminators, and you want to make sure you’re ready and waiting with a five-star rating.

Social media also lets you speak directly with your customers. If someone has an issue with your work, you can address and solve it publicly to demonstrate your stellar customer service. If someone loved your work, their sentiment is there for all to see.

Learn more about using social media in our social media marketing guide for pest control!

How do I get started with pest control marketing?

You know which marketing strategies work best, but how do you get started with pest control marketing? Below, our team shares their tips for creating the foundation for an effective marketing campaign:

1. Create measurable goals, like “Earn X qualified leads / month”
2. Research what competitors do, like where and how they advertise
3. Set up analytics tracking, like in Google Analytics 4
4. Outline budget allocations, like for advertising, local SEO, and more
5. Check performance regularly, like monthly or quarterly

For more information, check out our guide on how to create a digital marketing plan.

Outsourcing digital marketing for pest control companies

Learn how (and when) to get professional help marketing your pest control company:

When should I outsource my pest control company’s online marketing?

From our experience, companies benefit most often from outsourcing their online marketing when:

• They don’t have the time, resources, or experience to manage their marketing
• They aren’t seeing the expected results (or have noticed a steep decline in performance)

With a pest control marketing agency (or a freelancer), you can get experts to develop and manage your digital marketing efforts, which gives you the time to focus on other business efforts, like hiring, service, or expansion.

How much do digital marketing services for pest control companies cost?

Digital marketing services for pest control companies will often cost a few thousand dollars per month, especially if partnering with an agency vs. a freelancer. WebFX’s services, for example, start at $3,000 per month.

Professional service providers, though, will offer several advantages, like:

• Getting pest control marketing pros working on your account
• Eliminating the time needed to manage and monitor your marketing efforts
• Accessing software for better return on investment and lead tracking

Of course, before signing with an agency, get their pricing and deliverables beforehand.

How do I choose a pest control marketing agency?

If you’re looking to hire a pest control marketing agency, check out these tips:

• Browse the agency’s reviews, case studies, and awards
• Ask for industry-specific case studies and/or client references
• Verify whether the agency does (or will) work with competitors
• Review the agency’s pricing, deliverables, and contract (if applicable)

For more advice on finding the perfect partner, check out our guide on how to hire a marketing firm.

Book more jobs with pest control marketing pros

Congrats! You’ve learned how to use pest control digital marketing to grow your business.

If you’re looking for professional help getting started, consider the pest control marketing pros at WebFX. With thousands of hours of experience (and more than $10 billion generated in revenue for clients), we’re a trusted partner for businesses like yours.

Contact us online (or give us a ring at 888-601-5359) to get started!

We Drive Results for Pest Control Companies

• 24 million leads generated for clients
• Renowned for our communication and transparency

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