Local SEO for Pest Control
It is all about being found online when your customers are looking for you. We know how to set you up for local market domination.
Pest control SEO designed for one purpose: to get you to rank at the top of Google and convert leads into paying customers!
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How to Rank and Index With SEO
SEO is one of those great mysteries on the internet and in the online marketing world. Do you ever get those emails guaranteeing your site will appear on the first page of Google? The only real problem is they don't tell you which page or what search query. Will they make sure your site appears on the first page of results in the town you service under the primary pest control search query of "pest control company near me?"
The likelihood of that happening, if you are not already there, is very slim when working with a random SEO guru who promises “first page for cheap!” SEO is as much a concept as it is a known process. It changes as fast as Google changes its algorithms. The issue confronting the unknowing pest control business owner is the mystery surrounding pest control SEO.
Who is the SEO person behind the curtain? Why can't they explain what they do to ensure you magically appear on Page 1 for every search your prospective customers might make?
It's because they can't. They can only try to do the basics consistent with any effective plan for SEO, which will ultimately have your pest control company indexing on Google searches for the top keywords and common key phrases local customers might be searching online.
Search Terms Like:
- Pest control company near me
- Exterminator near me
- Best pest control in the area
- Ant control in my town
- Spider problem in my town
- Cockroach control my town
- Bed Bug exterminators in my town
You get the idea of what you want to happen. Now let's talk about how you can apply some "best practice" SEO tactics to help your pest control company achieve a top of the page rank for the best keywords and phrases in your local market.
How can we define SEO? We know SEO stands for search engine optimization, but what is it really? And how can you create a plan for long-term success when it comes to how Google ranks your website pages when somebody does a local search for a similar topic?
What is SEO?
Defined by MOZ, here is a technical definition:
"SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is a set of practices designed to improve the appearance and positioning of web pages in organic search results. Because organic search is the most prominent way for people to discover and access online content, a good SEO strategy is essential for improving the quality and quantity of traffic to your website."
Okay, so that tells you what SEO is but not HOW to do it. Allow me to explain the details of our Rhino process and how it works for a number of pest control companies residing in different geographic areas throughout the USA.
Several years ago, Google had a thing called Google Authorship. In those days, Google gave you credit by the amount of content you created on a specific topic. When you accumulated enough credit on a single topic, Google gave you authorship status or what amounted to a subject matter expert status with Google. Nobody to this day really knows what the grading algorithm was back then, just like nobody really knows today what it takes to rank on the top of Page 1 for a given search query, except Google.
In case you don't remember Google Authorship or to jog your memory, take a look at this image:
Now I cannot guarantee how this works, nor do I know for sure. But what I can tell you is during the days of Google Authorship, it would take about 25 articles or pieces of content to see the photo image appear and for the articles to rank highly.
So, what does that have to do with SEO?
Everything! Google, which is a computer algorithm that gathers data in the form of URL's, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and a host of other technical codes, has to read and understand that information. It must then examine the relevancy of your content by analyzing your website and links to determine if you have established authority on the topic for your website to show on the search engine results page (SERP) after a search query. Wow, what does that mean? It simply means Google has to deem you relevant enough on a topic to show your page, even if we are talking about cockroaches!
To demonstrate just how well page ranking can work for your content, when it is done right with the correct SEO in place, do a Google search on this term: DO SPIDERS CRAWL ON ME AT NIGHT? You will see this and several of our other clients. Ranking for spiders is a big deal for a local pest control company.
Most website developers have no real clue how to put all of this together to enable your website and its content to match up as a subject matter expert and show up at the top of Page 1 for the most relevant search queries.
Unless, you have a sufficient volume of content based on a particular topic cluster that tells Google, this is the best option for the local search, let's put them first!
How can a Pest Control Company be the best at SEO in their market area?
Let's break this down into the steps we use to provide GREAT pest control SEO that works, and that we explain to our clients what the heck we are doing.
It all starts with the construction of your website and who you may have hired to build it. The website MUST have the following minimum requirements in your local market:
- A URL or Slug that matches the keyword and content for the page
- A Page Title that also matches the keyword and content for the page
- A Meta Description that isolates the keyword, topic and content for this page
- Well defined ALT TAGS for all images on the page
- H1 TAG based upon primary keyword or phrase
- H2 TAG based upon secondary keyword or phrase
- Professionally written content. The content should be at least 1000 words with the correct keyword density and stay within the topic cluster.
- Every page MUST work PERFECTLY on a smartphone mobile device
In pest control SEO, your content, its volume, and its quality is what will make the single biggest difference in your SERP (search engine results page) ranking. If you have sufficient topic-based content, you WILL rank for it. It just takes some time for Google to reward you for it. The important thing here is to stay topic based. One of the problems that can arise with pest control is the desire to rank for everything right now. For example; ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, spiders, silverfish, scorpions, termites, etc. An old saying is "if you try to advertise everything to everyone, you advertise nothing to no one." With your content and topic clusters, stay laser focused. Start with ants for example. Build your professionally optimized page that is specific to ants, even down to the type of ant. Make sure that each ant page you build is for a single area. Now create companion ant related blog articles that will all link back to the original ant website page.
Consider using downloadable information exchange to build authority. Using our ant page example, include a video showing ant colonies and how you treat for them. Maybe you should create an ant guide for your local area that local prospective customers can download. In Google’s eyes, if we can convince her that you are the ant expert in your area, you will be the company that shows up for ant control related search in your area.
Create your plan of attack. Start with a single page for a single service in a single area. Optimize and create content. Make sure you have sufficient content and links to show up in Google search. You will know when it shows up, because you can find it yourself on a friend’s computer. Think of it like this to start. For example, I will only use ants, but this would go for every area, service and target pest you provide in your market. Setup your website pages like this:
- Town 1 - Ant Control
- Town 2 - Ant Control
- Town 3 - Ant Control
Now setup some blogs that will be companion content and will link to the appropriate pages. This may seem like a time consuming and laborious process. That's because it is. This is the sweat equity portion of your SEO investment.
As we move forward, the point here is not to confuse you, but rather to shed some light on a topic (pest control SEO), where too many owners and managers are taken advantage of. What we have described will work for you. It just takes a concrete plan and a schedule of execution. It is highly advisable that you get a marketing partner who knows how to implement a content driven plan, and more importantly, has a resume of working with local pest control companies.
The Ultimate Guide to Pest Control SEO
Ready to tackle this yourself? Get your free guide on pest control SEO today to learn everything you need to know to create and implement an effective SEO strategy.
