How To Get Pest Control Leads In 2023

Overview

The pest control space has continued to evolve tremendously online.  5-10 years ago, you could get most of the leads that you were in need of organically via SEO.  Then, up until about 2-3 years ago, Google PPC ads worked especially well.  Now, Google Local Services has been taking over as Google has been seeking to maximize profits and give the best traffic to verified businesses that are willing to just hand Google a large ad budget and let them run with it using their AI.

As far as our PPC services go for pest control companies, we primarily work with franchisors that have a lot of locations in the home services industry.  But, if you’re interested in hopping on a quick call, we should be able to quickly decipher what your advertising needs are and at least point you in the right direction so that you’re with a vendor that will be a good fit for you and your pest control company.

Seasonality Of Pest Control Leads

Usually around January or February of each year (even more so in 2021 following the global pandemic), after the holidays are well celebrated and pest control season is on the horizon, pest control owners and operators begin their yearly preparations for acquiring additional customers.

The vigil typically begins with a review of previous years’ doings along with expectations and anticipation for future growth in the coming year.  In days past, top lead sources and goals centered around mediums such as door knocking, direct mail, billboards, car signage, etc.. However, as the digital era has progressed, an increasing number of pest control business owners are turning to networks such as Google Ads, Bing/Yahoo Ads, and even Facebook for new customer acquisition.

Inbound Leads Vs. Outside Sales

The reason for this is simple.  Pest control leads tend to be cheaper and customer acquisition as a whole is usually cheaper and more consistent with inbound leads via search engines and other online mediums than knocking doors.  True, if you have the financial resources and experience to know what types of college students to hire for summer sales, what neighborhoods to knock, how much to pay for apartment rent and food, and how to manage a crew of young often-times inexperienced workers, there is still money to be made knocking doors.

But, even the most experienced and largest pest control owners will tell you that it is exhausting.

Scalability Of PPC Pest Control

The great thing about digital media is that you can start small, scale up, and shut things down at will, and nobody’s feelings will get hurt.  Or, if you like, you can outpace your competition by running ads all year long, and while the competition is sleeping, you can increase your Quality Scores, Ad Relevance, and other important factors in your ads and claim that coveted #1 spot on Google for terms like Pest Control, Exterminator, and Bed Bug Removal.

The question isn’t really IF you need pest control leads.  If you’re in business, you need them. The question is, how are you going to get them, how many will you get, and what will your ROI be.

Need Help?

Once you are able to dial in your ads, landing pages, phone tracking lines, and ROI, it is clear blue skies ahead.  Need help getting there? No problem. We can either help you get there or give you some references and advice on how to get there.  Our main focus these days is franchise lead generation and franchise leads.  But, if you need pest control leads or any type of PPC leads, feel free to contact us!

Other Pest Control Lead Generation Tips:

Pests are an inevitable part of life and, while they may annoy us on occasion, they can also create major health risks. Professional pest control services are necessary to eliminate these dangerous critters from our homes and businesses. As such, pest control service providers must constantly strive to generate leads for their business so that they can acquire the customers needed to stay profitable.

Lead generation is a complex undertaking and requires both time and energy to be effective. Knowing how to properly generate pest control leads can make the difference between success and failure, so it pays to take the time to understand what works best for your particular situation.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about pest control lead generation, from creative ways to use social media, maximizing your online presence, and investing in local advertising, right through to email marketing strategies, common mistakes to avoid, and optimizing tactics. By the end of this article you’ll have a comprehensive checklist for improving your lead generation process so that you can achieve long-term success. So without further ado let’s dive in!

1. The Ultimate Guide to Pest Control Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of connecting potential customers with a business. It requires a combination of effort and strategy, with the ultimate goal being to acquire leads that can be converted into paying customers. For pest control service providers, this means targeting prospective clients who are interested in pest removal services.

To successfully generate leads, you must first identify your target audience and develop an effective lead generation plan to reach them. This includes crafting compelling messages tailored to their needs and interests, as well as utilizing various online outlets such as social media sites, websites, search engines, and e-mail listservs. Once these key components are in place you’ll be ready to begin generating leads.

2. 10 Creative Ways to Use Social Media for Generating More Pest Control Leads

Social media is a powerful tool for lead generation, and one that should not be overlooked when it comes to marketing your pest control service business. There are numerous creative ways to use social media for lead generation, from launching engaging campaigns on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, to using Twitter influencers to reach new audiences. Here are ten ideas you can use:

• Create polls and quizzes that ask users about their pest problems and get them involved in the discussion;

• Develop content around current pest control trends or news stories related to pests in your area;

• Post helpful tips about pest prevention and control;

• Launch a referral program on your social media channels where you offer discounts to customers who refer friends or family members;

• Run competitions and giveaways to attract more followers and generate leads;

• Reach out to influencers in the pest control industry and ask them to promote your services;

• Take advantage of Facebook advertising, targeting potential customers in your area with ads promoting your pest control services;

• Post regularly about the benefits of using a professional pest control service provider;

• Include calls-to-action in posts that direct people towards booking an appointment with you;

• Promote special offers such as free consultations or discounts.

3. How To Optimize Your Online Presence

You can use your online presence to increase visibility, draw in leads, and grow your business. Here are some tips for optimizing your online presence:

• Make sure your website is easy to navigate so potential customers can find the information they need quickly;

• Include social media buttons on each page of your site that direct visitors to follow you;

• Invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to improve organic traffic;

• Ensure that all of your content is up-to-date and relevant;

• Publish educational resources such as blog articles, infographics, and videos about pest control topics;

• Create a Google My Business page so that people can easily find and contact you;

• Include relevant keywords throughout your website and social media channels to increase visibility in search engine results;

• Make sure all of your profiles are complete with accurate information.

4. Identifying Your Ideal Customer

Once you’ve set up the necessary digital infrastructure, it’s time to focus on identifying your ideal customer and generating leads that will result in conversions. To do this, start by developing buyer personas – detailed descriptions of people who would be interested in using your services. Think about the type of properties they own, their location, age, gender, occupation, interests etc. Once you know who you’re targeting you can craft messages that appeal specifically to them. Don’t be afraid to test different types of messages and formats to find out what works best.

5. Making the Most of Offline Lead Generation Tactics

As well as utilizing digital channels, don’t forget that there are other methods you can use for generating leads. Here are some ideas:

• Attend local events such as trade shows or networking opportunities;

• Place ads in newspapers, magazines, or on billboards;

• Put flyers up in busy places like shopping centers or supermarkets;

• Reach out to landlords and property managers in your area;

• Participate in online forums related to pest control topics;

• Take part in conversations on social media using relevant hashtags;

• Contact local schools, businesses, and homeowners to offer pest control services.

By combining digital and offline lead generation tactics you can maximize your reach and hopefully generate enough leads to grow your pest control business.

6. Ways To Convert Leads Into Customers

Once you’ve generated leads it’s important to convert them into customers by providing the best possible service. Here are some tips for doing this:

• Get back to clients quickly with a friendly response;

• Always be professional when dealing with potential customers;

• Provide detailed information about your services in a timely manner;

• Offer discounts or incentives that help people make a decision;

• Follow up promptly with any unanswered inquiries;

• Make sure all of your contact details are easily accessible;

• Provide a great aftersales service to ensure customers remain loyal.

By following these tips you should be able to convert more leads into customers and sustain the growth of your pest control business.

7. Evaluating Your Lead Generation Performance

Once you’ve implemented a lead generation strategy, it’s important to measure its effectiveness so that you can make improvements if necessary. Here are some metrics you can use:

• Number of leads generated;

• Cost per lead;

• Conversion rate from leads to sales;

• Average order value for each sale;

• Number of repeat customers.

By tracking these metrics you can identify areas for improvement and ensure that your lead generation strategy is as effective as possible.

In conclusion, there are many different strategies you can use to generate leads for your pest control business. From setting up a website and utilizing digital channels, to attending trade shows or posting flyers in busy places, there are plenty of ways to reach potential customers. By combining digital and offline tactics with great customer service you should be able to convert more leads into long-term customers and grow your business successfully. Good luck!

 

Need Help?

If you need help with pest control lead generation, please fill out our Contact Us form so that we can help you drive more customers online.

Video Transcription

If you’re looking at this article it’s probably because it’s that time of the year where pest control companies are heavily thinking about leads, and getting new customers. I kind of grew up semi around the pest control industry. One of my very best friends out of Dallas owns a really successful bureau of a company. It’s like kind of a second generation type of thing. His dad did it, and then he started one after that. And one thing I learned very early on is that people in the pest control space they from about November to February they kind of take it easy, whatever that means for them. For my buddy he ends up traveling. His wife is Brazilian so they go down to Brazil in the winter. Kind of have a good old time. But usually he starts calling me around end of February, beginning of March, he is starting to get very focused on driving more leads just because of the seasonality of the business. 

So if that’s you and you’re kind of looking at all your different lead sources and what’s worked in the past, I think it’s a good time to reconsider driving more leads off the internet, whether that’s organic, or paid. Our agency we focus on driving things through PaperClick. In the pest control space that’s mainly Google although Facebook is starting to pick up a little bit as well.

So let’s talk for a second about inbound leads like those coming off the internet versus outside sales. I live in Spanish Fork, Utah, and I play about 660, and in the summers I would go to the three on three tournaments, and there’s all these three on three basketball tournaments. There’s all this recruiting to go do alarms systems, satellites, pest control. And so some people will come back having made $100,000 in their little summer stint, and that’s just a single person. And so while outside sales can definitely work, it is really expensive. At the end of the day you’re paying for a person. You’re paying for an apartment. Food for them to eat, gas, all those different things. So that starts to add up versus a digital system where someone’s already raised their hand and said, “Me, I’m interested. I have bed bugs, or I have voles,” or something like that. 

So yeah, I mean I think that one thing that’s very attractive about PaperClick is that it can be very scalable. So some of the groups we’ve worked with, a lot of the times they start only spending $1,500 a month on their ads, or $5,000, or $3,000. Under $5,000 budgets on their ads figuring that stuff out, and then scaling over to time. Some of the groups we work with they used to have very large outside sales groups, and many of them have dropped their outside altogether. Some of them have reduced them. But the reason behind that is because PaperClick you can scale it a lot. You know per city a lot of times people can spend $20,000 to $40,000 a month and drive that much business in making many multiples. You want to make sure you’re making four or five times or more what you’re spending on your ads, because there’s other costs that come into play, and you want to make sure that you gain that recurring customer, and you keep track of retention and things like that. 

If you need help whether it’s with Google ads or Facebook ads in the pest control space, feel free to reach out. If it’s something that we can’t do, because of exclusivity or what have you, we can definitely point you in the right direction because we know a lot of the good players. If you have any questions feel free to reach out on our website leadpvc.com. 

Thank you very much.