PPC (pay per click), can be very beneficial to pest control businesses. Every time a customer searches for your name or searches “pest control” or a related phrase, you can be seen on Google at the very top in an ad. You only pay for it when a customer clicks on your ad, and it will take the customer directly to your website. It can be a great way for local businesses to get seen on Google. Because pest control keywords are fairly high in cost (in the 10 dollar range per keyword), it is important to make sure you are spending your money where you are getting a return in leads and conversions. PPC can be expensive if not monitored or set up correctly.
AdWords Settings
Settings is an extremely important tab in Google AdWords. This will help control when your ad runs and where it runs. You can set geographical targets so that your ad will only show in those locations that you choose. This is essential for local businesses. If you are a small local business you want to advertise locally, not nationwide. People choose businesses that are near them. Also, unless you have someone to answer your phone 24/7, set your ads to show only when there is someone in the office to answer the phone. Most potential customers don’t leave messages, and will go to the next company on the list.
Choosing Keywords
Choose keywords wisely. You don’t want to bid on keywords that don’t relate to your business. Make sure you are advertising services and products that you offer. If you don’t offer mosquito services, or wildlife services, don’t advertise for these. Make sure you include these keywords in your negative keyword list, so your ad doesn’t show for them. It isn’t about quantity of traffic but about the quality of traffic. This will keep your costs down and your conversions and leads up. Longer tail keywords (more specific keywords) are a great way to keep your cost down as well. Instead of using generic terms such as “pest control”, try using more descriptive keywords that include location or specific services you offer, like “kill fire ants Dallas TX”. Costs per clicks are usually much lower on long tail keywords plus you are targeting a specific audience.
Advertise LOCALLY!
Local businesses serve local customers. Local customers look for local businesses. Make sure you are advertising only in your geo targeted area. You don’t want to spend money for people looking for pest control services in Alaska if your business is in Texas. Also, if you offer specials or discounts, advertise them! Make your ad stand out from the rest of your competitors, especially if you are fighting nationwide competitors. Be sure to say that you are a local business serving local areas.
It’s also important to bid on keywords with your company name. This helps branding as well as ensuring you will take the top spot when someone searches your company’s name, rather than your competitors bidding on them so their company will pop up. Keywords for your own company and branding are usually pretty inexpensive.
Other Tips
Make sure your landing page correlates directly with your ad. Don’t always send customers to your home page if you have a dedicated page about that service. Also, make sure you are sending your customers to the right page, don’t send your customers to wildlife control if they are searching for termite control.
Remember mobile. Don’t shy away from marketing on mobile. You want your customers to click on your ad to call you, and more users are using their mobile device to search for services every day. Just make sure you either have a call extension (where the customer can click on your number in your ad) or add call only campaigns (the click goes directly to dialing your phone number instead of your website), so potential customers can directly call you from your ad with their mobile phone.
Track your success. Set up Google Analytics on AdWords and track leads and conversions. You can track call conversions as well. Tracking will help you see which campaigns are performing and which are not.
Lastly, always monitor your account. Just because you set it up, doesn’t mean it’s good to go forever. Take the time weekly to go through your account and optimize accordingly. This will help make sure you are spending money on the campaigns that convert, rather than the ones that don’t.
