The calendar drives everything
Demand in this industry is more predictable than in almost any other trade, which makes planning unusually valuable. A rough Pacific Northwest calendar:
- Spring: ants, spiders, wasps beginning, first inspections of the year
- Summer: wasps and hornets at peak, ants continuing, outdoor pests
- Autumn: rodents moving indoors as nights cool, spiders, overwintering insects
- Winter: rodents established indoors, bed bugs year-round, inspections for real estate
Each of those deserves its own campaign that switches on ahead of the season rather than after the calls start.
A campaign per pest, not one for "pest control"
A rat job and a wasp nest have different values, different urgency and different customers. Grouped into one campaign they share a budget and a bid, which means the cheap high-volume searches consume the money that should go to the valuable ones.
Separate campaigns also let you write ads that name the pest, which improves both click-through and the quality of the calls.
The DIY problem
Pest control has more informational search volume than almost any local service. "How to get rid of ants" dwarfs "ant exterminator", and none of those searchers will pay you. Your negative keyword list should be built before launch and extended weekly: how to, DIY, spray, traps, bait, home remedy, vinegar, natural, and the brand names of retail products.
Say the price and the guarantee
Franchises quote on the phone. An independent that publishes a starting price and a guarantee on the page wins the comparison before the call happens. "Rodent treatment from $X, with a 90-day guarantee" answers the two questions every caller asks, and filters out people shopping purely on price.
Recurring plans are the real business
A single treatment is revenue; a quarterly plan is a business. Give plans their own page and a small always-on campaign. The page should say what is covered in each visit through the year, what happens between visits if something appears, and what it costs.
Selling the plan at the end of a successful one-off treatment is easier than any advertising, so make sure the technicians have something to hand over.
Commercial work runs on a different clock
Restaurants, property managers and warehouses buy on compliance, documentation and reliability, in office hours, after comparing providers. That deserves its own campaign, its own page and a form rather than a phone-first layout.
Common questions
Should I advertise year-round?
Some pests are year-round; most are seasonal. Run each campaign on its own season so you are not paying for wasp searches in January.
How do I compete with the national franchises?
On specificity and price transparency. They bid broadly on "pest control"; you bid precisely on "rat exterminator" in your towns with a page that names the price and the guarantee.
Is Local Services advertising worth testing?
In many markets yes, because the badge carries trust for in-home services. Treat it as an addition to search, not a replacement.
What about seasonal staffing?
Marketing that outruns capacity produces bad reviews. Plan the campaign ramps around the crew you will actually have.
Where to start
Look at last year's job data by month and pest, and build the campaign calendar from it rather than from a generic guide. The full structure is on our Google Ads for pest control page.