One of the best ways to get your company’s name in front of people searching online for pest control is through local SEO, and regularly publishing blog content is an essential part of pest control SEO and pest control digital marketing success. If you’ve never published blog posts for your pest control company or you’re finding it hard to come up with new topics to write about, we’ve gathered some content ideas to help.
Blog post content vs. website page content
First, a bit of Content 101 to take a look at what blog post content is, or can be—feel free to skip down if you’re already clear on this.
Technically, content is content. You usually publish blog posts and web pages in the same way, using the same content management system. The main difference between these is in the type of content each contains and what readers expect from each.
Web pages are where we go to get a solution to a problem or answer to a specific question, such as when your customer wants to know these sorts of things:
- Whether you offer termite warranties or green pest control
- How long you’ve been in business
- Where or how to pay an invoice
- How to make or change a service appointment.
Think of a web page as a place to get things done. (Related: This is why your website should have user-friendly navigation and your pages should load quickly, and why you should have a mobile version of your website.) Make sure your site doesn’t have any barriers to getting things done that can cause a visitor on any type of device to quickly bail out and go to a competitor’s site for the information they need.
The kind of content you put in a blog post can be just about anything you want it to be—a how-to guide, an announcement about a new service or earned recognition, quick tips, an infographic, a video, or any other type of content. The purpose of a blog post can be to inform, educate, and more, and when a blog post provides truly useful information that makes a reader’s life easier or better, you begin to build your authority on your topic. Perhaps best of all, a blog can be a source of frequently updated content, which is a solid ranking factor for search engines. The more often you can add fresh, relevant content, the better.
Pest control website content and blog content can have a mutually beneficial relationship. Use your blog content to point toward a relevant page, such as a service page, and use your web pages to offer links to relevant blog posts that let people learn more or see a topic from a different perspective that may not quite fit on a straightforward web page.
How to get started writing pest control content
You’re sitting there in front of a blank screen and all you can do is wonder why anyone who doesn’t work in pest control would read a blog post about pest control. Instead of getting stuck with that thought, think about your potential topics from a few new sides, the best of which provide answers your customers may be looking for.
Here are some prompts to help you move off the starting line:
- What does my company do that makes it different from all the rest?
- Are my customers looking at pest control as just a way to kill bugs? Or do they know its role in the health and safety of individuals and communities?
- Do my customers understand how much pest control has changed over the last few years and how much safer it’s become?
- Have new species of pests become a problem in your area? What should customers know about them?
- Similar to the above point: Did some new, exotic-sounding pest appear in national or local newscasts? Be the first to let your customers know whether they should be concerned and how you may be able to help.
- What information can I share with my customers to make their lives easier and my services more effective?
- What does my company do to support the community in ways other than pest control?
Prompts such as these can help you think of your company as more than just a pest control provider, which in turn can help your customers and prospective customers do the same. We’ll go into more detail on these types of topics in the next section.
An important note: You don’t have to avoid writing about the fundamentals of pest control. Publishing a comprehensive guide to common local pests, for instance, not only gives people information on a particular pest problem they may have, but also helps position you as the local expert.
Pest control blog topic ideas
When you start your planning, consider grouping your potential topics into categories. That can look like this:
News and announcements
Introduce a new service or an update or expansion of an existing service, particularly if you can offer a limited-time discount on the startup fee or first month of service. You can also provide your own perspective on pests that are in national news.
Examples:
- Let customers know you’ve added an environmentally friendly mosquito control product.
- Offer a realistic assessment of the threats posed by “murder hornets” or a rise in pest-borne virus cases, and how you may be able to help.
- Tell customers about your company’s participation in a local charity event or News on your support of a local charity or participation in an interesting community event can make your company appear friendly, trustworthy and approachable.
DIY information
This may seem like a questionable idea at first—why would you want to help customers do their own pest control rather than call you?—but keep in mind that people conduct very specific searches to get solutions to their problems. If you can provide information on a solution that brings them to your blog and makes them aware of your company, your blog post has done its job. It may even inspire them to call you for an estimate if your post helps them realize that DIY pest control may not be such a good idea.
Let your own experience on which pest problems are most urgent for your customers guide you and write about those.
Examples:
- If customers frequently call for help with an ant problem, write a post entitled “How to Get Rid of Ants.”
- Write a brief guide to DIY pest control that offers tips on what works and what doesn’t. You can provide helpful information while busting a few pest control myths.
- Provide information on the steps they can take themselves—framing it as DIY— to get better results from professional pest control, such as making their yards less attractive to mosquitoes.
Frequently asked questions
A blog post in a frequently-asked-questions format makes for an easily scannable article that can provide a lot of different information without having to create a cohesive narrative story.
It’s also a great way to get some positive SEO results, because Google loves helping users get answers to their questions. A bit of research into the “People also ask” results can help you strategize which FAQs to include. For example, do a search for “termite control,” then scroll down the results page to the box labeled “People also ask.” You’ll probably see questions such as:
- Can you do termite control yourself?
- What kills termites naturally?
- What is the average cost for termite control?
- What is the most effective termite control?
Then, click on some of those questions and you’ll see additional, related questions, such as “What attracts termites in the house?”
Use these same questions as the basis for your set of FAQs, but write your own original answers. Be sure to provide the information the readers are asking for and, where appropriate, include a call to action to contact you for help in solving their issues.
Seasonal highlights
Nearly every area of the country has its own seasonal pest issues. Unless you’re in a climate that hardly changes throughout the year, you’ve got a timely topic to write about.
Examples:
- Your area has a short but intense mosquito season at the height of summer.
- Termites swarm in your area in spring and fall.
- Mice and rats head indoors during the coldest months.
- Fire ants are more likely to be encountered during warm months when people are outside more often.
Put notes on your calendar to publish these timely posts or schedule a quarterly “guide” post that tells readers what types of pest activity to expect in the upcoming quarter and promote the services you provide that helps control seasonal pests.
Checklists
Checklists are quick for readers to consume. As with frequently asked questions, you can get a lot of information into this format without having to craft a narrative. Checklists can also be particularly informative and helpful to your readers.
Examples:
- Create a checklist of steps that homeowners can take to suppress infestations and keep pests out of their homes.
- Make your technicians’ jobs easier with checklists that help property owners prepare for extensive or disruptive services, such as fumigation or bed bug treatments.
- Combine seasonal highlights with the checklist format to provide information on steps to take to exclude specific types of pests during their most active seasons.
“Green” pest control topics
This category gives you an opportunity to accomplish three things: (1) provide straightforward, educational information for prospective customers who are interested in organic and/or more environmentally friendly pest control methods (including DIY), (2) educate your audience on how far modern pest control has come in terms of its safety for humans and pets and its reduced environmental impact, and (3) emphasize your company’s commitment to customer health and safety.
Examples:
- If you use an integrated pest management (IPM) approach, explain how it focuses on preventative measures, supports a balanced ecosystem and biodiversity, and reduces the need for chemical controls.
- If you offer green or organic pest control, write a post that does a deeper dive than what you may have on your web pages.
- Write a post on the varying effectiveness of off-the-shelf organic pest control products or homemade sprays and baits, and note which ones may still pose some dangers even though they are considered “green.”
“Localize” your blog content
The success of your online content depends on getting it in front of customers in your local area. The key? Making sure you include your location in your content. Here are some tips for helping your content be deemed by Google as relevant to your local audience:
- If you have more than one brick-and-mortar location, include those specific locations in your content. It’s best to create a piece of content around a single location if that makes sense for the topic. Be careful of randomly including a mention of a location in too many spots where it’s not really relevant—that can be seen as spam by a search engine or even recognized as spam by a reader.
- If any one location has its own distinct pest problems, you may have a topic to write about. One of our pest control clients took part in treating a local historic structure for Formosan termites, a topic that was of local interest as well as one that allowed them to tout their expertise.
- If you have separate service pages for your locations on your website, be sure to link blog posts about the location to its relevant page.
- If you sponsor or participate in any local events or community organizations, do a short blog post and include a link to the event or group.
Learn more about content and local SEO
If you’d like to know more about the universe of local SEO universe, how content fits in your pest control marketing plan, and more, here are a few resources:
- A haphazard approach when you’re first starting out with pest control content may end up wasting some time if you don’t have a roadmap for where you’re going. This guide on how to create your pest control company’s content marketing strategy can help you craft a plan that makes the whole process more efficient. Also take a look at this Forbes article on content marketing strategy for small businesses for an overview of what content marketing is and why it matters.
- You’ll also find some nuggets in our post on localized social media for small businesses that can provide an extra boost to your company’s visibility online. Find out why claiming your social media pages, managing reviews, and verifying your Google My Business (GMB) listing are worth your time.
- Local SEO can be complex, but there are some foundational strategies with the power to get you in the best position to succeed online. Check out our post on the seven best pest control local SEO strategies.
- Subscribe to our blog at the bottom of this page to have more pest control marketing ideas delivered to your inbox.
Don’t have time to write content for your pest control blog? Get help!
Building a content engine that fuels your local SEO takes time, attention, and energy that most small business owners just don’t have. You need not only a sizable volume of content, but content that’s strategic, useful, relevant, and robust.
There are plenty of freelance writers and online writing services out there that can take some of the weight off. They’re not all created equal, however: You’re likely to find that you get what you pay for, so don’t base your decision on the lowest rates.
Also keep in mind that few freelance writers are also marketers, so you shouldn’t look to a content creator to also create a cohesive content calendar or pest control marketing plan that’s grounded in a local SEO strategy. That’s where the services of an agency come in—experienced digital marketers who focus on SEO can provide an end-to-end strategy and the right blend of services to get your pest control company ranking well against your local competitors.
If you want to know more about the power of content in your marketing plan and how our full range of pest control digital marketing services can help you stake out a strong position online, please get in touch. We’re happy to provide a free strategy consultation.
Mary McDonald
Latest posts by Mary McDonald (see all)
- Free Local SEO Tools & Resources for Small Business - January 19, 2021
- 2020 Blog Post Roundup - December 21, 2020
- Pest Control Marketing: Content Ideas for Your Blog - November 30, 2020
Leave a Reply