Hey, I’m Danny Leibrandt, founder of Pest Control SEO, and in this article I want to walk you through the fundamentals of keyword research for pest control companies. Whether you're just starting to optimize your site or you've been running ads and SEO for a while, getting your keyword strategy dialed in is key to generating real leads, not just traffic.

Start With Local, Bottom-of-Funnel Keywords

The most valuable keywords are typically local and transactional. Think: "pest control Chicago" or "exterminator near me." These are the keywords people use when they're actively looking to hire someone. From an SEO perspective, these are bottom-of-funnel — the keywords that lead to conversions.

It’s also important to know that even small changes to a phrase are treated as separate keywords. For example:

• "Pest Control Chicago" vs. "Chicago Pest Control"

• "PestControlChicago" (no spaces) is different too

Even though they seem similar, tools like SEMrush show they have different monthly search volumes. For example:

• "Pest Control Chicago": ~1,000 monthly searches

• "Chicago Pest Control": ~400 monthly searches

So when you're optimizing your pages, start with the exact phrasing people are using most often.

Don’t Skip the Geo-Modifiers

Always include city names in your content. Don’t just try to rank for "ant removal" — try "ant removal Phoenix" or even better, "get rid of ants in Phoenix." These geo-modified keywords are easier to rank for and more likely to bring in actual leads from people in your service area.

Even for broader service pages like "termite control" or "wildlife removal," localize your content. People want to know you're nearby.

Understand Search Intent: Transactional vs Informational

SEMrush and other tools will often label keywords with indicators like:

• T for transactional

• I for informational

You want to start with T keywords because they lead directly to sales. For example:

• Transactional: "pest control near me"

• Informational: "how to get rid of cockroaches"

The latter might help with traffic and brand awareness, but the former will bring you customers.

Tools for Finding Pest Control Keywords

If you're on a budget, you can start with these free tools:

• Google Search Console: Tells you exactly what search terms people are using to find your site

• Google Analytics: Shows how much traffic you're getting and from where

• Google Search (Incognito): Just search like a customer and see what shows up

If you're ready to go pro:

• SEMrush: This is my go-to SEO tool. You can track rankings, evaluate competition, see search intent, and prioritize which pages to improve. It’s $140/month, but it’s worth it.

You can also connect SEMrush to your Google Search Console and Analytics to unify your data.

How to Group and Prioritize Keywords

Once you've collected a list of high-intent keywords, the next step is to group them.

I recommend grouping by service area. For example:

• Chicago Keywords: pest control Chicago, exterminators in Chicago

• Northbrook Keywords: pest control Northbrook, Northbrook bug removal

Then decide what keyword each page will target. Don’t make multiple pages targeting slight variations of the same thing. Instead, optimize a single page for all relevant variations.

Finally, prioritize based on:

1. Bottom-of-funnel (ready to buy) keywords first

2. Keywords you're already ranking in positions 3–10 for (easier wins)

Pages already ranking in the top 10 are your best opportunity. Moving from position 5 to 2 could double or triple your traffic.

Final Thoughts

To sum it up: Start with bottom-of-funnel keywords and focus on local phrases. Use tools like SEMrush or Google Search Console to track and improve performance. And most importantly, build your content around what your customers are actually searching for.

If you want to go deeper, I cover this and more in my Pest Control SEO course — or you can just keep reading through the rest of this guide. Either way, make your SEO strategy keyword-first, and the results will follow.