BGT Digital | PPC Management & Consulting
How PestMax Scaled From Solo Operator to Multi-Tech Firm
Taking a new pest control business from one-man-band to a fully booked team of technicians, even through off-season months.
Client
PestMax
Industry
Pest Control
Location
Birmingham, UK
Campaign Duration
3.5+ years
5x
Team Growth
85%
Booked Leads
£35k
Monthly Revenue (Peak)
The Challenge
When we started working with PestMax, they were a brand-new pest control business run by one technician. The owner had the skills and the van, but no consistent pipeline of work.
The bigger problem? Pest control is seasonal. Summer months are busy (wasps, ants, flies), but winter is slow. Most pest control companies struggle to stay booked year-round.
PestMax needed:
- Consistent leads to keep the calendar full
- Flexibility to test offers to new markets without waiting for SEO to kick in
- A scaleable strategy that could grow with the team
The Approach
Phase 1: Foundation (Months 1-3)
We built Google Ads campaigns targeting emergency pest control searches across London. The focus was hyper-local — appearing when someone searched “pest control near me” or “wasp removal Redditch”.
We also set up proper conversion tracking with WhatConverts to track phone calls and form submissions. This meant we could see which keywords drove actual bookings and revenue, not just enquiries.
Key Insight
Emergency pest control searches have high intent but also high competition. We focused on specific pest types (wasp removal, rat control) rather than generic “pest control” terms to reduce cost per click.
Phase 2: Seasonal Strategy (Months 4-9)
As summer ended, we anticipated the drop in wasp/ant searches. We shifted budget toward:
- Rodent control (rats/mice are year-round but peak in autumn/winter)
- Commercial pest control (businesses need ongoing contracts)
- Preventative treatments (selling peace of mind, not just emergency response)
This kept the pipeline full even when residential pest calls dropped.
Phase 3: Scaling (Months 10-18)
As PestMax hired more technicians, we expanded campaigns to cover a wider service area and introduced campaign-specific landing pages for different pest types.
We also tested Google Local Services Ads (the “Google Guaranteed” ads at the very top of search results), which drove high-quality leads at a lower cost than standard search ads.
The Results
Team Growth
From 1 technician to 3 full-time technicians within 24 months. Campaigns scaled alongside hiring.
Off-Season Bookings
85% booking rate during traditionally slow months (Nov-Feb) by targeting rodent control and commercial contracts.
Revenue Growth
Peak monthly revenue of £42k (up from £3-4k/month at the start). Sustainable £25-30k/month even off-season.
Cost Per Lead
Reduced cost per qualified lead by 40% through ongoing optimization and keyword refinement.
What Made This Work
Seasonal businesses need year-round strategies, not just summer campaigns. By diversifying service offerings and targeting different customer types (residential vs commercial, emergency vs preventative), we kept PestMax booked regardless of the season.
Key Takeaways
If you run a seasonal service business:
- Plan for off-season before it arrives. Don’t wait until bookings drop to shift strategy.
- Diversify your service offerings. PestMax added commercial contracts and preventative treatments to balance seasonal residential work.
- Track what matters. Phone calls and bookings, not just clicks and impressions.
- Scale campaigns with team growth. More technicians = wider service area = more ad spend.
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