To grow his company’s operations, Gecko Pest Control asked Find8 Performance Marketing to help him break into geographic markets beyond his beloved town to bigger cities. Longview, TX caught his eye. Only 31 miles away, Longview has nearly 3X the population as Marshall, enjoying a much higher per capita income. Creating awareness in a new market is one thing, but capturing new business is another. Learn how Find8 did it.
BACKGROUND
Gecko Pest Control was established in Marshall, Texas in 2001 by Daren Horton. Supplying services like general pest control, termite extermination, and bed bug removal, Gecko assists Marshall and immediate surrounding cities in East Texas like Jefferson and Carthage with their pest problems. Gecko Pest Control enjoys an amazing amount of business, community support and market share in Marshall. Over the years, as an established business with a robust word-of-mouth and customer referral rate, Gecko Pest Control achieved the peak of its success in its hometown, winning many awards such as Readers Choice Award for best pest control company.
THE PROBLEM
BLOCKED AT THE BORDER
Investing in a new office, equipment, vehicles and infrastructure in Longview would be a risky undertaking. Instead, Daren decided to send a crew to service Longview with new customer leads built via online channels, such as search engines. Already, Gecko Pest Control dominated Marshall TX organic (unpaid) listings as well as the Google 3-Stack (local business listings). However, expanding Google visibility naturally into Longview would be quite a challenge. Google has very strict guidelines about not ranking local businesses outside of their local city. It’s achievable given enough time and trust-building with Google, but Daren faced stiff competition from firmly entrenched competitors in search engine results. Breaking into the Longview market would take months, perhaps a year. Daren didn’t want to wait that long. He was anxious to grow his business!
THE SOLUTION
GOING BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES
After experimenting for several years with “pay per lead” advertising models, Google launched Google Local Services nationwide in early 2019. Google designed this advertising program specifically for companies who service clients in their homes, such as plumbers, electricians, carpet cleaners, pest control companies, and other home services.
In order for Gecko Pest Control to expand beyond its border of Marshall, Texas, Find8 Performance Marketing recommended a Google Local Services Search Ad campaign.
Google Local Search Ads are displayed at the very top of search engine results pages, complete with Google’s very own consumer guarantee. When customers search for pest control services, for instance, “bed bug control in Longview, Texas” these ads are displayed, including contact information such as the company phone number, hours, services provided, and other business information like rewards and accreditations. Interested customers are able to dial the displayed phone number, which is then tracked by Find8’s performance marketing team. Search ads are valuable, because advertisers only pay per each valid lead received—complete with the power to dispute leads if they’re unqualified.
Find8 launched the lead generation campaign at the end of July 2019. Find8 Performance marketers monitored the leads received, disputed unqualified leads, audited phone calls, and collated sales leads performance reports.
RESULTS
The lead generation campaign was a huge success! First, Gecko Pest Control finally broke into the Longview, TX market.
Second, Gecko Pest Control realized an amazing return on investment. For example, for the month of August, Gecko saw a 592% return on advertising spend (ROAS). After calculating the lifetime value, Gecko will see ROAS jump to 1100%. Daren is absolutely thrilled with this type of return and renewed for September and will run his campaign indefinitely.
CONTINUING TO BREAK BEYOND THE BORDER
Gecko’s new leads continue to pour in at an astonishing rate leading to new business, increased sales, and more brand visibility.
The next step for Gecko is to set up a re-marketing email campaign to re-engage the leads he hasn’t sold. Potential leads driven from the Local Search Ads will receive more information about Gecko’s treatments and packages to help persuade them to use their services.