The Client & The Challenge
About the Client: A Pioneer in Service
Loyal Termite & Pest Control has provided full-service pest control in Central and Eastern Virginia since 1960. The company changed ownership and rebranded in 1996, starting with only five employees. Under new ownership, they became an industry innovator, even bringing a termite detection dog on board to improve service quality.
The Challenge: The End of the Yellow Pages Era
Before digital marketing transformed how consumers search for services, the Yellow Pages was the primary source for generating new pest control customers, often requiring large providers to invest tens of thousands of dollars each year for premium placement. Loyal needed a clear path to move away from this expensive, quickly outdated advertising model and into a more efficient digital channel. At the time, however, a dedicated small business website was still rare, especially in the late ’90s.
Our Approach & Strategic Expertise
The Insight: From Dog to Digital
When Loyal’s owner saw a competitor spotlighting their termite detection dog on a website, it sparked a pivotal idea: build a stronger digital presence of their own. Partnering with Advanté-BCS founder Frank Petrov, Loyal launched its first website, laying the groundwork for a strategic, 20-year digital marketing partnership.
Integrated Digital Strategy: Building Long-Term Online Advantage
Over more than two decades, Loyal partnered with Advanté-BCS to test, refine, and scale new digital marketing tactics, many of which evolved into core agency services. Key initiatives included:
- Early Google Ads Adoption: Loyal empowered us to experiment with early Google AdWords (now Google Ads) campaigns, which delivered exceptional results and helped establish a sustainable, growth-focused acquisition channel.
- Local SEO Foundation: By investing in local SEO on early search engines such as Yahoo and AltaVista, we established a strong organic foundation that enabled loyalpest.com to earn and maintain top local rankings from the earliest days of Google.
- Technology Integration: We implemented advanced tools typically reserved for larger enterprises, including launching a live chat feature in 2010 to improve responsiveness and customer experience.
- Scalable Digital Growth: Initial success with search advertising paved the way for remarketing, social media advertising, consistent blog content, and ongoing website redesigns to keep performance, usability, and conversion rates moving in the right direction.
The Results
Transformational Growth and Lead Generation
This long-term partnership became a primary driver of Loyal’s expansion. Through consistent, strategically executed digital marketing, Loyal Termite & Pest Control achieved significant growth:
- Scaled from 5 to 50 employees over roughly 20 years
- Positioned the company for a successful acquisition by Rentokil, a leading international pest control provider, in late 2019
Lead Volume & Conversions
The digital strategy produced a consistent, high-quality pipeline of new opportunities:
- Early Impact (2007): Before any digital marketing, leads averaged 15–20 per week.
- Sustained Success: Adding Google Ads campaigns consistently drove more than 150 online conversions and 150 inbound phone calls per month.
Digital Reach Metrics
The comprehensive campaign significantly expanded Loyal’s digital visibility:
- Google Ads Impressions: Consistently generated more than 500,000 Google Ads impressions each year.
- Social Media Reach: Drove approximately 500,000 impressions annually through a mix of organic and paid social media activity.
- Remarketing: Display banner campaigns produced 1.5–2 million lifetime impressions, keeping Loyal top-of-mind with high-intent prospects.
These outcomes underscore the power of an intentional, long-term digital strategy. By consistently applying advanced technology and a disciplined, data-driven approach, Advanté-BCS helped Loyal Termite & Pest Control grow from a five-person team into a market-leading pest control company, ultimately positioning the business for acquisition by an international provider.
