A Decade of Ants, Algorithms, and Actually Useful Marketing: The Bundilla Pest Control Story

Back in 2016, an email landed in our inbox from someone named Beau on the other side of the world. He was managing Bundilla Pest Control, his family-owned business on Australia’s Sunshine Coast. While Bundilla Pest Control had 30+ years of local reputation offline, online, it was a different story.

Their Wix website was outdated. They were ranking 16th on Google for “Pest Control Sunshine Coast” (which is basically as invisible as you wish spiders could be). They had no analytics setup, no way to track what was working, and the business forecast was looking grim. Beau wasn’t just looking for a marketing boost; he was looking for help to survive another year.

What Beau needed wasn’t a quick campaign or flashy tactics. He needed a partner who could build a sustainable foundation: get Bundilla Pest Control showing up for the right searches, get their offline reputation online, and turn that visibility into actual leads and bookings.

That cold email turned into one of our longest and most rewarding client relationships. Nearly ten years later, Bundilla Pest Control has grown from struggling to survive to thriving: moving from so far down in the rankings they were practically invisible to gaining quality traffic, hiring new staff, expanding into new markets, and building a digital presence that drives real business growth.

When we first connected with Beau, Bundilla Pest Control had decades of satisfied customers, skilled technicians who’d been with them for years, and a genuine reputation for quality work. What they didn’t have was any way for new customers to discover them.

The Constraints

As a family-run business, Bundilla Pest Control wasn’t short on effort—they were short on time and digital presence. We started by getting honest about what was holding them back:

• A legacy Wix site that was limiting everything from SEO flexibility to user experience. The platform made it nearly impossible to implement proper tracking tools or advanced optimizations.
• No consistent tracking or analytics for leads. They couldn’t tell which marketing efforts (if any) were actually working because nothing was being measured properly.
• Seasonal demand that complicated ad spend and campaign pacing. Pest control in Australia has distinct busy and slow seasons, which meant strategy needed to account for predictable fluctuations.
• Limited time and internal resources to dedicate to ongoing marketing. Beau was wearing multiple hats running the business. He didn’t have time to become a digital marketing expert on top of everything else.
• Low visibility in the local online search market. At position 16 for their primary keyword, they were practically invisible to people searching for pest control services.

The Goals

With constraints on the table, we mapped out what success would actually look like. Beau’s goals were refreshingly straightforward: “Show up better for relevant searches” and “Get more leads.” But we dug deeper to understand how those goals translated into action:

✅ Build a clear, scalable content structure with a focus on informational and location-specific content that would help them rank for the searches that actually drive business.

✅ Measure what drives leads and optimize accordingly. No more guessing: we needed real data about what was working.

✅ Turn offline reputation into online proof through reviews and transparent content. Their existing customers loved them; potential customers needed to see that.

✅ Develop a PPC strategy to capture high-intent local searches and make better use of seasonal ad spend, starting with the Sunshine Coast and expanding later.

First, we made everything measurable

You can’t improve what you can’t measure. Our very first priority was implementing proper tracking so we could actually see what was happening, and more importantly, what was working.

Within the first few weeks, we had Google Tag Manager (GTM) set up and tracking real conversions: form submissions and phone calls. Our tracking grew and evolved with Bundilla Pest Control over time. We also implemented call tracking through Avanser, which was crucial for a service business where many customers prefer to pick up the phone rather than fill out a form. Later, we switched to CallRail.

Suddenly, Beau (and Full Stacks) could see exactly which marketing channels, which keywords, and which pages were actually driving bookings. This wasn’t just nice-to-have data, it fundamentally changed how he could invest his limited marketing budget.

Google Ads that actually generate leads

With tracking in place, we rebuilt their Google Ads campaigns (still called AdWords back then!) from the ground up. We structured campaigns around real customer intent, splitting ad groups by pest type (ants, termites, cockroaches, bed bugs, spiders), and by location, targeting specific suburbs across the Sunshine Coast.

We also set up a brand campaign. The pest control game is a competitive one, with lots of spammy and scammy businesses operating, and many that won’t think twice about borrowing a competitor’s name and reputation. We needed a brand campaign to protect Bundilla Pest Control’s reputation.

Starting with a modest budget, the campaigns started generating qualified leads almost immediately. After a few months of strong performance, we trained Beau on how to manage the campaigns himself. This is something we do often with clients who have the skills and interest of running things in-house.

After some time, he requested we take over the reins again. Since then, his budget and leads have grown exponentially!

Turning happy customers into online proof

Bundilla Pest Control had decades of satisfied customers, but none of that was visible online. We set up a simple, systematic review collection process through GatherUp.

The reviews started rolling in, which told a more effective story than simply copy on a website can: professional technicians, effective treatments, friendly service, problems actually solved. These authentic reviews became one of their strongest marketing assets, providing the social proof that converts searchers into customers.

Since then, Beau has developed their own in-house review process that continuously drives quality reviews to their Google Business Profile.

A content strategy that sounds human

As the business grew and Beau had more budget to invest, we tackled something equally important as rankings: brand voice. Bundilla Pest Control was getting a new logo and visual identity, so it was the perfect time to lock in how they should sound across all communications.

We spent time really understanding what made Bundilla Pest Control different. Their customers trusted them because they were friendly, knowledgeable, and reassuring: not pushy or fear-mongering, like some pest control companies can be. They explained things clearly without using jargon or talking down to people.

Then we built a comprehensive content strategy and site architecture that matched how people actually search for pest control services:

• Detailed service pages for each pest type (ants, termites, cockroaches, spiders, bed bugs, rodents) that explained problems, solutions, and processes in plain language.
• Separate content tracks for residential vs. commercial pest control, since these are fundamentally different audiences with different concerns.
• Location pages for every suburb in their service area. Not thin, duplicate content, but genuinely useful pages that helped those pages rank for “pest control [suburb name]” searches.
• A structured plan for ongoing blog posts and FAQ content answering real customer questions we identified through keyword research and Beau’s knowledge of what customers actually ask.

The ant guarantee: a strategic differentiator

Here’s where strategic insight really paid off. Through conversations with Beau and analyzing search data, we identified something crucial: nearly every Sunshine Coast resident has dealt with ant problems. They’re persistent, frustrating, and often require multiple treatments to fully resolve.

Together, we developed what became Bundilla Pest Control’s signature offering: a 12-month ant-free guarantee. If ants came back within a year, Bundilla Pest Control would return and treat them again at no extra cost. This wasn’t just marketing positioning, it was a real guarantee backed by Bundilla Pest Control’s confidence in their treatment methods.

This simple differentiator became a cornerstone of their marketing strategy. It gave people a concrete reason to choose Bundilla Pest Control over competitors, demonstrated confidence in their work, and directly addressed the specific anxiety people have about pest control: “What if they just come back?”

Over the years, this concept evolved into their Deluxe and Supreme Packages, which expanded the guarantee across multiple pest types. But the ant guarantee was where it started, and it perfectly illustrated what makes effective marketing: finding something genuinely valuable about your service and communicating it clearly.

Squarespace: the necessary stepping stone

The original Wix site had served its purpose, but it was actively holding them back. The biggest issue was analytics limitations. We couldn’t implement proper call tracking or Google Tag Manager functionality, which meant we were still partially flying blind on attribution. We also couldn’t implement many on-page SEO optimizations that would help them rank better.

Beau agreed to migrate to Squarespace, which gave us significantly more flexibility. We rebuilt the site with a much better structure:

• Clear, prominent calls-to-action on every page (something the old Wix site desperately lacked). We wanted visitors to always know their next step, whether that was calling, booking online, or learning more.
• Individual, well-optimized service pages for every pest type with FAQ sections addressing common concerns.
• Suburb-specific pages for location targeting that helped with local SEO efforts.
• A GatherUp review widget prominently displayed on key pages, showcasing their growing collection of positive customer reviews.

We also worked with Beau on professional photography. This is a big deal for pest control companies as technicians come into people’s homes. The old site focused heavily on stock photos of bugs and pests. The new site showed real people: friendly, professional technicians in Bundilla Pest Control uniforms that customers could trust to enter their homes.

The WordPress leap: unlocking real seo power

After a year on Squarespace showing strong results, we had a strategic conversation with Beau about making another leap: moving to WordPress. Squarespace was a massive improvement from Wix and fit within his budget at the time, but WordPress would unlock significantly more possibilities for technical SEO, site speed optimization, structured data implementation, and long-term scalability.

The WordPress website launched in March 2020. Yes, right at the start of COVID-19. Despite launching during a pandemic, the results were immediate and dramatic. Compared to the previous year, they saw a 340% increase in organic search traffic. Some of that was due to the site being technically faster and better structured. Some was our SEO work finally having the proper technical foundation to build on. But all of it came together to create significant, sustainable growth.

We completely redesigned the site navigation to better organize their service types and make it easier for visitors to find exactly what they needed. We gave termite services (one of their highest-value offerings) more prominent placement throughout the site. We implemented comprehensive structured data markup (schema) to help search engines better understand the services, service areas, and business information. And we optimized site speed and Core Web Vitals to improve both user experience and search rankings.

In 2023, we updated the website again, moving to Full Stacks’s The Basic Theme. Still on WordPress, we made the move to this theme for future-proofing and stability: it made it easier to track events, add technical SEO elements, and add / update content.

Beyond Google My Business Basics

When we started focused SEO work in early 2019, much of the initial effort was unglamorous technical groundwork; the kind that doesn’t produce immediate wins but creates the foundation for everything else.

We thoroughly optimized their Google Business Profile: accurate categories, regular posts, high-quality photos, systematic review responses, and cleaning up incorrect citations across the web. Writing Google Posts took us deep into Australian pest behaviour and seasonal patterns. (Our director of SEO, Elizabeth, jokes she could compete on Jeopardy if they ever have a Queensland ant species category.)

But local SEO extends far beyond Google Business Profiles. We built location-specific pages for every suburb in their service area: not thin duplicate content, but genuinely useful pages with local context and clear signals about where Bundilla Pest Control operates.

We also battled persistent Google Maps spam: businesses keyword-stuffing names and fake addresses. We reported violations while building Bundilla Pest Control’s authentic presence so that spam competitors couldn’t compete on quality signals.

Service pages built for both users and search engines

Beyond local optimization, we methodically worked through comprehensive on-page SEO improvements:

• Monitoring title tag and meta description performance in search results and continuously refining them based on actual click-through data.
• Improving heading structure (H1, H2, H3 tags) to create better content hierarchy for both readability and search engine understanding.
• Adding detailed FAQ sections to service pages that answered specific questions people were actually searching for.
• Updating older blog posts to better match current search intent and incorporate related keywords naturally.
• Creating a strategic internal linking structure that helped both users navigate logically, and search engines understand page importance and relationships.

The content strategy we’d developed years earlier evolved from planning documents into a living, breathing system. New blog posts systematically answered specific questions people were searching for: “How to get rid of ants in kitchen,” “Signs of termite damage in Queensland homes,” “Are pest control treatments safe for pets and children?” Each piece was optimized not just for search engines, but for genuinely helping people, something that is true of Bundilla Pest Control as a business.

This strategy is still in play today, with the addition of updating blogs and content to incorporate how people are using AI to find what they are looking for.

Streamlining the booking process

For years, customers filled out inquiry forms and waited for follow-up. This created friction: customers weren’t sure their request went through, admin staff spent time on back-and-forth scheduling, and opportunities were lost.

We implemented a true online booking system integrated with their scheduling software. Customers could now select services, choose available time slots, and receive instant confirmation.

The results: total Google-sourced revenue increased 14.7% year-over-year, more booking opportunities generated, and admin time reduced. But the data revealed something important: some customers love online booking’s convenience, while others prefer speaking with someone for consultation and recommendations.

Rather than forcing everyone through one path, we serve both segments. The hybrid approach accommodates different customer preferences while continuing to optimize each channel.

Expanding into new markets strategically

In 2020, Bundilla Pest Control expanded into North Brisbane as a service area business. We built a multi-channel strategy: set up a Google Business Profile, created suburb-specific landing pages (Strathpine, Petrie, Redcliffe, Albany Creek), and launched targeted PPC campaigns with location-specific ad groups and copy.

The dual approach worked: SEO built organic momentum while Google Ads provided instant visibility. We carefully monitored to ensure North Brisbane content didn’t cannibalize their core Sunshine Coast rankings.

Eventually, maintaining a North Brisbane service area address just for the GBP became unsustainable. Losing that listing overnight was frustrating, but it forced us to prove our strategy didn’t depend on a single tactic.

We pivoted: expanded North Brisbane suburb pages with comprehensive FAQs and local content, integrated North Brisbane mentions naturally throughout the site, and strengthened schema markup and internal linking to maintain local authority signals. We also increased PPC investment, expanding budgets and adding granular suburb targeting.

With lessons learned, especially that diversification of channels matters, we applied the refined playbook to Morayfield and Caboolture: suburb pages from day one, dedicated PPC campaigns, and content addressing rural and semi-rural pest challenges.

By 2025, the multi-location strategy enabled Beau to hire additional staff and bring a marketing specialist in-house for day-to-day PPC and social media. Our partnership shifted to higher-level strategy and technical SEO.

While strategy and relationships matter, numbers are what keep businesses growing and allow them to hire more staff and serve more customers.

Search Visibility Breakthrough:

• Improved rankings across dozens of related pest-specific and location-specific search terms (For example, from position 16 to position 3 for “Pest Control Sunshine Coast”)
• Warana suburb rankings improved from position 11 to position 2 for key local searches
• Achieved stronger visibility across all target suburbs throughout the Sunshine Coast and North Brisbane

Traffic Growth:

• Revenue grew 18% in the first seven months of working together.
• 340% increase in organic search traffic and a 146% increase in organic conversions after we had launched the new WordPress site in 2020, compared to the previous year.
• Consistent year-over-year traffic growth and improved conversion rates. For example, a 60% increase in organic traffic and a 196% increase in organic conversions in 2024 compared to the previous year.
• 81% increase in conversion rates over the past year, with a 23% increase in total conversions.
• PPC budget increased over 500% as a result of positive ROI.
• +85% more opportunities from online booking vs the old form.
• +15% YoY lift in total Google-sourced revenue with online booking adding to, not replacing, call and email leads.

Real Business Outcomes:

• Hired new staff members directly as a result of increased business volume
• Expanded into new service areas (North Brisbane) based on digital success
• Hired an in-house marketing specialist to handle social media and other day-to-day marketing tasks
• Built and maintained a 4.8-star rating from over 1,000+ customer reviews on Google
• Expanded into Microsoft Ads to capitalize on the ROI of the Google Ads campaigns

Quality Over Volume:

• Conversion rates improved even during periods when traffic dipped slightly, demonstrating better traffic quality
• Higher engagement metrics showed visitors were finding exactly what they needed
• Better qualified leads meant higher close rates and more efficient use of technician time

When Beau saw one particularly strong traffic report showing 720% year-over-year growth, he sent us this message: “I know you’d told me the figure before, but it really didn’t seep in. I was drinking my morning tea when I read your first sentence and nearly choked. It’s sinking in now (kinda). 720% is f***ing epic! No other way to describe it. Well done.”

That reaction perfectly captures what makes this work rewarding—seeing real business transformation, not vanity metrics.

Nearly ten years into this partnership, the work continues to evolve. One of the most rewarding outcomes of our long-term partnership is that Bundilla Pest Control’s growth has enabled them to hire a dedicated in-house digital marketing specialist. This wasn’t just a nice-to-have hire, it was a strategic necessity born from success. As the business grew, what used to be manageable (Beau reviewing content, managing social media and other day-to-day marketing tasks) became a bottleneck that was limiting how fast Bundilla Pest Control could continue to grow in an ever-changing industry.

Their internal marketing specialist now handles social media management, content reviewing, their Google Business Profile, and PPC campaign management. This frees up Beau to focus on running and growing the business rather than being pulled into marketing execution constantly.

For us, this shift is exactly the kind of growth trajectory we love to see. We want to help businesses grow to the point where they can build internal capabilities. Our role has evolved from doing everything to a strategic partnership: we handle the complex technical SEO work, develop comprehensive strategies, provide support for ongoing SEO work, and focus on the specialized expertise that doesn’t make sense to hire for in-house.

Our strategy has grown to include:

Advanced SEO and technical optimization: Continuing to build market share in their expanded North Brisbane service areas, where there’s still significant opportunity for growth.

Strategic link building: We’ve developed an actionable link-building strategy that both our team and Bundilla Pest Control’s internal team can work on together: getting quality backlinks from local business associations, industry directories, community partnerships, and relevant local content sites.

Content strategy evolution: Expanding informational content to stay ahead of search trends, algorithm updates, and competitor movements. The pest control market in Australia is competitive, so maintaining momentum requires continuous adaptation.

Offline brand awareness: Supporting Bundilla Pest Control’s efforts to connect online success with offline presence through community involvement, local sponsorships, and partnerships that create both brand awareness and valuable backlinks.

Video content strategy: We started a video strategy for Bundilla Pest Control earlier in our partnership that the team didn’t have time to implement, but we’re able to once again build on that strategy with their in-house marketing team member!

Preparing for AI Search: As the way people search is evolving rapidly, we’re proactively updating Bundilla Pest Control’s website content and blog strategy to capture visibility in these new AI formats:

• Structuring content to be easily parsed by AI systems: clear, authoritative answers to specific questions
• Monitoring existing schema markup and implementing newly relevant markup that helps AI understand their services, coverage areas, and expertise
• Creating FAQ content that directly addresses how people actually phrase questions to AI assistants
• Optimizing content and building out citations to help Bundilla Pest Control show up when AI tools recommend local service providers

One example of this strategy in action: pricing information. Many pest control companies (including Bundilla Pest Control) are hesitant to publish pricing online. But we recognized that “how much does pest control cost” is one of the most common questions people ask, both in traditional search and when using AI tools. After getting approval to add transparent pricing to the website, we created a dedicated pricing page and added pricing tables to key service area pages.

The results validated the strategy almost immediately: Bundilla Pest Control now appears in AI Overviews for pricing-related queries and location-specific searches like “how much does pest control cost in the sunshine coast.” Answering commonly asked questions clearly and formatting content properly makes a tangible difference in visibility, especially as AI systems parse and recommend information.

Nearly a decade of partnership teaches you things you can’t learn from a six-month project. Here’s what really matters:

• The long game wins. We built a proper foundation and compounded small improvements over years—less sexy than promising “page one in 30 days,” but it actually works. Local SEO is slow: rankings, reviews, and authority compound over time with no real shortcuts.
• Strategic constraints force better decisions. Beau’s modest initial budget meant ruthless prioritization. We couldn’t do everything at once, so we focused on the highest-impact work first. The phased approach reduced risk and built trust as each phase delivered results that justified the next investment.
• Quality always beats volume. Months when traffic dipped, but conversions increased taught us to obsess over the right people finding Bundilla Pest Control, not just any people. Better targeting and content that actually help create dramatically better results than just driving clicks or chasing a ranking position.
• Measurement enables everything. You cannot optimize what you cannot measure. Getting GTM, conversion tracking, and call tracking right in the first weeks was one of our best decisions. Every improvement after that was built on solid data.
• Real differentiators beat clever positioning. The ant guarantee wasn’t marketing fluff, it was a legitimate offering that addressed genuine customer anxiety (“What if they come back?”). The best marketing comes from something genuinely valuable about your service, not just copywriting.
• Authentic content performs better. Bundilla Pest Control’s content sounds like Beau or his technicians explaining something to a customer, not an SEO robot stuffing keywords. That authentic voice builds trust and performs better in algorithms that increasingly reward genuine helpfulness.
• Transparency builds trust. Being honest about challenges, setbacks, and realistic timelines built far more trust than overpromising.
• Platform changes require constant adaptation. Google constantly updates algorithms, ad platforms, and local search. What worked two years ago needs adjustment today. We pivot when we need to.
• Operational realities shape strategy. Time zones between Canada and Australia, seasonal demand fluctuations (reversed seasons!), Beau’s bandwidth constraints, and competitive tactics all required strategic adaptation. The partnership model works because we handle what they can’t execute internally while training their team on what they can.
• Relationships are the secret ingredient. Beau’s transparency about his full business context, not just marketing, allowed us to give better strategic advice. When he needed to manage Google Ads himself to save fees, we trained him and stepped back. When his team got overwhelmed, we subbed in.
• The human side matters too: Christmas wine and chocolates from Australia, celebrating wins together, becoming near-experts on Queensland ant species, learning Aussie slang. These touchpoints accumulate into something that feels less like a vendor relationship and more like a genuine partnership.

“Once we started with Full Stacks, everything started to move along very well. Everything we received was presented in easy to understand English and in a fun and helpful way. All of the team at Full Stacks are nice, fun, warm, and really know their stuff.

And then the results started rolling in… Very soon after engaging Full Stacks we saw a great return on our investment. I hadn’t been running the business long, and I was pretty dubious on how our existing advertising was working. And I was equally skeptical about all other forms of advertising (radio, paper, TV, etc). I had managed to find a way to measure all of my advertising at the time, and pretty much nothing was working. Except Full Stacks was kicking arse. All of a sudden we had a reliable funnel for new leads, which was something we were sorely missing up to that point.”

— Beau Rheinberger, General Manager, Bundilla Pest Control