Local SEO for pest control companies: what the Google Maps top 3 have in common
Short answer: in 25 Google Maps searches for pest control businesses in 25 large US cities (October 29, 2026), the top 3 had a median of 1,028 reviews and 49 photos, against 595 reviews and 36 photos for positions 4 to 10. The most-reviewed business was #1 in 20% of these 25 searches, and 7% of the top 3 had fewer than 100 reviews.
These numbers come from our study of 500 Google Maps searches. They describe what top-3 businesses have, not why they rank. Distance from the searcher was not measured.
The numbers for pest control companies
| Top 3 | Positions 4 to 10 | Positions 11 to 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 75 | 175 | 250 |
| Median reviews | 1,028 | 595 | 346 |
| Median rating | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.0 |
| Median photos | 49 | 36 | 29 |
| Median additional categories | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The review bar: the median #1 result had 938 reviews; the median #4 result had 373.
#1 against positions 4 to 10 for pest control companies
In 25 pest control searches (October 29, 2026), the #1 business had a median of 938 reviews against 595 for positions 4 to 10, and 40 photos against 36. Of the two, reviews differed most. This shows what #1 had, not why it ranked first. Across all 20 trades in our Map Pack study, among the top 10, recent reviews are what differs most (499 searches, recent reviews measured in a 100-search sample).
A worked example: one pest control search
One real search from the study: "pest control [city]" in a large metro in Texas, October 29, 2026. Names are removed and counts are rounded.
| Position | Rating | Reviews | Photos | Primary category | City in homepage title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 4.9 | 940 | 40 | Pest control service | No |
| #2 | 4.9 | 730 | 40 | Same as #1 | No |
| #3 | 4.7 | 4,650 | 160 | Same as #1 | Yes |
| #7 | 5.0 | 2,000 | 110 | Same as #1 | Yes |
| Median of #4 to #10 | 4.8 | 1,800 | 55 |
If you were the business at #7: you would be ahead of #1 on reviews and ahead on photos, with the same primary category. In this search, 6 of the 9 businesses at #2 to #10 had more reviews than #1. Review count did not separate #1 from #7. Compare recent reviews, category and distance as well. A free audit shows these numbers for your own search.
The category the top 3 use
100% of top-3 pest control companies use "Pest control service" as their primary Google category. If your primary category is something else, that is the first thing to check. Our free gap audit compares your categories with the 3 businesses above you.
Website basics in this trade
| Homepage signal | Top 3 (n = 67) | 4 to 10 (n = 154) |
|---|---|---|
| City in the title tag | 79% | 71% |
| Service in the title tag | 93% | 91% |
| LocalBusiness schema | 58% | 58% |
| Click-to-call link | 85% | 82% |
| 1 or more location pages | 84% | 77% |
Where pest control companies should be listed
Start with the core listings every US business needs (Yelp, BBB, Facebook, Nextdoor, Foursquare, Yellow Pages, LinkedIn), then the home-services directories: Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack first, then Houzz, Porch, BuildZoom, Networx, Bark, Expertise, eLocal. The full list and order is in our local citations guide, and the citation checker shows which of these the businesses above you have.
What to work on first
- Match the primary category most of the top 3 use, if it fits your business.
- Close the review gap with your own top 3, not the national median. In this trade the median #1 had 938 reviews, and only 7% of the top 3 had fewer than 100, so the bar in big cities is high.
- Add photos regularly. The top 3 had a median of 49.
- Check your rank across your whole area. One search point hides most of the map; the Google Maps rank checker shows it point by point.
How we measured
One Google Maps search per city ("pest control