Urban Shield
How a Subiaco Pest Control Business Went From Invisible to #1 Across Its Entire Local Map Grid
21.0
AVG. GRID RANK (BEFORE)
1.1
AVG. GRID RANK (AFTER)
94.8%
IMPROVEMENT
21 Weeks
CAMPAIGN WINDOW
The result in one line
From local search challenges to measurable ranking results in 21 weeks
This case study documents the local search performance of Urban Shield, a pest control service business serving Subiaco and the inner Perth suburbs, across a 21-week engagement from March 19, 2026 to August 14, 2026. It covers the full process: the baseline audit that diagnosed the account, the strategic prioritization that followed, the work that was executed, and the measurable grid ranking results that followed.
The Proof
Local Search Grid: Before & After
Every red “20+” pin on the March 19, 2026 grid became a stronger rank by August 14, 2026. The sections below walk through exactly how.
Urban Shield
pest control Subiaco • Avg: 21 • March 19, 2026
Urban Shield
pest control Subiaco • Avg: 1.1 • August 14, 2026
Local search grid for “Pest control Subiaco”, Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia — March 19, 2026 (Before) vs. August 14, 2026 (After).
Section 1
Client Deep Dive
Understanding the starting shape of the business and its market was the first step before any optimization work began. This assessment framed every decision made later in the engagement.
Business Snapshot
- Business Name: Urban Shield
- Industry / Category: Pest Control Service
- Location: Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia
- Primary Keyword Tracked: “Pest control Subiaco”
- Google Business Profile Status: Claimed and verified prior to engagement
- Estimated Listing Age: Approximately 43 years, as recorded in the audit worksheet
- Market / Grid Coverage: Subiaco core plus Wembley, City Beach, Floreat, Shenton Park, Nedlands, Mount Hawthorn, North Perth, Mount Lawley, Perth CBD and South Perth
Google Business Profile Engagement Snapshot (Pre-Campaign)
A review of the live “Your Business on Google” dashboard showed a profile that was claimed and verified, but not yet fully built out:
- Profile Strength indicator: incomplete (Google’s “Complete info” prompt was still active)
- Customer interactions recorded: 4
- Profile tools such as Services, Updates, Photos and Reviews were available on the account, with room to generate more engagement signals
“Your Business on Google” dashboard — 4 customer interactions, profile strength incomplete.
Section 2
Pre-Optimization Audit
This audit phase was the foundation of the entire engagement: it established the baseline against which every later result is measured, and it revealed exactly why the listing was struggling to appear in local search – rather than guessing at fixes, every recommendation that followed traced back to a specific, documented finding below.
Technical & Local SEO Baseline
- Google Business Profile Status: Claimed and verified, with accurate name, address and phone number; 8 of 11 audited items passed, 3 flagged Needs Improvement, 0 failed (business description and listed business hours need improvement; website NAP is inconsistent).
- Local Search Visibility: Average grid rank of 21, with every one of the 33 tracked search points showing no visibility (20+) for “pest control Subiaco”.
- Profile Engagement: Google’s Profile Strength indicator was incomplete and only 4 customer interactions were recorded.
- Website Technical / Core Web Vitals: Not assessed in this phase of the engagement; flagged as a recommended follow-on audit.
Grid Performance Analysis
Our initial 33-point grid analysis, pulled for the keyword “Pest control Subiaco” across the Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia area, revealed the following starting position:
| Baseline Metric (March 19, 2026) | Result |
| Average grid rank | 21.0 |
| Grid points ranking in Top 10 | 0 of 33 (0.0%) |
| Grid points ranking in Top 20 | 0 of 33 (0.0%) |
| Grid points with no visibility (20+) | 33 of 33 (100.0%) |
Visibility Breakdown by Zone (Baseline)
| Zone | Avg. Rank (March 19, 2026) |
| Subiaco / West Leederville Core | 20.0 |
| North (Osborne Park / Mount Hawthorn / North Perth) | 20.0 |
| West (Wembley / City Beach / Floreat / Shenton Park) | 20.0 |
| East (Mount Lawley / Perth CBD / East Perth) | 20.0 |
| South (Nedlands / Kings Park / South Perth) | 20.0 |
At the start of the campaign there was no part of the map where the business could be found. Even the points immediately around the Subiaco core returned 20+, so a customer searching from Subiaco, Nedlands, Mount Lawley, North Perth, Floreat or South Perth would not have seen the business in the Google Maps results at all.
Detailed Audit Findings
The line-item findings behind the summary above, taken directly from the GMB / Local SEO audit worksheet. Each item was scored Pass or Needs Improvement and given an importance rating:
Source: GMB Audit / Local SEO worksheet used to score this engagement’s baseline.
Google Business Profile (GBP) Info Audit
| Item | Status | Finding |
| Listing claimed / owned | Pass | Confirmed claimed and owned (High importance) |
| Official business name | Pass | Confirmed correct (High importance) |
| Business address | Pass | Confirmed correct (High importance) |
| Phone number | Pass | Confirmed correct (High importance) |
| Business description | Needs Improvement | Present, but needs improvement (Low importance) |
| Business hours | Needs Improvement | Based on the client’s information, the listed business hours were incorrect (High importance) |
| Logo included in profile | Pass | Logo confirmed added to the profile (High importance) |
| Estimated age of GMB listing | Pass | Estimated listing age of 43 years according to the audit — a very established listing (High importance) |
Linked Website Audit
| Item | Status | Finding |
| GBP links to a website | Pass | Confirmed — website link present (High importance) |
| Website NAP matches GBP NAP | Needs Improvement | The website NAP is inconsistent with the profile because it uses a keyword in place of the official business name (Low importance) |
| Website served over HTTPS | Pass | Confirmed secure (High importance) |
Audit Summary: What the Data Pointed To
Taken together, the profile, website and grid audits told a consistent story: the core identity of the listing (claim status, name, address, phone, logo, HTTPS and a very old listing) was solid, but visibility across the grid was effectively zero. A few trust and consistency details, namely incorrect business hours, a thin description and an inconsistent website business name, were holding the listing back from the engagement and relevance signals Google rewards.
Section 3
Strategic Implementation Framework
The key strategic decision was prioritization: which work stream would move the needle fastest, given the specific gaps this business had. The table below marks which streams this engagement executed, and which are flagged as recommended next steps.
| Work Stream | Audit Finding(s) Behind It | Status in This Engagement |
| GBP Profile Refinement | Business hours incorrect; description needs improvement; profile strength incomplete | Diagnosed — see Executed Work and Next Phase |
| Website / NAP Consistency | Website uses a keyword instead of the official business name | Diagnosed — recommended for a future phase |
| Content Expansion | Not separately audited in this phase | Not in scope for this engagement |
| Local SEO Optimization Campaign | All 33 grid points unranked (20+) at baseline | Executed — primary focus of this campaign |
The campaign focused on the single biggest gap the audit exposed: a long-established, correctly claimed listing with no visibility anywhere on the map. The smaller profile and website consistency items remain open opportunities, detailed in the Recommended Next Phase section.
Section 4
Google Business Profile Findings
The GBP-specific findings from the audit are restated here for completeness:
Business hours
the hours listed on the profile did not match the client’s actual information. Accurate hours are a high-importance trust signal and directly affect customer experience.
Business description
a description is present, but it needs improvement to better communicate services and service areas.
Profile completeness
Google’s “profile strength” indicator showed incomplete with 4 recorded customer interactions; room to grow engagement through Posts, Services, Photos and review requests.
Section 5
Website Technical & On-Site Findings
The linked website was reviewed for local-relevance and NAP-consistency signals as part of the audit.
NAP & Link Consistency
- HTTPS: confirmed secure.
- GBP-to-website link: confirmed present.
- NAP consistency: the website uses a keyword in place of the official business name, creating an inconsistency with the Google Business Profile; the clearest on-site fix identified.
Core Web Vitals / Technical Performance
- Not assessed in this phase of the engagement. A full PageSpeed / Core Web Vitals audit is recommended as the next technical work stream.
Section 6
Executed Work - Local SEO Optimization Campaign
Between March 19 and August 14, 2026 a local SEO optimization campaign was run for the business, targeting the keyword “pest control Subiaco”. The result is measured by the before and after grid snapshots shown at the top of this case study.
Baseline GMB / Local SEO audit
completed, scoring each profile and website item Pass or Needs Improvement against an importance rating.
Local rank-grid tracking
set up to measure real map visibility from 33 points across inner Perth, both before and after the campaign.
Detailed activity list
to be completed by the author before publishing (see the note at the top of the document).
Section 7
Results Analysis and Performance Metrics
21 weeks after the baseline audit, the transformation across the grid was clear (see the full before/after grid at the top of this case study). Every one of the 33 tracked points now returns a top-3 result, and 30 of them return the #1 position. The business moved from no visibility anywhere on the grid to owning the map for “pest control Subiaco”.
| Result Metric (August 14, 2026) | Result |
| Average grid rank | 1.1 |
| Grid points ranking in Top 3 | 33 of 33 (100.0%) |
| Grid points ranking in Top 5 | 33 of 33 (100.0%) |
| Grid points ranking in Top 10 | 33 of 33 (100.0%) |
| Metric | March 19, 2026 (Before) | August 14, 2026 (After) | Change |
| Average Grid Rank | 21.0 | 1.1 | -94.8% |
| Top 10 Coverage | 0.0% | 100.0% | n/a |
| Points with No Visibility (20+) | 100.0% | 0.0% | -100.0 pts |
Grid Performance by Geographic Zone
| Zone | Before | After | Improvement |
| Subiaco / West Leederville Core | 20.0 | 1.0 | 95.0% |
| North (Osborne Park / Mount Hawthorn / North Perth) | 20.0 | 1.1 | 94.4% |
| West (Wembley / City Beach / Floreat / Shenton Park) | 20.0 | 1.3 | 93.8% |
| East (Mount Lawley / Perth CBD / East Perth) | 20.0 | 1.0 | 95.0% |
| South (Nedlands / Kings Park / South Perth) | 20.0 | 1.0 | 95.0% |
Every zone improved by more than 90%, with the largest gain in the Subiaco / West Leederville Core zone at 95.0%. No part of the tracked grid was left behind.
Notably, several audit items; incorrect business hours, a thin description and the website business-name inconsistency; were identified as open opportunities, so there is further upside beyond these results.
Section 8
Recommended Next Phase
The audit surfaced several additional opportunities that were out of scope for this engagement but are documented here as a prioritized checklist for a follow-on phase.
Correct the business hours on the Google Business Profile so they match the client’s actual hours, including holidays.
Complete Google’s profile-strength checklist and increase engagement (Posts, Services, Photos, review requests).
Rewrite the business description to cover services, service areas and differentiators.
Run a full Core Web Vitals / technical performance audit on the website.
Align the business name used on the website with the official business name on the profile.
Expand the tracked keyword set and extend grid coverage to neighbouring suburbs and additional services to protect and grow the #1 position.
Section 9
Key Takeaways
- A business with zero local visibility (100% of grid points unranked) reached an average grid rank of 1.1 in 21 weeks.
- The average rank improved from 21 to 1.1, a 94.8% improvement across the whole inner-Perth grid.
- All 33 tracked points now return a top-3 result, with 30 at #1.
- Every geographic zone improved, with no part of the coverage area left behind.
- A line-item audit identified the profile and website gaps that remain open, giving a clear roadmap for continued growth.
Methodology note: The Pre-Optimization Audit used a structured GBP / Local SEO audit worksheet scoring each item Pass or Needs Improvement against an importance rating. Grid rankings were captured using a local search grid tool measuring Google Business Profile map-pack position for the keyword “Pest control Subiaco” across 33 fixed points around Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia. Points showing “20+” indicate the business did not appear within the top 20 results at that location and are treated as 20 in zone calculations, so actual improvement may be understated. Zone groupings are approximate geographic clusters of grid points, not official municipal boundaries. All figures reflect two point-in-time snapshots (March 19, 2026 and August 14, 2026) rather than continuous tracking.
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