There are a lot of complainers on paid directories.
I don’t know what it is. There might be some kind of archetype that is prone to using paid directories that also is kind of a complaining person, isn’t really happy with talking with you or with the service.
I don’t know what it is, but there are some hoops you have to jump through when dealing with these paid directories as a whole.
I run Pest Control SEO, and I’ve worked with dozens of pest control companies on paid directories. Let me show you which ones drive the highest quality leads and how to pick the right one for your market.
Which Paid Directories Drive the Highest Quality Pest Control Leads?
There are a lot of different directories out there just for people that maybe aren’t familiar.
There is Yelp, there’s Angie, there’s Thumbtack, there’s HomeAdvisor, there’s Bark, there’s Porch, there’s Patch, there’s so many. There’s so many of those different platforms.
Those are probably the top ones, at least off the top of my head.
Yelp Has the Highest Quality Leads
In terms of which ones drive the highest quality leads, I would say that Yelp probably has the highest quality ones.
There are other platforms like Thumbtack and such. Some of those other platforms have lower quality leads because people are usually trying to look for a bargain.
So they’re looking between these different platforms and they may go to a Thumbtack and that’s because they’re trying to shop around.
They’re trying to find the lowest price and they’re going to end up talking to each of these individual companies and trying to, this is just kind of what I’ve seen in my experience with them.
They’re really trying to get a deal. They’re trying to spend as little as possible.
Versus with Yelp, Yelp has a little bit more authority. People see it as kind of a more premium company.
The same way as Google. You go to people’s Google Business Profiles, you’re looking at legit companies here. You know that Google is showing the best.
Versus Thumbtack, not everyone’s going to be on Thumbtack. It’s going to be some of the smaller guys.
So I would say overall in terms of best quality leads, that would probably be Yelp.
The Top Four Directories
The top four directories as in the ones with the most users by far are Yelp, HomeAdvisor, Angie and Thumbtack.
Those by far have the most users and then they dramatically drop off with places like Bark.
I heard a guy, it’s like, “Oh yeah, I got tons of leads from Bark.” And this was a few years ago. I was like, “Dude, what even is Bark?”
There are all these new paid directory platforms that come out, but those are really the top four.
How to Select Directories Based on Your Target Demographics
The people with a little bit more money and might be in a little bit nicer areas will probably be on Yelp.
Whereas the people with a little bit less money and probably in worse areas will be on things like Thumbtack and even the more lesser known ones, like again, Howz, Porch, Patch, those other ones.
Are General Home Services Directories or Pest-Specific Directories More Effective?
There are actually, there are basically no pest control directories.
I’ve searched extensively for this and this is part of my thing. Regardless of if you’re spending money on actual paid directories, it’s still nice to have as a citation to build your entity on Google for SEO and to boost your trust and reputation.
You should be setting up all of these directories, regardless of if you’re actually setting them up. I’ve looked at all of these.
You should be setting up industry niche relevant ones. And there really aren’t any for pest control actually.
The Pest Control Directories That Don’t Work
So there’s technically Pest Control Approved, which is a tiny site. No one uses it.
There’s Find Pest Control, I think it’s FindPestControl.net. No one uses that.
Honestly, I was considering, I was actually talking with the guy who owns PestControlNearMe.com, but I don’t really like how he’s designed it. So I think I’m actually going to build my own.
I probably will. We can even do that together.
So there aren’t really, to answer the question, it’s not even really valid because there aren’t any pest-specific directories.
But at least we can get a little bit more nuanced of Yelp, technically it could be almost anything local or really anything like that, versus a more home service platform, which might be a Thumbtack or a Howz or a HomeAdvisor.
Home Service Platforms vs. General Directories
It kind of depends here. I would say I usually like the leads more on the home service platforms, just kind of generally speaking, because they don’t just view it as another platform.
They know what they’re getting into. They know that, “Hey, we’re getting this pest control service.”
Maybe they’ve even used Howz or Thumbtack before. They kind of know how it goes.
Versus Yelp, they’re just almost like shopping around, but there’s not a clear answer there. It doesn’t compare too much.
Should You Prioritize Local Directories Over Big National Ones?
Local directories could mean ones that are specific to your area, like specific to the city.
There are very few local directories and they usually won’t be ranking.
So the ones that will be ranking are the bigger ones with a lot of authority and a lot of trust.
Those small ones are still great for SEO and we still like to set those up if there’s any of them.
Yeah, there’s very few and of those few, they’re almost none of them are going to rank.
Because Yelp just dominates SEO. Howz dominates SEO. Angie dominates SEO.
So it’s not even really fair to compare those.
How Many Directories Should You Realistically Use?
I would recommend going all in on one platform.
So really pick one and that might even be you talking to some of your friends, maybe they’re in industry adjacent niches like lawn care, HVAC, whatever.
Kind of get a consensus from your network because it also does depend on the area.
I’ve seen someone who’s really crushing on Thumbtack or I see another guy in Florida, he’s really crushing it with Yelp or all these different platforms.
I’ve seen people crush it on basically every single one of these platforms, but it does really depend on the area.
Are they even going to get used at all? Are the leads going to be quality? How many people are going to be using them? And also how competitive will they be?
So those are all things to consider.
Start with One for Three Months
But once you make a pretty good assumption, you talk to your network, you listen to podcasts and such like this, then you can choose one.
I would really say just start with one and you can expand from there.
So you might choose Yelp, you might choose Thumbtack, you might choose HomeAdvisor. There are all these different platforms, but just choose one and go all in on that one.
I would recommend for three months. Give it three months, not just one month or one week, but give it a nice three months.
The same thing I recommend for SEO or Facebook ads or Google ads. Give it three months and see what happens.
Really actually try. Add projects on your account, which we’ll talk about in the next video. Get as many reviews as you can on there, not just Google reviews because those play into how well you’ll rank on there and how well you’ll convert on there.
But overall, just choose one to start. Don’t go too crazy.
For Bigger Companies
If you’re a bigger company, then maybe you have the resources as in the finances and really the human capital to pursue these different directories.
But it takes a lot of time to set each one up and to reply to all the leads from them. You have to sort through all of them.
So I’d really just recommend one to start, especially companies doing under $1 million a year.
Just Because One Doesn’t Work Doesn’t Mean None Work
Just because one platform doesn’t work doesn’t mean paid directories don’t work.
I would recommend doing that three months. And you might break even in that phase and you probably spend a good amount of time. That’s okay.
The first few years of your business are meant to be, and whatever, even if you’re really far into your business journey, this still applies. You should always be testing, really.
So if Yelp didn’t work, okay, let’s try Thumbtack. Let’s try this other platform.
And again, really pull a consensus from the people in your area, the HVAC owners you know, the plumbers you know, the electricians you know. What’s working in the area? What’s working for other pest control owners you know?
And then try that out.
The Bottom Line on Paid Directories for Pest Control
The top four directories are Yelp, HomeAdvisor, Angie, and Thumbtack. Everything else drops off dramatically.
Yelp has the highest quality leads. More premium customers, less bargain shopping.
Thumbtack and lower-tier platforms attract bargain hunters in worse areas who will shop around for the lowest price.
There are basically no pest-specific directories that work. Pest Control Approved and Find Pest Control are tiny and unused.
Don’t prioritize local directories. The big national ones dominate SEO rankings.
Pick ONE directory and go all in for three months. Don’t try to do multiple at once unless you’re doing over $1 million a year.
Talk to your network. HVAC, plumbing, electricians in your area. What’s working for them?
Set up projects, get reviews, reply to leads. It takes time and human capital.
If one doesn’t work, try another. Every market is different. What crushes in Florida might flop in Chicago.
There are complainers on all paid directories. It’s just part of the game.
If you want to dive deeper into strategies like this, join our free Facebook group, Pest Control Millionaires. We’ve got over 2,000 active members sharing what’s working in their businesses right now.
And if you want the complete blueprint for dominating your local market, grab a copy of Zip Code Kings. It covers everything from marketing to branding to operations.
Pick one directory. Give it three months. Test, test, test.
