If you’ve been in the pest control business for any length of time, you know how important your Google Business Profile is. But here’s what a lot of pest control owners miss: paid directories like Yelp, Thumbtack, and Angi work almost exactly the same way. And if you’re not optimizing them properly, you’re leaving serious money on the table.
I run Pest Control SEO, and I’ve helped hundreds of pest control companies optimize their online presence. Today, I want to walk you through exactly how to optimize your paid directory profiles so you can start getting more calls and more customers.
Think of Directories Like Your Google Business Profile
Here’s the thing that changes everything once you understand it: your Google Business Profile is actually a directory. It’s technically a citation. So all those paid directories you might be using, Yelp, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor, you should think about them the exact same way you think about your GBP.
Most pest control companies have spent time optimizing their Google Business Profile. They’ve added products and services, filled out descriptions, uploaded photos. But then they create a Yelp account and barely fill anything out. That’s a huge mistake.
The two general principles I follow for all citations and directories are simple: have as much information as possible, and have all of the same information across platforms.
Fill Out Every Single Field
When I say fill out as much as possible, I mean it. You should spend an afternoon going through your Google Business Profile and filling it completely. Then spend another afternoon on your Yelp profile. Then another on Thumbtack. Then Angi. You get the idea.
Every single platform is a little different. Some will let you link to four social media accounts. Others only let you link to your website. Some platforms let you add unlimited projects. Others make you pay to add projects. There are all these little nuances.
But here’s what you need to do at minimum: fill out everything you can for free. Don’t leave any fields blank. If there’s a place to add information, add it.
This isn’t just about one specific thing to optimize. It changes depending on the directory. There are probably 10 major home service directories, and they all have different features and requirements. So just block out the time and optimize each one completely.
Projects Are Your Secret Weapon
Now, there is one thing that’s pretty consistent across almost all paid directories, and it’s something that can really set you apart: projects.
You want to add at least one project, but honestly three to five is way better. Even more if you can. The catch is that creating good project entries takes real time. You need to talk about a specific job you did, something you’re really proud of, ideally with a customer testimonial.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say you just finished a crazy termite job and you happened to document it well. You took a bunch of pictures, maybe some videos, and you even got a review from that client. Maybe you even have a video testimonial. That’s perfect project material.
You can create a project entry for that job on Yelp, Thumbtack, pretty much all these platforms. And this is what separates them from Google Business Profile. This is where you really stand out.
When potential customers are browsing these directories, they get to see what it’s actually like to work with your company. If they’re dealing with termites and they see you have a detailed project showing a major termite job you handled, complete with before and after photos, that builds massive trust.
Create Projects for Your Top Services
Here’s my recommendation: create a project for each of your main services. Have a big termite job showcased. Have an ant infestation project. Show a bed bug treatment you did. Use lots of photos, include videos if you have them, add the customer review.
Show the before and after. Prove that you actually did this work and got results. Because here’s the reality: when people are searching on these platforms, they probably haven’t done much background research on your company. Maybe they haven’t done any research at all.
You have to assume they know nothing about you. So what do they see? They see you have reviews on this platform. They see you have detailed projects showing real work you’ve done. They notice your profile is completely filled out. They see you’ve linked your Instagram and LinkedIn. They check out your Instagram and see you have a lot of followers, you’re posting reviews, you’re active.
Now they trust you.
Feed the Engine
Filling out your profiles completely isn’t just about conversions or ranking on these paid directories. It all helps your SEO. Google and other search engines, and now ChatGPT and other AI tools, are all looking for as much information as possible. But you have to feed the engine or it has nothing to pull from.
The more complete information you have across all these platforms, the better everything performs.
Should You Use Premium Listings?
This is mainly a Yelp question, though HomeAdvisor has something similar too. And my answer is: it depends on what your competition is doing.
If all your competitors are running paid premium listings on Yelp, if they’re all showing up at the top because they’re paying for it, then you probably should too. But if you’re in a small town and nobody is running ads on Yelp or other directories, you don’t need a premium listing.
And remember, premium listings don’t even apply to every platform. So this isn’t relevant to everything about paid directories. You need to look at what’s happening in your specific market.
Reviews Matter Just as Much as Google
People always ask me if reviews on these directories are as important as Google reviews. The answer is yes. They’re just as important.
Reviews are incredibly impactful for Google Business Profile ranking and conversions. It’s the exact same thing for all these paid directory platforms. You’re going to perform way, way better with reviews.
Do this: search for pest control in your area on Yelp or Thumbtack. Look at the organic results, not the paid ads at the top. The companies ranking highest organically almost always have tons of reviews and good ratings.
And it’s not just about ranking. It’s also about conversion. You’ll rank better organically. Your paid ads will perform better because the platforms want to show ads from companies with good reviews. And people will convert at a much higher rate because they see you’ve done all these verified jobs on the platform.
I know it’s frustrating. You spend all this time getting Google reviews and then you want to jump into Yelp and you have zero reviews there. It’s like starting from scratch, like opening a brand new Google Business Profile. But if you’re serious about crushing it on a platform like Yelp or any other paid directory, reviews are non-negotiable. That’s the name of the game.
Mistakes to Avoid
The biggest mistake I see is simply not filling out the profile completely. Companies will enter the basic information the platform requires just to sign up and put in their credit card, but they stop there.
Spend the few hours. Or better yet, have a virtual assistant do it. Give them a checklist. Maybe it’s a younger person on your team, maybe your son or daughter can help. Just get the profiles fully optimized.
The number one thing that’s usually missing? Photos. I see so many pest control companies that don’t even add photos to their Google Business Profile, which is crazy. But even companies that do add photos to GBP won’t add any to their Yelp or Thumbtack profiles.
Here’s another thing: if you’re jumping into several paid directories, you might be crushing it on one but totally neglecting the others. Make sure you’re doing the same optimization work on all of them. This is why I mentioned in previous videos that it’s best to focus on one directory to start, really dial it in, and then replicate that process on other platforms.
It gets really complicated when you’re managing Google Business Profile, Google Ads, and then five different paid directories all at once. Keep it simple for yourself. Master one, then expand.
How Often Should You Update Your Listings?
Good news here: you don’t have to change things constantly. Directory listings are definitely less demanding than Google Business Profile in terms of ongoing updates.
A lot of this comes down to your competition. In pest control, most companies aren’t constantly going into their directory profiles to optimize them, add new photos, or make updates. So you don’t need to either.
What matters most is having a really solid initial setup. Great photos. A complete profile. And then the main ongoing task is collecting reviews, just like with Google Business Profile. There’s not much else you need to do on a recurring basis outside of getting more reviews.
Start Simple, Then Scale
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this, it’s that paid directories deserve the same attention you give your Google Business Profile. They work the same way. They matter just as much for getting new customers.
Start with one directory. Spend the time to fully optimize it. Fill out every field. Add detailed projects for your main services. Start collecting reviews. Then once you’ve got that dialed in, replicate the process on the next directory.
The pest control companies winning on these platforms aren’t doing anything magical. They’re just doing the work that most companies skip. They’re filling out their profiles completely. They’re adding great photos and detailed project entries. They’re collecting reviews consistently.
Do that, and you’ll start seeing real results from your paid directory investments.
Keep Learning and Growing
Want to connect with over 2,000 pest control business owners who are all working to grow their companies? Join our free Facebook group, Pest Control Millionaires. We share strategies, answer questions, and help each other succeed every single day.
And if you want to dive even deeper into marketing strategies that actually work for pest control companies, check out our book Zip Code Kings. It’s become the go-to resource for pest control marketing, and it’ll show you exactly how to dominate your local market.
Now get out there and start optimizing those directory profiles. Your future customers are searching for you right now.
