Methodology

How We Build Provider Listings

Georgetown Home Services is a comparison and education site—not a contractor or dispatch desk. This page documents exactly how Best Of shortlists are assembled, verified, and updated for Georgetown, TX homeowners. Markdown mirror available for AI agents.

Data sources

Listings start from publicly observable business information. We do not rely on pay-to-play directories or unverified lead forms to decide who appears.

Google Business profiles: Business name, phone, website, service-area language, star rating, and review count from public Google Business listings. We use these fields to confirm the company serves Georgetown / Williamson County and meets the review thresholds below.
Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE): Public plumbing license lookups for companies where a license number is shown on a provider card.
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR): Public electrical contractor and HVAC / ACR license lookups where license fields appear on a card.
Texas Department of Agriculture — Structural Pest Control Service (TDA SPCS): Public pest-control license and business registration lookups where license fields appear on a card.

Where a license number appears on a card, it was checked against public Texas registries—TSBPE for plumbing, TDLR for electrical and HVAC/ACR, and TDA SPCS for pest control—on July 7, 2026. Roofing, landscaping, foundation, and cleaning listings note that Texas does not license those trades at the state level.

Inclusion criteria

A company must meet all five criteria below to appear in a default Best Of shortlist. The same list appears on every provider directory page—we import these strings from one file so the criteria never drift.

4.5+ Google rating
25+ reviews
Active Georgetown-area service
Working phone
Licensed trades verified against TSBPE / TDLR / TDA SPCS public databases as of July 7, 2026

Providers with thinner public signals (for example, fewer than 25 reviews at listing time) may appear behind a “lower-signal” toggle but are not promoted into the default established picks row until documentation improves.

How we verify licenses

Plumbing listings pull from the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners public Responsible Master Plumber licensee file. Electrical and HVAC listings use Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation public records where a license number is shown. Pest control listings use Texas Department of Agriculture Structural Pest Control Service records where a license number is shown.

The plumbing file refreshes from the board daily. We rebuild the on site provider file on a dated batch and stamp each record with that check date. A verification badge only appears when the license is current and the insurance certificate on file with the state is also current.

A listing loses its badge when the insurance certificate on the state file is expired, even if the plumbing license itself is still current. We still list that company and state the insurance fact plainly with a link to the board source.

Texas does not license roofers at the state level. Roofing listings cannot carry a state license number or a state license badge. The same is true for landscaping, foundation repair, and house cleaning at the state level.

Specialty endorsements only appear when the source file shows different endorsement sets across companies. If every row shares the same endorsement list, we treat that as incomplete source data and hide the endorsements block until the file is fixed.

How often listings are reviewed

Provider shortlists are batch-reviewed when directory copy changes, after major local weather events, or when readers submit verifiable corrections. Listings were last verified July 7, 2026. We do not real-time scrape every profile—confirm phones, licensing, and insurance at booking time.

Report verifiable listing errors through Contact & feedback. Include a link to an official site, registry entry, or dated screenshot we can check.

Placement and advertising independence

Directory placement cannot be bought. Companies do not pay to appear, move up, or stay on a Best Of shortlist.

Affiliate links, sponsored modules, and display advertising do not affect directory rankings or the order of organic provider cards.

If a page includes a sponsored or featured module, it is labeled as such and sits outside the organic shortlist. Editorial ranking logic is documented here—not re-stated on About or Editorial Policy.

Who maintains this

Directory methodology is maintained by Matt. Human editors apply the criteria above when adding, deprioritizing, or correcting listings—there is no automated pay-to-rank auction.

What you should still verify yourself

Current insurance certificates and trade licensing with the issuing authority—not from a marketing flyer.
Written scopes that name materials, labor, permits, and excluded conditions before you authorize work.
Availability, after-hours fees, and warranty terms at the time you book.