Is Angie’s List an outdated review site in the home services industry that should be disregarded?
Does their review platform still have value for professionals — roofers, plumbers, handymen, mechanics, doctors, dentists — local service providers?
Should you still invest time collecting Angie’s List reviews and building out your listing?
The data says yes.
Looking at the data, Angie’s List has more than 6 million members and 55,000+ providers on their platform. They’ve accumulated more than 12 million reviews, and they receive 60,000 new reviews per month. Today we’ll take a closer look at Angie’s List, so you can determine if it’s a worthwhile platform for you to pursue; we’ll cover:
Table of Contents
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Why Angie's List is important to your business
According to Statista, in 2019, the annual revenue of Angie’s List’s parent company, ANGI Homeservices Inc., was listed at 1.3 billion dollars. There are more than 720 services listed on Angie’s List, which serve the 6 million households on their platform.
What does this mean?
It means customers still rely on their platform to find the local service providers they need. If your customers are using Angie’s List, their platform is important to your business.
Here’s another compelling reason.
Angie’s List took their paywall down in 2016; customers were able to use their database free of charge. They took an initial financial hit, but revenues are expected to climb to $750 million by 2020.
Who visits Angie's List?
- Providers: These are the service providers — roofers, plumbers, handymen, mechanics, doctors, dentists that are listed on Angie’s List. They offer their services to customers and are rated in turn via online reviews placed on Angie’s List.
- Members: These are customers who request services from Angie’s List providers; they could be individuals, businesses, or households depending on the service. An individual or household could request service from a local dentist, while a business or household can request assistance from roofers or contractors.
- Age 35-64
- 35 percent male, 65 percent female
- College-educated
- $75,000 income (top 15 percent in the US)
- 81 percent are employed in professional positions
- Married
- A homeowner (96 percent of their members own their own homes)
- 83 percent read Angie's List magazine every month
In general, Angie’s List members are typically established and stable. They have the resources they need to spend on the services offered by providers. Their platform generates an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion in transactions between members and service providers each year.
How Angie's List compares to other review platforms
Angie’s List is a legitimate review platform on its own. But it’s especially powerful when their reach is combined with their sister company, HomeAdvisor. Here’s a brief look, showing how their platform compares to the big three mainstream providers.
What does this mean?
You’ll want to focus your attention on both mainstream review platforms like Google Reviews and niche platforms Angie’s List. Looking at the data, we see that customers rely on Angie’s List for specific services; they’re knowledgeable and sophisticated shoppers.
The business goals you can achieve using Angie's List
Using Angie’s List Pro, businesses can accomplish the following business goals.
- Increase online visits: Visits from your Angie’s List listing to your website, landing pages, or social media profiles. If you're looking to drive conversions that lead to new clients with these online visits, you'll need to develop your messaging from one digital asset to the next and drive a narrative that entices your prospects.
- Increase leads: With Angie's List, you can attract, convert, and communicate with leads on their pro platform. Native accessibility makes it easier to convert leads before they change their mind or move on. Using their platform, you can send quote requests, messages and close deals.
- Manage reviews: Using their Pro platform, you can request, view, and respond to reviews from customers after their project has been completed. This is an important feature if you're not planning on using a third-party review management tool.
- Manage performance: You can track important metrics and KPIs (e.g., calls, quote requests, and claimed deals) via Angie's List Pro. You can break performance down by a variety of metrics, i.e., the last 90 days, advertising, etc.)
These goals are pretty basic, but they’re also details that many platforms don’t offer. They also require that you have an Angie’s List account; let’s take a look at how you create a business profile on their platform.
How to create an account on Angie's List
Here’s how you sign up for an account on Angie’s List in seconds.
1. Head over to AngiesList.com. Click the “Are you a Business Owner?” link at the top of the page.
2. Enter your name, contact information, and primary service category.
3. Enter your mailing and email address, create a password, check the appropriate boxes to agree to their user agreement, and receive notifications.
4. Once you’ve finished the sign-up process, you’ll be taken to the business center where you can complete your business profile.
5. If you haven’t already, you’ll be asked to add your business description.
6. Next, add the service categories that best describe your business.
7. Finally, add your service areas by clicking on the various zip codes on the map.
8. You’ll receive a thank you message and an invitation to download the Angie’s List Pro app via Google Play or the App Store.
That’s it!
Once you’ve finished setting your profile up, you’re ready to optimize your profile.
Optimizing your Angie's List listing
Optimizing your Angie’s List profile is easy. Once you’ve created and verified your account, complete your profile, add photos, and begin requesting and responding to reviews from your members. Let’s take a look at Shumate, a local HVAC provider in Georgia.
Their profile is optimized with very specific information, including:
- The business name
- Business description describing the services they offer, areas served, and contact information
- Photographs of your business or your work
- Service categories listed
- Licensing information (if required)
- Hours of operation
- Company contact information
- Angie's List certification (i.e. the business owner passed a background check, possess the right license, maintains an A or B rating, pays to advertise on Angie's List)
You can also offer:
Here’s what’s also interesting about this business.
They have 610 reviews! The majority of their customers (545) are happy with the service they’ve received from Shumate. They continue to request reviews from their customers, and they continue to receive positive feedback from the majority of the people they serve.
This is exactly what you need.
Optimizing your profile on Angie’s List isn’t difficult; it just requires that you add the information that’s recommended to your profile. It’s simple, and the information customers request is easy to provide.
Angie’s List isn’t a set-and-forget platform.
You’ll need to follow their recommendations and continue to invest consistent effort into your profile to see consistent results and a significant payoff.
Requesting and responding to Angie's List reviews
You can request and respond to customer reviews directly via the Angie’s List Pro app. You’ll need to be an Angie’s List member to write a review, unlike other review platforms (i.e., Google Reviews). If you’ve sent a review request to customers who aren’t part of Angie’s List, they’ll be prompted to create an account.
“If you are leaving a review via a link that a provider sent you, you will be prompted to provide basic information, and you will need to agree to the Membership Agreement and Privacy Policy before submitting a review. By selecting Finish, a FREE Angie’s List will be created for you to explore more top-rated service providers.”
Here are some other details that set reviews on Angie’s List apart from other review platforms.
- Reviewers must certify that they're not affiliated with the company being reviewed in any way.
- Customers aren't allowed to leave anonymous reviews.
- Reviews go through an extensive feedback verification process to prevent customers or providers from inflating their reviews.
All reviews posted on their platform go through a set of checks that can take as long as five business days. Most are published online within one business day. The customer’s name and address are visible to the provider being reviewed but not to members of Angie’s List.
Other platforms use a star rating system.
Angie’s List uses an A through F rating system that requests information criteria such as:
- Price
- Quality
- Responsiveness
- Punctuality
- Professionalism
If applicable, customers are also asked to rate:
- Availability
- Office environment
- Punctuality
- Friendliness of staff
- Bedside manner
- Communication
- Effectiveness of treatment
- Billing and administration
Each of these criteria will be factored into your customers’ Angie’s List reviews.
Your Angie's List point-of-contact
It’s surprisingly easy to reach an Angie’s List support rep. They give you clear contact information and a variety of instructions you can use to get immediate help.
Phone: 1-866-843-LIST (5478)
Web: Contact us
Social: Facebook.com/angieslist, Twitter.com/angieslist
FAQs: Browse FAQ
Address:
Angie’s List
130 E. Washington St. Indianapolis, IN 46204
It’s tough to get in touch with someone at Google or Facebook if you need help.
Advertising and review marketing on Angie's List
The pricing to advertise on Angie’s List is negotiable.
Various sources state that pricing is dependent on several variables, including the size of your reach, the number of people in your market, the size of your business, and other factors. As a result, pricing can start as low as $20 per month and go as high as $2,600+ per month.
Professionals advertising on Angie’s List can:
- Increase their profile views
- Become Angie's List certified
- Boost business placement, creating year-round exposure
Getting started with advertising on Angie’s List is easy. Just click the “Start Advertising on Angie’s List” button in your business center dashboard. You’ll be contacted by an account manager who will walk you through the negotiation process.
With Angie’s List, you’re essentially offering coupons (they call them deals) and paying for more visibility. You’re not paying to be included in Angie’s List; you’re paying for visibility.
Deals are visible on your profile. You can pay for improved rankings in category listings and recommendations.
Angie's List is essential for local service professionals
As we’ve seen, their review platform still has value for professionals and local service providers. Their 6 million members are active and engaged on their platform, contributing more than 60,000 Angie’s List reviews each month.
Free profiles, reviews, and deals are just the tip of the iceberg.
Customers still rely on their Angie’s List reviews to find the local service providers they need. If your customers are using their platform, your business needs to be there.
What does this mean?
You’ll want to focus your attention on both mainstream review platforms like Google Reviews and niche platforms Angie’s List. With consistent effort, you’ll find both platforms add value to your business.
