As we reported previously, Angie’s List has implemented a huge change to their business model. Their basic subscription service is now free to consumers, allowing homeowners in your area to read reviews for your company and your competitors. The opening up triggered instant growth, with more than 1.6 million homeowners signing up.

At the same time, all is not rosy over at Angie’s List. Their corporate headquarters suffered major lay-offs, after the new business model had time to percolate. This coincides with a significant drop in stock value, as the company reported a 6.8 million dollar loss on their November earnings report.

In that light, the new 'free subscriptions' program may not be a sterling success.

What does this mean for you?

With Angie's List running up against financial difficulties, they will be hard-pressed to drive more revenue from their paying customers - company owners like you. That is already starting to show in the Angie's List format.

For instance, have a look at our partner Tundraland. They have great reviews on Angie's List, combining their awesome service with our reputation management solutions.

When you navigate to their Angie's List profile, you can see one or two reviews, but the main features are locked. Since accounts are now free, logging in is not a problem. See the screen grab below to see what a locked account looks like. 

When you do login, though, a bunch of problems crop up. The next page you see is not the company page you were on. It's the general list of your competitors in the area - featuring Angie's List advertisers at the top!

Check out the screencap below once you sign in.

This is a way to drive more revenue for Angie's List, but it makes it very difficult to send a customer to Angie's List to read your reviews. Your customer is more likely to find your competitors' reviews instead!

The good news is this - there are tons of great review sites out there for you. Download our guide below to read the top three!