It’s been a tough couple of years for Angie’s List. Their stock has dropped by more than 75% and competing home services review sites like Houzz and the BBB have grown and are offering their reviews to customers for free. Now, as these changes have seemed to increasingly isolate Angie’s List, Angie’s List has decided to get with the times and make a few drastic change of their own. This week Angie’s List has decided to make their basic consumer services free, including the ability to read and write reviews.

What does this mean for your remodeling business?

Angie’s List is an established company in the home services review space. Their brand name is trusted, like the BBB. While they are likely going to expand services outside of home improvement, Angie’s List is currently specialized in every type of remodeler, contractor, and tradesman. With reviews now being publicly available at no charge, you will have to start thinking about your reputation on Angie’s List.

Key factors to consider:

  • Whether you like it or not, Angie’s List is going to create a profile for your business just like Yelp would. Now more than ever with review writing being a free feature, you’re going to want to claim and manage your profile. This new change is bound to bring about a surge in consumer reviews for your Angie’s list profile and when your profile is floating around online for all of your potential customers to see, you’re going to want to have some control over what is displayed.
  • Being an established site for home services companies, Angie’s List is going to rank well foryour brand name.That makes it very important to keep an eye on your profile to make sure you don’t have a one-star review lurking there, as that review will have a lot more visibility moving forward!
  • If you have a solid reputation on Angie’s List, let your customers know about it! Now that reviews are publicly available, it makes sense to link your Angie’s List profile from your other social media accounts and homepage.
  • Angie’s List offers only a limited view of a company’s reviews if you aren’t logged in. That’s a hassle that not all customers may put up with. Google Local and Facebook, for instance, shows the reviews to everyone and only asks you to log in to write a review. So make sure you have positive reviews across a variety of sites.
  • Remember, this change isn’t all about you. Your consumers now have the ability to utilize Angie’s List for free and utilize they should! This new change is the perfect opportunity for your customers to take action and leave a raving 5-star review for your company on a rapidly-growing and reputable reviews platform. Take advantage of this opportunity by educating your current customers and showing them how exactly to leave you the right reviews.

Consider Angie’s List as one more tool in your toolbox to impress potential customers and earn their trust. It’s one component in your overall reputation management strategy, but since Angie’s List has deep connections to your industry, it will be an important component!

Ready to get started winning customers by leveraging your online reviews? Then download our Top Review Sites Guide below to read a comparison of all the best review sites, with strategies to succeed on each!