Online home service directories seem to be everywhere these days - Shopify, Porch, Thumbtack, Bark, Houzz, and yes, even Google Home Services.
Amongst the crowd though, two directories rise above all others - Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor.
Is choosing an Online Service Directory a good digital marketing move?
For a service provider, these websites are both a blessing and a burden. Each provides the promise of connecting you with new clients. But is the time and effort to monitor your presence (and the peer review systems of each site) worth it to grow your business. Or could those resources be better spent elsewhere?
Let’s take a closer look at the industry leader Angie’s List, and its primary competitor, HomeAdvisor, to see if either is a fit for your company.
How Online Service Directories Work
In both instances, onboarding with each service is a snap. Sign up online, complete your profile, and in no time you have your listing ready to go.
While the companies are mostly the same - there are only so many ways you can sell leads - with only subtle differences with how homeowners approach are able to approach it on each platform.
Angie's List has built a dedicated following. A lot of users pay to use the site (more on that below), which offsets the lead commission costs that HomeAdvisor hits you with.
HomeAdvisor is more of a freebie for the customer. The service is, well, free (more on that later), so customers are constantly signing up and out of the platform. But don't mistake that for a less than passionate user base. HomeAdvisor has millions of committed users. However, the slightly more dedicated users on Angie's List pay for their access to ask you for a quote.
But that's a minor distinction in comparing the two services. After all, the nature of a particular city or market may favor one service over another.
Does it mean that leads on Angie's List are higher quality than HomeAdvisor? In some places, it could. But there's little doubt that competition for leads is pretty fierce on both sites.
Another contrast between the services is that HomeAdvisor's has a commitment to applying technology to enhance its platform. While both directories have mobile apps, HomeAdvisor also employs their "Instant Booking" tool. The feature allows consumers to directly book openings on a contractor's calendar.
That may not work for everyone, but it can have a significant impact in filling open slots on your calendar. It could also mean the difference in landing a job if convenience is a deciding factor for a homeowner (all other things being equal).
So which Online Service Directory should you choose?
It comes down to pricing & technological features which - depending on your business - may be critical in determining which direction you go, however, we always suggest to consider doing both. Why?
Think of the world wide web as a giant field and your company is a tiny little plant root that just sprouted up.
What we would want to do now is think about all of the websites that exist on the world wide web that exist solely to connect customer leads to your type of industry.
If you take a moment to think about it, there are a ton. And there are so many more of these online service directory sites internationally to connect your products/services.
In a way, visually it looks like you are trying to extend your business plant branches in as many directions across the world wide web landscape as they possible can.