If you’re a contractor then we’re going to go out on a limb here and guess that you’ve at least heard of Angi (formerly Angie’s List). This platform can be a powerful sales and marketing tool for home service businesses, but that’s if you know how to use it right.
Which is why we’ve created this guide to Angi for contractors. In it you’ll learn not just what Angi is and how it works for contractors, but also how much it costs, how to make Angi worth it for your business, and how to get listed. Let’s jump in.
What is Angi? (formerly Angie’s List)
In the most basic terms, Angi (formerly Angie’s List) is an online directory (as both a website and an app) for people to find local home service providers like contractors, plumbers, remodelers, roofers, landscapers, and more (more as in, over 500 categories).
The idea is to help consumers find top rated pros in their area while also helping service based businesses increase their online visibility, leads, and sales.
What is Angie’s list for contractors?
Angi for consumers is a search engine to find home improvement pros, but for contractors, it is a powerful tool for gaining online visibility, generating qualified leads, and landing more sales. Contractors of all shapes and sizes can use Angi to promote their services for:
- Major renovations
- Major home repair projects
- Minor/one-off repair projects
- Home additions
- More
Angi actually used to be specific to contractors but has evolved to include plenty more home service types. Hence its rebrand from Angie’s List to “Angi.”
“After 25 years as Angie’s List, we’re now Angi — honoring our evolution from a simple list of contractors to your home for everything home.”
(For context, Angie’s List was acquired by IAC in 2017 and combined with HomeAdvisor. In 2021 Angie’s List rebranded to Angi).
How does Angi work for contractors?
Angi works for contractors in three different ways:
- Free Angi listing
- Angi Leads
- Angi Ads
We’ll get into the differences between these options in the next section, but here are some common perks:
- Visibility: Angi is used by millions of homeowners to find local contractors, so you can expect to get relevant visibility.
- Credibility: Angi offers different badges such as “Angi Certified” and “Angi Approved.” The name recognition alone can help increase consumer confidence in your business.
- Leads: You can get organic service opportunities from your listing in addition to direct lead purchasing.
Respond to reviews and messages
Of course, not all reviews are going to be positive. But negative reviews do not have to be the end of the world for you. In fact, a proper response to a negative review can actually benefit your business. A proper response means responding publicly, validating the customer's discontent, and then offering to resolve it offline.
If you resolve the issue with the customer, they may reword their review into a positive one. Even if you don't, having your public response on there gives other prospects a chance to see that you are attentive to customer needs.
Run discounts
This is a good way to generate leads for your business regardless, but for Angi Ads specifically, take advantage of the discount/coupon feature. Consumers are drawn to any kind of deal and it's a great way to get your listing result to stand out apart from the others.
Make it a part of a larger marketing strategy
Perhaps the best way to make Angie's List worth it for your business is to not rely solely on Angie's List.
Single-channel marketing is simply....not marketing. Consumers consult multiple resources to vet businesses, and they use multiple platforms throughout the day to perform their daily tasks.
All that is to say the more assets you have set up for your business, the more opportunities you have to get in front of them when they're searching or even when they're not. Additional marketing strategies you should have in place include:
- SEO
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Listings (other than Angi)
- Email marketing
- Social media
- Offline marketing (mailers, print ads, radio ads)
As your brand awareness increases, so, too will your rankings, reputation, and the ROI from your marketing campaigns. It forms a system that works day and night to grow your business.
Measure your results
And finally, be proactive in measuring your ROI for Angi Leads/Angi Ads. Not only can you get a sense as to whether those leads are converting, but you can also establish benchmarks that you can work to increase each month. Things to consider include:
- How much you spent
- How many leads you got
- Conversations
- Bids
- Jobs
- How many jobs came from those leads
- Total revenue
- Average cost per lead
- Average cost per job
If you see a decline in performance, some questions to investigate include:
- Is the volume of leads going up? If you can't keep up with that volume, you may need to adjust the pacing of those leads.
- Are there other factors going on like seasonality or economic trends?
- Are you getting to these leads fast enough and pursuing them for long enough? A multi-touch, multi-day strategy is the most effective for converting leads to appointments and appointments to sales.
How to get listed on on Angie’s List
To get listed on Angi, go to pro.angi.com (or on the homepage, select “Join Our Pro Network”)
You’ll see a page for Angi Ads. Don’t worry, you don’t have to run ads to get on Angi. Select “List my business” and fill out your information:
This will include your service, your zip, how you want to be contacted and more.
If your business is already in the database, you’ll have the option to claim the business. If your business isn’t already in the database, you’ll be taken through a sequence to add it.
From there you’ll continue to build your profile: category, description, service area, and more.
You’ll be asked to download the phone app, but this is for a paid membership. If you don’t want to join the paid program, select “No thanks, take me to the Business Center.”
From here you’ll be brought to the Business Center where you can finish your profile. This includes
- Business details
- Business highlights
- Contact information
- Hours
- Services offered
- Licenses
- Payment types
- Amenities
- Health and Safety measures
- Photo Gallery
- Deals and coupons
- Service areas
And now you're listed on Angi! You can get even more tips in this LocaliQ post on how to add or claim an Angi listing.
How to get jobs on Angie’s List
As we've made clear, you can't just sign up for a free Angi listing, or throw budget at your Angi Leads or Angi Ads account and expect to get jobs. Tools don't do anything on their own—they require a person to use them, and use them right.
Here's how to use Angi as a tool to get jobs:
Optimize your profile: Make sure you fill out every field possible. The more information consumers can have about your business, the more likely they are to trust you and contact you. Plus, this will help your profile to show up in relevant search results on Google.
Keep it consistent: Make sure your information is consistent with your listings elsewhere across the web. 80% of consumers lose trust in a business with inaccurate or missing listing information. Plus, Google likes it when businesses have consistent information across the web.
Use high quality photos: Visuals make a huge difference in your listings. Add a variety of photos: team members, projects being completed, finished products, and more. This will build trust, show your expertise, and show the faces behind the business.
Have a review strategy: Be proactive in asking your customers for reviews. They are typically glad to write them, they just won't do it unless you ask them!
So…does Angie’s list work for contractors?
In closing, Angi works for contractors if you know how to work Angi the right way and take advantage of all it has to offer. If you optimize your listing, make it part of a holistic marketing strategy, properly manage the leads that come in, and offer impeccable service to your customers, you can turn it into a powerful lead generation and sales tool for your contracting business.
