Free Local Marketing Available on Angie’s List: What You Need To Know

Earlier this year (2016), Angie’s List made the decision to terminate their membership fee so that they could offer their services as a free site. If you are not too familiar with the website, here is a brief article that will explain a little bit about the site and why it is so integral to your local marketing plan. Without further ado, here are five FAQs that will help you get a better grasp on Angie’s List and see how it can help your local business:

So, What Exactly Is Angie’s List?

As a review platform, Angie’s List can be compared to that of Yelp. It has more than three million members with most of them residing in the United States. Up until earlier this year, you needed to pay a $40 membership fee in order to access the website. When you paid this fee, you would gain access to an extensive list of well over 700 various service categories in your city. This included anything from roofing contractors to plumbers to gardeners. Each listing receive a grade (like the BBB) from A to F. Users would have the ability to search the listings by ranking or category and see reviews that had been previously written by other Angie’s List users. Now, there are still some membership options available at Angie’s List; however, access to these reviews have been 100% free.

Are Some Markets More Prominent Than Others?

When the site required a membership fee, it seemed that home services was the most popular vertical. This market included roofers, plumbers, carpet cleaners, etc. However, with the site being free, other verticals that definitely stepped up and will likely continue to do so. Some other popular markets included health and wellness, such as dentists and doctors, as well as B2B companies, such as PR firms and SasS.

What Are Some of the Best Features on the Website?

The content of Angie’s List is high-quality and reliable, which is why this website is so credible. Every single reviewer on the site is carefully screened. Each review covers a variety of items, including: quality, price, punctuality, responsiveness as well as professionalism. Once all of that is covered, the reviewer must then assign a specific grade. Before the review is complete, though, the user must be able to confirm that they are in no way associated with the business. In addition, no user can review a business more than twice a year.

What Is Different Now That the Site Is Free?

Ultimately, the biggest thing is that the quality of reviews could take a dip. However, the good thing is that everyone will have the ability to see them. Previously, it wasn’t a huge concern if your business received a less-than-stellar review because there was a paywall up, but this is no longer the case. Therefore, if you have a business that has received reviews on Angie’s List, it is crucial that it becomes a part of your review management strategy.

So, How Exactly Is All This Integral to Your Local Marketing Plan?

Aside from staying on top of your own business’s reviews, Angie’s List plays a key role in the success of your business. This is particularly true when it comes to local SEO. Angie’s List is considered a primetime space on Google, Bing and other similar search engines thanks to the high quality, credible review content. For that reason, the website ranks highly on search engines. If your business isn’t listed and getting reviews, it is critical that you take the necessary steps to get your business on Angie’s List and maintain a close monitoring strategy for reviews.