Alternatives to Gaining Leads Without Angies List and HomeAdvisor

In a field that’s as competitive as the home service contractor industry, generating leads by any means necessary is an absolute must.

Over the past decade, digital marketplaces such as HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List have emerged as one of the most popular means of connecting homeowners with local service providers of all varieties, ranging from roofers and plumbers to electricians and HVAC technicians and beyond.

But while these pay-per-lead home service-booking sites are being used now more than ever, utilizing their services essentially boils down to one question: Are Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor worth it for contractors?

Let’s begin with the most apparent appeal about using Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor: it’s convenient. Once you’ve defined your services, updated some biographical and contact information, and set up your payment method, you’re essentially all good to go!

But once that convenience wears off, what are you left with? How do Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor work?

Here’s a brief breakdown of essentially what you can expect from investing in pay-per-lead services such as Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor:

• After sign-up, Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor works to connect your business with prospective customers and targeted leads.
  
• Utilizing SEO tactics to rank your profile’s keywords, these sites will potentially recommend prospects for your company’s services, along with several, sometimes dozens, of other relevant contractors, allowing the prospective client to assess which company aligns with their housing needs.
  
• In return, these providers receive revenue from charging your profile with participating contractor fees for every qualified lead you generate.

And there you have it. Pretty simple, right?

But while it sounds convenient and reasonable in theory, both Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor often come with their digital marketing setbacks, which can include:

Lack of Lead Control | The leads your profile receives are often lacking in quality, ranging from non-serious inquiries just testing the waters to homeowners trying to bargain their way to retain your services.

Sharing Leads | The leads you pay for are never solely going to your business; they’re being shared by plenty of other local contractors who provide similar services as your company.

Doesn’t Increase Web Traffic | These sites do very little to funnel traffic toward your actual company’s website, often inserting backlinks to their own websites in your company’s profile.

Expensive Leads | The average leads on these sites can range from $25 - $100 per lead, which is considerably higher than the typical $5-$20 price range for Google Ads.

Erratic Bookings | Because you are competing with so many other contractors in your market, one missed phone call by a prospect can often lead to a missed opportunity and money spent on a lead that doesn’t pan out.

Insufficient Screening | Screening of clients is only conducted upon sign up, meaning it can be difficult to determine which leads are legitimate, reliable, and trustworthy.

At the end of the day, Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor are essentially a short-term, shortcut substitute for implementing a successful digital marketing strategy through your own home services website.

Their convenience might result in the occasional uptick of lead generation from time to time. Still, overall, the amount of money you’re spending on these pay-per-lead services could be going toward establishing a proficient Digital Marketing Plan that will allow your company to expand brand awareness, climb up the search result rankings, and generate more leads in the long-term.

Before you continue or start to invest in these often inconsistent pay-per-lead companies, take a look at some of these alternatives to gaining leads without depending on Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor.

The Power of Paid Ad Campaigns

What’s truly lacking in terms of the ‘quality’ of leads you gain through Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor is the overall inability to actively control the leads you’re receiving. That’s where paid digital advertising allows your business to thrive, providing you with the power to target relevant leads that are actively searching for the services you provide. And best of all, those targeted leads are going straight to you and only you, instead of having to share leads with your competitors.

Here are a few of the primary advantages that a successful paid advertising campaign can offer you that Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor typically can’t.

Customized Campaign | Paid ads allow you to have more control over your digital advertising goals, providing your business the opportunity to create a custom marketing campaign that can focus on targeting your ideal customer while still adhering to your budgeting and timeline needs. With Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor, the quality and quantity of your leads are practically dependent on their services, and budgeting isn’t nearly as flexible or accommodating.

Higher Conversion Rates | Instead of waiting for leads at the mercy of middle-men pay-per-lead services, customized paid ad campaigns eliminate the need for a middle-man, giving you the chance to target better quality leads without having to pay for someone else’s services. This will help boost your conversion rate numbers while still paying for lower costs per lead.

Improve Your Google Rankings | HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List may help increase your brand awareness through their sites, but they won’t affect your standing with the world’s number one utilized resource for finding local businesses: Google. Paid ads will get your business to show up on the first page of relevant, local search results, providing more traffic to your company’s website and improving your organic SEO ranking.

Retargeting Capabilities | What’s frustrating with pay-per-lead sites is the lack of retargeting opportunities. One missed phone call from a lead could be the last chance of doing business with them. Paid ads specialize in retargeting prospects who have either visited your website in the past or have clicked on your advertisements before without retaining your services, allowing your company to stay fresh in their minds when they need your services the most.

Measure Your Results | Through paid ad campaigns, you’re able to monitor and measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, providing you keen insight into a variety of data and metrics. You’ll be able to assess which target audiences are most susceptible to your advertising efforts, as well as get a better understanding of your overall return on investment.

Straight to the Source Advertising | Paid ads are what can put your business directly in front of someone who’s actively interested in your services and fits the mold for your ideal customer. Through demographic and social media advertising, you can display banner ads throughout the internet or social media platforms, specifically focusing on whatever age, gender, location, or interests you want to target. It doesn’t get any more straight to the source when it comes to enhancing brand awareness!

Nailing Your Landing Pages

Another common frustration with Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor is the overall inability to promote specific services, products, or offers your company is trying to focus on promoting. That’s where developing a custom landing page design can come in handy.

Often referred to as “destination pages,” landing pages are standalone web pages separate from your official website. The best ones are designed specifically to appeal to people actively searching for one service, subject, or objective that your business provides.

These landing pages are discovered by leads through a variety of mediums, such as digital paid ads, organic search results, or backlinks, and are intended to strongly promote calls-to-actions that compel the reader to engage with your company’s website, generally through filling out contact forms, subscribing to email newsletters, scheduling appointments, purchasing products, etc.

Landing pages provide ample opportunities for generating leads in ways that Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor simply cannot, including:

A/B Testing | A/B Testing essentially works as your own personal focus group, where you can toy with the design, content, and call-to-action buttons of your landing page. This can help you get a better picture of what layouts are more successful at generating and converting leads.

Capture Information | Landing pages make it easier to obtain personal information from leads who are considering enlisting your company’s services. Whether it’s signing up for email lists or providing instant access to following social media profiles, landing pages help capture your lead’s contact information, so you can continue keeping in touch with them after they’ve left your landing page and ultimately convert them into a sale.

Provide Credibility | Establishing trust and credibility is essential for converting leads. Landing pages provide companies with a great opportunity to demonstrate their esteemed reputation, through customer testimonials or online reviews, specifically regarding the services that lead is searching for.

Increase Brand Awareness | At the end of the day, landing pages only work toward increasing your online presence and visibility.In addition to enhancing your brand awareness, they’ll help drive in more traffic to your website, giving leads more opportunities to contact your company and enlist your services than you would have had otherwise.

Gain Quality Leads Through Triton Commerce

What’s probably most disappointing about all the businesses utilizing Angie’s List or HomeAdvisor to gain leads is that with the money they’re spending on these pay-per-lead sites, they could’ve generated double, maybe even triple the amount of quality and relevant leads, had they just implemented the necessary digital marketing strategies.

At Triton Commerce, our specialty is providing small businesses with custom digital marketing campaigns that are guaranteed to generate leads while still abiding by all your budgeting and timeline needs. Our team of marketing industry experts will provide you with the solutions your brand needs to expand your marketing reach and potential, zeroing in on quality and relevant leads that you won’t have to share with competing businesses.

When you’re ready to see how a professional digital marketing strategy can do for your company’s lead generation and conversion rates, contact us today to receive a free Digital Marketing Plan outlining the keys to lead generation success.