Last month, Angie’s List introduced a free “green” level membership. People still must register to browse contractor reviews, but they no longer have to pay unless they opt for a premium membership to access a handyman hotline and price tool. Angie is expected to drop her second shoe on August 1 when the online reviews platform unveils its revamped paid  program and rankings display featuring “Angie’s Certified.”

Angie’s Certified Preview

Having an “A” customer rating, lots of positive reviews from members, a Super Service Award and member discount won’t be enough to rank high. The top results for every search will be reserved for paid listings. They won’t be identified as sponsored or paid. Instead, they will sport a new Angie’s Certified badge. Angie’s will tell visitors it checked out the companies and verified that their licenses are current etc., but the most important checks were the ones that arrived in the mail.

Most contractors understand that Angie’s always sold companies the top listing spots. It never claimed to be Consumer Reports. In the past, companies in the first tier had to have an “A” rating and at least five reviews, with competitors rotating toward first place with each search. The second tier went to A-rated advertisers with fewer than five reviews. They rotated up and down the second-tier ladder.

Under Angie’s new program, all A- or B-rated “Certified” companies in a category and territory will take turns at the top regardless of how many reviews they collected. Angie’s says this gives new companies a leg up against established contractors that have been amassing reviews for years. But since the pool just got deeper, it will take each advertiser longer to swim to the surface. And let’s face it, that’s the only place where they can catch a breath in the online rankings race.

Other service providers

Angie’s – Other Service Providers

The biggest change is that non-advertisers’ listings will no longer display their company descriptions or number of reviews. To see more than the company name and letter score, you will need to click on the actual listing.

Imagine a contractor who has been in business 30 years, has an A rating, a Super Service Award and 100 customer reviews but does not pay and another that has been around two year and earned a single “A” review and pays. The newbie will be Angie’s Certified and rotate in the top tier. But visitors will never learn of the veteran contractor’s experience or large fan club unless they click the one-line listing buried under “other service providers.”

Angie’s expects the free access to increase its membership reach, which means it will be able to charge more for its advertising and offset the lost membership revenue. It remains to be seen how free memberships will affect the profile of the average Angie’s List user. More bargain hunters or tire kickers? Younger homeowners? Stay tuned. Remodeling contractors will need to be skilled at qualifying prospects on the phone as they navigate the new Angie’s landscape.

Review quantity, quality still matter

To get found on Angie’s list a company first has to rank on the first page of display. That’s going to take a paid program. To be seriously considered will require multiple positive reviews that vastly outweigh the occasional negative review. So even if a new contractor with one review claims the top slot, it’s unlikely the company will be preferred over the veteran contractor with a long trail of exceptional reviews.

It’s important to remember that many consumers browse reviews on multiple platforms before contacting a contractor. So a company’s Angie’s List performance should be viewed in the context of its reviews on Google, Better Business Bureau, Guild Quality, Facebook and its own website. While third-party review platforms generate leads, they also help to validate good contractors regardless of how the companies are discovered. The key is for contractors to make it easy for prospects to access the various reviews on (or at least from) their websites.

Leverage reviews on your own website

Remodeler website reviews page

Let’s say a coworker asks who remodeled your kitchen. The person is going to visit your contractor’s website to browse project photos, credentials, experience and reviews. When the site features a reviews page with the ability for clients to post reviews directly, displays the contractor’s Guild Quality Scorecard and contains links to third-party review sites, it makes it easy for the person to complete the qualification phase and call for a consult or estimate. It doesn’t matter where or how people start their journey. They will end up on the contractor’s website. And that is the only space the contractor truly controls.

Getting back to the new Angie’s List advertising model – If you lead someone to your Angie’s List page from your website, it doesn’t matter if you are in the premium paid tier or the Other Service Providers section. They are going to search on your company name, not your category.