If you’re a contractor who’s been at it for a while, you most definitely know about Angi (former Angie’s List).
In fact, it’s very likely that a sales rep has called you dozens of times already to sign up with them – congrats if you didn’t!
In a nutshell, Angi sells leads to multiple contractors in your area for a certain amount of money.
Question is, are those leads worth their money?
Lead Quality Vs Cost On Angi For Contractors
That was a rhetorical question, but I’ll answer it anyway.
No. Angi leads are not worth their money.
How do I know?
From all the contractors online that complain about it…
Another reason we know Angi leads are not worth it is this. By comparison, we get high-quality leads for our clients from Google Ads at a similar price, lower-quality leads from Facebook Ads at a much lower price, and very high-quality leads from local SEO.
How About The Increased Visibility, Integrated CRM & Payment Processing?
These are great to have, but do you really want to pay that huge monthly subscription fee when you know you can get these from someplace else, for a fraction of the cost?
Visibility
Sure, Angi has a lot of users, but they’re not the clients you’re looking for. Use social media, create a Google Business Profile, get yourself a website (if you don’t have one), do some SEO and local SEO, and you’ll get A LOT more visibility than Angi can possibly offer.
Integrated CRM
Do yourself a favor, don’t even consider using this. Their CRM is so limited that it creates more confusion and frustration in your lead intake. Even the basic, free CRM that we offer performs better.
Payment Processing
Don’t get me wrong, many features on Angi are useful, but you can get so much more with other, more performant tools. JobTread, Buildertrend, and other CRMs have all this stuff built-in, and they’re a lot easier to use.
Pros And Cons Of Angi For Contractors
Pros | Cons |
You’ll increase your online visibility | Leads are often tire kickers and fence-sitters |
It has over 150 million users | The cost per lead is unreasonable |
It has around 5 million organic traffic daily | The competition in Angi is huge |
You can showcase past projects | The leads are inconsistent |
You can earn reviews | Angi’s support is limited at best |
It can boost your reputation | Limited control over leads and your audience |
Has flexible advertising options | Pays contractors very bad |
Has lead management tools | Poor customer support for contractors |
Angi Vs. Home Advisor For Construction Companies
We’ve seen many people try to decide whether to use Angi or Home Advisor… here’s the twist:
Angi owns Home Advisor, so you’re actually choosing between Angi and… a different Angi.
They both work the same way – you’ll pay for every lead they send you (most of which are low-quality leads).
The only big difference:
- Angi is more suited for service providers, like plumbing, HVAC, lawn care, painting, and handymen jobs
- Home Advisor works better for larger jobs, such as landscaping, remodeling, additions, etc.
So, if you were to choose, Home Advisor would be a better option for you (considering you want to sell bigger jobs and not replace a light bulb).
But then again… there are much better options to get more leads and grow your business without going through the same awful experiences as your peers.
Better Alternatives To Angi
By now, I hope I convinced you that Angi is not worth it for your contracting business. At least not if you want to pay for low-quality leads that don’t even end up signing with you.
So, what are some of the better alternatives?
Get A Contractor Website That Sells For You
I’ve heard it a hundred times, “but I already have a website”…
Okay, but does it do what it’s supposed to do?
Because a good website does a ton more than just giving you some online visibility.
- It showcases your craftsmanship
- It builds your brand
- It builds credibility and authority
- It makes the selling process easier
- It gives prospects a better chance of knowing you better
- It gets you free, high-quality leads
- And it’s the foundation of all other marketing tools you’ll be using to scale your business further.
Most websites we’ve reworked were just a couple of words and design elements thrown randomly. What we do is different…
Try Contractor SEO For High-Quality Local Leads
If you’ve never heard about SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it means optimizing the content on your website so it’s favored by Google. Good SEO means your website will rank increasingly higher in the search results, which attracts more traffic, which ultimately leads to more prospects.
If you want to learn more about SEO and how it works, check out this page.
There are two things we want our clients to know before they start doing SEO…
- It takes time. In fact, we’ve had cases where SEO started picking up after just one month, and cases where it picked up after 6 months. Although circumstantial based on your competitors, services, location, and target audience, through great research, SEO can rapidly create a snowball effect and propel your business in the top 3 search results.
- It is not a 3-months deal. I can almost guarantee that your competitors are doing some SEO, and if you stop doing anything after several months, all that effort is wasted. Consistency is key with SEO, regardless of how soon we’re seeing results.
Create A Powerful, Memorable Brand For Your Construction Company
Branding is still overlooked in the contracting world.
For some reason, many are still not seeing the value of being in front of your target audience with truck wraps, branded apparel, business cards, flyers, door hangers, yard signs, and more…
Tell you what… the worst thing that can happen is they view you as a much larger company than you actually are – which is not really bad anyway.
The best thing: they’ll remember you, and whenever they’re ready to start their project, your business will be at the top of their minds.
Unlike SEO, branding really is a one-time deal. You get your offline assets once, and you can use them for decades, or until you decide you want to rebrand.
Get Higher-Quality Leads On Google Ads For Contractors
If you’re OK with paying for leads, you should at least get higher-quality ones.
While with Angi you’re paying for the same lead that other dozen of contractors got, on Google ads you’re bidding against your competitors for a prequalified, hot leads.
How do I know?
Because on Google, your prospects actively search for the service you offer. They’re looking for a bathroom remodel? Your ad will be the first result they see if that’s what you want to target. Same with decks, landscaping, additions, painting, and so on.
Get Facebook Leads On Auto-Pilot
The main difference between Facebook and Google ads is the quality of the leads.
Let me explain…
People on Facebook are not there to spend money on the service you provide. They’re scrolling through friends’ images, videos, and jokes – they’re not thinking about a remodel at that point (or a new deck, a landscape, or a paint job).
So how do we bring them in the right state of mind so they request a quote?
We’re using a method that will:
- Grab their attention. E.g. we’ll make them incredibly curious or tell them something that’s against their beliefs. You know very well how intrigued we are when hearing something that tests our beliefs.
- Make them aware of a problem. In this case, we can make them aware of a problem they didn’t know they had, or we can remind them of a problem they’re facing.
- Give them a solution. Your service is the solution, but you need to make it attractive enough so they don’t go around looking for other solutions like yours.
On Facebook ads, you’ll generally get lower quality leads, but at a much lower price than on Google. This gives you enough room to wiggle, optimize, increase your brand awareness, and even scale an ad so well that it will eventually bring in highly-qualified leads.
So, Is Angi Worth It For My Construction Business?
Angi is like advertising on AM radio or Blockbuster. It has had its time, and it has passed.
People looking for pros on Angi will always look for the lowest bid and the guy who can get the job done as soon as possible. That’s when a lot of contractors start competing on price, and it never turns out to be a good idea.
Here’s why…
You’ll lower your prices so much to get these poor-quality leads that you won’t be able to face the overhead.
So, is Angi worth it for your contracting business?
Absolutely not.
Then what is?
Conclusion
First things first, you need a well-performing website. This is your biggest ally in sales and it’s a resource your clients will love.
Second, you’ll want to start doing some local SEO, even if it’s the bare minimum. Create a Google Business Profile, optimize it, and let it grow.
Then, continue with branding or paid advertising on Google or Facebook.
Will it be a big investment? Yes.
But think of it this way: a $30k client coming from either of these channels will cover your investment and even make you a huge profit. Many of our clients get 10 to 15 highly-qualified leads from their website every single month. You do the math and tell us if the investment is worth it….
Learn more about our contractor website systems by clicking the button below.
![](https://contractingempire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/gabriel.webp)
Gabriel Iacob, Copywriter @ Contracting Empire
Gabriel is a copywriter that makes sure your website, content, and ads are optimized to bring in high-value local leads. He loves to dive deep and research your customer’s behavior online, so every line he writes speaks to your audience.
In his free time, Gabriel loves riding his custom-made mountain bike, hiking, and discovering new music.