What is HomeAdvisor?
HomeAdvisor connects local homeowners with the cream of the crop in home improvement professionals such as electricians, general contractors and remodelers, plumbers, and HVAC technicians. The service is free to the general public, however, for eager home services professionals it’s not for the faint of heart. The company has a strict screening policy before allowing new pros to join its ranks.
- Must have a state-level trade license
- Criminal background check
- Business background check
- Verified credit check looking for bankruptcy and defaults
While this may seem like a lot of upfront work to get new jobs and leads, nothing worthwhile comes easy. Loyal fans swear by it. This alone makes HomeAdvisor the upper echelon of lead generation services.
How Does HomeAdvisor Work?
HomeAdvisor is one lead dominating forces in the United States home services online marketplace. The brand formerly known as Service Magic has an estimated army of 100,000 service professionals that specialize in 500 different trade categories.
At first glance this seems like a service professional’s dream, but there are two sides to a coin. With a vast pool of 10,370 customers, HomeAdvisor offers more job opportunities compared to many of its competitors. At the same time, this also means that trade professionals are competing in a larger pool—small fish in a big pond. Competition is steep and everyone wants to tap into the lucrative customer network and be king of the hill.
The Basics:
Membership Costs:
HomeAdvisor charges $350 annually to list your company.
Lead Generation:
HomeAdvisor’s leads can cost anywhere between $15-100 per lead. Leads can be sent weekly, or automatically monthly to your account.
This may seem pricey for some, especially if you’re a new startup service or a struggling small business, but don’t let this dissuade you. HomeAdvisor ensures that your money isn’t going to waste, looking for needles in haystacks. Since service professionals pay per lead, HomeAdvisor issues credits for cancelations, bad, and duplicates leads.
Ratings and Reviews:
In addition to consistent and healthy leads, today the key to any successful small business is customer reviews. It’s important to build a good rapport and know how to ask for a customer review once the job is complete. Remember, positive customer reviews help improve your SEO and search engine visibility.
1. It can and will lead to recurrent business.
2. It will help you to stand out in a large bond full of hungry trade professionals. The better your reviews, the better leads, the more money in your pocket.
In the home services online marketplace, HomeAdvisor is running neck and neck with leading apps, websites and lead generators such as Angie’s List and Thumbtack. The market continues to become saturated with new competitors popping up overnight and trying to reinvent the wheel. Let’s look at how some of HomeAdvisor’s Competitors stack up.
How Much Does HomeAdvisor Cost?
HomeAdvisor bases project costs from on its True Cost Guide. Updated daily, it gives both local and national cost data for jobs, making it useful for both consumers and trade professionals. This is ideal for project estimates for home remodels, interior and exterior painting, landscaping and major installations.
List of HomeAdvisor competitors we cover in this article:
1. Thumbtack
Thumbtack’s tried-and-true business model have made it home services titan, making a name for itself as a leading company in today’s gig economy. The Online service matches customers with local professionals in 1,100 different types of service categories, in all 50 states.
The app’s geolocator shows the total number of professionals in an area. Service providers can increase their visibility and take on jobs as independent contractors.
Thumbtack sends leads based on pre-set criteria. This allows pros can set their rates by sending quote estimates before taking the job. There’s a reason that Thumbtack is a favorite amongst home services professionals.
2. Houzz
Houzz is a website builder, publishing tool app, for home renovation and design professionals. Get your creative juices flowing with this app. Connect your business website to Houzz’s directory and showcase your favorite completed projects. Set your rates and communicate with customers by email and social media.
3. Angi (Formerly Angie’s List)
Known for being one of the original service provider directories and lead generators for contractors and small business trade professionals, Angie’s List is a premier player in the home services industry.
The company sends leads based on targeted trade work. While much of the work is review-based, as the site says, “There’s two sides to every story.” Members can only leave a review once every 6 months for a particular vendor. Home services professionals can respond to member reviews instantly. In fact…it’s encouraged.
4. Porch
Porch is a mobile app and a lead generator that touches all of the major home improvement projects including: furniture assembly, installations, deck repair, landscaping, HVAC work, and much more!
Home services professionals can buy leads individually, automatically receive them monthly, and priority assignment. While you may not want to be tied directly to a lead generation service, pros also have the option of becoming home services affiliates.
5. CraftJack
The midwest-based Craftjack is a contractor lead service the caters to over 50+ trades. Business owners only pay for the leads that are received. The company verifies and personally pre-screens all-new lead candidates. CraftJack does offer credits for bad and duplicate leads. Pros can call, email and text potential clients, to send estimates and book jobs. They also offer incentives for timely responses to customer inquiries. Now that’s good customer service.
6. 1800Remodel
You may have heard of 1800Remodel in passing, but the contractor-driven home improvement service has been a staple for quite some time. The company emphasizes its utilization of high-quality home services professionals. Contractors are pre-screened by the potential client and then bid for the job. This lead generator will assist home services pros in finding premium jobs, with less strain than other business and job directories.
7. HUX
The regionally-based home services app, HUX, offers a handful of services for house cleaning, landscaping, delivery and handyman services in the Charlotte, NC, and Atlanta, GA. Pros can market their services in an online directory to residential homes, apartments, and AirBnbs. There is an option for clients to sign up for recurring services. Don’t forget to connect your Yelp and Google My Business pages!
8. Homeflock
Homeflock is an online home improvement directory dedicated to plumbers, electricians, remodeling and handyman professionals, and general contractors. Make sure that all of your ducks are in a row. Customers can view all completed jobs by the biding home services professionals within their neighborhood. This information is based on several reference sources, including state and federal licensing agencies.
9. Pro Referral
Powered by Home Depot, Pro Referral is a free lead generation service that is focused on home improvement projects. The app puts the power of pairing the right home professional and the right client together, without the stress of having to scour Google and review websites.
For pros, several pre-screening steps must be met before joining, including having general liability insurance and paying a bi-yearly background check fee of $39.99. Upon meeting the requirements, service professionals are admitted into a network of local leads from the store’s customer database. Unlike other lead generation websites, Pro Referral doesn’t charge per lead. They’re free! But there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Pro referral two catches:
1. Service pros should ensure that their trade is available on Home Depot’s Pro Referral category of services.
2. The Pro Referral points system is based on spending money at Home Depot stores and redeemable for getting new leads.
