You may have come across Angie’s List. It’s a website where you can find home services like plumbing, HVAC, roofing, concrete, etc. However, the site itself remained behind a paywall of $40 per year until recently. Now that this website is free and open to the public, there are three major search engine optimization (SEO) factors you may want to consider. For instance, if you are a service provider that can use Angie’s List but haven’t been, you may want to start now.
It Will Rank Better For Brand Names
If you examine what Angie’s List can do for company names, you’ll find that content is at the top of the list. The site’s reviewers have a reputation for leaving meaty reviews, whether positive or negative. The depth of these reviews are the main reason customers take the time to search the site. What does this have to do with SEO? Those reviews are now available to search engines and users alike.
Your Tools May Not Work At First
If you’re monitoring reviews with a third party tool, you may not be able to add the site to your universal notifications. The site has lived behind a paywall for its entire existence until now. It will be beneficial to create and verify your page–or if you already have a page on their site–to claim and verify it. This way if a review comes in, you’ll know about it.
If you have a profile, and it makes sense to use Angie’s List, claiming your profile will allow you to read and respond to any or all reviews garnered on that site.
Prepare For More Markets
Now that Angie’s List has opened its doors to the public, expect other websites to do the same. Chances are Angie’s List will not stagnate. It will, more than likely, expand into other industries. Why does this make sense? Because they need to create revenues since they’re now free. In order to do this they will need to offer their services to a variety of industries as a review website, similar to Yelp.
Summary
In conclusion, the good news is Angie’s List is free and available for use. The annual fee is no longer a barrier to create or claim a profile on their site, and the reviews on the site tend to be extensive, which is great for content related rankings for brands or business names.