Manage your HomeAdvisor reviews for more qualified leads.
When your potential customers are seeking home service providers, they want to find the most trustworthy and reliable professionals in their area. After all, they’re not just inviting a stranger into their home—they’re also trusting that stranger to make changes to a part of their living space or even fully remodel their home. When you become a trusted HomeAdvisor Pro, you can start to build your credibility and show your worth through HomeAdvisor reviews.
Boasting over four million unique visitors per month, HomeAdvisor is one of the top websites for connecting homeowners to vetted local contractors. Consumers use HomeAdvisor to quickly narrow down professionals based on their location and service needs before selecting one based on factors that matter to them—including online reviews.
With 44% of consumers using online reviews to select professionals for home improvement, and 40% using sites like HomeAdvisor.com, keeping up with customer feedback on this niche platform can help you convert more leads.
How do HomeAdvisor reviews work?
As soon as you join the HomeAdvisor Pro network, you can start to receive real, verified customer reviews from people who have chosen your services in the past. Each of these reviews includes:
- A star rating for your service as a whole
- Star ratings for your quality, customer service, and value for money
- An optional comment with further details
Once a review is posted, it will appear with the type of project that was worked on, so your potential customers get the best context possible. You’ll always have the chance to respond to both negative and positive reviews.
Who sees HomeAdvisor reviews?
HomeAdvisor reviews can be viewed in two different ways. First, consumers can simply use the site’s directory to browse profiles and reviews based on service and location. In this scenario, the consumer would be the one to reach out to you by phone, using the contact information listed on your profile, or by tapping “Get a Quote.”
More commonly, consumers will fill in a short ProFinder survey about their exact home repair needs and automatically get matched with local professionals, who they can again compare based on reviews. In this scenario, the consumer is a fully qualified lead who you can reach out to directly by sending them a quote.
Creating your HomeAdvisor Pro account
Before you can get listed on HomeAdvisor and start getting reviews, you need to create an account on the platform.
Unlike many online review sites but much like its direct competitor Porch.com, HomeAdvisor does not offer free accounts for contractors. This is because a HomeAdvisor Pro account doubles as a lead generation service that charges you a pay-per-lead membership fee. The exact cost varies based on the services you offer, but some home service providers report paying as much as $50 per lead, even given that a handful of other users on the site may receive the same lead, too.
If this cost is worth it for you, you can start the account creation process by heading to this signup page and filling in all required fields. All users on the website will further need to pass a screening process that involves a background check as well as trade license and ID verification.
Once you’re a member, you can start filling in your profile with the details that matter to your leads. These details may include your phone number, credentials, insurance information, services, photos of your work, and whether or not you take credit cards.
Important note about HomeAdvisor trust
Before you offer up any payment information, be aware that HomeAdvisor is a bit controversial among home service professionals at the moment. The company is in the midst of working with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to resolve an ongoing pattern of complaints. It also has a shocking one-star rating average from over 1,000 users.
HomeAdvisor isn’t a scam—it’s been active since 1999, when it was founded in Denver, Colorado, as ServiceMagic—but there are hundreds of complaints from Pros with bad experiences on the platform. These issues range from bad leads (as a result of intense competition) to lack of support for billing issues, so only proceed if the price still makes sense for you given this information.
HomeAdvisor review management process
If you’ve invested in a HomeAdvisor Pro account, you don’t want to let the opportunity go to waste. Your leads want to hear from real clients that you follow ethical business practices and can effectively find solutions for their needs.
In order to grow your positive reviews and stand out among other professionals fighting for the same lead, you need to actively take control of your feedback with the following process.
1. Ask for reviews
If you’re just starting out on HomeAdvisor.com, it can be hard to convert a lead without having any reviews in the first place. To make sure you’re not spending a lot of money on a relatively bare profile, you’ll want to build up your HomeAdvisor reviews as soon as possible.
It never hurts to ask for a review from the people you’ve worked with in the past. This will add substance to your profile, going beyond automated screening processes to show that real consumers have enjoyed working with you. You can even use a tool like Podium Reviews to automatically send review invites to your customers through a convenient text message.
2. Respond to reviews
With over 50% of reviewers expecting a response by the next day or two, it’s a good idea to acknowledge every HomeAdvisor review that comes in. You can respond to positive reviews with a simple thank you to show that you’re listening.
For negative reviews, you’ll want to be attentive in crafting your response. Your customers should be thanked for taking the time to respond and their opinions should never be denied. Being professional and explaining how you’ll look into an issue or make things right can help you turn unhappy customers into homeowners who are willing to try out your services again.
3. Evaluate feedback
Of course, you don’t want to just pretend like you’re acknowledging your customers’ opinions. You need to act. Every quarter—or every month, if you’re receiving a high volume of reviews—take a look at where your star ratings stand and what HomeAdvisor reviews say about you.
If you’re seeing an influx of complaints about a specific aspect of your services, you’ll want to make changes to your business processes as soon as possible. Similarly, if you notice customers frequently giving positive feedback on your customer service or work quality, you can hone in on those attributes and work to maintain them. Being proactive about review monitoring can help you keep a strong reputation behind your company name.
Build your business with reviews
Whether you’re a plumber, roofing business owner, cleaning service, or a general contractor, you can convert more qualified leads by keeping up with your HomeAdvisor reviews. Our recommended review management process can and should be repeated over and over again to help you continue winning over more leads and turning them into loyal customers.
As long as consumers continue to take to the internet for research, online reviews will impact their buying decisions immensely. By adding niche sites like HomeAdvisor and Porch.com to your review management strategy, you can connect with a higher percentage of quality leads than even Google and Facebook can provide. With Podium Reviews, you can streamline reviews from all of these channels into one platform, so your review invites and responses are never forgotten.
