Power Washing and Roof Cleaning Forum

waxman18324 · Founding Member Rest in Peace

Angie's List

lkendall · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I am.. and I unfortunately found it useless... I have never had anyone call from finding me on AL.. come to think of it, I'm not sure if I have ever heard of anyone that uses it.. Maybe its different up there? But the back-link is always a plus and you never know! I may get a call tomorrow through the site!

-- Edited by lkendall on Friday 13th of December 2013 04:10:30 PM

Kingwood Pressure Washing · Exterior Cleaner

I find a lot of use out of Angie's List. Many clients contact us from Angie's list due to the great reviews we have received. I do not however pay for advertising on the website like they would like us to. They claim that no companies pay to be on their website, which is true, but they always call and email us to have us "placed at the top spot for a small fee". I feel that as long as we have good reviews, then we should get calls from their clients regardless. It's bad enough that their clients have to pay to use their website, I would hate that both their clients and the contractors would have to pay.

Barry R · Veteran Member

As the owner of a roof cleaning company and a pressure washing company, I have had an extensive discussion with AL since 2011. They have tried about everything possible to get me to be a "paid" advertiser.

I've never seriously considered them or any paid marketing, including service magic aka homeadvisor. What I have done is use their desire of my money to engage them in discussion. I could have easily just laughed and said no, and marked their email as spam but took the opportunity to try and address the systemic errors in their search engine.

Last time I was given "guest access" it had not changed...haven't been on since last year to look again so the following is "dated" info....

In 2011, I asked AL for separate categories for roof cleaning & house washing. At that time, they fell under roofing and pressure washing. I doubt I was the only one asking for this but they eventually did add roof cleaning.

Currently...

House Washing falls under pressure washing and is dominated by "painters".
Roof Cleaning is dominated by "roofers".

There is no way a small exterior cleaning company can compete with the deep pockets of painting and roofing. Residential roofing is estimated to be 12 billion dollars for 2014. You couldn't scrape up $1 billion if you took all the roof cleaners on the planet and tossed in all the vendors as well as the gimmick products. I'm sure painting is equally (or more) lopsided.

This was the primary reason that I created the roof cleaning directory....to combat misinformation from AL & SM and to build a platform to enable top level marketing.

My advice to everyone is do not pay marketers like AL and SM.

With regards to SM, I have shown people how they ignore markets where they don't have a client but as soon as someone "buy's in" they start tossing loot into your serp's and basically use your name and marketing to offer leads to others. SM is more like a virus than a service. Once they have a "buyer" of leads, they invest in SEO and adwords and look for others to sell the same leads to. Eventually, the market degenerates into a lowball competition.

As for AL...they simply don't have the numbers. I've shown them again and again that their clients are "learning" and use Google because of the category "whoring". An informed homeowner, looking to have their roof cleaned quickly figures out that the list they get from AL is "not the droids they are looking for", and move along. The other problem is the fees. I cover an area that has dozens and dozens of small cities and villages. Each keyword is a different fee and they pile up quickly.

Lastly...and most importantly, AL is a bubble about to burst. Since it's IPO in Nov 2011, AL has tried everything to boost it's value and in that time has leaked money like a rusted water tank leaking water. Last year, many investment advisers were recommending that people get out (most notably, Forbes had a devastating article).

If that wasn't enough....they are now facing a class action lawsuit from investors. As this gains traction in the news, consumers will discover that the "unbiased" claims were lies. If the lawsuit doesn't kill them, the lost trust and realization that AL is nothing but a captive version of Google Adwords will. Their value is on a nosedive.

If you are about to pay AL...don't.

If you can get a refund...do

if you are paying monthly...beware

-- Edited by Contractor Hosting on Wednesday 29th of January 2014 06:33:22 AM

gutterdog · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I just started playing with AL about 2 and a half months ago, and I like it!

Eric Schnaible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Hmmm, I think I'm gonna go with Barry on this one.

mistersqueegee · Approved Window Cleaner

Yeah AL is as big a scam as the BBB. The only guys I've ever heard of getting any benefits from it are the ones paying for their advertising (or whatever term AL uses). I've signed up years ago and they hounded me to pay and when I didn't they stopped but I've never seen one referral or gotten one client from them.

Dave · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Take Barry's advice. He knows what he is talking about

Ed Thompson · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I like AL. Today it works. The wind blows rapidly and tomorrow it may not. There's value in directories with a national brand. How many commercials have you seen for AL? A lot right? What other directory has a national commercial? None. I understand that your local demographic may not support AL, therefore it may not work for you. Home Advisor sucks to but they got serious SEO. My roof cleaning adwords competes with HA. That gives me another spot on page 1. The more my phone rings the better. If you cant handle the calls then it might not makes sense.

Doug Rucker · Vender

Ed Thompson wrote:
I like AL. Today it works. The wind blows rapidly and tomorrow it may not. There's value in directories with a national brand. How many commercials have you seen for AL? A lot right? What other directory has a national commercial? None. I understand that your local demographic may not support AL, therefore it may not work for you. Home Advisor sucks to but they got serious SEO. My roof cleaning adwords competes with HA. That gives me another spot on page 1. The more my phone rings the better. If you cant handle the calls then it might not makes sense.

I agree whole heartedly Ed. AL works great for me. One thing I have found is AL customers buy on trust, not price. I do pay for placement and have no problem doing it.

gutterdog · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Doug Rucker wrote:
Ed Thompson wrote:
I like AL. Today it works. The wind blows rapidly and tomorrow it may not. There's value in directories with a national brand. How many commercials have you seen for AL? A lot right? What other directory has a national commercial? None. I understand that your local demographic may not support AL, therefore it may not work for you. Home Advisor sucks to but they got serious SEO. My roof cleaning adwords competes with HA. That gives me another spot on page 1. The more my phone rings the better. If you cant handle the calls then it might not makes sense.
I agree whole heartedly Ed. AL works great for me. One thing I have found is AL customers buy on trust, not price. I do pay for placement and have no problem doing it.

I just got off the phone with AL. We are doing another storefront and big deal. Like Ed said above. I may generate too much work. I know how to run systems for one truck. Running 2 crews should only be replication?

Ed Thompson · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Ive worked 4 trucks at peak. Thats 7-8 guys. It can get stressful.

waxman18324 · Founding Member Rest in Peace

Ed,

You need a vacation in the Poconos.

Hank

gutterdog · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Ed Thompson wrote:
Ive worked 4 trucks at peak. Thats 7-8 guys. It can get stressful.

I'll take that stress for that money!!!!!

Dave O · Retired Member

At first I was doubtful about AL and was even advised not to use it. However since it didn't cost me anything I registered my roof cleaning business anyhow and boy I'm glad I did. AL certainly does bring in business. I have an A rating. Again, it is absolutely free for businesses. Sure they try to sell you this and that program but you don't need it. I encourage everyone to at least give it a try.