Overview:
Angie’s List is a review site for service companies that attempts to capture the “word-of-mouth wisdom” that comes from users of a company’s services. The service was started in 1996 and now has more than 1.5 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada who post an average of 40,000 reviews per month. The biggest difference between Angie’s List and other review sites is that only members who register and pay can access the website or write reviews.
Price:
Businesses can create an account for their venue for free on Angie’s List. The members, on the other hand, have to pay. There are several pricing scales ranging for a few dollars a month to about $50 per month. Discounts are available for prepaid accounts.
Advantages:
Because of the age of the service, and the fact that only paid subscribers can leave reviews, Angie’s List reviews carry more weight than reviews from Google or other sites, which can often host biased information. Listing a business on Angie’s List also grants the business access to a highly sought after demographics; Most members of Angie’s Lists are college graduates with annual household income of around $100,000.
Disadvantages:
The exclusiveness of Angie’s List can work to the site’s detriment. Though the site has better reviews, if your target audience are the kinds of people who are unable or unwilling to pay for a membership to Angie’s List, then reviews on that site are of little use. While the review structure is supposed to increase confidence, some people are wary of Angie’s List because the money involved in advertising on Angie’s List leads some to distrust the service’s objectivity.