Velvis
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 46
- Location
- Medfield, MA
Just became aware of them and was wondering if anyone has had experience getting jobs through them and if it is worthwhile to persue.
Opinions on Thumbtack?
- Thread starter Velvis
- Start date
phaZed
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 3,148
- Location
- Richmond, VA
Not worth it. I joined under their umbrella simply to be listed and provide 'backlinks'(So for that reason it seems OK lol)... I get their notifications of customers needing repairs, but it really attracts the lower end. It also seems to attract all kinds of irrelevant repairs.. anything from TV's to Cell phones, to Air conditioners..
Porthos
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 13,972
- Location
- San Antonio Tx
Same.
Markverhyden
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 11,020
- Location
- Raleigh, NC
Not worth the effort. I signed up as well when they first showed up. Quickly became evident they were pushing bottom feeders. At least in my area. Kind of like how Amazon was/is for tech services.
labtech
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 349
- Location
- Greater Boston Area, USA
On the vendors side [us], Thumbtack changed their charging system.
Vendors used to pay for a lead if you message the customer and ONLY if the customer responds to your message through Thumbtack. The vendor did not have access to the customer's phone number with that arrangement. It did not guarantee job payment, as it was still a lead at that point & still had to convince the client to commit.
Since 2020, Thumbtack charges vendors automatically if the categories of work the vendors signs up for matche the lead description coming into Thumbtack. Remember that a lead is seen by multiple vendors, as it is a competition. Whoever answers fastest, gets perceived with good prices and is as local as possible, typically would get a committment from the prospect.
On the good side, unlike before, now that the vendor has already automatically paid for the lead, the vendor has immediate access to the client's phone number. The vendor could text or call the propsect instantaneously.
I noticed that people have a high tendency to not answer text messages and the phoning game is annoying with missing people, not picking up, voicemailbox is full, bla bla etc.
True, it does tend to attract people on the cheaper side, as well as those who are less educated about online search. Why? Well, people don't understand Google Ads and organic ranking. Thumbtack's website ranks well organically, typically among the top 3 results passed the Google Maps results. Often #1.
Thumbtack has a catchy first line in the results ("the definite best bla bla), thus a good click bait, especially when pushing the "free estimates" line.
Doing an online Google search with keywords will show Thumbtack's listings and study what it looks like for prospects.
Also, prospects see it convenient in getting multiple quotes from different vendors for free by making the service request through Thumbtack. Some prospects are lazy and don't want to do ample online search.
In short, it is as with everything else marketing related. Is the lead expense worth it? Maybe.
The best thing to do is to set a small budget, say $300-$500 and experiment with it. Create a profile and be very specific about the categories of jobs you want to handle, as that will filter out what leads you don't want to be matched with, thus preventing budget depletion with unwanted jobs.
Typically, the good categories are those for higher paid jobs, thus maximizing profits.
Vendors used to pay for a lead if you message the customer and ONLY if the customer responds to your message through Thumbtack. The vendor did not have access to the customer's phone number with that arrangement. It did not guarantee job payment, as it was still a lead at that point & still had to convince the client to commit.
Since 2020, Thumbtack charges vendors automatically if the categories of work the vendors signs up for matche the lead description coming into Thumbtack. Remember that a lead is seen by multiple vendors, as it is a competition. Whoever answers fastest, gets perceived with good prices and is as local as possible, typically would get a committment from the prospect.
On the good side, unlike before, now that the vendor has already automatically paid for the lead, the vendor has immediate access to the client's phone number. The vendor could text or call the propsect instantaneously.
I noticed that people have a high tendency to not answer text messages and the phoning game is annoying with missing people, not picking up, voicemailbox is full, bla bla etc.
True, it does tend to attract people on the cheaper side, as well as those who are less educated about online search. Why? Well, people don't understand Google Ads and organic ranking. Thumbtack's website ranks well organically, typically among the top 3 results passed the Google Maps results. Often #1.
Thumbtack has a catchy first line in the results ("the definite best bla bla), thus a good click bait, especially when pushing the "free estimates" line.
Doing an online Google search with keywords will show Thumbtack's listings and study what it looks like for prospects.
Also, prospects see it convenient in getting multiple quotes from different vendors for free by making the service request through Thumbtack. Some prospects are lazy and don't want to do ample online search.
In short, it is as with everything else marketing related. Is the lead expense worth it? Maybe.
The best thing to do is to set a small budget, say $300-$500 and experiment with it. Create a profile and be very specific about the categories of jobs you want to handle, as that will filter out what leads you don't want to be matched with, thus preventing budget depletion with unwanted jobs.
Typically, the good categories are those for higher paid jobs, thus maximizing profits.
nlinecomputers
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 8,593
- Location
- Midland TX
I’m in the “not worth the hassle” group. I also found it attracts the customers that expect you to do it for what their grandson would do it for.
Oh you want your printer connected to your WiFi? Sure. Oh you want me to drive 30 miles to your home, spend an hour answering questions about Facebook games and why Microsoft called you last week to tell you the Norton subscription is expired, and configure your printer all for $12? No thanks.
Oh you want your printer connected to your WiFi? Sure. Oh you want me to drive 30 miles to your home, spend an hour answering questions about Facebook games and why Microsoft called you last week to tell you the Norton subscription is expired, and configure your printer all for $12? No thanks.
Blues
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 527
- Location
- Tennessee, US
I remember trying it a ways back but I wasn't getting any worthwhile work out of it and often after 1 or 2 messages I would get silence assuming they went with someone else. Like others have said it is a race to the bottom type of place your going to get a lot of tire kickers and cheap clients from there you are far better off advertising on local Facebook groups if you want better success and they same, or possibly better, type of clients.
