Let’s talk about how you rank in search results

[SheriS]

 How can I find out how I rank?

[Topnotch1]

How does a business rank "most popular" in the area, but shows less hires? Is the ranking based on a business search and not actual hires?

[secretsimple]

Thumbtack increased my business leads by 60% in 2015.
For that I will forever be great full but...

Please go back to the pre 2017 system when changes were made and everything went to hell

My numbers in 2017 and now 2018 have been laughable and forced me to turn to Facebook and Google paid marketing which have recently been working to fill the gap that Thumbtack used to serve.

As one of the top ranked and recognized computer repair technicians and Mac specialists in central Texas the amount of leads y'all sent me when I paid y'all to get me leads was horrendous.

While I am sure y'all's recent changes helped other industries it is obvious from other posts here that the changes have all but had a negative effect in other industries for pros such as myself.

The big change that needs to happen:
What has to happen to change back to the pay per bid method with ability upfront to immediately call the client and request phone number?

Also can y'all please segment out of my category printer repair and router wifi setup for households from all the other categories instead of lumping them into the computer repair category!?

Did not used to have this problem.

Also I do not do screen replacements!

Every negative review I have ever received was by clients y'all sent me that ended up being lumped into a computer repair that turned I to a nightmare because y'all also do not separate screen replacement from computer repair and even lump it into virus removal!

Also y'all want me to pay to play by having y'all wualify clients for me straight to appointment and yet went three months with no Appointments to show for it and three I had to pay to cancel because they were screen replacements and I told y'all I do not do screen replacements!

What is going on with how y'all screen the leads generate?
That is not clearly bring described.

[scottz · Accepted solution]

Hi @secretsimple,

I hear you, there’s been a lot of change lately and change is hard. But here’s why we made it. Before, customers would come to Thumbtack searching for a pro and would often have to wait hours — even days — to hear back from a pro. Sometimes customers didn’t even make it through the request form. In fact, 80% of customers wouldn’t even get to the point of meeting any pros. Those were jobs that could’ve been yours.

The reality is, customers want more options when looking for the right pro and they want them instantly. That’s why we’re showing you in search results, so you can get in front of more customers and ultimately get hired more. And that’s why we’ve transitioned to this new system — because we’re seeing that it works better for customers and pros alike.

That said, while the new system is working overall, we recognize that it’s not yet working for all pros all the time. We’re going to do absolutely everything we can to make you successful in the new system. We know it can work, and we want it to work for everyone.

[scottz]

Also wanted to tag these pros who mentioned that they preferred the old system or were more successful before we introduced search results. I responded to a similar post above and wanted to connect you to it. I also linked to it here. Thank you!

@Edgarelpollo21 @CompleteWeb @Marina @Partyhelpers @ks14 @RevDHirsch @Carey-Allen @ChefViaMelissa @RonGibbons @mb1 @lyricsheila @elle819 @NorfolkPest @DJStephenTheSty @TrainwithV @Kidmillions @tfitzpatrick914 @jcp @Rhartog @JustinPro @DavidW @MichaelWeaver @luvmwyf @Felix12321 @mbidstudio @zona5101 @Repairmasn @Lopes @gblackmore @ChaplainShannon @Ahodgson @aaron32 @yopastorearl @Windhaven @Claudia @KPDCreative @drfekete @Pete_Stephens @UIP @Dreamcastar @roseann @ecoview @JaysPortraits @COWBOYBARRY @Beepropetservic @Cunningham @Hazeleyes5786 @PFC @DarrontheGuitar @TickledSpirit @Poolroomstudio @Gartob

[DarrontheGuitar]

I have anaccount to hire pros.  I did a search on musicians.  It does not even bring up solo artistists -  only bands.  Soloist is not even an option in the filter.

I altered my profile to see if I included the buzz words.  I saw that I already included a cost.

I was a top rated pro for 5 years with ThumbTack - had been hired 32 times with ThumbTack.

I don't hit the mark.  Why?  Haven't gotten sent anything since December 7, 2017.  I always responded within a few hours (usually 1 to 2 hours of recieving a request and now nothing).  So, this does not work.

[Lopes]

The problem is that customer reply to all pro who contact them and automatically all 5 or 7 pro get charge and the customer can only hire one pro, this is not fair

[DarrontheGuitar]

They have always charged all the pros who respond.  That is how they keep the cost down.  Other sites that do similar services only charge the one that wins the bid, but they also charge the customer.  And the total cost is much more.

[PFC]

Totally agree.  I see this happen alot. Now thumbtack changed the competion view so we cannot see how many pros were contacted and figure out how much they made on each of us.

[MichaelWeaver]

Obviiously a disconnect hee. Working well for who? Not for those that have been paying!

Works good for thumbtack, not those that provide the service.

Those that want immediate responses are likely not good clients. Unrealistic expectations.

You could position yourself as a high end source for services but instead try to compete with every non-pro that says they do a particular service and spout off about how reviews and thes and that will get you business. It's a falicy.

Learn to satisfy your providers and they will pay you. You are going to lose them in droves.