Nextdoor for business: how contractors get recommended by neighbors

Ask a homeowner how they found their last contractor and a surprising number will say "someone recommended them on Nextdoor". For local service businesses it is one of the few places where your exact customers, people who own homes near you, ask each other who to hire.

It is also easy to use badly. This guide covers how Nextdoor works for a business, how to set up your free page, how to earn recommendations and what it cannot do for you.

What is Nextdoor?

Nextdoor is a social network organized by neighborhood. People join with their home address and see posts from their own and nearby neighborhoods: lost pets, yard sales, local news and, constantly, requests such as "can anyone recommend a good fence company?".

That last kind of post is why it matters to contractors. The people replying are neighbors with nothing to sell, so their recommendations carry a lot of weight.

How Nextdoor works for businesses

There are three ways a business shows up:

• A Business Page. A free profile with your services, area, photos and contact details. Neighbors can find it and recommend it.
• Recommendations. When neighbors mention or recommend your business, it is attached to your page and helps you appear when others search for your trade.
• Paid ads. Nextdoor sells advertising that shows your business to neighborhoods you choose.

The first two are free, and they are where most trade businesses should start.

How to set up your Business Page

1. Claim your page. Go to the business section of Nextdoor and search for your business name. If neighbors have already recommended you, a page may exist. If not, create one.
2. Choose the right categories. Pick the ones that match your main work, the same way you would on Google.
3. Add your details. Phone, website, hours and the area you serve. Use exactly the same business name and phone number as on Google and your website.
4. Write a short, plain description. What you do, where you do it and how long you have been at it.
5. Upload real photos. Finished jobs, your truck and your crew. Skip the stock images.

How to get recommendations

Recommendations are the currency of Nextdoor. A few honest ways to earn them:

• Ask happy customers. When a job goes well, ask if they use Nextdoor and whether they would recommend you there. Send them the link to your page.
• Ask at the right moment. The day the job is finished, while they are standing in front of it.
• Do not offer rewards. Paying or discounting for recommendations breaks the rules and reads as fake to neighbors.
• Ask on Google too. Many customers will happily do both. See how to get more Google reviews.

How to post without being "that guy"

Neighbors dislike being sold to, and the platform limits how businesses can promote themselves in the main feed. What works is being useful:

• Share a finished local job with a before and after photo and the neighborhood it was in.
• Give seasonal advice. When to seal a driveway, what to check on gutters before winter.
• Answer questions in your trade, even when there is no job in it.
• Reply fast when someone asks for a recommendation and you are mentioned. A short, friendly reply with your number is enough.
• Stay out of arguments. Neighborhood threads can get heated. Your business name is attached to everything you write.

Good photos do most of the work. Our guide to before and after photos shows what to shoot.

Are Nextdoor ads worth it?

Paid ads can make sense once your page has recommendations, because the ad then shows a business that neighbors already vouch for. Start small, target only the neighborhoods you want to work in and track how many calls or messages come from it. If you cannot tell which leads came from Nextdoor, you cannot tell whether it paid. For most new businesses, the free page and recommendations should come first.

Nextdoor, Facebook groups or Google?

They work best together. Google brings the people who are searching. Nextdoor and Facebook bring the people who were told about you. See how to get your business on Google Maps for the Google side.

What Nextdoor cannot do

A Nextdoor page is not a replacement for a website. When a neighbor recommends you, the next thing most people do is look you up. If they find nothing, or only a bare profile, some of them move on to the next name in the thread.

A simple website with your services, real photos, your area and a phone number is what turns that recommendation into a call. It also belongs to you, which no profile on someone else's platform does. Read what a contractor website needs or see the sites we build for different trades.

Quick checklist

1. Claim or create your free Business Page.
2. Match your name, phone and website to your Google profile.
3. Add real job photos.
4. Ask your last ten happy customers for a recommendation.
5. Share one finished job or useful tip every week or two.
6. Reply quickly whenever your trade comes up.

We build fast websites for US trade businesses from their own job photos. You see a free preview first and only pay if you like it. See our pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Nextdoor free for businesses?

Yes. Claiming or creating a Business Page is free, and so are recommendations from neighbors. Advertising is a separate, paid option.

How do I get recommendations on Nextdoor?

Ask happy customers on the day the job is finished and send them the link to your page. Do not offer rewards for recommendations.

Do I still need a website if I am on Nextdoor?

Yes. Most people look a business up after seeing a recommendation, and a website with your services, photos and phone number is what turns that into a call.